Movies
From ‘Hell House LLC Origins’ to ‘V/H/S/85’: 8 Horror Movies to Stream on Shudder in October 2023
Shudder decks the halls with horror this Halloween, ensuring no shortage of new and repertory offerings available to pad out your spooky season watchlists.
This month’s programming highlights bring brand new releases you won’t want to miss and a few older titles themed around the best holiday of the year. Need help trying to decide what to watch? Sam Zimmerman, VP of programming for Shudder, will bring back the Shudder Halloween Hotline on October 27 for all your horror needs during the holiday weekend.
Viewers can call the hotline for personalized recommendations. In the meantime, we’re here today to recommend a few highlights worth seeking out for Halloween.
Here are eight newly added (or soon to be added) horror movies you won’t want to miss on Shudder in October 2023.
Lake Mungo
Using a faux-documentary setup, Lake Mungo follows a family still reeling over the unexpected drowning of the eldest daughter. Soon after, strange things start happening around the home that prompts the surviving family members to investigate the details that led up to her death. The scares come subtle, often lurking in the background for only the most observant to notice. Who Alice Palmer was before her passing makes for the most fascinating aspect of this unique horror movie, a slow-burn mystery full of twists and one seriously unnerving jump scare for the ages.
The Lords of Salem
An atmospheric tale of witchcraft and devil worship set right in the heart of history’s favorite witch spot- Salem, Massachusetts. It follows Heidi (Sheri Moon Zombie), a radio DJ who begins to suffer strange visions after receiving a mysterious record in the mail. The Lords of Salem is a change of pace for Zombie; it looks and feels different from the rest of his films, even if it’s still a throwback to his favorite decade in horror. It’s also a visual feast for the eyes, full of ambitious cinematography and production design. Look for tons of references to ‘70s and ‘80s Satanic horror, from Rosemary’s Baby to The Dunwich Horror and more. While the cast is packed with talent, Meg Foster steals the show. Salem serves as a perfect recipe for Halloween viewing.
May
May (Angela Bettis) is a lonely vet assistant whose only friend is her doll, Suzie. Then she meets Adam (Jeremy Sisto). Obsessed with his hands and ideals of perfection, May descends into madness in her attempts to forge new friendships. Her mother once told her that if she couldn’t find any friends, she should make them. The lonely woman takes this literally. Framed from the killer’s perspective, May becomes a heartbreaking character study. Lucky McKee’s film sets its finale over Halloween night, which means that there’s no better time than October to watch.
V/H/S/85
In the latest installment of the popular anthology franchise, “Unveiled through a made-for-TV documentary, five chilling tales emerge: scientists observe an unusual boy fixated on his TV, kids embark on a lake skiing adventure, a TV crew fights to survive a natural disaster, the early days of VR awaken something terrifying, and a deadly dream is captured on tape. Sinister secrets of the 1980s come to life in a way you’ve never seen before.” The filmmakers behind it ensure you won’t want to miss this ’80s set entry, filled with cosmic horror and buckets of blood.
The Puppetman – October 13
The Puppetman is a convicted killer on death row, though he’s maintained his innocence from the start. When the killer’s daughter realizes people around her are dying in vicious ways, she begins to suspect that maybe her dad wasn’t lying about his body being hijacked by the actual killer. Written and directed by Brandon Christensen (Z, Superhost, Still/Born), the upcoming horror film stars Michael Paré, Caryn Richman, and Alyson Gorske.
Night of the Hunted – October 20
Franck Khalfoun, the French filmmaker behind P2 and Maniac (2012), returns this Halloween season with Night of the Hunted. The Deep House‘s Camille Rowe stars as Alice, a woman forced to fight for her life when a sniper traps her in a gas station. Night of the Hunted is produced by Alexandre Aja (High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes, Crawl), serving as the 3rd collaboration between Aja and director Franck Khalfoun. With these names behind this thriller, we can expect nail-biting suspense ahead. You can check out the trailer here.
When Evil Lurks – October 27
Courtesy of Shudder. A Shudder Release.
Writer/Director Demián Rugna broke onto the horror scene with 2017’s aptly titled Terrified (Aterrados), a paranormal tour de force of shocking imagery and genuine scares. Rugna continues that streak with his latest, When Evil Lurks, including the central theme of infectious evil. This time, however, the Argentinian filmmaker shifts gears to take on possession horror; and he’s unafraid to spill buckets of blood and offer up jaw-dropping violence. Go in blind on this possession horror, and brace yourself for a gnarly ride ahead.
Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor – October 30
Every story has an origin, and the found footage hit Hell House LLC is no exception. The long-awaited fourth film in writer/director Stephen Cognetti’s franchise leaves the Abaddon hotel behind in favor of new terrain. Less a prequel and more an original story connected to the larger mythos, expect Cognetti to bring the scares. The story takes place in 2021 and follows a group of internet sleuths who travel to the remote Carmichael Manor. Located deep in the woods of Rockland County, New York, the estate is the site of the infamous 1989 Carmichael family murders that have gone unsolved to this day. What they discover are secrets that have been hidden away for decades and a terror that has been lurking in the shadows long before Hell House.
If you haven’t caught up on this franchise, fret not; Shudder has all entries available to stream this spooky season.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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