As 2024 came to a close, I had a pretty beefy backlog of must-see horror titles to get through. I like for my year-end lists to be as accurate as possible, so the final December stretch is always pretty exciting to me. Anything I didn’t have a chance to catch upon release is locked into a curated catch-up list. Basically, December gets to be pretty spooky.
Last year, titles like Red Rooms floored me, easily finding their way into my Top 10 at the final moment. Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, Woman of the Hour, didn’t quite make the cut, though it was undoubtedly one of the most chilling serial killer pics in recent memory. I even had a ton of fun with Amber Alert, a direct-to-video Hayden Panettiere thriller that’s exactly what it sounds like. But there’s one movie that stole my heart. A recommendation I’d been meaning to watch that pretty much changed my life for the better when I finally got around to it. And now, finally, you can catch it streaming on Shudder.
Per Shudder: When a noble emissary of the King of France is attacked and abandoned in the remote countryside, he finds refuge at an eerie, isolated manor.
It’s The Vourdalak, baby. Where do I even begin? How about revisiting what I wrote about the film last month? I said, “The Vourdalak is electric debut filmmaking, so gothic, so assured, so replete with the visual prowess of filmmakers like Roger Corman and Jean Rollin, it confidently, deservedly enters the canon of the Fantastique.” There’s so much artistry on display, so much earnest tragedy merged with genuinely striking scares, The Vourdalak is more than just that weird French horror movie it might be reduced to. It’s kind of a masterpiece?
It’s no wonder The Vourdalak was one of 2024’s best-reviewed horror movies. Genuinely, the film is that good. It’s evocative, tragic, scary, funny, and features the best puppetry work this side of Possum. Now that the film is streaming on Shudder, everyone can finally catch up with one of 2024’s best-hidden gems. Check out what fans are saying online below:
Even though it was technically released last year, THE VOURDALAK is the first film I’ve watched this year that I’ve truly loved. It simply gave me what the others didn’t: a life size vampire puppet. pic.twitter.com/yxcXjw8tSx
— Bonkers Ass Cinema (@bonkersasscin) August 28, 2024
Apropos the discourse du jour, just a friendly reminder that we got a very good, very weird, and wonderfully stylized vampire movie earlier this year: The Vourdalak pic.twitter.com/fhfhdfqLhG
— Daniel Gorman (@DanielGorman20) December 4, 2024
on the discussion of nosferatu-esque vampires, i just watched this indie french horror called ‘the vourdalak’ from adrien beau. it just came out last year and i need more people to watch it pic.twitter.com/hlEvzEOc0n
— padmé (@ashVSthedead) January 5, 2025
havent seen eggman’s nosferatu but last night at 2am I watched The Vourdalak and I betcha its waaaay better and unquestionably more unique and innovative
— SavageWeekday (@MatthewRegula) January 29, 2025
What do you think? Any plans to watch The Vourdalak now that the film is streaming on Shudder? Please, please watch The Vourdalak or I’ll send a Vourdalak after you. Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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