Shudder Review | 2021 Ratings & Reviews of Shudder

Streaming scares for horror fans

8 / 10 Review Rating

Free Trial at Amazon

Shudder is one of the oldest niche streaming services – which is to say that it’s still very new. Shudder only recently ended beta testing, but it has already been joined by a few other one-genre streaming services, like NBC’s Seeso. Shudder itself is an AMC product, and it’s banking on the loyalty of horror die-hards who find the general selection on Netflix and Hulu too limiting. Can the niche horror service compete with the giants? Here’s our full review.

User Experience

Screenshot 2016-07-14 at 12.01.13 PM — Shudder on the web app

Shudder has a cool setup that encourages content discovery and laid-back viewing. Shudder includes “Shudder.tv,” a sub-branded service that streams horror movies around the clock, like a cable movie channel. It's a nice alternative to on-demand content for the lazy (like me).

Shudder sorted by monsters — Sorting by monster on iOS

The on-demand function still takes center stage, of course. The service does a particularly nice job with content discovery. It surfaces recommendations and provides a ton of information on each film. Viewers have access to a detailed synopsis for each film, plus user reviews and specific user comments. The Shudder community seems passionate and informed, so this is a nice touch. You can also sort movies by genres (all sub-genres of horror, of course) or by monsters. Another menu sorts the movies into looser “collections” like “A-Horror” (Asian horror).

I was able to pick up where I left off in movies even when switching platforms, which is always a good thing. The service stores your viewing history for easy browsing, but there didn't seem to be a way to create a watch list. The apps felt a little different on each platform, but not enough to throw me off.

Content

There's some quality content on Shudder, including a lot of lesser-known (but very good) horror flicks. There's plenty here that your film student friends might recommend. The selection of newer films is a little weaker, and the biggest sin of Shudder's catalog is the lack of big-time horror classics (The Shining, The Exorcist, The Omen, Rosemary's Baby, The Thing, and other top-shelf horror movies are all absent).

Altogether, it's a good catalog suited for deep diving. It's geared more towards horror die-hards and conneseurs than for casual viewers, but there are plenty of rewarding and fun films included.

Streaming Quality

Shudder streams pretty well. I enjoyed smooth HD streaming on all of the different platforms, and I didn't notice any significant difference from platform to platform. The only time that my stream got choppy was when I was multitasking on a Chromebook with 2 GB of RAM, which is pretty forgivable. In terms of streaming quality, Shudder hangs with the big dogs like Netflix.

Platforms

Shudder is available online and for iOS, Android, and Roku. You can Chromecast from either iOS or Android. More platform support could be coming. The web app is great (never neglect the web app, streaming companies!) and the mobile apps and Roku channel work well. I didn't notice any significant difference in streaming quality across the platforms.

Price

Shudder offers a portion of its content for free. The premium service is $4.99/month and provides the whole catalog. You can also sign up on a yearly basis for $49.99 (a 10% discount). All of this is pretty much in line with other niche streaming services, like Seeso.

Verdict

You have to like horror movies to care about Shudder – it's not full of famous movies for casual fans. But serious horror buffs will love the service, which works well and includes a nice mix of decent dumb horror and brilliant Criterion Collection type-stuff. They have a free trial, so if you like horror, give Shudder a try.

15 thoughts on “Shudder Review”

thank you for the in depth review! I have been a die hard horror fan for quite some time, and always thought the horror flicks available in the major streaming services to be a bit lacking. I got to horror conventions once a year and always enjoy the secret movie screenings for local horror creations.
That being said, I Have always wanted to try this service, but was worried that the selection within, would only be a mirror of what is available in the big time streaming services. However, Today I am going to start the free trial and see how it goes. Your critique if the site has given me the confidence to take that leap of faith and give it a try.

Once again thank you for that! and I look forward to the NEW content I will now have access too.

I signed up and cancelled after one month. Shudder has continuously charged me for this subscription. There is no phone number to call instead you have to use email and get a ticket which is like being in line. So tread carefully.

This is a very good & accurate review/description of Shudder. I have had Shudder 4 a few years now & have been more than happy with the service & gr8 selection Shudder has 2 offer. However, since Oct of 2019 after receiving an emailed survey from Shudder about Creepshow it seems that ALL HUMAN PERSONEL HAVE LEFT the service & just auto-running Shudder. There is literally ZERO customer service! Number 1, after filling that survey & hitting “send” instead of it being sent it just went back 2 the first page of the survey! So I emailed them a few times 2 c if they can clear this up. Every email response I got from them was “your inquiry has a ticket number & will b answered when your ticket comes up”… like, WTF?! THEN I would get emails from Shudder saying “your ticket number is about 2 xpire!” Yadda yadda yadda with NO actual ticket number shown. Is Shudder struggl9ng? R there any actual human people there @ all? If not, y not? Other horror niche streaming services r cropping up & Shudder better pay attention bcuz these other streaming services r FREE & will eat Shudder alive!!

I cannot find in any of my online research, does anyone know (for sure) if these are the uncut/uncensored versions of movies that are notorious for oftentimes being edited & sanitized so as not to offend the more squeamish amongst us?? Thank for any info!

This is among the worst streaming services available. I paid up front for a year figuring I would devour everything they had. Creepshow was great, and I started to get into Channel Zero. All of a sudden about a month later I was told I had no account, but if I bypassed the notifications I could watch everything. Then the account vanished (five months in). No reply from customer service. Save your money.

Everyone who see this comment! Run away! This is a nightmare. I have been trying to cancel my 7 day membership for 4 days. The only way to cancel is to pay for it. Who does that!! No phone

i think this whole site is a scam. do not sign up to it!!

Anonymous says:

August 28, 2020 at 3:22 am

IMPOSSIBLE TO CANCEL!!!

Reply
1. Anonymous says:
  
  April 18, 2021 at 6:08 pm
  
  Cancel via Google app…save the email to cancel
  
  Reply

I was thinking of signing up BUT…
Not after reading these reviews!!
Thanks you everyone who took the time! Sorry though, that you had to experience.
I don’t do anything these days without reading the reviews first!

Shudder is an insult to any avid or serious horror/thriller fan. Moreover, while they make it simple to subscribe they make it extremely difficult and complicated to unsubscribe. You do not want it. They are a truly S–t network and service. I am still attempting to unsubscribe from Shudder following repeated attempts to unsubscribe which they acknowledged but failed to comply, and after offering me a free month that I declined. In reality they should be banned from all networks and services, or sued. And I am seriously considering that. Sleazy outfit. They really are.

Shudder is a ripoff. I singed up for the 30 day free trial. Canceled after 10 days. They sent me several emails asking me to try for another 30 days free. That was early June. In July I see they charged my credit card. Now they say that I did not request a refund in the 7 days after they charged it. First I canceled. 2nd how do I know they charged me? They did not notify me that they charged me. These people are crooks.

Yikes, thanks for the warnings. I was considering a membership, but will avoid it

Shudder is a PAIN. Not worth it!
I did the trial, selected the monthly plan. It was ok… then I couldn’t cancel. Gave up and decided, well it’s only going to be like six dollars.. why not. NOPE, got charged $56.99 the yearly plan. I submitted a ticket, because shudder does not provide normal customer service. So no one to really talk to. They tell me they can’t help and to talk to Amazon since I got it on my firestick. I go to Amazon and they were confused as I was. They don’t even see a charge. So shudder gave me the ring around the rosie scam. I can not get a refund and I was lied to. Who does that? Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max would never do this to me. So, shudder is a complete disappointment. Also, I was not allowed to make a review for the Shudder app on amazon. So, I’m doing it here. Now you know… shudder will try to get you like their crappy monster movie creeps. I am so annoyed with them.

Whatever you do, DO NOT SIGN UP FOR SHUDDER (or AMC+) via Sling TV!!! I made the mistake of doing this, and found out the hard way that Sling TV’s Shudder channel doesn’t even have all of the content that the direct Shudder channel has. I really wanted to watch the new Creepshow Holiday Special on Shudder right before Christmas, and was disappointed that it didn’t even show up on Sling TV’s Shudder channel listing. And, Sling TV refused to give me a refund for their misleading false advertising of the Shudder/AMC+ add-on service. This experience made me much less happy with Sling TV’s service, since you cannot trust them with their content.
I spent the whole night online chatting with Sling’s “support,” beginning with their virtual support, then waiting 15 minutes for a real, live support person, then chatting and arguing with that person about how awful Sling’s service is, and about how misleading their subscription information is.