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.

While horror has long been considered to be a haven of exploitation of the human body, it has its limitations. For as much blood and nudity as the genre contains, one major frontier has yet to be fully explored. That would be male full frontal nudity. American cinema in particular has long been skittish about male full frontal, across all genres. The reasons for that are too wide-ranging to explore in a brief introduction. (Spoiler alert: misogyny might have a thing or two to do with it.) Whatever the circumstances, it’s still a refreshing break from the norm to behold a naked man in a horror movie. With that in mind, I’d like to break down some of the genre’s finest examples to date.

The Best Male Full Frontal in Horror

Before we dive in, I have a few housekeeping notes: First, while not all men have penises, this article will focus entirely on that particular appendage. Horror still has a long way to go with representation of characters on a broader gender spectrum, clothed or otherwise. Second, this article is ranked, but not by a standard as subjective as “hotness.” I’ve instead ranked these by their effectiveness in using nudity to provoke the audience, in a variety of ways. Third, I’m not differentiating between prosthetics and true nudity. Everything you see in a movie is fiction, in one way or another. Fourth, while I’ve obscured the penises in any screenshots I’ve used, you should probably still consider them NSFW. Just to be safe.

#10 Nail Gun Massacre (1985)

One of the unique components of the chaotic mess that is Nail Gun Massacre is its verisimilitude. Its low budget gives the sense that every building, article of clothing, etc., belonged to the filmmakers or their friends. Because of this, it achieves a kind of accidental realism. That’s what makes its copious sex and murder scenes feel genuinely dangerous and transgressive. Sex and murder are combined (naturally) in a nail gun kill involving a couple copulating against a tree. Both partners fall to the ground afterwards, completely naked. It’s grimy and raw, in a charmingly equal opportunity fashion.

#9 Pieces (1982)

Pieces is nothing if not unpredictable. Every scene provides a fresh gust of wind to keep the whirligig of the bizarro slasher spinning. One such moment is the part where the male lead is shown gratuitously and gloriously naked after a hookup. There is no reason for this scene to be placed where it is. It comes mere seconds before the movie’s infamous kung fu attack, in fact. And that approach to storytelling is exactly why the movie feels so thoroughly bonkers from beginning to end.

#8 Don’t Look Now (1973)

Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie’s sex scene in Don’t Look Now is the stuff of legend. But their nudity is used both erotically and platonically (in a later scene where they’re getting ready). This is why the movie truly shines. It shows both sides of the couple’s interactions with one another and their naked bodies. It’s a more or less complete picture of their marriage, depicted in a very short time. All the better for tearing them apart over the course of the rest of the movie.

#7 An American Werewolf in London (1981)

AWiN’s nudity is more than just an excuse for a kid to say, “A naked American man stole my balloons.” It’s another way for the movie to comedically explore the line between British society and outsiders. David’s Americanness is what imperils him in the first place, because he fails to heed warnings about the moors. But his new wolfishness also places him outside the norm. Waking naked after a lycanthropic night on the town, he’s plunged unexpectedly back into polite society, at a severe disadvantage.

#6 Midsommar (2019)

Christian’s nudity in Midsommar is accomplishing a lot. The reason he’s naked is that he has been coerced (somewhat) into cheating on his girlfriend. So this scene is quite literally stripping him bare, exposing how unreliable he is as a partner. However, it also taps into the inherent vulnerability of nudity. There are no more layers of protection between him and the terrible thing that’s about to happen to him. Well, I suppose it’s only terrible depending on who you ask. But you get my point.

#5 Nosferatu (2024)

The sudden appearance of the titular monster’s penis in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is more than just a shock gag. It’s a reminder that this shambling, rotting, towering vampire was once a human being. His decadence, disease, and desire aren’t born from some unknowable, external evil. They are merely human impulses and weaknesses gone majorly awry.

#4 Ma (2019)

Ma is riddled with outrageous moments designed to make you go, “This happened in an Octavia Spencer movie?” Ma grabbing Luke Evans’ dick and threatening to cut off is certainly one of those moments.

#3 28 Days Later (2002)

The opening scene of 28 Days Later finds Cillian Murphy’s Jim waking up naked from a coma. Vulnerability is an element of this scene, but there’s an even more potent metaphor of rebirth at play. As naked as a baby, Jim is being born into a world gone mad. And he’s going to have to grow up real quick if he hopes to survive.

#2 28 Years Later (2025)

Danny Boyle sure does love putting dongs onscreen, doesn’t he? The nudity of the Infected Alpha Samson in 28 Years Later is accomplishing something entirely different, though. He’s quite literally swinging his dick around, displaying his power. While the human characters (and the audience) might be shocked by his nudity, he isn’t. This gives him a huge, if unintentional, advantage, because his opponents start off on the back foot.

#1 Night of the Demon (1980)

I mean, what do you want from me here? Of course this video nasty is No. 1. I can say with some certainty that it’s the only movie where Bigfoot rips a dude’s dingdong off. Not everything has to be a metaphor.

Honorable Mentions: 2014’s Creep (one of my biggest blindspots for contemporary horror), 1983’s 10 to Midnight (which doesn’t actually have full frontal, but features a killer who gets naked to do his dirty work, and that counts for a whole lot), 2017’s Revenge (which includes intentionally objectifying a villainous man among its many worthwhile vengeful acts).