After two months of cheerful and merry holidays with family and friends, the January winds are on the horizon with an assortment of dark and wintery horror movies to get the taste of gingerbread and peppermint out of your mouth. Shudder is a great way to snap out of the festive mentality and embrace the cold, dark sides of your heart once more. This handy guide will steer you toward your next favorite horror movie or show to start the new year.
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Destroy All Neighbors (2023)
Available on: January 12
Director: Josh Forbes | Runtime: N/A | Sub-Genres: Comedy, Slasher
Cast: Thomas Lennon, Jonah Ray, Kumail Nanjiani, Alex Winter, John Daly, Kiran Deol
Destroy All Neighborsis one of two Shudder Originals that the platform will be adding to its catalog in January. The gory comedy slasher follows struggling progressive rock musician William Brown (Jonah Ray), who has been trying to finish the album that he considers to be his magnum opus. Despite his best efforts, his boss, Scotty (Thomas Lennon) isn’t interested in producing his music. On top of that devastating blow, William and his girlfriend Emily (Kiran Deol) get a new obnoxious neighbor, Vlad (Alex Winter).
Vlad creates so much noise that William can’t work on his music. When William finally has enough of Vlad’s rude and disgusting behavior, he confronts him, which results in the accidental death and subsequent decapitation of Vlad. Armed with his imaginary “Jiminy Cricket,” a rock musician who speaks to him through his phone, William has to find a way to cover his tracks as a murderer, only to see more bodies pile up in Creepshow-style gore and violence.
Suitable Flesh (2023)
Available on: January 26
Director: Joe Lynch | Runtime: 99 minutes | Sub-Genres: Thriller, Mystery
Cast: Heather Graham, Judah Lewis, Bruce Davison, Jonathan Schaech, Barbara Crampton
As the second Shudder Original film to join the platform this January, this movie departs from the usual campy horror style and is based on the short story titled “The Thing on the Doorstep” by H. P. Lovecraft. Suitable Flesh opens up with Dr. Daniella Upton (Barbara Crampton) as she observes an autopsy in the morgue of a psychiatric hospital. It’s revealed that the unseen body is the result of a brutal murder. She then visits the murderer, her former friend, Dr. Elizabeth Derby (Heather Graham), who begs her to destroy the brain matter of the cadaver. The movie then backtracks as Derby explains the chain of events that led them to this point. She recounts a new patient who claims that his father has possessed his body for short periods, but before he can finish telling her why he thinks this, he receives a phone call from his father and has a small seizure. He acts like everything is normal when he wakes up, but his mannerisms and behavior have changed drastically. Whatever it is that is plaguing the young man, Elizabeth is determined to find out how to help him, no matter the cost.
The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula – Season 5 Finale
Available on: Tuesdays until January 16
Creators: The Boulet Brothers | Sub-Genre: Reality Competition
Cast: Blackberri, Cynthia Doll, Fantasia Royale Gaga, Jay Kay, Throb Zombie
The fifth season of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula reality competition show will be wrapping up with a horrifying and fabulous finale this January. With two final episodes resuming on January 9 and January 16, fans of the show will finally learn who will win the cash prize for the best skillset as determined through multiple different challenges such as Drag, Filth, Horror, and Glamour. Don’t be sad that this season is ending, because the show has already been renewed for a sixth season.
Preacher (2016-2019)
Available on: January 18
Creators: Seth Rogan, Sam Catlin, and Evan Goldberg | Sub-Genres: Fantasy, Action, Supernatural Horror
Cast: Dominic Cooper, Joe Gilgun, Ruth Negga
Based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, Preacher is an action-adventure series that follows Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) a preacher with a questionable past who experiences a supernatural event at his church that grants him the power to command people to do what he asks of them. He enlists his ex-girlfriend, Tulip (Ruth Negga), and a vampire named Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) to help him find answers and possibly restore his faith. All four seasons will be available to binge-watch on Shudder starting January 18.
The Thing (1982)
Available on: January 1
Director: John Carpenter | Runtime: 109 minutes | Sub-Genres: Thriller, Science Fiction
Cast: Kurt Russell, A. Wilford Brimley, Keith David, David Clennon, T. K. Carter
This icy movie is the perfect thing to watch in January after the holidays’ festivities have passed. Filled with bleak, frozen landscapes, brutally cold temperatures, and a terrifying shape-shifting alien… what’s not to like? Starring action hero Kurt Russell as R. J. MacReady, the movie occurs in Antarctica at a research facility. MacReady and a small group of researchers interact tensely with a Norwegian helicopter as it chases down an escaped sled dog. After the helicopter crashes, the pilot attempts to warn the Americans of something, but they are unable to understand him due to a language barrier. When the Norwegian pulls out a rifle in an attempt to kill the dog, he is shot by the research station commander. After MacReady and the outpost physician investigate the Norwegian base, they find mutilated and burnt corpses. By the time they make it back to the American base, the loose dog has already been kennelled with the other dogs and begins to absorb them into its own body. With limited time and resources, the men have to find a way to put The Thing back into its icy tomb.
Donnie Darko (2001)
Available on: January 8
Director: Richard Kelly | Runtime: 113 minutes | Sub-Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, James Duvall
This cult classic movie is set in 1988 and follows troubled teenager Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) as he goes on a quest to learn more about a mysterious person who wears a horrific rabbit costume and visits him in his sleep. The rabbit, whom Donnie refers to as “Frank,” lures him outside in a dreamlike state, where he informs him that the world will end in exactly 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. The following morning, Donnie wakes up in the middle of a golf field to discover that a jet engine has crashed through the roof of his house, landing exactly where he would have been if he had slept in his bed.
The Elderly (2022)
Available on: January 15
Directors: Raúl Cerezo and Fernando Gonzáles Gómez | Runtime: 95 minutes | Sub-Genres: International, Thriller
Cast: Zorion Eguileor, Gustavo Salmerón, Paula Gallego, Irene Anula
Following the suicide of his wife, Rosa, octogenarian Manuel (Zorion Eguileor) begins to deteriorate quickly, displaying symptoms of dementia. His remaining family consists of his son, Mario (Gustavo Salmerón), daughter-in-law Lena (Irene Anula), and granddaughter, Naia (Paula Gallego), who invited Manuel to live with them. They attempt to try to calm him down, but his behavior becomes increasingly erratic, saying things like, “Your grandmother is coming back.” While they initially blame his actions on the sudden tragedy and the heat wave they’re currently experiencing in Madrid, they also begin to notice other elderly people around the city displaying similar violent and unpredictable behaviors.