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.
The Science Fiction, Fantasy Writers Association is one of the most prestigious organizations in America for speculative fiction writers. While horror is not specifically mentioned, we all know that it’s nearly impossible to discuss fantasy and science fiction without the shadow of horror creeping in.
Each year, SFWA hosts a convention for writers called Nebula Con. I have virtually attended the convention for the past two years. And if you’ve never attended, you might want to consider it. Even if your writing, like mine, is long in the shadows and short on the elves.
First off, I do want to be clear that Nebula Con is a convention for speculative fiction writers. There are some fan panels, like the one on the works of Robin McKinley, this year’s Grandmaster. But the majority of the panels and events are for writers.
That being said, there are panels for writers at every stage of their careers.
For writers interested in crafting better stories, craft panels abound. My favorite panel was the one titled For The Love of Short Fiction. This panel started with a reading of some of the best short works from 2022. Then, each panelist dug into what made that piece work for them.
There were several other terrific panels, including one all about constructing a realistic legal system in your fictional world and writing fictional podcasts. (Like I do.)
But, you might say, these are panels for sci-fi and fantasy writers. No, these are panels for speculative fiction writers. Horror authors who want to have any kind of career would do well to master the short story. And if you don’t think there’s room for some legal horror in the market, you are wrong.
While the craft panels were wonderful, the career and marketing panels were probably the most useful and valuable of the whole convention. Are you, like many other online creatives, worried about the effects AI-generated writing is going to have on our field? There were two informative panels regarding that. Are you wondering how writers’ relationships with agents have changed now that self-publishing is so prevalent? There’s a panel for that.
A lot is going on in the publishing world. It’s confusing as hell, my friends. And one of the ways we keep each other up to date is with conventions like this. What I got out of the panel most was that having a career in writing is possible. My fellow participants and I learned from writers who are doing the thing. It’s hard, but it’s possible.
Of course, a convention is more than just panels. There’s the chance to meet with other authors. This might be where a virtual convention seems to have a deficit. And while I’ll admit that meeting online isn’t the same as meeting in person, there are certainly perks. I was able to meet, chat with and share stories with other writers in a Zoom chat room. And I came away feeling much like I did as a kid, having met new friends at summer camp. Even if I wasn’t sitting across from them, it was great to be surrounded by other people who want to make a living scaring the hell out of other people.
All of this writing joy culminates with the Nebula Awards Ceremony. If you’re interested in catching the awards but didn’t make it to the convention this year, you can watch it all on Youtube. Each year speculative fiction authors of all kinds of honored, from written work to gaming to television. This year’s toastmaster was Cheryl Platz, an author, and actress. As a critic, awards ceremonies are usually something I usually force my way through. The Nebula Awards are a rare treat in that scene. Partially because there’s a chance I’ve met the people up for the awards. But also because the people involved are, first and foremost, writers. It’s amazing how much more entertaining events are when the people being honored are, you know, talented storytellers.
If you’ve been on the fence about attending Nebula Con virtually, I suggest giving it a try. The world certainly needs more stories that go bump in the night.
So on my recent road trip to Miami AZ USA for my menstruation art installation, we decided to detour to Roswell NM en route home. To be honest, this was one of the best decisions of my life, up there with road trippin’ from Arizona to San Francisco along CA-Highway 1, and I will go into the details of why here soon.
Roswell NM USA has totally embraced its alien history of the UFO crash in the late 1940s and subsequent government cover up. The whole town is alien-happy with beautiful hand carved wood totems, murals and statues everywhere celebrating otherworldly denizens of all types, though predominantly the gray aliens of the crash (and their green counterparts). Even the city logo features a flying saucer as the center of the letter “R”. It really is kind of incredible.
One of the biggest draws is the International UFO Museum and Research Center, housed in the wonderful old theater building. This museum details the crash history as well as celebrating aliens in movies and media and examining newer alien sightings and abductions. It is very thorough and includes maquettes, statues, written accounts and an extensive research library, as well as an interesting art collection of various items.
And there are TONS of fun alien themed curiosity shops. I will give a shout out to the newer Invasion Station north on Main Street where there had once been an old car dealership. I love the quirky nature of this particular store as well as their strong desire to promote local artists. Most of their wares are hand-painted in NM and feature designs by prominent local artists including one of the lead muralists in town (I bought a magnet of his). They also feature really alternative kitsch like KISS and Ace Frehley alien bobbleheads, marijuana and anal references, and such. All in all, our own Haunted MTL’s kinda folks…
And the city is a huge tourist draw internationally, so you can meet some amazing and interesting folks from all walks of life who have caught the alien bug or at least want to check out all the hype. As a result of the tourism, the residents seem really laid back and accommodating (kind of like Hawaii but not quite as much) and there is a thriving art scene. And it’s totally my kind of art – weird and a little creepy. Anyway, I feel like I’ve finally found my peeps and am eager to return someday.
If you’re feeling a bit extraterrestrial, I invite you to also check out some of my alien-themed stories here on Haunted MTL: LTD UFOs among us; my Drive-By short story; and LTD Abducted.
Killer Queens, I wasn’t expecting to be back so soon with American Horror Story info. But yesterday we were blessed with a teaser for the intro of Season 12, which we believe will be titled Delicate.
We are looking at a Summer release for season twelve, but won’t know for sure until June, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Here’s what we know right now.
First, yes Kim Kardashian is starring alongside Emma Roberts in a role that was written specifically for her.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that AHS favorites will also be involved. According to IMBD, Charlie Carver, Rebecca Dayan, Cody Fern, Leslie Grossman, Billie Lourd, and Denis O’Hare will be included this season.
AHS Delicate is different from other seasons in many other ways. It’s the first season to ever be written by just one writer, Halley Feiffer. This isn’t a writer most of us as horror fans will be familiar with. She’s written episodes of shows like Kidding, SMILF, and American Crime Story. The last one can at least be seen as a sister show to AHS.
As far as I have found, Feiffer has never written horror content. She is now the sole writer for an entire season of the most popular horror show in America. I’m not saying this is a bad thing. It’s just not what I would have expected. Most AHS writers are staff writers, actors from the show, or at least people I’ve heard of. So as we don’t have any former work to look at, we can only wait to see how she does.
We also know what the source material is for this season. It’s a book called Delicate Condition, by Danielle Valentine. This book will be released in August of this year. Which also seemed strange to me. Normally a book would be, you know, published before it inspires additional work.
Even so, Delicate Condition seems like a fascinating story. According to Goodreads, it’s the story of a woman named Anna. Anna is trying to get pregnant but starts to believe that something dark is working against her. Her doctors don’t believe her. Her husband doesn’t believe her. Is she losing her mind?
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t deeply interested in this book. And I have to assume that Feiffer and Murphy already have hands on it, to jump to this sort of decision.
By the way, Valentine at least is not an untested writer. Her first novel, How To Survive Your Murder, also made it right on my TBR pile. With a rating of 3.7 out of 4 on Goodreads, I think we can assume Valentine knows what she’s doing with the written word.
This is all that we know about American Horror Story Delicate so far. What follows are my thoughts and opinions only.
My first thought is that this season is going to be dealing heavily with women’s reproductive rights. This is a topic a lot of us are concerned about right now, as it feels like every day women lose more and more rights to our bodies.
(By the way, if you want to help fight the good fight for body autonomy and get some spooky stories, we have an anthology for that. I have a story in it, as does the horrifyingly talented Jennifer Weigel. All proceeds go to support organizations that help women make their own health decisions.)
American Horror Story has handled important political issues before. Last season, AHS NYC discussed the AIDs epidemic that went largely ignored in the 80s and killed hundreds of young gay men. They did this in the best way possible, in what this critic believes to be the only way fiction should handle heavy topics. They rooted the issue in a good story. A story that was pure fiction, but also true.
However, this season has a lot of red flags. Never before have I seen the guest star be the main focus so early. Never have I seen any franchise bank so much faith in an all but untested writer, basing work on a book that isn’t even published. And frankly, I’ve never been much of a fan of Kim K, or anyone else who’s famous seemingly just for being famous.
I’m not rooting for this season to fail just because I don’t like the guest star. If Kardashian is good at this, I’ll be thrilled. I’ll be the first one singing her praises. But when everything we know so far is added up, I’m a lot more concerned about AHS Delicate than I am excited.
