If you aren’t using Shudder yet, you’re seriously missing out. Shudder’s library is stacked with a diverse array of chilling titles from all eras and subgenres of horror.
And let me tell you, best movies on Shudder 2024 lineup is looking absolutely killer. Whether you’re in the mood for a folk horror descent or a slow-burn psychological terror, Shudder’s got you covered with high-quality scares.
So, let’s look into my personal picks for the best horror movies you need to watch on Shudder right now in 2024.
15 Best Movies on Shudder 2024
Let’s have a look at some of the best horror movies available on Shudder right now. If you are a true horror fan, then proceed.
1. The Wretched
| Director | Drew T. Pierce, Brett Pierce |
| Runtime | 1h 35m |
| Cast | John-Paul Howard, Piper Curda, Jamison Jones, Azie Tesfai, and Kevin Bigley |
| Release Year | 2019 |
| IMDb Rating | 5.8/10 |
Well, first on my list will get on your nerves. The story follows Ben, a rebellious teenager who spent the summer with his dad after his parents’ divorce. You get that classic 80s movie vibe with the angsty teen protagonist dealing with family drama. But things take a turn when Ben suspects the creepy next-door neighbor is actually an ancient evil witch creature in disguise.
What I really dug was the old-school horror movie feel throughout. There’s a slow-burn buildup of dread and mystery as Ben tries to convince people, including his new crush, Mallory, that something sinister is going on next door.
Without giving too much away, I thought the ending packed a nice punch too. There’s a great twist that I didn’t see coming that really elevated the stakes in a shocking way.
2. Villains
| Director | Dan Berk, Robert Olsen |
| Runtime | 1h 30m |
| Cast | Bill Skarsgård, Maika Monroe, Blake Baumgartner, Jeffrey Donovan, Noah Robbins, and Kyra Sedgwick |
| Release Year | 2019 |
| IMDb Rating | 6.2/10 |
The story follows Mickey and Jules, who are essentially Bonnie and Clyde, if they are completely inept and bumbling.
These two lovers are pulling off low-level gas station robberies, but they’re so hapless that after one job, they forget to put gas in their getaway car and end up stranded.
These two are like something straight out of the 1950s, with their prim and proper demeanor barely concealing their unhinged natures. What ensues is this crazy game of cat and mouse between the two couples. Mickey has a gun, but George and Gloria always seem to be one step ahead.
3. V/H/S/85
| Director | David Bruckner, Scott Derrickson, and Natasha Kermani |
| Runtime | 1h 50m |
| Cast | Kelli Garner, Freddy Rodríguez, James Ransone, Jordan Belfi, Chelsey Grant, and Dani Deetté |
| Release Year | 2023 |
| IMDb Rating | 5.6/10 |
This is the fourth entry in the popular V/H/S found footage horror anthology series. Like the previous films, it consists of several short horror segments tied together by a wraparound story.
This time, the framing narrative follows a SWAT team that raids a creepy compound, only to discover a collection of disturbing VHS tapes playing on TVs. Each tape contains one of the anthology’s short films.
The first segment, “Storm Drain,” is about a news crew investigating an urban legend of a “rat man” living in the sewers. It starts off relatively tame but descends into gnarly creature feature territory.
The second short, “The Empty Wake,” channels classic haunted house vibes as a young mortician has to spend the night with a not-so-dead body.
4. When Evil Lurks
| Director | Demián Rugna |
| Runtime | 1h 39m |
| Cast | Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomón, Silvina Sabater, Luis Ziembrowski, and Emilio Vodanovich |
| Release Year | 2023 |
| IMDb Rating | 7.0/10 |
Evil Lurks is one of the most brutal and uncompromising horror movies I’ve seen in a long time. This Argentinian flick from director Demián Rugna pulls zero punches in delivering a truly nightmarish vision of demonic possession and contagion.
The story follows two brothers, Pedro and Jaime, who stumble upon a horrific situation – an old woman and her sons are harboring a “rotten,” which is basically a person possessed by an evil, unborn demon trying to be “born” into the world.
Despite being warned not to kill the rotten, as it will only spread the demon, the brothers make a series of dumb decisions that kick off a grisly chain of events.
5. The Vigil
| Director | Keith Thomas |
| Runtime | 1h 29m |
| Cast | Dave Davis, Menashe Lustig, Malky Goldman, Lynn Cohen, and Ronald Cohen |
| Release Year | 2019 |
| IMDb Rating | 5.8/10 |
The Vigil is a seriously creepy and atmospheric supernatural horror movie that puts a fresh spin on the haunted house formula by drawing from Jewish folklore and rituals.
The story follows Yakov, a young man who has left his Orthodox Jewish community behind but finds himself reluctantly pulled back in when he’s hired to perform the Shemira, the ritual of keeping watch over the body of a recently deceased Holocaust survivor named Mr. Litvak.
What really makes The Vigil stand out is how it takes the familiar haunted house premise and filters it through a cultural lens we rarely see explored in horror.
6. Relic
| Director | Natalie Erika James |
| Runtime | 1h 29m |
| Cast | Robyn Nevin, Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote, Steve Rodgers, and Catherine Glavicic |
| Release Year | 2020 |
| IMDb Rating | 6.0/10 |
Relic is a slow-burn haunted house movie, but the thing possessing this family’s home is far more insidious and personal than a typical ghost.
It follows three generations of women—Edna, Kay, and Sam – whose lives are upended when the elderly Edna goes missing for a few days.
The film is full of haunting, nightmarish imagery, like Edna trying to literally consume old family photos or the grotesque body horror in the final act. But what’s most chilling is the emotional horror of having your family member’s mind betraying them in such an cruel, undignified way.
7. Unwelcome
| Director | Jon Wright |
| Runtime | 1h 44m |
| Cast | Hannah John-Kamen, Douglas Booth, Colm Meaney, Kristian Nairn, and Niamh Cusack |
| Release Year | 2022 |
| IMDb Rating | 5.3/10 |
Unwelcome is one hell of a twisted fairy tale. On the surface, it seems like your standard haunted house horror about a couple trying to escape the dangers of city life. But holy hell, does this movie take some demented turns into folk horror insanity.
The story follows Maya and Jamie, an expectant couple who flee London after a brutal home invasion leaves them traumatized. They inherit a creepy old house in rural Ireland from Jamie’s late aunt, thinking it will be a fresh start to raise their baby.
From the moment they arrive, eerie signs point to the property having a dark history. An old friend of the aunt warns them about leaving “offerings” for some malicious creatures living in the woods out back. Maya and Jamie laugh it off as superstitious nonsense at first.
8. Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break
| Director | Nick Gillespie |
| Runtime | 1h 35m |
| Cast | Tom Meeten, Katherine Parkinson, Kris Marshall, Kevin Bishop, and Mandeep Dhillon |
| Release Year | 2021 |
| IMDb Rating | 5.6/10 |
The setup is that Paul’s big audition for the show happens to fall during his lunch break. When a series of selfish jerks – like an entitled businessman, a rude mom, and a pair of obnoxious influencers—inadvertently cause him to miss his chance, Paul’s pent-up rage and desperation boil over in spectacular fashion.
What follows is essentially a workplace massacre played for dark laughs, as Paul methodically hunts down and creatively dispatches each of the people who wronged him over the course of his lunch hour.
9. Slumber Party Massacre (2021)
| Director | Danishka Esterhazy |
| Runtime | 1h 26m |
| Cast | Hannah Gonera, Frances Sholto-Douglas, Mila Rayne, Alex McGregor, and Rob van Vuuren |
| Release Year | 2021 |
| IMDb Rating | 5.2/10 |
Watch at your own risk! The setup follows Dana, whose mom Trish, was the sole survivor of the original 1993 massacre depicted in the opening.
Dana and her friends Breanie, Ashley, and Maeve hit the road for a weekend getaway, only to get stranded at the same cursed location where Trish’s friends were slaughtered decades earlier.
Without spoiling too much, let’s just say the film completely subverts your expectations around the one-hour mark with a shocking narrative pivot. Suddenly, the story is reframed from the perspective of the supposed “killers,” who are revealed to be far more complex characters than your typical slasher cannon fodder.
10. Jack Be Nimble
| Director | Garth Maxwell |
| Runtime | 1h 32m |
| Cast | Alexis Arquette, Sarah Smuts-Kennedy, Bruno Lawrence, Tony Barry, and Elizabeth Hawthorne |
| Release Year | 1993 |
| IMDb Rating | 6.0/10 |
The story follows Jack, played by Alexis Arquette, he endures years of horrific abuse and torture at the hands of his sadistic adoptive parents and their four creepy daughters.
This poor kid gets beaten, burned, and psychologically tormented in scenes that are really hard to watch. Meanwhile, his sister Dora, portrayed by Sarah Smuts-Kennedy, fares much better and even develops telepathic powers that allow her to sense Jack’s anguish.
When Jack finally escapes the nightmare of his home, he sets out on a twisted quest for revenge, using a homemade hypnosis device to control people’s minds.
11. Brooklyn 45
| Director | Ted Geoghegan |
| Runtime | 1h 32m |
| Cast | Anne Ramsay, Ron E. Rains, Jeremy Holm, Larry Fessenden, Kristina Klebe, Kristina Klebe |
| Release Year | 2023 |
| IMDb Rating | 5.9/10 |
A group of World War II veterans gather at their old friend Clive’s Brooklyn brownstone in December 1945 to mourn his recently deceased wife. But holy hell, does this movie take some dark, twisted turns into psychological terror territory?
The story kicks off relatively tame, with the old war buddies catching up over drinks and reminiscing about their military days.
But the reunion takes an eerie turn when their host, Clive, still reeling from his wife’s suicide, convinces everyone to take part in a séance. He’s been studying the occult, hoping to make contact with her spirit to get closure. At first, it seems like a silly idea – until the candles start flickering, objects move on their own, and Clive’s dead wife appears to manifest. Additionally, you can also read about- Best Horror Movies.
12. Spoonful of Sugar
| Director | Mercedes Bryce Morgan |
| Runtime | 1h 34m |
| Cast | Morgan Saylor, Kat Foster, Danilo Crovetti, Myko Olivier, David Yow, Christiana Montoya |
| Release Year | 2022 |
| IMDb Rating | 5.4/10 |
The protagonist of this story is Morgan Saylor’s character Millicent, who is taking a break from her studies to participate in an experimental treatment that involves LSD microdoses.
She claims it’s to help with her thesis on children with severe allergies, which is why the Wilsons hire her to care for their son Johnny, who has to live in an astronaut-like suit due to his extreme allergies.
Things take an even darker turn when Millicent starts secretly dosing Johnny with her LSD supply.
13. Deadstream
| Director | Joseph Winter, Vanessa Winter |
| Runtime | 1h 27m |
| Cast | Joseph Winter, Melanie Stone, Jason K. Wixom, Pat Barnett, and Marty Collins |
| Release Year | 2022 |
| IMDb Rating | 6.4/10 |
Shawn Ruddy, played by co-writer/director Joseph Winter, used to be a big deal on platforms like YouTube and Twitch with his stunt videos overcoming his fears. However, after a controversial prank went too far, he lost all his sponsors and became a total pariah online.
In a desperate bid to be relevant again, Shawn rigs up Death Manor with cameras and gear to broadcast his overnight ghost hunt live.
As Shawn digs deeper into the mansion’s dark history, involving a vengeful spirit named Mildred, who was obsessed with building a “family,” the haunting escalates from spooky to absolutely bonkers.
14. Speak No Evil
| Director | Christian Tafdrup |
| Runtime | 1h 37m |
| Cast | Morten Burian, Sidsel Siem Koch, Fedja van Huêt, Karina Smulders, and Marius Damslev |
| Release Year | 2022 |
| IMDb Rating | 6.6/10 |
A Danish family on vacation in Italy befriends a Dutch couple and accepts their invitation to visit their home in the Netherlands for a long weekend. The story follows Bjorn, Louise, and their young daughter Agnes as they meet the friendly Patrick and Karin, along with their son Abel, who was born without a tongue.
The two families really hit it off over their shared vacation, so when Patrick extends the offer to stay at their remote country home, Bjorn and Louise accept despite some initial misgivings.
This movie is just a brutal critique of modern civilized society and the darker impulses we’re all capable of giving in to if we let our moral guardrails slip.
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15. Watcher
| Director | Chloe Okuno |
| Runtime | 1h 36m |
| Cast | Maika Monroe, Karl Glusman, Burn Gorman, Tudor Petrut, Madalina Anea |
| Release Year | 2022 |
| IMDb Rating | 6.3/10 |
Watcher is a masterclass in slow-burning suspense and paranoia.
The story follows Julia, who uproots her life as an actress to follow her husband, Francis, to Romania for his new job. Immediately, you can sense Julia’s discomfort and isolation in this unfamiliar environment where she doesn’t speak the language.
Her only companion during the long days alone is the mysterious figure she constantly sees lurking in the apartment window across the street, just…watching her.
No one around her, not even Francis, seems to take her concerns seriously. You’re left sharing Julia’s spiraling uncertainty over what’s real or not.
Takeaways
At the end of the day, the best movies on Shudder 2024 is an absolute must-have for any self-respecting horror fan. One minute you’re watching a brutal folk horror like Speak No Evil that leaves you feeling profoundly disturbed. The next, you’re cackling at the unhinged demonic possession antics of Deadstream or reveling in the gnarly 80s practical effects of a remake like the new Slumber Party Massacre.
No matter your particular horror craving, Shudder has you covered with high-quality scares and an obvious reverence for the genre. What are your thoughts on this?
