5 Flesh-Eating Flicks on Shudder, and What’s New for July 2020
You have a lot of streaming options in the world today, but while most aim for broad appeal some go all-in towards a niche. Shudder is one of the latter, and that niche is all things horror. The service has a growing backlog of genre favorites, and each month they add older gems along with newer titles and Shudder Originals. Here’s everything new for July 2020!
The list of new arrivals to Shudder for July 2020 is below, but first, I’m going to celebrate five films currently available on the world’s best horror streaming service. Rather than target a specific sub-genre as I’ve done in previous months, this time my criteria is far simpler — good movies about good food that happens to be human flesh. So join me, won’t you, with this look at five highly entertaining movies featuring people eating people.
Blood Quantum (2019, Canada)
“The dead are coming back to life outside the isolated Mi’gMaq reserve of Red Crow, except for its Indigenous inhabitants who are strangely immune to the zombie plague.”
Zombie movies have been pretty ubiquitous for a while now, and it takes something special to stand apart from the crowd. This effort from our neighbors to the north is that something special as it tells a familiar tale through a long-overdue lens. Some expected beats are here, but the film’s primary interest is in offering up a commentary on colonization and oppression from the perspective of North America’s indigenous population. That it manages some thought-provoking observations while also delivering gory thrills and suspenseful sequences is an impressive feat.
Death Line (1972, UK)
“When a government official disappears in the London tunnels, after several reports of missing people in the same location, Scotland Yard start to take the matter seriously, along with a couple who stumble into a victim by accident.”
Also known under the more salacious title Raw Meat, Gary Sherman’s feature debut is a deceptively funny tale of subterranean dining. A man living in the subway tunnels of London has become something… else, and as unwary travelers wander into his lair the film delivers a blend of creepy horror and blackly comic commentary on societal indifference. Donald Pleasance and Christopher Lee make entertaining appearances here too.
One Cut of the Dead (2017, Japan)
“Things go badly for a hack director and film crew shooting a low budget zombie movie in an abandoned WWII Japanese facility when they are attacked by real zombies.”
We’ve been singing the praises of this Japanese masterpiece since its release, and our love for it hasn’t ended yet. Director/writer Shin’ichirô Ueda crafts something amazing here — a low budget horror film that shifts effortlessly into something entirely different. It’s a love letter to independent filmmaking, a comedy about hard work and creative vision, and one of the smartest movies you’ve seen in years. Give it a go, and stick with it past that first thirty minutes so you can appreciate what’s really going on.
Train to the Busan (2016, South Korea)
“While a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.”
This gem from director/co-writer Yeon Sang-ho is back in the news as the follow-up film, Peninsula, is due to hit theaters this year. We’re hoping that’s every bit as good as this slice of fast-paced action/horror pitting train passengers against a growing mass of angry, hungry, 28 Days Later-like “zombies.” There’s real heart here with some of the characters, and it’s paired with some truly intense sequences as the survivors are whittled down by the vicious onslaught. It’s an adrenaline-fueled ride.
Yummy (2019, Belgium)
“A young couple travels to a shabby Eastern European hospital for plastic surgery. Wandering through an abandoned ward the boyfriend stumbles upon a young woman, gagged and strapped to an operating table. He frees her, but does not realize he just caused the outbreak of a virus that will change doctors, patients and his mother-in-law into bloodthirsty zombies.”
Belgium isn’t quite the first place you think of when it comes to horror/comedies (or horror films in general), but director/co-writer Lars Damoiseaux is hoping to change that with his blend of gory beats and sophomoric humor. Many of the laughs feel as if they’re written by teenage boys, and that includes some of the visual gags, but it’s all in the service of good, unwholesome fun. The bit featuring a zombie gynecologist is especially lovely.
Here’s what else is new to Shudder for July 2020
July 1st
The Burning
Return of the Living Dead
Sleepaway Camp
Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers
Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland
July 2nd
Metamorphosis
July 6th
Jeruzalem
July 9th
The Beach House
July 13th
Maniac Cop
Maniac Cop 2
Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence
July 16th
Lake of Death
July 20th
Nina Forever
The Pool
July 23rd
Impetigore
July 27th
Patrick
Turkey Shoot
July 30th
In Search of Darkness
Follow all of our monthly streaming guides.
