Is Screambox good?
Two years ago, we called Screambox the horror streaming service where “Netflix horror goes to die.” Since then, Screambox vastly improved its app, library, and pricing. We now have an annual subscription.
We still think Shudder is the best horror streaming service—but Screambox is breathing down Shudder’s neck. With continued meaningful improvements, Screambox could catch Shudder. And having two top-tier horror streaming services would be bloody awesome.
Screambox pros and cons
- Excellent curation
- Eight live FAST channels
- Offline viewing
- Billing issues
Screambox deals and promotions
Screambox has a free seven-day trial, and its full-year subscription option will save you around twenty-four bucks off its regular yearly price.
Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) menaces Tera Hayes (Jenna Kannell) in Damien Leone’s Terrifier—a Screambox original.
(Video screenshot from Screambox in Chrome on Windows 10)
Screambox plans and pricing
Data as of post date.
At $6.99 monthly, Screambox is one of the most affordable on-demand streaming TV services, even with its recent price increases.
Annual Screambox subscriptions are now $59.99 ($4.99 monthly), which amounts to around a 30% discount on the regular monthly price. Unfortunately, Screambox no longer offers its discounted half-yearly membership—ya gotta commit for a full year to get the discount. Regardless, Screambox is still a screamin’ deal.
Pro tip: For the ultimate low-budget streaming horror menu, supplement the Screambox annual subscription ($6.99/mo. or $59.99/yr.) with the free, ad-supported streaming TV service Tubi, which has tons of scary movies.
Screambox vs. the competition
| Service | Price | Free trial | Library size (estimated) | Streams | Resolution (up to) | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Best overall Shudder |
$6.99/mo. or $71.88/yr. | 7 days | 650+ | 1 | Up to 720p | View Plan |
| Arrow Player | $6.99/mo. or $69.99/yr. | 30 days | 600+ | Unavailable | Up to 4K | View plan |
| Full Moon Features | $6.99/mo. or $59.99/yr. | 7 days | 500+ | 3 | Up to 1080p | View Plan |
| Screambox | $6.99/mo. or $59.99/yr. | 7 days | 400+ | 3 | Up to 1080p | View Plan |
| Monsters and Nightmares | $2.99/mo. or $29.99/yr. | 7 days | 86+ | Unavailable | Up to 1080p | View Plan |
Data as of post date.
Screambox shouldn’t be your first choice when superior horror streaming services like Shudder, Full Moon Features, and Arrow Player cost the same price ($6.99) per month.
For $6.99 a month ($5.99 for annual subs), Shudder has 630+ movies and shows and higher overall content quality, with an incredibly satisfying selection of classics, new blood, exclusives, and originals.
The Arrow Player—powered by boutique Blu-ray company Arrow Video—has 550+ films for $6.99 monthly ($5.83 a month with the annual option). If you’re looking for top-shelf cult and art-house horror (plus a generous helping of martial arts films), this is like having the VHS rental shop at your fingertips—without the risk of taking home a stinker.
If you appreciate a good scare as much as you do schlocky midnight movies, Full Moon Features has around 500 films for $6.99 per month ($5.00 monthly if you go annual) that satisfy both cravings.
All said, Screambox is a solid choice—and especially if horror obscurities are your freaky thing. And, if budget isn’t an issue, we highly recommend Screambox as an affordable addition to your streaming TV service lineup—even if you already have one of the better horror services.
Screambox movies and shows
When we first tested Screambox, the service’s slogan—“horror you won’t find anywhere else”—was only technically accurate. At the time, only 11 of Screambox’s 400+ films rated above 5.0 (out of 10.0) on IMDb.com. The rest felt like insulting, time-wasting, zero-calorie filler.
Two years later, Screambox has dumped the dumb stuff and licensed higher-quality horror obscurities that better fulfill the service’s promise. Even better: Screambox now has 47 original or exclusive movies, including the infamous Terrifier and Terrifier 2.
Click on the prompt below to see a lengthy but still partial list of movies on Screambox.
Movies on Screambox (partial list)
- Aenigma
- American Mary
- The Ancestral*
- Anthropophagous
- Audition
- Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies
- The Awakening*
- Bad Moon
- The Barn
- The Barn Part II*
- Basket Case
- The Beyond
- The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
- Birdemic trilogy
- Black Christmas (1974)
- Blue Vengeance
- Black Candles
- Boa vs. Python
- Body Bags
- Brain Damage
- Brain Freeze*
- Cannibal Ferox
- Cannibal Holocaust
- Cat in the Brain
- The Changeling
- Cinematic Titanic: The Wasp Woman
- Class of 1984
- The Collector
- Creepypasta*
- The Crazies (1973)
- Cube*
- Cruel Jaws
- Dark Water
- The Day of the Beast
- The Dead Next Door
- Death by Metal
- The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years
- Deep Red
- Doom Asylum
- The Driller Killer
- Eaten Alive!
- Edge of the Axe
- The Editor
- Evil Dead Trap
- Fulci for Fake
- Galaxy of Terror
- The Ghastly Brothers*
- Ghosthouse
- The Gothfather
- Gravy
- Grotesque
- Gutterballs
- Hard Rock Zombies
- Hell House, Inc.*
- The Hills Have Eyes
- History of the Occult*
- Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story*
- Humanoids from the Deep
- I Drink Your Blood
- Inseminoid
- Itsy Bitsy
- Jethica*
- Jungle Trap
- Just Desserts: The Making of Creepshow*
- Killer Piñata
- Kolobos
- Living with Chucky*
- The Manson Family
- Metamorphosis
- My Bloody Banjo
- New Religion*
- Night of the Demon
- Night Train to Terror
- Nightbreed
- Ninja Zombie
- Nomads
- Nosferatu
- Not Alone*
- Offspring
- One Missed Call
- The Outwaters*
- Ox-Head Village*
- Pennywise: The Story of IT*
- Pieces
- Piranha
- The Prey
- Project Wolf Hunting
- PussyCake*
- Python
- Rabid (1977)
- Rabid (2019)
- Re-Animator
- Repulse*
- Revolt of the Zombies
- Ringu trilogy
- The Rise of the Synths*
- Road Head
- Santa Sangre
- Satan Claus
- Satan’s Little Helper*
- Scary Movie (1991)
- Scary Tales
- Schlock
- Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street
- Season of the Witch
- Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre
- Sharknado: Feeding Frenzy
- She Freak
- Shifted*
- Shoky & Morthy: Last Big Thing*
- Silent Night, Deadly Night 2
- The Slayer
- Sleepaway Camp
- The Slumber Party Massacre
- Slumber Party Massacre 2
- Snoop Dogg’s Hood of Horror
- The Soultangler
- The Sound of Scars*
- Spider Baby
- Spookies
- SSSSHHH . . .*
- Star Time
- The Stepfather series
- Story Game*
- Subject*
- Subspecies series
- Subspecies V: Blood Rise*
- Suicide Forest Village*
- The Taking of Deborah Logan
- Terrifier*
- Terrifier 2*
- Thankskilling
- Thanksilling 3
- Tideland
- Torso
- Unearthed and Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary
- The Untold Story
- Vietnamese Horror Story
- Welcome to Hell*
- When the Screaming Starts*
- Who Done It: The Clue Documentary*
- Yellow Dragon’s Village*
- Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key
- Zombie 3 (a.k.a. Zombi 3)
- Zombie 4: After Death (a.k.a. Zombi 4)
- The Zombie King
Data as of post date.
* Screambox original or exclusive.
Shows on Screambox
Unfortunately, the quality and quantity of TV shows on Screambox, dropped since our last review. Some killer stuff like Freddy’s Nightmares (once a Screambox exclusive), Masters of Horror, and The Dead Zone vanished from the service. Fewer than 10 series remain, and the best among them are 13 Nights of Elvira, The Toxic Crusaders, and two short docuseries about Hellraiser and Fright Night.
Screambox makes up for this with eight new live TV channels. We cover these in the next section.
- 13 Nights of Elvira
- D.W. Draws . . . with Ashley
- Hellier
- Hello Horror
- The Island
- Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II*
- You’re So Cool, Brewster!: The Story of Fright Night*
Data as of post date.
The Screambox “Shows” page as viewed on a Windows 10 laptop in the Google Chrome browser. (Screenshot)
Live TV on Screambox
The new, improved Screambox incorporates eight live FAST channels that offer live, looping content. Screambox TV (formerly Bloody Disgusting TV) is the main channel, showing live presentations of Screambox movies and shows.
The other seven channels—Crime Hunters, The El Rey Network, Midnight Pulp, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K), Retro Crush, and Shout! Factory TV—expand and diversify Screambox’s content with action, anime, arthouse, comedy, cult, fantasy, true crime, and even more horror.
Live TV channels on Screambox
- Screambox TV
- Crime Hunters
- El Rey Network
- Midnight Pulp
- Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K)
- Retro Crush
- Shout! Factory TV
Data as of post date.
* Screambox original.
The Screambox “Live TV” page shows the programming guide and a thumbnail (expandable to full screen) of the live stream. (Screenshot)
Screambox add-ons
Screambox has no add-ons, but Prime Video subscribers can add Screambox as an Amazon Prime Channel for the same price. The difference between subscribing to Screambox directly and through Prime Channels is that you can’t use the Screambox app with Prime Channels. Now that Screambox has a decent app, it’s a better experience than what’s available via Amazon.
Screambox specs and features
Let’s see what’s up with Screambox re: simultaneous streams, cloud DVR, and offline viewing.
Screambox simultaneous streams
Screambox has three simultaneous streams, which is two more than Shudder—and the same amount as Arrow Player and Full Moon Features. But Night Flight Plus destroys the competition with unlimited streams.
Offline viewing
On-demand streaming TV services don’t tend to offer cloud DVR, but Screambox has downloads for offline viewing—that’s close enough to DVR for us.
Pro tip: Offline viewing is awesome if you travel a lot, because it saves you from using your mobile data. Just don’t forget to do all of your downloading on your home network, or you’ll use mobile data anyway.
Screambox app
The old Screambox app was a frustrating mess, but the new one (Android, iOS) addressed all of our gripes. After testing the new Screambox app on the Roku Ultra and an Android smartphone, we’re pleased to report that Screambox is now a smoother, more intuitive streaming experience.
Offline viewing
You can use the Screambox mobile app to download movies and watch them offline, like for when you’re on a long flight and need a sleep aid. Just remember to download titles in advance on your home Wi-Fi so you don’t use your mobile data.
But if you do forget to download stuff before leaving home, you can save data by changing the download quality in the app’s settings. Or just consider yourself lucky.
Supported devices
| Screambox supports | |
|---|---|
| Amazon Fire TV devices | ✔ |
| Android phones and tablets | ✔ |
| Apple TV devices | ✔ |
| Google Chromecast | ✔ |
| iPhones and iPads | ✔ |
| Roku devices | ✔ |
| Samsung smart TV (select models) | ✔ |
| Web browsers | ✔ |
Data as of post date.
The Screambox app supports plenty of devices—you probably already have one of these.
Screambox video and audio quality
Screambox streams at up to full 1080p HD—which beats Shudder’s standard HD (720p)—but quality depends on the strength of your Wi-Fi connection. If the app detects slower speeds, it lowers the video quality to conserve bandwidth. And if you know your connection is slow or that you’ll be somewhere with spotty service, you can preemptively set your video quality to high, medium, or low.
A zombie guinea pig, Bub (Sherman Howard) tries to remember how to use a telephone in George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead (1985).
We had no issues with audio or video quality on either the Roku device or our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 smartphone.
Is Screambox worth it?
Screambox is much better than two years ago when we first reviewed it. The app works, the library quality has improved, and the price is super affordable.
You’ll get more—and better—movies and shows from Shudder, Full Moon Features, and Arrow Player—and they don’t cost much more than Screambox. But, if you’re into more than mainstream horror and you’re on a budget, Screambox is totally worth it.
Screambox FAQ
Is Screambox any good?
Screambox is so, so much better than it was two years ago. The new app works well and looks good, the Screambox library got a quality upgrade, and the service has pretty affordable pricing: $6.99/mo. or $59.99/yr..
Is Screambox better than Shudder?
Screambox isn’t better than Shudder yet—but maybe someday. Screambox has made major improvements to its app, library, and pricing over the last two years. Now we have an annual subscription and Screambox has our recommendation.
Are there any good movies on Screambox?
There are many more good movies on Screambox now than when we reviewed the streaming service last year. Here’s a sample of what’s on there. For a larger list, jump back to the Movies on Screambox section of this article and expand the collapsible menu.
- Audition
- Bad Moon
- Basket Case
- The Beyond
- Body Bags
- Brain Damage
- Carnival of Souls
- The Dead Next Door
- The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years
- Deep Red
- The Editor
- Grotesque
- Gutterballs
- The Hills Have Eyes
- Jethica
- Nightbreed
- Project Wolf Hunting
- Re-Animator
- Spider Baby
- Terrifier
- Terrifier 2
- Winners Tape All
What is the best horror streaming service?
Shudder is the best horror streaming service. That said, Screambox is getting better all the time and it costs $6.99/mo. or $59.99/yr..
Methodology
Our TV experts and horror/midnight movie experts have put hundreds of hours into testing Screambox, Shudder, Full Moon Features and just about every other streaming TV service and add-on channel. We do it because we like it—but also because we want to share our experience and insights with our readers so you can make informed decisions. To learn more about our process, check out the CableTV.com “How We Rank” page.
