Netflix is getting a lot of praise right now for being a streaming savior—finally, producing 800 hours of original programming paid off!—but let’s not overlook the great work being done by Shudder, one of the unsung heroes of our new Indoor Kid lifestyle. The horror-centric streaming service (which offers several great genre-bending titles, as well) decided we can have a little early Halloween, as a treat, and has announced the launch of Halfway To Halloween Month—or, as it was known in pre-pandemic times, “April.”
Shudder will serve up its biggest month of programming ever—second only to the actual Halloween month of October—starting with the April 2 premiere of new original series Cursed Films, which examines the infamously “cursed” productions of films such as Poltergeist and The Exorcist. The latter of which just so happens to be one of the titles included in Shudder’s Halfway To Halloween collection, available on April 1. That collection also includes the original Halloween, horror anthology Tales Of Halloween, and the great homemade haunted house doc Haunters: The Art Of The Scare.
The platform is also adding the first eight Friday The 13th movies, which you can marathon with the six-hour Crystal Lake Memories documentary, as well as docs on Friday The 13th star Kane Hodder and special effects legend Tom Savini—you know, if you find some time. Other April highlights include Mike Flanagan’s Absentia, and new seasons of Wolf Creek and The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs. As an extra gift, Shudder is bringing back the Halloween Hotline, where viewers can call in every Friday from 3-4 p.m. ET to request a personalized movie recommendation from curator Sam Zimmerman.
And if you’re worried about paying for another streaming service, especially right now, Shudder’s got you covered there, too: Your first month is free with the promo code SHUTIN.