Shudder in September: Norman Bates, Insidious, Strange Darling and more
- Carla Davis
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Shudder’s four-month-long Season of Screams event gets off to a roaring start in September, with four original/exclusive films, the third season of a Shudder original series, and 32 “Shudder Resurrected” films. We have details for October as well, but due to the massive amount of content being added, that will go in a separate article.
If you want more details about the originals coming in September, that has already gone out as a separate article on The Horror Lounge. Here are the “resurrected” titles you can stream in September:
September 1:
Psycho – While Alfred Hitchcock is a household name to those who love horror and suspense, this is without a doubt his most famous film. Released in 1960, Psycho is a black and white film that still manages to shock and send chills down the spines of viewers. The plot has been discussed millions of times, but if you have never seen the original Psycho, please watch it on Shudder.
Psycho II – 23 years after Psycho made a sensation in movie theatres, this sequel was released. Anthony Perkins returned to his iconic role of Norman Bates, who has just been released from a psychiatric hospital. His plan is to just live his life, but he starts receiving phone calls from “Mother” and begins to doubt his own sanity. **NOTE: This is an excellent sequel, and I highly recommend it.
Psycho III – Set three months after Psycho II, Anthony Perkins returns again as both Norman Bates, and this film’s director. Norman falls hard for a former nun who looks a lot like Marion Crane (from the first film). A sketchy drifter and a curious reporter are also staying at the hotel.
Psycho IV: The Beginning – This made for Showtime film sees Norman now married to a psychiatrist who is pregnant with his child. Norman worries that his unborn child might inherit his mental instability, and recites his family history on a call-in radio show. Perkins reprises his role of Norman, and Olivia Hussey (Black Christmas) plays his mother Norma, and Henry Thomas (ET, The Haunting of Hill House) portrays Norman as a child.
1408 – John Cusack stars as author Michael Enslin, who writes about haunted locations in order to debunk paranormal activity. Enslin receives an anonymous postcard cautioning him against entering room 1408 in New York City’s Dolphin Hotel, so he, of course, checks in to that very room. He is in for a terrifying night.
Scarecrows – When five war criminals steal millions of dollars from a Marine Corps base, they parachute into a field filled with deadly scarecrows.
Dark Harvest – For the life of me, I don’t know why this 2023 horror movie isn’t talked about more. It’s the yearly ritual in a small midwestern town for the teenage boys to enter a competition each Halloween. Their mission is to stop a murderous creature called Sawtooth Jack from getting to the local church by midnight.
Exorcismo – “A young woman participates (unknowingly) in a satanic ceremony and gets possessed by the spirit of her late father.”
The Horseman – In this 2008 Australian psychological thriller, Christian seeks violent revenge after his teenage daughter Jess is sexually assaulted and killed, and he is sent a snuff film of the event.
Irrefutable Truth About Demons – Karl Urban is an anthropologist who seeks out the truth behind a satanic cult known as the Black Lodge.
Strange Darling – Oh boy, if you didn’t catch this in theatres in 2023, now is your chance! Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner star as a woman and man who have a one night stand gone very wrong. Each chapter of the story is presented out of order, and filled with twists and turns.
Insidious: Chapter 2 – After the Lamberts got their son back, they thought the nightmare was over. But instead, it turns out that Josh is now possessed, and now they must fight even harder to ward off the malevolent spirits from The Further.
Insidious: Chapter 3 – This prequel takes us back into psychic Elise Rainier’s past, when she tries to help a teenage girl.
Resident Evil: The Apocalypse – “Alice wakes up in the Racoon City hospital after the area has been overrun by zombies and must now make it out of the city before a nuclear bomb is dropped.”
The Silent Scream – Four college students are living at a Victorian mansion on the Pacific Ocean, and become friends. But friendship can’t save them when a killer with a knife starts picking them off one by one.
September 7:
The Serpent’s Skin – Anna leaves her neglectful parents and her transphobic hometown to move in with her sister. Not too long after, she meets and falls in love with a goth tattoo artist named Gen. But as the two begin to dabble in witchcraft, one of Gen’s tattoos accidently conjures a demon.
Chainsaws Were Singing – In this absurdist “absolutely bonkers slapstick-slasher-musical”, two young people fall in love at first sight before being separated by a chainsaw killer.
Its Name Was Mormo – In this found footage film, a family must fight back when a demonic presence begins to target each of them.
Sayara – Sayara seeks revenge on some rich, privileged kids when her sister is murdered by one of them.
September 14:
Before the Fall – In this Spanish thriller, news breaks that a massive meteorite will shatter the earth. Ale decides to spend his last three days engaging in debauchery of all sorts, but that changes when a prison break puts his brother’s three young children in danger.
Dead By Dawn – A group of actors are contacted by a writer known as Mr. Heissenhoff to adapt his original screenplay as a stage production, using his personal theater and manor to do so. As they soon discover, this is all part of what turns out to be an occult ritual.
Dinner to Die For – “Hanna, a culinary photographer, and her friend Evan share a passion for true crime content. When Evan suggests role playing their own true crime scenario involving a killer meal and the girl next door, things take a twisted turn.”
The House Was Not Hungry Then – Caroline is searching for her father when she breaks into an empty house. Little does she know, anybody who walks into this house disappears. This film is unique in that the story is told from the POV of the house itself.
Shudder is featuring a collection of Andy Milligan films in September
September 21:
The Degenerate: The Life and Films of Andy Milligan – Before his death in from AIDS in 1991, Andy Milligan was a filmmaker who specialized in low-budget “shock films.” In this documentary, we can catch a glimpse of his life and his film-making style.
Blood Thirsty Butchers – This 1970 horror movie is a “modern” re-telling of the Sweeney Todd story by the aforementioned Andy Milligan. The murderous Todd teams up with baker Mrs. Lovett, and together, the two conspire to make meat pies made from humans.
The Man with Two Heads – Another Milligan film, this one is a twist on the Jekyll and Hyde story. When a serum is taken from the brain of a mass murderer, it transforms a good man (Dr. Jekyll) into an evil monster.
The Rats Are Coming! The Werewolves Are Here! – Add this to the Milligan collection. “The daughter in a family of werewolves decides to put an end to the family curse.”
Hallucination Generation – Much like Reefer Madness, this 1967 film was created as a cautionary tale about the dangers of LSD.
The Corpse Collector – In this Bulgarian film, Itso is an ambulance driver contracted to pick up dead bodies. He falls in love with the beautiful Katya…but alas, she is the mistress of a violent mafia boss.
September 28:
Picture Mommy Dead – When socialite Jessica Flagmore Shelley is killed after her bed catches on fire, her daughter Susan has a nervous breakdown and is hospitalized. Three years later, she is released to her father. But her money hungry stepmother is determined to use Susan to locate Jessica’s missing jewels.
Terrornauts – “A group of scientists are kidnapped and taken into outer space aboard a saucer.”
Nightcomers – In this prequel to The Turn of the Screw (one of the Henry James stories told in Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor), groundskeeper Peter Quint seduces governess Miss Jessel, and entrances Flora and Miles, the two children.
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