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There is no place better for a horror fan than the ever-growing film library of Shudder. It was already one of the most niche streaming services in the market, it is also perfect for giving the fans what they want by giving them new and exciting horror films every month. So, if you love Shudder and are wondering what are best movies coming to the Scream Queen of streaming services in June 2024, here are our best picks for you.

A Lonely Place to Die (June 3)

A Lonely Place to Die is a British action thriller film directed by Julian Gilbey from a screenplay co-written by Julian and Will Gilbey. The 2011 film follows the story of five hikers as they hear cries of pain in the wilderness and to their horror it’s a little girl buried in the ground. When they decide to get her to safety they are chased by the kidnappers.

The emptiness of space and the silence therein is the lead character of Valhalla Rising, easily pushing its human cast members into the background and rendering their lines of dialogue wholly irrelevant. So crushing is its austerity that the primary relationship in the film is probably that between the viewer and everything that director Nicolas Winding Refn decided to keep his hand out of, so unforced and vacuous are both the camera direction and the narrative. In some cases, this can be inspiring, the mere emptiness adding another dimension to a work’s physicality and philosophy. Unfortunately, it can also be really, really boring, and the way that you find Valhalla Rising will depend entirely on how impressed you are by shots of wide open landscapes with pasty-faced Nordics looking out at them. Because there are a lot of them. A lot.

One Eye (Mads Mikkelson, who played the similarly...

Hitting movie theaters this weekend:

The Warrior’s Way – Dong-gun Jang, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush

Movie of the Week

The Warrior’s Way

The Stars: Dong-gun Jang, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush

The Plot: A warrior-assassin is forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands after refusing a mission.

The Buzz: With no other major releases this week, The Warrior’s Way wins the “Movie of the Week” accolade by default. That’s not to say I’m not interested in seeing Kate Bosworth again — she’s been absent from the motion picture scene since 2008′s 21 and before that 2006′s Superman Returns, and I’ve always enjoyed her work. I’m unfamiliar with the film’s lead, Dong-gun Jang, but he seems charismatic enough in the film’s trailer. The film also boasts the presence of Geoffrey Rush, which suggests a higher caliber film than one would otherwise assume.

“In the land of blind men, the one-eyed man is king,” goes the old proverb. That seems to be the case in this story of a bestial Viking slave whose survival skills see him through the numerous obstacles of a menacing, primitive world. Directed by Denmark’s Nicolas Winding Refn, who made a name for himself with his Pusher series, this is an odd bit of cinema which is hard to classify into a genre.

Don’t let yourself be fooled into thinking this is an action-filled hack-and-slash film about Vikings constantly at war. It’s not. This is a rather contemplative film, filled with hallucinatory images and long stretches of Ingmar Bergman-like scenes consisting of silent musings on mortality and religious faith. There are fight scenes, to be sure, and they are quite brutal. But these fights are few and far between. This isn’t Beowulf.

To say...

For an ugly, brutish, überviolent Viking epic set in 1000 A.D. Scotland, Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Valhalla Rising” is gorgeous. Each frame is a haunting work of art unto itself. The director of the manic “Pusher” trilogy (which launched “Valhalla” star Mads Mikkelsen’s career) dials back both plot and character in this ultraminimalist tone poem centered on a mute slave named One Eye (Mikkelsen), a one-time gladiator who is now the main event at the Medieval equivalent of basement cockfights.

One Eye, so named for the grotesque scar that disfigures the left side of his face (dirty, weathered and marred, like bark), escapes with the blond slave Boy (Maarten Stevenson) who has cared for and eventually speaks for him. They board a vessel of crusading Vikings and sail on a sea saturated with mist until they reach a new world. With such a scant plot, Refn relies heavily on aesthetic and symbolism.

Here's a few interesting facts about Valhalla Rising star Mads Mikkelsen. He's one of the most successful actors in Danish history. He's routinely voted in numerous women's magazines as the "Sexiest Man in Denmark." He's a former professional dancer. He's been knighted by the Queen of Denmark. I tell you all of these things because they seem so very at odds with the Mads Mikkelsen that Americans know -- Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, the stoic but deadly knight in Anton Fuqua's misguided King Arthur. And now, the somber, noble-yet-menacing lead in Valhalla Rising.

The other reason I tell you these little bits of nifty trivia is because, well, I'm trying to buy myself some time. You see, Valhalla Rising is a singularly unusual film. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, best known for the excellent, unflinching Bronson, it stars Mikkelsen as an unnamed prisoner who is simply referred to as...

Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn

Written by: Roy Jacobsen, Nicolas Winding Refn

Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Maarten Stevenson, Gordon Brown, Andrew Flanagan, Gary Lewis, Gary McCormack, Alexander Morton, Jamie Sives

The world of Vikings isn't necessarily new to film, but it is one that is often misrepresented. Say "Viking" and the listener will immediately conjure up images of giant men in armor and bull-horned helmets. The image won't go much further than that as the old Nordic raiders aren't typically given any depth or real character beyond smashing things with clubs and axes. This is what makes a film such as Valhalla Rising such an unexpected joy; a profoundly artistic story of the travels of a somber mute warrior named One-Eye, caught at the brink of the Christian crusades.

As the story opens, One-Eye is a slave. His uses are limited due to his complete savagery and uncanny knack for killing,...

The talented Mads Mikkelson stars in IFC Films' "Valhalla Rising," an action adventure helmed by the very capable Nicholas Winding Refn. It's a very limited release and opens at the IFC Center on July 16th, but worthy of exploration, I'm sure. Refn, who impressed with his work on "Bronson," directs as well as writing alongside Roy Jacobson. Also in the cast are Jamie Sives, Gary Lewis, Ewan Stewart, Alexander Morton, Callum Mitchell, Andrew Flanagan and Maarten Stevenson. For years, the fearsome figure known only as One Eye (Mads Mikkelsen) has defeated everyone he's encountered, but he's treated more like an animal than a warrior. The only person he has any relationship with is the young boy who brings him food and water daily. Constantly caged and shackled, One Eye has drawn the attention of a new force now sweeping the countryside and displacing the society's leaders: Christians.

Iron Man 2 (12A)

(Jon Favreau, 2010, Us) Robert Downey Jr, Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow. 125 mins

Considering his CEO status, it's no surprise that Tony Stark's return feels more like an upgrade than a sequel. It's this season's must-have tech-form with a human interface, machine-tooled for enhanced multiplex performance, even if it has trouble finding much to say. Downey divides his time between battling his own ego and Rourke's ridiculous Russian baddie – among other myriad convoluted Marvel-universe subplots – but it's all about as exciting as the launch of a new MacBook.

Revanche (15)

(Götz Spielmann, 2008, Aus) Johannes Krisch, Irina Potapenko. 122 mins

An Austrian noir thriller, this takes the heist-gone-wrong set-up to intriguing new territory – the countryside – giving our sympathetic crook a new perspective, and bringing him perilously close to his cop nemesis.

Valhalla Rising (15)

(Nicolas Winding Refn, 2009, Den/UK) Mads Mikkelsen, Maarten Stevenson. 100 mins

This gory, hallucinatory Viking odyssey makes an indelible impression,...

Viking war movie Valhalla Rising comes to DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on May 17, following its theatrical release in March by Vertigo Films.

From the producers of The Football Factory and the director of the Pusher trilogy and biopic Bronson, Nicolas Winding Refn's film depicts the unflinching violence and brutality of the Viking Age.

Countering this are deeper themes that offer what the director calls "science fiction for the mind". Valhalla Rising, in the vein of historical battle epics such as 300, Outlander and Last Legion, is described as having an atmosphere that echoes Wrath of God and Apocalypse Now.

Here's the official synopsis:

One-Eye (Mads Mikkelsen - Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Clash of the Titans) is driven by hate. It is how he survives, why he never loses. 

For years, this mute warrior of supernatural strength has been held prisoner by the chieftain Barde (Alexander Morton -...

Mads Mikkelsen as Harald in Valhalla Rising

Photo: Nimbus Film Productions Nicolas Winding Refn made a name for himself with the Pusher trilogy and looks to be doing himself one better on the festival circuit with Bronson, the true life story of British prisoner Charles Bronson (not the actor), which was picked up by Magnet Releasing and will hit the States on October 9. The film has received a lot of attention and a recently released trailer which can be seen at Hulu. However, next up for Refn is Valhalla Rising and it will be premiering at the Venice Film Festival this September and we have your first look at star Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) as Harald as well as a second still from the film which can be seen in our gallery right here. In Valhalla Rising Mikkelsen plays the mute slave Harald who escapes his Scottish masters with the help of 10-year-old Are,...