Shudder Content Guide: August 2021 – Summer of Chills
Shudder’s “Summer of Chills” concludes this August 2021, with some exclusive films. Regrettably, Shudder hasn’t released a list of what films are leaving, and the “Leaving Soon” collection lists nothing. We will continue to search for information about what might be leaving this August. Until then, take in the bounty of new material in your region. As always, we cover all regions and provide a selection for each.
Shudder Originals and Exclusives will be in bold. Dates will also be regionally formatted. First, however, the Originals and Exclusives across the regions this month.
Leaving Shudder – August 3rd Update
Good news, horror fans. An official post on the Shudder Subreddit confirmed some of the movies vanishing on the streaming service this month. The post says:
But before we dig into what’s new, here’s a look at what leaving this month:
8.1 – THE VALLEY season 1 (US/CA/UKI)
8.4 – DARK TOUCH (UKI), MIDNIGHT SWIM (UKI)
8.9 – STREET TRASH (US/UKI, includes Joe Bob version)
8.10 – GET MY GUN (US/CA/UKI)
8.11 – HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES (UKI)
8.18 – P2 (UKI)
8.25 – SISTERS (UKI), SISTERS (2006) (UKI), SPRING (UKI)
8.31 – BRAIN DAMAGE (UKI, includes Joe Bob version), BURNT OFFERINGS (US/CA), CREEPSHOW (1982, US), DEAD CALM (US), DEADBEAT AT DAWN (UKI, includes Joe Bob version), THE ENFIELD HAUNTING (ANZ), MANHUNTER (US), NEAR DARK (US)
9.8 – INTRUDER (UKI), M.F.A. (UKI)
We’ll continue to look for updates on what leaves Shudder month-to-month.
New on Shudder – August 2021
Teddy – Premieres August 5
A Shudder Original. Twentysomething Teddy lives in a foster home and works as a temp in a massage parlor. Rebecca, his girlfriend, will soon graduate. A scorching hot summer begins. But Teddy is scratched by a beast in the woods: the wolf that local angry farmers have been hunting for months. As weeks go by, animal impulses soon start to overcome the young man. Directed by Ludovic Boukherma and Zoran Boukherma. Starring Anthony Bajon (The Prayer), Ludovic Torrent, Christine Gautier, Noémie Lvovsky, Guillaume Mattera, Jean-Paul Fabre, Alexis Orlandini, Gérard Pau and Jean-Michel Ricart. Available on Shudder US, Shudder CA, Shudder UKI, and Shudder ANZ.
Bleed With Me – Premieres August 10
A Shudder Original. Rowan, a vulnerable outsider, is thrilled when the seemingly perfect Emily invites her on a winter getaway to an isolated cabin in the woods. Trust soon turns to paranoia when Rowan wakes up with mysterious incisions on her arm. Haunted by dream-like visions, Rowan starts to suspect that her friend is drugging her and stealing her blood. She’s paralyzed by the fear of losing Emily, but she must fight back before she loses her mind. Bleed With Me is a psychological horror that juxtaposes tenderness and violence in an investigation of female intimacy and dangerous codependency. Directed by Amelia Moses. Starring Lee Marshall, Lauren Beatty, and Aris Tyros. Available on Shudder US, Shudder UKI, and Shudder ANZ.
Jakob’s Wife – Premieres August 19
A Shudder Exclusive. Anne is in her late 50s and feels like her life and marriage have been shrinking over the past thirty years. Through a chance encounter with a stranger, she discovers a new sense of power and an appetite to live bigger and bolder than before. However, these changes come with a toll on her marriage and a heavy body count. Directed by Travis Stevens (Girl on the Third Floor). Starring horror icons Barbara Crampton (You’re Next) and Larry Fessenden (The Dead Don’t Die), Bonnie Aarons (The Nun), Nyisha Bell, Mark Kelly, Sarah Lind, Robert Rusler, and Phil Brooks (aka CM Punk). Available on Shudder US, Shudder CA, Shudder UKI, and Shudder ANZ.
Mosquito State – Premieres August 26
A Shudder Exclusive. August 2007. Isolated in his austere penthouse overlooking Central Park, obsessive Wall Street data analyst Richard Boca sees ominous patterns: His computer models are behaving erratically, as are the swarms of mosquitos breeding in his apartment, an infestation that attends his psychological meltdown. Directed by Filip Jan Rymsza. Co-written by Rymsza and Mario Zermeno. Starring Beau Knapp (The Good Lord Bird), Charlotte Vega (Wrong Turn), Jack Kesy (Claws), and Olivier Martinez (Texas Rising). Available on Shudder US, Shudder CA, Shudder UKI, and Shudder ANZ.
Slasher: Flesh & Blood – Premieres August 12, New Episodes Every Thursday
A Shudder Original. A wealthy but dysfunctional family gathers for a reunion on a secluded island only to learn they’ll be pitted against one another in a cruel game of life and death, all while being stalked by a mysterious masked killer. Nothing is what it seems, and no one is safe as the tension – and body count – ratchets up. Starring David Cronenberg (The Fly, Videodrome) alongside cast members from previous installments of the Slasher franchise in brand new roles, including Paula Brancati (Dark Oracle), Jefferson Brown (Carrie), Patrice Goodman (Sunnyside), Sabrina Grdevich (A.I. Artificial Intelligence), and Christopher Jacot (Going the Distance). New to the franchise are Rachael Crawford (Heartland), Jeananne Goosen (The Walking Dead), Sydney Meyer (Departure), and Alex Ozerov (The Americans). Available on Shudder US and ANZ.
Shudder CA
Curiously, Shudder Canada is not getting Slasher: Flesh & Blood, which is odd given the rampant Canadianess of it all. So, we’re gonna suggest you give Jakob’s Wife a watch. It has a vampiric Barbara Crampton! Best off, everyone gets a shot at this one no matter which region you’re in.
A Shudder Exclusive. Anne is in her late 50s and feels like her life and marriage have been shrinking over the past thirty years. Through a chance encounter with a stranger, she discovers a new sense of power and an appetite to live bigger and bolder than before. However, these changes come with a toll on her marriage and a heavy body count. Directed by Travis Stevens (Girl on the Third Floor). Starring horror icons Barbara Crampton (You’re Next) and Larry Fessenden (The Dead Don’t Die), Bonnie Aarons (The Nun), Nyisha Bell, Mark Kelly, Sarah Lind, Robert Rusler, and Phil Brooks (aka CM Punk). Available on Shudder US, Shudder CA, Shudder UKI, and Shudder ANZ.
Start streaming Jakob’s Wife on August 19th.
8/1
Dolls
Pumpkinhead
Witchfinder General
8/5
Teddy
8/9
The Corridor
The Dead Pit
Monsters
8/16
Borgman
A Field in England
The Mist
Prom Night III: The Last Kiss
8/19
Jakob’s Wife
8/23
Dead Ringers
Fido
Nothing Bad Can Happen
Slither
8/26
Mosquito State
Shudder US
Our selection for the US is the series Slasher: Flesh & Blood, featuring David Cronenberg. How will the legendary director handle acting in an ongoing series? We’ll find out together. Watch the first four episodes this month.
A Shudder Original. A wealthy but dysfunctional family gathers for a reunion on a secluded island only to learn they’ll be pitted against one another in a cruel game of life and death, all while being stalked by a mysterious masked killer. Nothing is what it seems, and no one is safe as the tension – and body count – ratchets up. Starring David Cronenberg (The Fly, Videodrome) alongside cast members from previous installments of the Slasher franchise in brand new roles, including Paula Brancati (Dark Oracle), Jefferson Brown (Carrie), Patrice Goodman (Sunnyside), Sabrina Grdevich (A.I. Artificial Intelligence), and Christopher Jacot (Going the Distance). New to the franchise are Rachael Crawford (Heartland), Jeananne Goosen (The Walking Dead), Sydney Meyer (Departure) and Alex Ozerov (The Americans). Available on Shudder US and ANZ.
Slasher: Flesh & Blood is available on August 12th, and each Thursday will add a new episode.
8/1
Dead Calm
Dolls
Pumpkinhead
Witchfinder General
8/3
Good Manners
8/5
Teddy
8/9
Bloodthirsty
The Dead Pit
Heaven Knows What
8/10
Bleed With Me
8/12
Slasher: Flesh & Blood: Ep. 1 & 2
8/16
Borgman
A Field in England
8/19
Jakob’s Wife
Slasher: Flesh & Blood: Ep. 3
8/23
Cheap Thrills
Nothing Bad Can Happen
8/26
Mosquito State
Slasher: Flesh & Blood: Ep. 4
Shudder UK
Does the UK get a lot of mosquitos? Or might the sheer horror of Mosquito State be lost on UK viewers? If you’re in the UK, we suggest you give the movie a watch and let us know what you think. Is it relatable, or should this be something we should have recommended for the US?
A Shudder Exclusive. August 2007. Isolated in his austere penthouse overlooking Central Park, obsessive Wall Street data analyst Richard Boca sees ominous patterns: His computer models are behaving erratically, as are the swarms of mosquitos breeding in his apartment, an infestation that attends his psychological meltdown. Directed by Filip Jan Rymsza. Co-written by Rymsza and Mario Zermeno. Starring Beau Knapp (The Good Lord Bird), Charlotte Vega (Wrong Turn), Jack Kesy (Claws), and Olivier Martinez (Texas Rising). Available on Shudder US, Shudder CA, Shudder UKI, and Shudder ANZ.
Catch Mosquito State on the 26th of August.
2/8
Like Me
Rabbit
5/8
Teddy
6/8
The Slumber Party Massacre
Slumber Party Massacre II
9/8
The Dead Pit
10/8
1/8
Bleed With Me
12/8
Slasher: Flesh & Blood: Ep. 1 & 2
13/8
Chopping Mall
19/8
Jakob’s Wife
Slasher: Flesh & Blood: Ep. 3
20/8
Hell Night
23/8
The House That Dripped Blood
26/8
Mosquito State
Slasher: Flesh & Blood: Ep. 4
Shudder ANZ
For Shudder ANZ users, we are going to run with Teddy as our suggestion. What, a movie about animal attacks for a region that includes Australia? Yeah, we’ll go there.
A Shudder Original. Twentysomething Teddy lives in a foster home and works as a temp in a massage parlor. Rebecca, his girlfriend, will soon graduate. A scorching hot summer begins. But Teddy is scratched by a beast in the woods: the wolf that local angry farmers have been hunting for months. As weeks go by, animal impulses soon start to overcome the young man. Directed by Ludovic Boukherma and Zoran Boukherma. Starring Anthony Bajon (The Prayer), Ludovic Torrent, Christine Gautier, Noémie Lvovsky, Guillaume Mattera, Jean-Paul Fabre, Alexis Orlandini, Gérard Pau and Jean-Michel Ricart. Available on Shudder US, Shudder CA, Shudder UKI, and Shudder ANZ.
Teddy is available on the 5th of August.
5/8
Teddy
7/8
The Slumber Party Massacre
Slumber Party Massacre II
10/8
Bleed With Me
The Dead Pit
12/8
Slasher: Flesh & Blood: Ep. 1 & 2
14/8
Chopping Mall
19/8
Jakob’s Wife
Slasher: Flesh & Blood: Ep. 3
21/8
Hell Night
24/8
The House That Dripped Blood
26/8
Mosquito State
Slasher: Flesh & Blood: Ep. 4
Those are the films coming to Shudder in August of 2021. Have a particular favorite on this list? Let us know in the comments.
We’ve reached the penultimate episode of Original Sin. This season has been a bloody delight so far, but of course, the endings usually ruin anything related to Dexter.
See the original series ending, book series ending and New Blood ending.
But so far this ending has been good. Let’s discuss.
The story
We begin this episode with the whole force worrying over Bobby, Harry’s partner. They decide to have a blood drive, which is a really good way to respond to a tragedy.
In a flashback scene, we see that Harry and Doris took in both boys. Doris is, by the way, a living saint. She takes these two boys into her home and heart. Until that is, Brian almost kills Deborah.
Not for the last time.
Meanwhile Dexter is planning to take out Captain Spencer. The only problem is that, through a series of rather heartwarming events, he’s given blood twice on the same day. So when it comes time for the kill he isn’t at his best.
Even so, Dex almost makes the kill. The only problem is that Nicky is still alive. And Dexter, proving again that he is a strange and gentle monster, cares more about saving the son than killing the father.
What worked
I first want to shine some well-deserved light on the casting in this series one last time. Because Roby Attal, who played Brian, did a fantastic job. He looks very much like Christian Camargo, who played Brian in the original series. But of course, the important thing is the facial and body language. He smiles like Brian, moves like Brian. And, of course, kills like Brian. He was the perfect choice.
I also really enjoyed the scenes between Dexter and Captain Spencer. They were well done and emotional. I loved the passion and anger in Dexter’s voice when he confronted Spencer. I loved Dex playing a video game and putting in Nicky’s initials. And I really loved Dex stabbing Spencer with a hypodermic needle through his hand and into his neck. It was well-written, well acted and cathartic.
Now, in the interest of fairness, I owe Sarah Michelle Gellar an apology. Because she was great in this episode. Her character, Tanya, was passionate and perfectly well-acted. Best of all, she looked her age.
And she looked beautiful.
So often in media women’s ages are hidden like dirty secrets. Even more so when she was popular in her youth. So to see her look her age, look haggard and tired, was fantastic.
What didn’t work
All of that being said, this was not a perfect episode. The worst thing, in my opinion, was that we found out why Captain Spencer abducted his son. Why he killed an innocent boy. Why he kidnapped these boys and tortured them for days before he killed them. And why he slaughtered an entire houseful of people.
I have no intention of spoiling the reveal for you. But when you watch it, I’m sure you’ll share in my disgust. I was expecting some deep dark secret, maybe some sort of corruption or betrayal.
But that’s not it. And the reason he had doesn’t make sense. Why torture these boys with his intention was, well, what it was?
I have some hope that this reveal was false. After all, all we have is the word of a man plastic wrapped to a table. I guess we’ll have to wait until the next episode to find out.
Finally, I do want to point out one thing that is a little disappointing about the series as a whole.
It’s kind of hard for there to be a lot of suspense for the coming episode. We already know that nothing very bad can happen to our dear demented Dexter. He will not be caught. He will not go to jail. He will not die. Neither will Deb, Brian, or any of the other beloved characters from the original series. So much of the tension we might have felt just isn’t there. This is a struggle for a prequel series and one that I don’t think this series has done enough to address.
Despite the slight letdown of the killer’s motivation, this was a good episode. It set up the finale with a great cliffhanger and left us with more questions than answers. I’m cautiously optimistic about the last episode of Dexter Original Sin.
(4 / 5)
Good news to my nonbinary pals – we no longer exist!
“But Brannyk,” you may be thinking, “what am I supposed to do now that I am no longer a real being? How shall I spend my days?”
Unfortunately, the government has not released a handbook for this occasion, so I thought we could brainstorm together.
BECOME A GHOST
There are some benefits to being a ghost, for sure.
No rent or insurance payment. No corporate job, no cleaning cat litter, no AT&T trying to sell you another line after repeatedly telling them that you just want to make sure that your autopayment is on, but they’re all like, ‘Why would you pass up such a bargain on a second line? Are you an idiot? Why wouldn’t you need another phone line?‘ and so you have to tell them, “Because I’M DIVORCED, ASSHOLE, THANKS FOR REMINDING ME OF THAT!”
Ahem. I digress.
Yeah, you may not be able to venture out, much like Adam and Barbara in Beetlejuice. You may need to put up with someone else crashing your place and moving around all of your shit. Or Ryan Reynolds trying to sell you Mint Mobile. Or some toxic couple taking your creepy doll that you spent years on trying to possess.
Or, my absolute biggest pet peeve, when you’re practicing for the ghost speed chair-stacking championship and the normies just don’t appreciate your cool skills.
But the advantages are that you get to stay home, watch tv, stack your chairs and hope whoever buys your house/visits your creepy woods/gentrifies your neighborhood is a cool person, too.
(2 / 5)
It’s a good choice, but has a lot of drawbacks.
BECOME A CREATURE
Look, if you’re not going to exist, go big or go home, I’d say.
Monsters are cool. They play by their own rules. Sometimes they cause havoc. Sometimes they come around and help people. Sometimes they work alone. And other times, they have a lot of friends. Sometimes they just need some affirmation. And sometimes they’re…in high school, apparently?
The cool thing is that they come in all shapes and sizes.
Monsters are generally misunderstood. Some have their fans. Others are hated.
So basically, just like people, except with more tentacles.
The only downsides are that you might be too big or too “ick” for some people (these can also be pluses), you may have a taste for human flesh (no judgement), or the biggest issue – there are too many choices.
You could get stuck trying to figure out what kind of monster you are. If you’re not into labels, it’s an absolute nightmare. Or if you’re like me, it’ll be like standing in Subway for 15 minutes trying to figure out what toppings and dressings you want while the “sandwich artist” is openly judging you.
(4 / 5)
I like the customization, but it can be a bit too overwhelming.
BECOME A CRYPTID
Hear me out. I know it seems a lot like the monster category, but it’s not quite.
Cryptids are weird and mysterious. They keep to themselves. They have people who are fascinated by them and post on Reddit about them. Some have people making documentaries about them.
They’re like monsters’ quieter cousin who reads books in the corner at family gatherings. They collect shiny things they find by the side of the road. Sometimes they’ll steal a peanut butter sandwich or two.
Ever so often, they might scare a human just by existing or by politely asking for their stuff back.
Each one kinda has their own goals and priorities. Their own hangouts and interests. But unlike monsters, they’re not looking to rock any boats-
Never mind, I stand corrected.
(5 / 5)
I like the freedoms of being a cryptid and also dig the cottage-core vibe I get from them.
CONCLUSION: LET’S BE REAL FOR A SECOND…
I know it’s hard right now. It’s going to be hard. You may not exist to some assholes, but you are real. You have real feelings and thoughts and dreams. You have a real future. You have real decisions. Real actions that affect this world.
You have the real ability to wake up tomorrow and choose to exist. And for whatever reason you choose. Use it. Ghosts and monsters and cryptids are powerful, just like you are, even when you don’t feel like it. They have a place in our human world, just like you do. You make this world interesting and important.
You are part of this world, you are real, and you are not alone.
The horror community is one of acceptance, diversity, creativity and passion. In these times, it needs to be. We need to rely on each other. We need to cultivate and protect each other, as much as we need to protect ourselves.
And it looks like I’ll be coming out of my own cryptid hovel I’ve spent the past few years in to remind you that. My job isn’t done. Not by a longshot. And neither is yours.
You exist to me. Today, tomorrow, and forever.
Be safe out there, friends.
Breaking News
Joe Bob’s Christmas Carnage: A Bloody Good Holiday Special Fri. December 13th – 9pm ET!
