Best of Shudder 2023

At the end of last year, the horror community buzzed with news of mass layoffs at AMC, which, in turn, trickled down to Shudder, since AMC is their parent company. In truth, I wasn’t sure if I’d be writing this list at the end of 2023, or if Shudder would still exist. It’s been a rocky year for the horror streaming service, but it survived, namely by scaling back the number of original and exclusive films and coming up with creative ways to increase subscribers.

Heading into 2024, I’m more optimistic about Shudder’s fate than I was a year ago. They renewed their most popular programs, including “The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs” and “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula.” They’re already scooping up films ahead of their premiere at Sundance in late January. If anything, last year’s news reminded the horror community to be grateful that Shudder exists and to support it if we want it to continue.

Despite some of the challenges, Shudder still released plenty of great films this past year, and without further ado, here are some of my favorites.

Birth/Rebirth

As someone who has taught Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and its various adaptations more times than I can count, I’m always eager for a fresh take on the classic. Well, writer/director Laura Moss’ Birth/Rebirth reinvents the story while maintaining some of its key themes. In this version, Marin Ireland shines as morgue technician Rose Casper, who steals bodies and experiments on them to try to discover a cure for death. Judy Reyes stars alongside Ireland as Celie Morales, a maternity ward nurse who loses her young daughter. She enlists Rose’s help to try to revive her daughter. There’s a lot going on with this film, from Reyes and Ireland’s impressive performances to the very themes of birth/death, to the queer undertones. Yes, Moss takes great liberties with Shelley’s novel, but she updates the story for the 21st Century while keeping the key themes in place.

The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster

Speaking of Frankenstein adaptations, Laura Moss wasn’t the only one who released a new take on Shelley’s timeless tale. Writer/director Bomani J. Story sets the familiar story in an urban environment. In his film, the scientist is played by sassy high school student Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes). After her brother dies from gang violence, she’s obsessed with “curing” death. She does have some of the hubris of Victor Frankenstein, but you understand the stakes and obsession here, considering her brother died. There are some truly visceral scenes in this one. The movie is another reason not to miss The Overlook Film Festival where it premiered last year.

Huesera: The Bone Woman

The last few years have seen several horror films about a woman’s bodily autonomy, and with women’s access to safe healthcare constantly under attack, this isn’t surprising. Huesera: The Bone Woman, directed and co-written by Michelle Garza Cervera, uses the myth of La Huesera (the bone woman) to address a young woman’s serious reservations about becoming a mother and surrendering her passions and individuality all in the name of domestication. There are also serious Rosemary’s Baby vibes to this one, since everyone assumes Valeria (Natalia Solián‘s) must be crazy because she doesn’t want to sacrifice her personal goals to have a baby. This is a slow-burn with some body horror in the mix, too. I can’t wait to see what this writer/director does next.

Brooklyn 45

Ted Geoghegan‘s latest feature, Brooklyn 45, is a moody chamber piece set in a Brooklyn apartment just after WWII. Nearly everyone in this film carries war trauma. Set just days before New Year’s Eve, the friends reunite, and their past sins come to light. It doesn’t matter how many times a character says, “The war is over.” Those old ghosts still haunt and, at times, roar to life. This film has some knockout performances, including from Anne Ramsay as Marla, Larry Fessenden as Lt. Col. Clive Hockstatter, and Jeremy Holm as Mjr. Archibald Stanton.

When Evil Lurks

I suspect that When Evil Lurks, director Demián Rugna’s second feature, will be on plenty of year-end, best-of lists, and for good reasons. It’s my favorite horror movie of the year. This movie has some truly WTF moments and disturbing scenes, like one involving a dog and a little girl. Like Rugna’s first film, Terrified, this is also a possession movie. Here, however, a whole village gets possessed. It’s like a sickness that causes some depraved acts of violence. There’s no easy out or happy ending in this film, and the brothers, Ezequiel Rodríguez as Pedro and Demián Salomón as Jimmy, are totally helpless in the face of true evil.

The Puppetman

I’m always a fan of whatever Brandon Christensen does. His latest film, The Puppetman, has some of the gnarliest kills I’ve seen in any horror film this year. It also has a bleak winter setting that makes it a solid watch for this time of year, especially those long, slow days of January. This feature follows a convicted murderer on death row who claims he’s innocent and that an evil force controlled his actions. This evil entity just may possess his daughter, too. This is quite a bleak and atmospheric little film.

Influencer

Influencer horror really should be its own subgenre, though Influencer is more of a thriller than a straight-up horror film. From the start, we see a woman lying face down in the sand, presumably dead. We learn that she’s social media guru Madison, played by Emily Tennant. The first 30 minutes sort of retrace her footsteps, specifically how she ended up stranded on that island we see in the opening.

Meanwhile, Cassandra Naud plays CW. Very little is known about her past, but she meets Madison at a bar and befriends her, only to harm her. The viewer never quite learns what exactly she’s doing in Thailand. Regardless, she leaves Madison on an island and steals her identity. Prior to that, there’s a rather chilling scene where the two sit around a bonfire, and CW challenges the very notion that Madison is untouchable because she has so many followers. This is a film about identity forged through social media and the way we project what we want people to see. It’s a riveting film and twisty little thriller.

At the end of 2023, I’m grateful that Shudder is still standing, that they offered a pretty solid slate of films this past year, and that they’re already announcing plans for 2024. Keep updated on their latest films in the new year by following my Shudder Secrets column. More importantly, remember to support what you like so it continues to exist.