4 weeks, 4 phone calls, 1 awesome hotline. Shudder has certainly helped keep their subscribers busy throughout the month of April with their Halfway to Halloween festivities, which included the return of their iconic Shudder Hotline.
No other streaming platform offers such a unique service, in the form of a personal curator to recommend movies. For the past 4 weeks I’ve called their number and gotten on a first name basis with Sam D. Zimmerman, a curator for Shudder, and an all-around awesome human being!
For our final week of the month, I asked him for something creepy, something funny, something gory, and his own wild card selection. And here’s what he gave me:
0.0 MHz (2019) – Something Creepy
Written and Directed by Sun-Dong Yoo, Based on the Comic by Jak Jang
This creative Korean horror film (which just dropped on Shudder this week) blends aspects and ideas from a myriad of different horror cinema.
Everything from Evil Dead-esque cabin the in the woods horror, to full blown demonic possession/exorcism, to the classic Asian horror trope of a vengeful female ghost, whose long, dark hair is actually a weapon!
The filmmakers are clearly being horror fans, and it shows. You can check out my full review of it here!
Return of the Living Dead III (1993) – Something Funny
Directed by Brian Yuzna, Written by John Penney
This sequel to the cult horror classic is honestly quite underrated and deserves more credit than it gets.
Part zombie horror, part romantic-comedy, and part heartfelt drama, this movie really gives you a little bit of everything.
Unlike many other zombie films, it makes us feel much more sympathetic towards zombies themselves, as our main character is dealing with the transformation.
It has nothing to with the incredibly subpar second entry to the franchise, and should just be treated as a direct sequel to the original classic!
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) – Something Gory
Directed by Joseph Zito, Screenplay by Barney Cohen, Story by Bruce Hidemi Sakow
Arguably the best in the entire franchise (and leaving Shudder very soon), this Friday the 13th was supposed to be a definitive ending, and it feels very much like one.
Unlike many of the other sequels, we get a cast of characters that are actually somewhat developed, and that we root for; including Corey Feldman’s Tommy Jarvis and Crispin Glover’s Jimmy.
It also features creatively fun kills, and one hell of a “final” showdown that the series wouldn’t top until Jason met up with Freddy 2 decades later!
Cold Hell (2017) – Wild Card
Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, Written by Martin Ambrosch
For this final pick, I asked Sam the curator what his favorite movie on Shudder was. With a nervous chuckle, he said that he loves far too many horror movies to really narrow it down to just one. So he gave me his most underrated game, and it was Cold Hell, aka Die Hölle in the original German.
It’s a gritty and violent detective thriller with lots of a twist and turns, as well as a healthy dose of serial killer horror.
There’s truly something amazingly brutal about European horror, and this doesn’t disappoint. It’s a Shudder Exclusive that doesn’t get too much attention, but as suggested by Sam, we should all check it out!
This past month has truly been a blast, not just with the hotline, but with the Friday the 13th Marathon, as well as the return of our beloved Joe Bob Briggs and The Last Drive In!
All four movies are currently streaming on Shudder.
For more reviews, rankings, and other fun horror content, follow Halloween Year-Round on Facebook and Twitter!
Halloween Year-Round 