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Start screaming: Shudder, the latest niche streaming service is here

Horror movie fans, rejoice – all the blood, guts and gore you crave is finally available.

Australian scream queens can now subscribe to US horror streaming platform, Shudder, after the site had its soft launch on August 6.

Shudder promises to skip the romance and drama to deliver some of the best horror, suspense, psychological thriller and slasher films available.

The soft launch means that for the moment, viewers can only tune in on the Shudder website, but iOS and Android apps are soon to follow.

In addition to a number of menacing movies and spine-chilling TV series, the site also has a number of Shudder Originals.

The niche streaming service first announced it had its sights set on the land Down Under two years ago, but was delayed until the site’s technology was further developed and became “more robust”.

Following its success in the US, general manager Craig Engler was keen to open Shudder to Australian audiences – but there might be a catch.

“There will be a difference between US and Australia,” Mr Engler said on Reddit.

This is because films are licensed by territory, so a film we may be able to get in the US may not be available in the UK or Australia. We try to have parity whenever we can, but it’s tough.

“On the plus side, Australians will get some movies that the US, CA [Canada] and UK don’t get.

Shudder is one of the cheaper streaming video-on-demand services available, and will set you back $6.99 a month, or $69.99 for the full year if you pay up front.

For horror fanatics eager to break away from the constraints of Netflix, Stan, Binge and Amazon Prime, Shudder appears to be a no-brainer, but it’s not the only niche streaming service on the market.

Britbox

Britbox brings all things from the motherland to Australian screens.

From Poldark, Blackadder, Downton Abbey, Absolutely Fabulous and Dr Who, the BBC and ITV’s answer to Netflix has it all.

General manager for BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand, Fiona Lang, said that Britbox will launch in Australia later this year following its success in the US.

Eleanor Tomlinson Aidan Turner

Britbox will give you all the romantic, British period dramas your heart desires. Photo: Mammoth Screen/imdb

“Complementing our existing partnerships in the region, Britbox will draw on our vast combined catalogue of acclaimed British content and will deliver it directly to Australian audiences via a proven and seamless streaming service,” Ms Lang said in a statement.

And if that isn’t enough to satisfy all the Anglophiles out there, it turns out Britbox has a competitively priced rival in Acorn TV – and it’s already on the market.

Hayu

The Real Housewives and Keeping up with the Kardashian fans out there are already all over Hayu, the main streaming platform available in Australia that exclusively delivers reality TV.

But what you may not know is that there is more under the umbrella of ‘reality TV’ than just glamorous women eating oversized salads.

True crime TV series are a staple on Hayu – for $6.99 a month you can catch The DNA of Murder with Paul Holes, In Ice Cold Blood and Buried in the Backyard. 

If that isn’t enough, Hayu is also home to your favourite serial killer documentaries like Dahmer on Dahmer, Kemper on Kemper, Murder and Justice: The Case of Martha Moxley and many more gruesome movies about real-life murder and mayhem.

iwonder

This one is for all the documentary fiends out there who don’t have the stomach for true crime and would prefer the soft, calming voice of Sir David Attenborough.

Featuring award-winning documentaries, iwonder also dishes out current affairs programs from all over the world.

If you’ve already flicked through all the docos on Netflix and Stan and are still hungry for more, $6.99 a month will get you access to more than 1000 titles and 50 different genres.

What sets iwonder apart from other documentary streaming channels is the site’s homepage is curated to suggest titles based on trending topics around the world, so you’ll never be caught out at a dinner party with nothing to say ever again.

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