FEBRUARY 2019 HIGHLIGHTS
Horror’s past comes to life this month on Shudder, first in the new Shudder Original documentary HORROR NOIRE: A HISTORY OF BLACK HORROR, and then in the seven-part series ELI ROTH’S HISTORY OF HORROR. After that, step into horror’s future with the Shudder Exclusive films THE CRUCIFIXION, offering a new take on the demonic possession genre from the director of Frontier(s) , and BEAST, an elegant, wild fable of love and murder.
SHUDDER ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY HORROR NOIRE (2019) — available Thursday, February 7
Director: Xavier Burgin
Shudder’s first original documentary takes a critical look at a century of genre films that by turns utilized, caricatured, exploited, sidelined, and embraced both black filmmakers and black audiences, presenting an essential social history of blacks in America as seen through their changing images in horror films.
Beginning with the silent film era, Horror Noireexplores the often overlooked and downplayed history of Black Americans in Hollywood: from the emergence of black leading men in genre cinema in the late ‘60s with Night of the Living Deadand into the ‘70s with Blaculaand films of the blaxploitation era; to Candymanand the growing popularity of urban horror in the 1990s; up to the genre’s recent resurgence with the Oscar-winning hit Get Out and the eagerly anticipated Us.
Horror Noire features in-depth interviews with noted directors, writers, and actors, including Keith David, ( The Thing) Ernest Dickerson ( Bones ), R usty Cundieff ( Tales from the Hood ), Jordan Peele ( Get Out) , Tina Mabry ( Mississippi Damned) , Tony Todd ( Candyman ) , Paula Jai Parker ( Tales from the Hood ), Tananarive Due (author of My Soul to Keep ), and Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, PhD, who wrote the groundbreaking book of the same name upon which the film is based.
The film is accompanied by Shudder’s curated Horror Noire Collection ( available February 1), featuring NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1986, George A. Romero), GANJA & HESS (1973, Bill Gunn), THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS ( 1991, Wes Craven), TALES FROM THE HOOD (1995, Rusty Cundieff), BONES ( 2001, Ernest Dickerson), and KUSO (2017, Steve a.k.a. Flying Lotus).
SHUDDER EXCLUSIVE FILMS
DON’T LEAVE HOME (2018) — available Thursday, January 31
Director: Michael Tully, Cast: Anna Margaret Hollyman, Lalor Roddy, Helena Bereen
After recently unveiling her new sculptural exhibit on Irish urban legends, artist Melanie Thomas is contacted by Father Alistair Burke, a reclusive Irish priest who, legend has it, once painted the portrait of a young girl who later disappeared on the very day her image vanished from the painting. Summoned by Burke to the Irish countryside for a special art commission, Melanie eagerly accepts the offer, not stopping to consider that some urban legends might be true.
BEAST (2018) — available Thursday, February 14
Director: Michael Pearce, Cast: Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, Geraldine James, and Trystan Gravelle
In a small island community, a troubled young woman falls for a mysterious outsider who empowers her to escape her oppressive family. When he comes under suspicion for a series of brutal murders, she defends him at all costs, and in the process learns exactly what she’s capable of.
THE CRUCIFIXION (2017) — available Thursday, February 14
Director: Xavier Gens, Cast: Sophie Cookson, Corneliu Ulici, Ada Lupu, and Brittany Ashworth
After an exorcism ends in a brutal death, a Romanian priest and four nuns are arrested for murder. A young journalist investigates, but experiences shocking visions that draw her deeper into the mystery. Inspired by true events.
NEW SERIES
ELI ROTH’S HISTORY OF HORROR — available Thursday, February 21
Featuring A-list storytellers like Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino, Jordan Peele, Jason Blum, Robert Englund, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more, Eli Roth’s History of Horror b rings together the masters of horror—icons and stars who define the genre—to explore its biggest themes and reveal the inspirations and struggles behind its past and present. Each of seven one-hour episode will take viewers on a chilling exploration of how horror has evolved through the eras and impacted society, as well as why loyal fans remain addicted to fear.
FEATURED COLLECTION
LOVE SICK — Thursday, Available February 1
There’s a thin line between love and terror. Cross it on Valentine’s Day with this hand-picked selection of movies and series that delight in the darker side of romance. Movies: ARE WE NOT CATS (2018), BEAST (2018, available Feb. 14), BLACK SUNDAY (1960), DOUBLE LOVER (2018), FOLLOW (2016), HONEYMOON (2014), THE LAST CIRCUS (2011), LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008), LITTLE DEATHS (2011), NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB (2015), NOVEMBER (2018) and SPRING (2015). Series: A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES and BEYOND THE WALLS.
ADDITIONAL NEW MOVIES FOR FEBRUARY
February 1
Office Killer (1997, Cindy Sherman)
Dorine is a quiet and hardworking social outcast who’s endured years of abuse as the office doormat. Then one day, this mild-mannered paper pusher accidentally electrocutes a particularly obnoxious coworker … and in the process completely short-circuits her already unstable sanity. Starring: Molly Ringwald, Carol Kane, Jean Tripplehorn
The Others (2001, Alejandro Amenábar)
While awaiting her husband’s return from war, Grace and her two young children live an unusually isolated existence behind the locked doors and drawn curtains of a secluded island mansion. After three mysterious servants arrive, Grace finds herself in a terrifying fight to save both her children and her sanity. Starring: Nicole Kidman, Alakina Mann, James Bentley
The Loved Ones (2009, Sean Byrne)
Hell hath no fury like a prom queen scorned. When Brent rejects Lola’s invitation to prom, he becomes the victim of her twisted revenge. Now, the only guest at Lola’s terrifying and demented prom, he must fight to survive what could be his final dance. Starring: Xavier Samuel, Robin McLeavy, Jessica McNamee
Sleepy Hollow (1999, Tim Burton)
Ichabod Crane is a professor whose wild theories get him discredited and exiled to an upstate New York hamlet where he happens on a myth that comes to life: a headless horseman who has taken the heads of four people, trying to find one that fits him perfectly. Inspired by Washington Irving’s classic story, Burton’s stylish adaptation earned an Academy Award for art direction and was nominated for both cinematography and costume design. Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Christopher Walken
February 11
Brain Damage (1988,Frank Henenlotter)
Meet Elmer, your local, friendly parasite with the ability to induce euphoric hallucinations in his hosts. But these LSD-like trips come with a hefty price tag. When young Brian comes under Elmer’s addictive spell, it’s not long before he finds himself scouring the city streets in search of his parasite’s preferred food source – brains! Starring Rick Hearst, Gordon MacDonald and Jennifer Lowry
Images (1972, Robert Altman)
The husband of a pregnant children’s book author may or may not be having an affair. While on vacation in Ireland, her mental state becomes increasingly unstable resulting in paranoia, hallucinations and visions of a doppelgänger. Starring Susannah York, Rene Auberjonois and Marcel Bozzuffi
February 18
Madhouse (1981, Ovidio Assonitis)
Julia has spent her entire adult life trying to forget the torment she suffered at the hands of her twisted twin Mary, but Mary hasn’t forgotten. Escaping the hospital where she’s recently been admitted with a horrific, disfiguring illness, Julia’s sadistic sister vows to exact a particularly cruel revenge on her sibling this year, promising a birthday surprise that she’ll never forget. Starring Trish Everly, Michael MacRae and Dennis Robertson
Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972,Lucio Fulci)
After a trio of child murders, villagers suspect a local witch who practices voodoo. But nothing’s simple in this twisted mystery and soon reporter Barbara Bouchet sets out to find the real kiddie killer. Before he became famous for gory greats like ZOMBIE, director Lucio Fulci churned out gripping giallos, of which this film is arguably his finest. Starring Florinda Bolkan, Barbara Bouchet and Tomas Milian.
Over Your Dead Body (2014,Takashi Miike)
Fiction begins to bleed into reality for a group of actors as they rehearse a stage production of a classic Japanese ghost story. Starring Ebizo Ichikawa, Ko Shibasaki, and Hideaki Ito.
February 25
Deadbeat at Dawn (1988, Jim Van Bebber)
A gang leader’s girlfriend is brutally slaughtered when he attempts to leave the criminal life behind. Coerced into taking part in one last heist by his former gang, who, in his absence have formed an uneasy alliance with the thugs that butchered his girl, he sees an opportunity to exact a brutal and bloody revenge. Starring Paul Harper, Jim Van Bebber and Megan Murphy
Bloody Birthday (1981,Ed Hunt)
Three babies are simultaneously born in the same hospital at the peak of a full solar eclipse. Ten years later, these adorable youngsters suddenly begin a killing spree of stranglings, shootings, stabbings, beatings and beyond. Can the town’s grown-ups stop these pint-sized serial killers before their blood-soaked birthday bash? Starring Lori Lethin, Melinda Cordell, and Julie Brown
A Boy and His Dog (1975,L.Q. Jones)
World War IV has ravaged Earth, and its survivors must battle for food, shelter and companionship in a post-atomic wasteland. Vic (Don Johnson) and his telepathic dog, Blood, struggle through the barren wilderness, foraging for scraps of food and battling ruthless gangs, until they encounter a young woman who lures them into a surreal city deep beneath the earth’s surface.
Starring Don Johnson, Tim McIntire, and Susanne Benton
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