Movies
The Best Horror You Can Stream on Shudder in December 2025
Shudder could not care less if you have been naughty or nice. They are here to share their Season of Screams Holiday Programming with all the little ghouls. This year’s list of festive frights includes Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), The Boulet Brothers’ Holiday of Horrors, and Santa’s Slay. However, that is not all of the merriment and dismemberment the streamer is leaving under the tree for horror fans this December. Check out these five titles that I hope you all shove into your stockings this holiday season.
The Best Movies to Stream on Shudder This Month
A Christmas Tale (2005)
A group of kids discovers an injured thief while spending Christmas at a summer resort village. So, they obviously decide to torture the location of some stolen money out of her. I have been meaning to check this out just because it sounds wicked. However, it has also shot up my list because it is made by Paco Plaza (V/H/S/Halloween and Rec). If Plaza’s other works are any indication, this movie is going to be chaotic. I truly feel like if he cannot put us in the holiday spirit, then no one can. I am ready to have my peace disturbed this holiday season, and I am beyond grateful that Shudder thought of me. I recommend you buckle up and brace yourself if you also plan to take this ride this month. It’s going to be a ride!
You can watch A Christmas Tale on December 1st.
You Are Not Me (2024)
A woman returns home after three years and discovers her parents have replaced her with a stranger. I have questions, comments, and concerns after reading the premise. So, You Are Not Me has my full attention. I need answers to this puzzle that Shudder is gifting us, and I need them now. I plan to have a boozy festive beverage and get to the bottom of this bloody mystery as soon as possible. To make things even better, it is a Spanish supernatural horror movie. We all know nothing quite hits like an international movie, which is another reason why I expect good things from this one.
You can watch You Are Not Me on December 1st.
Wolf (2023)
A rich family becomes captives in an isolated country home where a psychopath forces them to play terrifying games. ‘Tis the season for home invasion movies after all! Shudder is dropping this exciting 6-part thriller from the UK, and I am already sat. I also discovered the series stars Sacha Dhawan from Doctor Who. This means I need to tune in every Tuesday until the finale, and I am welcome. I cannot wait to see how gory this gets, and I am so glad I can finally see it for myself. I am not saying this is the true meaning of Christmas. But I’m not not saying it is.
You can watch Wolf on December 2nd.
The Creep Tapes Christmas Episode (2025)
I am not writing about The Creep Tapes again just because I am obsessed with the show. I am drawing attention to the fact that they are giving us a Christmas episode this December. Can you imagine Josef/Peachfuzz during the most wonderful time of the year? Because I can and I need this episode in my eyeballs posthaste. The episode description lets us know that our favorite sociopath is pretending to be a therapist, and I am screaming. If you are also looking for some merry mayhem, I know this will be one of the highlights of Shudder’s December programming. I’m excited to see what Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass do to us with a holiday special. It’s literally all I want for Christmas.
You can watch The Creep Tapes Christmas Episode on December 12th.
Queens of the Dead (2025)
Drag queens, club kids, and bitter acquaintances come together when a zombie apocalypse breaks out in Brooklyn. George A. Romero’s legacy is undead and well in New York. I saw this movie twice, and I am obsessed with how Tina Romero expanded her dad’s world. While it nods at his seminal zombie franchise, it’s also distinctly its own glittery thing slinking down Bushwick. This movie is funny, glittery, queer, and heartwarming. It also has a ridiculously stacked cast that includes Katy O’Brian, Nina West, Dominique Jackson, and Margaret Cho. It also introduced me to Jaquel Spivey, who is an actor I need to see more of immediately. Come for the zombies, but stay for the drag queens.
You can watch Queens of the Dead on December 19th.
So, there you have it. Shudder is closing out the year with some pretty cool stuff, as usual. Make sure you unwrap all of your grisly gifts and let us know which movies you loved the most. In the meantime, we hope your holidays are a scream! Hopefully, next year, the nightmares will stay on screen where we prefer them.
Shudder knows summer is the perfect time to watch scary things in air-conditioned places. Which is why the beloved streamer is giving us newer movies like Heresy, Whistle, This is Not a Test, and Smothered. While it’s always fun to see recent titles arrive alongside classics and deep cuts, my eye isn’t on the films this month. Most of my picks this May are television series and documentaries. Maybe that means I want longer comments with my media and an open library. Or perhaps I’m just reminding myself that I’m a cool nerd and making it your problem too. Whatever the case may be, I have curated another list of titles that I believe deserve our attention. Check out my top five priorities while surfing our favorite streamer below.
Tales From the Crypt (1989 – 1996)
Our beloved 90s anthology is finally making its way to our most cherished streamer. As someone who hasn’t seen Tales From the Crypt since I was a tyke, I’m so giddy that I get to watch it as an adult. More importantly, I get to binge it as John Kassir (the voice of our favorite ghoul) intended. I have been floating since this news was announced at the Overlook Film Festival in April. My insomnia and my Crypt Keeper are about to be reunited, and all is going to be alright in my little world. Come for the celebrities and stay for the puns and wicked deaths. I sincerely hope you call out of work each Friday as a new season gets added to Shudder.
You can watch Tales From the Crypt: Season 1 on May 1st. Subsequent seasons will premiere on Fridays, concluding with Season 7 on June 12
Horror Noire: History of Black Horror (2019)
Based on Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman’s book of the same name, Horror Noire: History of Black Horror is simply that girl. It unpacks the complicated history of Black people in the genre with humor, honesty, and heart. It even gets into the conversations no one seems to want to have and makes room for Black horror icons to actually be heard for once. You could hear the record scratch on Bluesky when this Shudder Original disappeared a few months ago. So, we can all rest easy knowing that it’s coming back home and we can continue to have it in our regular rotation. Horror Noire made many of us feel seen and made us better cinephiles and critics. It’s worth the Shudder subscription on its own if we’re being completely honest.
You can watch Horror Noire: History of Black Horror on May 4th.
The Terror: Devil in Silver (2026)
Your favorite unsettlingly stoic anthology has returned for a new season, and this time, Dan Stevens is in the mix. Stevens plays Pepper, a man with bad luck and a bad temper who gets himself committed to a psychiatric hospital. Any horror fan knows that’s the recipe for many horror bangers, and that’s why I will be sat. The cast also includes CCH Pounder, Judith Light, and Marin Ireland. However, my heart belongs to Karyn Kusama, who is in the director’s chair and the queen of tension. As a Momma Kusma stan account, I am so ready for her to raise my blood pressure and send me to the ER. The demonic duo of AMC+ and Shudder is cooking with this one.
You can watch episode one of The Terror: Devil in Silver on May 7th. Subsequent episodes will premiere weekly, concluding with the season finale on June 11th.
In Search of Darkness 1990-1994 (2024)
We all love to see our faves get together and discuss the horror eras we have romanticized. Which is why watching genre royalty unpack the “lost” decade of horror is something we all probably want to see. As a 90s kid, I feel like we ate pretty well in my day. So, I want to collect all of these stories like infinity stones. Some of the faces we can expect to see are Heather Langenkamp, John Carpenter, Frank Henenlotter, Tim Balme, and Michael Gross. My little nerd heart could bust, and I am happy Shudder is opening the library this May.
You can watch episode one of In Search of Darkness 1990-1994 on May 11th.
Something Is About to Happen (2023)
Things take a turn for a woman who loses her job as a computer programmer. The only movie in my roundup this month goes to the one I perhaps know the least about. Truthfully, I am just here for horror movies about women going through it. Excuse me as I gesture to the world and my bank account. More importantly, Spanish-language horror rarely fails me. So, I am willing to look past the two-hour and two-minute runtime. I am ignoring that it is listed as a romantic horror. I’m doing this because I expect my kind of chaos, and I hope I am right. From one down girl to another, I am rooting for this character on sight.
You can watch episode one of Something Is About to Happen on May 15th.
That is what I plan to use my Shudder Saturdays for this month. Let us know what you’re plotting to hit play on in the comments because we’re nosy.
Is anyone else remembering we have movies at home and logging in a lot of Netflix hours this spring? I know I am, and I keep finding more hidden treasures on this app. They collect so much international media and never tell us they have it. I find this frustrating as I pull up late to things I’m probably going to love. Quite a few foreign films make it into my lineup this month. Two of them I have never heard of before and are newer titles that should be getting some attention, in case they’re some of the best of their respective years. One is French, and we all need to revisit it for reasons that I’ll explain later.
Another thing worth noting about Netflix’s recent additions is an American show called Man on Fire. This serialized adaptation of A. J. Quinnell’s novel of the same name stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. He’ll be playing the character my generation associates with Denzel Washington because of the 2004 film adaptation. As a nerd who has been wondering why Yahya hasn’t been on my screen for a minute, I will probably have finished binging this before you even make it to the end of this article. I digress! Here are the five movies I plan to watch this month on Netflix!
180 (2026)
An act of road rage leaves a young boy in critical condition and his father seeking revenge. As usual, Netflix has not really advertised this South African thriller. However, I love revenge and am always game for a new release. So, I’m happy the powers that be put this in the recent lineup. It looks good, which gives me hope that this is going to be a gritty and bloody adventure. Fingers crossed, a few of you also hit play on this one because I’d like more quality South African thrillers that are easily accessible in America. I’m tired of hunting them down years after the fact.
Benedetta (2021)
A nun has religious visions that threaten the core of the Church while she is also having a secret affair in the 17th century. You are probably confused as to why Paul Verhoeven’s French psychological romantic drama is in my Netflix round-up. Especially if you clocked the long run time, and now I love a 90-minute or less movie. Listen! If you give me a nun having visions and having a lesbian affair in a period piece, it is my sworn duty to tell everybody. It is also my job to rewatch it for reasons. Don’t say I never did anything for you!
Him (2025)
A young athlete discovers why you should never meet your heroes when he is invited to train with a football legend. People were way too mean to this movie. It’s giving Neon Demon and Black Swan for Black male athletes. It’s not perfect, but the aesthetics and vibes are on 10. More importantly, Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers deliver some pretty fantastic performances that keep you locked in. I’m excited to revisit it and see if I like it more (or less) than when I caught it in theaters. Hopefully, more people will do the same now that the more biased discourse has died down.
Mudborn (2025)
A spirit terrorizes a video-game designer and his pregnant wife. I have no idea what to expect from Meng-Ju Shieh’s Mandarin supernatural horror film. However, I’m excited to see what this spirit is about. Again, Netflix continues to drop the ball on advertising international films. So, it’s up to us to find it in the streets and raise the alarm. In a perfect world, this movie will be the nightmare fuel I’m always seeking out. However, at the end of the day, I’m just happy to show up and support international films helmed by people of color. It’s a win-win situation, however I look at it.
Scream (2022)
A new Ghostface is terrorizing Woodsboro 25 years after the original killing spree rocked the town. As a Wes Craven stan account and fan of Radio Silence, I was so happy this movie turned out awesome. I can still say this is one of my favorite horror wins of this decade because it showed this franchise still had some life in it. It also introduced us to our Core Four, led by my new favorite final girl, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera). As someone who enjoyed these first six movies, I will always clear my schedule for a marathon and am happy to see Scream (2022) on Netflix this month. I plan to rewatch it and continue being salty that I will never know how this new trilogy was supposed to end.
That’s what I have this month. Happy Netflixing to each and every one of you!
