If you’re a horror fan, you’ve probably heard of Shudder at this point. When it first started in 2015, the genre-focused service helped Rise show the feasibility of niche streaming, having a large library of sci-fi, horror, and thriller films while leveraging its tremendous marketing muscle to ensure that it received considerably more attention than would-be competitors.
Shudder has established a reputation as a haven for society’s misunderstood castaways since its inception in 2015: psycho murderers, insane scientists, otherworldly ghouls, and some really, very grumpy animals.
It’s become the go-to streaming site for self-described horror and genre fans, and here we’ve combed through its collection for the highest scores, bringing you our list of the 35 scariest movies; on shuddering 2023.
Candyman (2021)
Director: Nia DaCosta
Writers: Jordan Peele
Cast: Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo, Brian King
IMDb Rating: 6.0/10
Several years after destroying the remaining Cabrini structures, Anthony and his friend settle into a penthouse in the now-gentrified Cabrini. The Cabrini-Green housing complexes in Chicago have been terrorized for as long as residents can remember by a story of a paranormal murderer with a hook for a hand which can be easily summoned by saying his name five times into a mirror.
Son (2021)
Director: Ivan Kavanagh
Writers: Ivan Kavanagh
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Blaine Maye, Andi Matichak
IMDb Rating: 5.6/10
Laura and her eight-year-old son, David, depart town searching for safety when a strange group of people smash into her home and attempt to kidnap David. However, immediately after the unsuccessful kidnapping, David becomes progressively sick, with intermittent insanity and convulsions. Laura behaves inexcusably to keep her baby alive, following her maternal instincts, but she must soon determine how far she is prepared to go to rescue him.
Seance (2021)
Director: Simon Barrett
Writers: Simon Barrett
Cast: Madisen Beaty, Ella-Rae Smith, Suki Waterhouse
IMDb Rating: 5.3/10
Camille Meadows has just started at the elite Edelvine Academy for Girls as a new student. Six girls urge her to accompany them in a late-night ceremony to summon the spirit of a deceased former student who is said to haunt their halls shortly after she arrives. However, one of the girls dies before daylight, leaving the others to wonder what they have awoken.
Malignant (2021)
Director: James Wan
Writers: Akela Cooper
Cast: Maddie Hasson, Jean Louisa Kelly, Annabelle Wallis
IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
Madison wakes up at a hospital in current Seattle, twenty-seven years after the horrific Simion Research Hospital tragedy. Madison’s obscure background surfaces more and more as numbing images of murder stand in the way of everyday existence, perplexing both herself and the local cops. Is this a fiction of Madison’s disturbed imagination, or are they overtly brutal killings? In either case, someone or something connects the past to the present, seeking closure and blood.
The Power (2021)
Director: Corinna Faith
Writers: Corinna Faith
Cast: Marley Chesham, Diveen Henry, Maria Major
IMDb Rating: 5.5/10
In 1974, in London, Val (Rose Williams), a student nurse, comes for her first day at the decaying East London Royal Infirmary as Britain prepares for nationwide blackouts. Val is compelled to work for the night shift after most of the patients and employees were transferred to another hospital, leaving her in a dark, mostly empty facility. A terrible secret lurks behind these walls, requiring Val to confront her tragic history as well as her darkest fears to combat the malicious entity bent on destroying all around her.
Spiral: From The Book Of Saw (2021)
Director: Darren Bousman
Writers: Josh Stolberg
Cast: Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, Chris Rock
IMDb Rating: 5.3/10
“Spiral: From the Book of Saw” is more frustrating than the average bad horror sequel because you can easily understand the lost promise up there on the screen. In Spiral, the horrifying new section from the Saw book, a criminal mastermind dispenses a strange sort of justice. Loud Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks and his trainee colleague take control of a macabre investigation into murders that are strangely evocative of the city’s dark past, operating in the shadow of his father, an experienced police veteran. Zeke unwittingly becomes embroiled in a developing mystery and the killer’s twisted game.
Jakob’s wife
Director: Travis Stevens
Writers: Mark Steensland
Cast: Larry Fessenden, Nyisha Bell, Barbara Crampton
IMDb Rating: 5.5/10
Anne, the loyal, obedient, and supportive suburban wife of local pastor and pillar of the community, Jakob Fedder, discovers that years of emotionless marriage have taken a toll on their relationship as she spends her days cooking, doing chores, and gardening. She gains a new sense of power and a hunger to live larger and braver than before after a fortuitous encounter with “The Master.” The corpse count rises as Anne is caught between her glamorous new life and her old one, and Jakob realizes he will have to battle for the wife he took for granted.
V/H/S/94
Director: Chloe Okuno
Writers: Chloe Okuno
Cast: Brian Paul, Anna Hopkins, Gina Phillips
IMDb Rating: 5.5/10
V/H/S/94 is among the shudder original movies that mark the return of the horrifying found footage anthology with sections from partnership alumni Simon Barrett and Timo Tjahjanto and acclaimed directors Jennifer Reeder, Ryan Prows, and Chloe Okuno. In V/H/S/94, a ruthless police swat squad raids a secluded warehouse after discovering a suspicious VHS video, only to discover a dark cult complex whose library of pre-recorded content reveals a terrifying plot.
Martyrs Lane (2021)
Director: Ruth Platt
Writers: Ruth Platt
Cast: Steven Cree, Anastasia Hille, Denise Gough
IMDb Rating: 5.6/10
If you are looking for some new shudder movies 2021, then this one’s for you. Leah, 10, lives with her family in a huge, ancient house in this creepy ghost story, but she can’t figure out how and why her mother seems so detached. Finally, she is visited by a mystery visitor late at night who may provide her with some answers. Every night, Leah is given a new test and is rewarded with tidbits of information that, when put together, threaten to cast a deadly light on both the reality in her dreams and the reality she lives in.
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Director: Robert Hiltzik
Writers: Robert Hiltzik
Cast: Karen Fields, Felissa Rose, Mike Kellin
IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
Angela comes home with her eccentric Aunt Martha and caring cousin Ricky about her family being killed in a boating accident. Martha brings the kids to Camp Arawak one summer. Unfortunately, several campers are killed in odd, progressively horrific accidents soon after they arrive. Who is the sick individual responsible for these heinous crimes? One of the most startling climaxes in American film history is the reveal of the murderer’s name.
Haunt (2019)
Director: Scott Beck
Writers: Scott Beck
Cast: Will Brittain, Andrew Lewis Caldwell, Shazi Raja
IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
On Halloween, a group of pals encounters an “extreme” haunted house that promises to feast on their deepest fears. As they arrive at the terrifying conclusion that some dreams are real, the night turns fatal. Harper is in a bad relationship with an abusive partner and has had a difficult childhood due to her parents’ marital issues, including assault.
You must watch Annabelle movies in order as well if scary movies fascinate you.
Asylum (2005)
Director: David Mackenzie
Writers: Patrick Marber
Cast: Gus Lewis, Natasha Richardson, Ian McKellen
IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
Max Raphael, a psychiatrist, gets appointed as the administrator of an institution on the outskirts of London in the 1950s, and he travels there with his wife Stella Raphael and their son Charlie. Stella has a stale marriage, and Max ignores her. His wife is having an affair with a psych inpatient who has a sociopath history. There are more poor decisions made, the affair continues, and severe repercussions ensue.
Kandisha (2020)
Director: Julien Maury
Writers: Jérôme Cohen-Olivar
Cast: Samarcande Saadi, Mathilde Lamusse, Sandor Funtek
IMDb Rating: 5.4/10
It’s summer break, and best friends Amélie, Bintou, and Morjana are hanging out with the other teenagers in the neighborhood instead. They had a good time discussing frightening stories and urban myths every night. However, when Amélie is raped by her ex, she recalls Kandisha, a strong and furious demon. Amélie summons her, terrified and outraged. Her ex is discovered dead the next day. The tale is real, and Kandisha is now on a murderous rampage, and it’s up to the three girls to stop the curse.
Dead & Buried (1981)
Director: Gary Sherman
Writers: Jeff Millar
Cast: Jack Albertson, James Farentino, Nancy Locke
IMDb Rating: 6.6/10
Sheriff Dan Gillis and his wife, teacher Janet Gillis, live in Potter’s Bluff, a tiny seaside town with a welcoming atmosphere. When visitors to the village are mysteriously slain, Sheriff Gillis examines the cases thoroughly and discovers that the dead are reanimating and resurrecting. Dan discovers a witchcraft and voodoo book in his wife’s drawer and believes she is practicing black magic. Dan encounters William G. Dobbs, the coroner-mortician, and learns the terrible and shocking secret.
Nightmare Cinema (2018)
Director: Alejandro Brugués
Writers: Alejandro Brugués
Cast: Faly Rakotohavana, Maurice Benard, Mickey Rourke
IMDb Rating: 5.5/10
Five people sit in an abandoned theatre, watching their deepest and darkest nightmares play out in front of them as the Projectionist preys on their souls with his library of unsettling films. The connecting scenes are directed by Mick Garris and take place at a cinema where Mickey Rourke is the videographer, and the audience is drawn in to see flicks with oddly familiar characters.
Mirare, directed by Joe Dante, explores the stranger sides of cosmetic surgery philia, going well beyond any reasonable conclusion.
They look like people (2015)
Director: Perry Blackshear
Writers: Perry Blackshear
Cast: Evan Dumouchel, Mick Casale, MacLeod Andrews
IMDb Rating: 5.9/10
Christian likes his boss Mara in New York but is hesitant to ask her out on a date. Christian invites his old buddy Wyatt to stay in his flat when he runs into him while traveling through New York. Christian is unaware of the imminent disaster that Wyatt believes humankind is about to face, as the people he loves to turn into wicked creatures.
Humans and these monsters are on the verge of a conflict, and Wyatt will also have to determine who he can trust in order to survive.
Prevenge (2016)
Director: Alice Lowe
Writers: Alice Lowe
Cast: Jo Hartley, Alice Lowe, Tom Davis
IMDb Rating: 6.0/10
Many expecting moms believe they can speak with their unborn children, but Ruth’s case is unique. Ruth’s unborn daughter is physically speaking to her in her head, or so Ruth believes, and that young child’s voice is telling her to kill.
Following the untimely loss of her husband Matt, Ruth fell into a deep melancholy. Unfortunately, Ruth’s twisted worldview has only become worse since then.
Tigers are not afraid (2017)
Director: Issa López
Writers: Issa López
Cast: Jo Hartley, Tom Davis, Alice Lowe
IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
Estrella is ten years old and has three wishes: the first is for her missing mother to return, which she hopes will happen. Estrella’s mother reappears, but she is deceased and follows her everywhere. Estrella, terrified, joins a gang that has been orphaned by violence in order to get away from her.
Soon she discovers that the dead are never forgotten and that dreams never come true the way you want them to while you’re in the midst of brutality and bloodshed.
We Are What We Are (2013)
Director: Jim Mickle
Writers: Nick Damici
Cast: Laurent Rejto, Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers
IMDb Rating: 5.9/10
Although appearing to be a nice and generous family, the Parkers have always stayed to themselves, and with good cause. Frank, the patriarch, governs his family with a zealous zeal behind closed doors, wanting to uphold his ancestral rituals at any cost. However, tragic events occur when severe rainfall sweeps across the neighborhood, and his daughters Rose and Iris are compelled to take on obligations beyond those of a regular family.
Doc Barrow, who has lost one daughter who has gone missing, is doing Emma’s autopsy when he makes a significant finding that would link the missing cases to the Parker family. What is the Parker family’s tradition?
The boy behind the door (2020)
Director: David Charbonier
Writers: David Charbonier
Cast: Ezra Dewey, Micah Hauptman, Lonnie Chavis
IMDb Rating: 5.7/10
Bobby manages to flee when he and his closest buddy Kevin are abducted and transported to a weird apartment in the middle of nowhere. However, as he begins to flee, he hears Kevin’s pleas for assistance and knows he can’t abandon his buddy. Even worse, another stranger has arrived, and his secret agreement with the kidnappers may signal Kevin’s demise.
So Bobby goes on a rescue expedition, desperate to get himself and Kevin out alive… or perish trying, with no way of contacting for aid and miles of dark terrain in every direction.
Black Christmas (2019)
Director: Sophia Takal
Writers: Sophia Takal
Cast: Keir Dullea, John Saxon, Olivia Hussey
IMDb Rating: 3.4/10
As students return home to spend time with their families, Hawthorne College is hushing down for the holidays. However, just as Riley and her classmates are getting ready to decorate the halls for the holidays, a mysterious hooded figure begins to leave a bloody path throughout campus.
Riley and her pals decide to join together and fight back against the insane Christmas murderer rather than becoming helpless victims. This might not be the best on shudder right now but was one of the most-watched movies of 2019.
Black Sunday (1960)
Director: Mario Bava
Writers: Ennio De Concini
Cast: Andrea Checchi, Arturo Dominici, Barbara Steele
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Princess Asa Vajda is revived over 200 years after being killed for being a witch and a vampire when two travelers, Prof. Thomas Kruvajan and Dr. Andre Gorobec, unintentionally disturb her abandoned tomb. The princess pledged revenge on her accused, her brother, and all of his heirs at the time of her execution.
Kruvajan becomes her vampire servant when she rapidly resurrects her beloved. When she discovers that Princess Katia of today is genetically similar to her, she sets out to take possession of the young woman.
The beyond (2017)
Director: Hasraf Dulull
Writers: Hasraf Dulull
Cast: Nigel Barber, Ezra Faroque Khan, Jane Perry
IMDb Rating: 4.9/10
An anomaly arose over the Earth in 2019. There is a power outage aboard the International Space Station, which has interrupted communications. The Beyond tells the story of a breakthrough expedition that transported astronauts into a newly found wormhole known as the Void, enhanced with sophisticated robots.
Surprisingly, when the spacecraft emerges, the space agency tries to figure out what the astronauts saw on their first interstellar space flight.
Ginger snaps (2004)
Director: John Fawcett
Writers: Karen Walton
Cast: Kris Lemche, Emily Perkins, Jesse Moss
IMDb Rating: 5.9/10
Ginger and Brigitte survived a boat disaster in Canada in 1815, but their parents perished. They meet an ancient clairvoyant Indian who foresees their fate alone and lost in the wilderness. They are later led to a fort by the Indian The Hunter, where they seek refuge with the Northern Legion Trading Company men.
They mention that the area is under siege by “Wendigos,” a type of werewolf that has murdered most of the residents, and the survivors are terrified. The disturbed villagers and the surrounding creatures put their life in jeopardy.
Behind the mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
Director: Scott Glosserman
Writers: Scott Glosserman
Cast: Robert Englund, Nathan Baesel, Zelda Rubinstein
IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
The film is shot like a documentary in a universe where the supernatural murderers described in popular slasher movies are real. Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel), who appears to be very normal, is fascinated with movie-style slashers such as Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger.
Leslie resolves to follow in his idols’ footsteps and, ever the self-promoter asks a documentary filmmaker and her team to accompany him as he builds his Joe Keyes awesome legacy.
Re-animator (1985)
Director: Stuart Gordon
Writers: Stuart Gordon
Cast: Bruce Abbott, David Gale, Jeffrey Combs
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Herbert West is a Swiss scientist who has found a fluid that may restore dead tissue back to life in this H.P. Lovecraft story. After his professor’s mysterious death in Switzerland, West relocates to Miskatonic University to pursue his study. By experimenting on their dead cat, he includes former classmate Dan Cain and his fiancée Megan Halsey in his investigation.
Dan agrees to smuggle West into the morgue of a hospital because he is interested in his study, with predictable repercussions.
Train to Busan (2016)
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Writers: Yeon Sang-ho
Cast: Gong Yoo, Su-an Kim, Woo-sik Choi
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Sok-woo, a father who does not have the time for his son, Soo-Ahn, is about to board the KTX, a high-speed train that will carry them from Seoul to Busan. A mysterious virus spreads from an infected girl as the train embarks, and others begin to transform into zombies.
As the KTX sails towards Busan, passengers fight for their lives and the lives of their families against the zombies – and each other. Throughout their journey, non-infected travelers must fight zombies and their fellow passengers’ greed. The Train to Busan movie is the best on shudder right now.
Deep Red (1994)
Director: Craig R. Baxley
Writers: D. Brent Mote
Cast: Tobin Bell, Lindsey Haun, John Alden
IMDb Rating: 4.8/10
Joe Keyes, a disillusioned private eye, is hired by a mysterious young woman to find her husband, Warren Rickman. He does so, only to discover too late that he was being pursued by two weird, bulletproof-appearing but extremely combustible goons dressed as milkmen, who assault them, kill Rickman, and frame Joe for murder.
Joe decides to assist the girls even though the case brings up sad memories of his failed attempt to protect the family of Eldon’s colleague, Mack Waters, who has held a bitter hatred against Joe ever since and wishes to see him dead.
Carrie (2013)
Director: Kimberly Peirce
Writers: Kimberly Peirce
Cast: Gabriella Wilde, Julianne Moore, Zoë Belkin
IMDb Rating: 5.9/10
High school may be a struggle for many teens, but it’s especially difficult for Carrie White (Chlo Grace Moretz). Carrie is a shy and awkward kid reared by a religious person (Julianne Moore) and is regularly bullied. But, on the other hand, Carrie has a hidden talent: she can manipulate objects with her thoughts.
Carrie’s telekinetic talents are unleashed on everyone who stands in her way one fateful night when a particularly nasty prank at her senior prom drives her over the brink.
The changeling (1980)
Director: Peter Medak
Writers: Russell Hunter
Cast: Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos, George C. Scott
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
It was the ideal family holiday for composer John Russell and his family until his wife and daughter were killed in a tragic car accident. Consumed by grief, John hires an ancient turn-of-the-century mansion at the urging of friends. The home, which is enormous in size, appears to provide John with all the space he requires to compose music and ponder.
Unfortunately, he is oblivious to the fact that he is not alone in the house. He shares it with the ghost of a kid who has picked up on John’s grief and is using him to reveal decades of isolation and deception. They rush to uncover the answers with the help of Claire Norman, who assists John in obtaining the property and quickly discover that they are being watched by a cunning and powerful guy.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Director: Tobe Hooper
Writers: Tobe Hooper
Cast: Allen Danziger, William Vail, Marilyn Burns
IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
When Sally and her disabled brother, Franklin, learn that their grandfather’s tomb may have been defiled, they go out with their friends to investigate. Unfortunately, they uncover a bunch of insane, homicidal misfits living next door after taking a detour to their family’s old farmhouse. The survivors must do all they can to escape as the sledgehammer Leatherface, who wears a human skin mask, attacks them one by one.
Halloween (1978)
Director: John Carpenter
Writers: Debra Hill
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, P.J. Soles, Donald Pleasence
IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
The year is 1963, and the date is October 31st. When officers arrive at 43 Lampkin Ln., they discover that Judith Myers, 15, has been brutally murdered by her 6-year-old brother, Michael. On the night before Halloween, after 15 years in a mental institution, Myers erupts. Except for Myers’ psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis, no one knows or cares what will happen on October 31st, 1978.
Michael is returning to Haddonfield, he knows, but by the time the town recognizes it, it will be too late for many. It is a must-watch film from the list of scariest movies on shudder 2021.
Day Of The Dead (1985)
Director: George A. Romero
Writers: George A. Romero
Cast: Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato, Lori Cardille
IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
Except for a tiny group of scientists and military people who live in an underground shelter in Florida, zombies control the globe. To the military’s dismay, scientists are conducting horrific experiments on the undead.
Finally, the military discovers that its troops were used in the scientists’ experiments and exiles the scientists to the Living Dead caverns. Unfortunately, the above-ground zombies have found their way into the bunker.
Mandy (2018)
Director: Panos Cosmatos
Writers: Panos Cosmatos
Cast: Linus Roache, Nicolas Cage, Olwen Fouéré
IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
Strangers like Red Miller and Mandy Bloom lived a happy and tranquil existence in the Pacific Northwest in 1983. Red is thrown into a phantasmagoric adventure packed with a violent vengeance and laced with lethal fire as their pine-scented refuge is cruelly demolished by a cult led by the evil Jeremiah Sand.
Red, equipped with a war ax and any drugs he can find, embarks on a violent rampage, exacting his vengeance on the cult in the most brutal manner possible. Don’t miss one of the Shudder original movies.