Earlier this week, my favourite horror streaming service, Shudder, dropped its Best Of 2020 lists. It’s broken down into several categories: Most-watched movies and series, most talked-about, and best-reviewed.
Pop culture junkies like myself love reading over a great year-end list. I don’t care if the category is best of, worst of, or most anticipated. Just sort some cool stuff into categories and jot them down, and you’ve got my interest.
For me, half the fun of reading over a great list comes from seeing how my tastes align with other culture vultures. It’s always fun to see that little indie darling I raved about back in February get some love on my favourite critic’s year-end list.
But the true thrill of list-reading comes from the possibility of unearthing a hidden gem. There are so many entertainment options out there today that some great stuff will always slip through the cracks. And after combing through list after list, you’re bound to stumble across something fantastic like Bacurau, Minari, or The Forty-Year-Old Version.
Streaming services are notorious for keeping their viewership numbers hush-hush, so Shudder’s lists are our only window into what’s making waves on the service. Based on what I’ve watched on Shudder in 2020, its top-five rankings make sense. If you love horror flicks, you can’t go wrong with anything on the list.
Sadly, I must admit that I still haven’t watched Jayro Bustamante’s highly praised ghost story La Llorona. I kept missing it on the festival circuit, and now that it’s found a home on Shudder, I have no more excuses. I’m scratching La Llorona off my must-watch list before 2021.
If you haven’t checked out Cursed Films, it’s one of the service’s must-watch titles. Each episode offers a deep-dive into some famously unlucky movie shoots, like The Exorcist, Poltergeist, and Twilight Zone: The Movie. It’s an excellent documentary series full the kind of juicy film-history tidbits that make cinephiles salivate.
Most Watched New Movies (by unique viewers)
1 – The Mortuary Collection
2 – Spiral
3 – Porno
4 – The Cleansing Hour
5 – The Shed
Most Watched Series (by unique viewers)
1 – Creepshow
2 – Cursed Films
3 – Channel Zero: The Dream Door
4 – The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs
5 – The Dead Lands
Most Talked About (by member reviews)
1 – Host
2 – The Room
3 – Z
4 – The Cleansing Hour
5 – Spiral
Best Reviewed New Movies
1 – Host
2 – Scream Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street
3 – Anything for Jackson
4 – La LLorona
5 – The Mortuary Collection
