Shudder: Announcing a New Doc on History of Queer Horror Cinema, and PARTY HARD, DIE YOUNG And DEADTECTIVES Lead July Releases

Earlier this year, Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, released Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror, to widespread acclaim. The documentary shed new light on how African American characters and creators were used—and misused—across a century of genre cinema.

For its next original documentary, Shudder has teamed up with writer/director Sam Wineman (whose award-winning short, The Quiet Room, is coming to Shudder this summer), Horror Noire executive producers Phil Nobile Jr. (Fangoria’s Editor-in-Chief) and Kelly Ryan of Stage 3 Productions, and consulting producer Michael Varrrati (Dead for Filth) to explore the complex, fascinating story of queer horror on film. The project is expected to premiere next year, Shudder announced today.

The new doc explores the works of pioneering queer creators like James Whale and Clive Barker and examines the coded, sometimes problematic, depiction of LGBTQ+ characters in films like Sleepaway Camp, High Tension and Jennifer’s Body. It will chart the course of queer subjects and creators in the horror genre from the silent era through the present day.

“Growing up I loved watching Andy, a kid like me, outsmart a killer doll in Child’s Play,” said Sam Wineman, who will write and direct the documentary. “When I was older, I found strength in fierce and feminist final girls like Sidney Prescott in Scream. I was seeing so many parts of myself in these stories, but it wasn’t until I taught a slasher film course that I realized these and so many of the films I connected to were written by members of my own community.

“While watching Horror Noire, I identified deeply with the discussion of loving a genre and having that love be unrequited. Horror has spent a great deal of time telling our stories undercover, both intentionally and unintentionally. In order to fully understand the depth of how and why, you have to unpack the social context of what it is to be queer at the moment in history that coincides with the films themselves. That story is one that is long overdue, and I am honored to have the chance to share it.”

Phil Nobile Jr. said, “When Ashlee Blackwell and I were pitching Horror Noire, we felt a strange sense of urgency—like the story was on the tip of everyone’s tongue and had to be told right then. We’d wake up every day and wonder why someone else wasn’t already doing it.

“I have that same feeling again with this documentary. This year feels like that moment for queer horror. Something’s in the air right now, and I deeply believe that Sam Wineman is the right voice to tell this story, and Shudder—who understood the importance of Horror Noire and continue to be fantastic allies—is the perfect platform for this story to be told.”

PARTY HARD, DIE YOUNG (2018) — available Wednesday, July 3

Director: Dominik Hartl, Cast: Marlon Boess, Markus Freistätter, Michael Glantschnig

School's out, so Julia, her friends and thousands of fellow graduates are on their way to an island resort in Croatia, and it's supposed to be the party of their lives! The harmless fun soon turns deadly serious when Julia’s friend is killed, and it probably wasn't an accident. Slick, stylish and loud, PARTY HARD DIE YOUNG is in the tradition of the best post-Scream slashers. A SHUDDER ORIGINAL. (Also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK)

DEADTECTIVES (2018) — available Thursday, July 18

Director: Tony West, Cast: Martha Higareda, Chris Geere, Tina Ivlev

A team of hapless reality TV ghost hunters experience true paranormal activity for the first time while filming a make-or-break episode in the most haunted mansion in Mexico. Facing cancellation on the one hand and supernatural entities on the other, the group must figure out a way to bust the ghosts, deliver the episode of a lifetime, and escape with their lives intact. A SHUDDER ORIGINAL. (Also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK)

June 24

Stranger by the Lake (2013, Alain Guiraudie)

Frank spends his summer days hopelessly searching for companionship at a popular cruising spot on the shores of a lake in rural France. One day, he meets Michel, an attractive yet darkly mysterious man and falls blindly in love. When a death occurs, Frank and Michel become the primary suspects but they choose to ignore the dangers and instead continue to engage in their passionate and potentially lethal relationship. Starring: Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou, Patrick d'Assumçao

July 1

Prince of Darkness (1987, John Carpenter)

When a physics professor and his research students are asked to come to an old abandoned church, they don't expect to find a large glass canister of swirling green liquid. As their investigation continues they uncover the shocking truth—the ooze is really the essence of the Devil himself, and the students have disturbed his slumber! They must fight together to keep Satan and his minions at bay and prevent him from bringing about the apocalypse.

Starring: Donald Pleasence, Lisa Blount, Jameson Parker, Susan Blanchard, Alice Cooper

The Shining (1980, Stanley Kubrick)

When writer Jack Torrance, who has a history of alcoholism and child abuse, takes a job as winter caretaker for a hotel high in the Rocky Mountains, he, his wife and their psychic young son will be isolated until spring. But once the first blizzard closes the road out, the accumulated power of evil deeds committed at the hotel begins to drive Jack mad. Now there may be no escape for his wife and son amidst the madness, memory and family violence. Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers (Also available on Shudder Canada)

Vault of Horror (1973, Roy Ward Baker)

Trapped in the basement vault of an office building, five men recount macabre visions of vampires, voodoo and more. From Amicus, the legendary British house of horror which pioneered the anthology, comes five classic tales of terror based on original, legendary EC Comics. Starring: Dawn Addams, Tom Baker, Denholm Elliot (Also available on Shudder Canada)

July 8

Stake Land (2010, Jim Mickle)

Martin was a normal teenage boy before the country collapsed in an empty pit of economic and political disaster. A vampire epidemic has swept across what is left of the nation's abandoned towns and cities, and it's up to Mister, a death dealing, rogue vampire hunter, to get Martin safely north to Canada, the continent's New Eden. Starring: Connor Paolo, Nick Damici, Kelly McGillis

Stake Land II a.k.a. The Stakelander (2016, Dan Berk, Robert Olsen)

Martin finds himself alone in the badlands of America after his home is destroyed, with only a distant memory of his vampire-hunting mentor, Mister, to guide him. Roaming the wilderness of a steadily decaying country, Martin goes in search of the one man who can help him get revenge. Starring: Connor Paolo, Nick Damici, Laura Abramsen

July 15

All the Colors of the Dark (1972, Sergio Martino)

The luscious Edwige Fenech gives the performance of her career as a woman tormented by visions of Satanic violence, hallucinatory horror and psychosexual insanity. Starring: George Hilton, Edwige Fenech, Ivan Rassimov (Also available on Shudder Canada)

July 22

The Transfiguration (2016, Michael O'Shea)

Set in Queens, this atmospheric drama focuses on 14-year-old Milo, a troubled outsider who takes refuge in the vampire mythology he studies to the point of obsession. When a chance encounter with neighbour Sophie leads him to develop new, romantic feelings, Milo struggles to suppress his dark urges—and a terrible secret. Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine, Aaron Clifton Moten