{"id":230593,"date":"2025-10-17T03:39:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T03:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/230593\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T03:39:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T03:39:17","slug":"whats-next-for-the-scariest-brand-in-the-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/230593\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s Next for the Scariest Brand in the Business?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sam Zimmerman<\/a> is known for his impeccable and calculating taste. But as Shudder<\/a>\u2018s senior vice president of programming and acquisitions, the 37-year-old horror<\/a> movie devotee still takes care to hunt from the heart. An authentic genre film<\/a> buff \u2014\u00a0who knows truly scary storytelling is at the core of Shudder<\/a>\u2018s success and subscriber base \u2014\u00a0Zimmerman has been with AMC Networks\u2019 beloved streaming service since it started more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndependent horror will always be just a little bit ahead of the game,\u201d he told IndieWire in a recent conversation about the future of fear in film. \u201cWe\u2019re showing you something you didn\u2019t expect to see, pushing you further than you expected to go, and making you just a little more unnerved. We\u2019re provoking you, then making you really think about what you\u2019re watching.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/a> \"Dwayne<\/a> <\/p>\n

The cult-hit horror platform has been toasting its 10th birthday with a seemingly endless list of events and activations in 2025. From a Shudder-themed parade in New Orleans\u00a0to a tattoo shop in New York, the year-long party is proof of the brand\u2019s dazzling approach to community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re going to put ourselves out there and say that Shudder is defined by its programming, then we should put ourselves and our filmmakers at the forefront,\u201d said Zimmerman. \u201cYou should feel like you can reach out, touch us, and talk to us. Horror is a conversation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"(Left to right): \u2018Dangerous Animals,\u2019 \u2018Good Boy,\u2019 \u2018Clown in a Cornfield\u2019 (2025)<\/p>\n

An ideal backdrop to roll out yet another winning slate, which includes acquired titles as well as movies Shudder helped make, the birthday campaign has accompanied some of the service\u2019s biggest hits to date. That includes the theatrical release of Ben Leonberg\u2019s \u201cGood Boy,\u201d presently entering its third weekend in theaters and still holding strong at the box office. The canine caper is the second-highest-grossing release from Shudder, trailing \u201cLate Night with the Devil<\/a>\u201d from last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Halloween, Zimmerman is back to manning Shudder\u2019s annual recommendations hotline, but the service was equally busy entertaining fans over the summer. Sean Byrne\u2019s shark-infested \u201cDangerous Animals\u201d screened for select audiences on real boats, and Eli Craig\u2019s smash hit \u201cClown in a Cornfield<\/a>\u201d played early at drive-ins before opening nationwide through RLJE Films.\u201d That\u2019s a subtle nod to George A. Romero, who showed his 1968 feature debut \u201cNight of the Living Dead\u201d \u2014\u00a0a shoestring zombie flick that broke convention in every sense \u2014\u00a0on the vehicular circuit, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Sam Zimmerman, SVP of programming and acquisitions at Shudder<\/p>\n

\u201cHis spirit was fiercely independent, and if you look at classic and contemporary horror, the divide was \u2018Night of the Living Dead,’\u201d said Zimmerman. \u201cThe film kicked off what contemporary horror [style] is \u2014\u00a0something that\u2019s\u00a0more naturalistic, gorier, grittier, bleaker. And that production was the definition of independent and regional. It was a group of 10 people who decided to do it themselves with the money they\u2019d made from their own advertising business.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Romero stayed independent in his process and philosophy, even as his filmmaking career grew. Horror experts like Zimmerman know all too well how that hurt the legendary director\u2019s bottom line, but Shudder\u2019s decade of success with serious horror fans proves that the Father of Zombies\u2019 earnest approach still works as a modern business model. Zimmerman also cites 1974\u2019s \u201cThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre\u201d as essential genre foundation, and watching his own company excel, the programmer looks to major studio releases with palpable indie spirits (think \u201cThe Exorcist\u201d or \u201cRosemary\u2019s Baby\u201d)\u00a0for inspiration when finding new filmmakers for Shudder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople might peg \u2018Clown in a Cornfield\u2019 as a studio-style horror movie because it\u2019s pretty broad leaning, but I think [director Eli Craig] and [novel author Adam Cesare] have a truly skillful sensibility to what they do,\u201d said Zimmerman. \u201cThey land their gags and their kills. Even if you call it a \u2018teen slasher,\u2019 it goes a lot further than most teen slashers. It\u2019s what we wish teen slashers would do, and that\u2019s imbuing more of that independent sensibility into their film.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NIGHTDuan Jones in George A. Romero\u2019s \u2018Night of the Living Dead\u2019 (1968)Everett Collection \/ Everett Collection<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t know Romero\u2019s entire life story, and\/or you left your field guide to the best high school horror movie at home, then the web of connection needed to support programming this good sounds daunting. That\u2019s another reason the top brass at Shudder has stayed committed to connecting with fans \u2014\u00a0even as they\u2019re increasingly recognized as the experts in indie horror.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should never feel exclusive,\u201d said Zimmerman. \u201cThat\u2019s something I try to say to everyone on the team. The tone should never be, \u2018I can\u2019t believe you haven\u2019t seen that!\u2019 It\u2019s got to be, \u2018I\u2019m so excited for you to see that.\u2019 That\u2019s the world we want to live in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the years, Zimmerman has seen countless studio executives and marketing creatives try to peg the typical horror consumer. But growing up in New York City surrounded by millions, Shudder\u2019s friendliest face truly believes, \u201cSomeone who loves horror doesn\u2019t look one way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I get to have conversations with people outside of the industry \u2014\u00a0people who say, \u2018I\u2019m a mom!\u2019 or \u2018I\u2019m a nurse!\u2019 and \u2018I just love horror movies so much!\u2019 \u2014\u00a0that is really heartening to me,\u201d said Zimmerman. \u201cWe always wanted Shudder to be a place where everyone found something scary to watch\u2026 and it is so important to me that our movies are scary. That might seem obvious, but it\u2019s really not.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Assessing global trends across genre acquisitions, Zimmerman argues we\u2019re in the middle of a renaissance for J-Horror.\u00a0See Y\u00fbta Shimotsu\u2019s \u201cBest Wishes to All,\u201d also released by Shudder this year.<\/p>\n

\"'Best(Left to right): \u2018Best Wishes to All\u2019 (2025) and \u2018The Queen of Black Magic\u2019 (2019)<\/p>\n

Zimmerman was born in 1988, and his generation gets to make many of the tide-turning business decisions for U.S. horror. Discovering the genre through Americanized versions of Japanese masterworks, millennials explored world cinema largely through comparison. In 2025, Shudder is stoking that discussion with their ongoing love of Asian horror.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been working on this contemporary wave of Indonesian horror ever since \u2018Satan\u2019s Slaves\u2019 in 2017,\u201d said Zimmerman. \u201cIt\u2019s very nervy and stylish. We did \u2018The Queen of Black Magic\u2019 in 2019, and it\u2019s one of my favorite movies that Shudder has ever released because it feels so perfectly creepy, crawly, icky, scary \u2014 just ideal when you\u2019re making a horror movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shudder has worked with Indonesian writer\/director Joko Anwar ever since, and searching for fresh scares on the social media side, Zimmerman considers this July\u2019s \u201cHouse on Eden\u201d an important step in establishing a lasting relationship between internet creators and the broader indie film scene. Directed and written by TikToker Kris Collins, who stars alongside Celina Myers (another familiar face from the app),\u00a0the new found-footage film cost just $10,000 to make.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s another kind of authenticity test,\u201d said Zimmerman. \u201cKris and Celina are so successful in their domain and in the creator world of TikTok. They have such a wide audience already, and they didn\u2019t have to do this movie. But they went out and they did it \u2018Blair Witch\u2019 style. It was just them in the woods, and they created a film that sets up real scares.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HOUSE\u201cHouse on Eden\u201d (2025) Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

Although Zimmerman knows plenty of Hollywood folks who get insecure around influencers, he sees the source for new talent as a good thing. \u201cHouse on Eden\u201d pulled more than $450,000 at the box office for Shudder ahead of YouTuber Chris Stuckmann<\/a>\u2018s directorial debut for Neon, out this fall. Horror-heads won\u2019t really be able to look at those two projects side-by-side until \u201cShelby Oaks\u201d opens, but Zimmerman has never had more faith in doing things the Shudder way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Asked why the service hasn\u2019t really ventured into the Disney IP-turned-nightmare fuel market (a commercially lucrative arena that\u2019s been a critical bust mostly), Shudder\u2019s lead programmer quipped, \u201cWell, we had \u2018The Ugly Stepsister.’\u201d Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt\u2019s dark spin on the \u201cCinderella\u201d story earned back its budget and opened to solid reviews at Sundance; its acquisition was spearheaded by Shudder\u2019s SVP of Acquisitions and Productions Emily Gotto.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can take a thing that\u2019s recognizable and then take it to a horror space, it is original,\u201d said Zimmerman. \u201cEmilie announced herself with such a bold vision. I\u2019m always excited to see where the new voices are coming from, whether they\u2019re reinvigorating a landscape or introducing us to something completely new.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"(Left to right): \u2018The Ugly Stepsister\u2019 (2025) and \u2018In a Violent Nature\u2019 (2025)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s another sign of progress for Shudder, which brought the divisive world premiere of Chris Nash\u2019s \u201cIn a Violent Nature\u201d to Park City, Utah, last year. Leave it to the guy straddling the divide between big screen events and digital-only releases to use his phone in a theater, but that night Zimmerman recorded audio of the festival audience watching an ultraviolet death scene (posthumously known as \u201cthe yoga kill\u201d), and it sounds like a microbudget rollercoaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun to razz \u2019em a bit,\u201d said Zimmerman. \u201cChris made a very skillful film with \u2018In a Violent Nature,\u2019 but you also want to bring that type of horror movie to places with an air of prestige. It builds good word of mouth. I don\u2019t think you have to choose really, but when you get the opportunity with a festival like Sundance, you don\u2019t pass it up if you\u2019ve got the right movie.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Highbrow, lowbrow, and everything in-between, Shudder\u2019s marathon birthday party from 2025 should be remembered like an axe to the forehead. Less \u201canniversary<\/a> celebration\u201d and more \u201cfrenzied point made repeatedly,\u201d this is the type of big swing you have to take if you want to keep being the definitive best source for emerging films across indie horror.<\/p>\n

\u201cFear unites us in a lot of ways,\u201d said Zimmerman. \u201cThe ambition is to keep the genre at the heart, expand within it to bigger and scarier scales, and always retain how we cherish pure independence and movies made on nothing but tenacity. That entire spectrum covers what the horror genre is, and that\u2019s what we have to showcase by continuously expanding our minds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sam Zimmerman is known for his impeccable and calculating taste. But as Shudder\u2018s senior vice president of programming…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[35020,88,2695,6842,5450,206,128607,26719],"class_list":["post-230593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-anniversary","tag-entertainment","tag-film","tag-horror","tag-interviews","tag-movies","tag-sam-zimmerman","tag-shudder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}