Eli Roth's “The Green Inferno” is one of the films available at the launch of the Shadowz platform, in the “no vegan” selection (you surprise me) - Worldview Entertainment

Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV +… While the platform war is about to wage its biggest battle to date with the arrival of Disney + on March 24, other SVOD players are playing on more modest fronts, even niche, but promising. This is the case of Shadowz, the first French streaming platform - or "screaming" to use their nice pun - devoted to genre films. It takes advantage of Friday March 13 (!) To launch out, after a successful crowdfunding campaign and with a catalog of nearly 200 horrifying, fantastic short and feature films, SF, thrillers…

This is an informative message. #shadowz #horreur #horror #svod pic.twitter.com/h4GvXmaCK0

- Shadowz (@shadowzvod) March 10, 2020

The genre, unloved by channels and platforms?

Behind this initiative hides VOD Factory, which, as its name suggests, is a specialist in VOD in France, with three strings to its bow: "a technical component for VOD portals of SFR, Fnac or CDiscount, a role of aggregator and distributor of OTT offers for Internet operators, and the pure creation of SVOD services like Shadowz ", explains Christophe Minelle, marketing manager at VOD Factory and creator of Shadowz. The start-up is not at its first platform, with already Spicee, a project bought and dedicated to documentaries, or QueerScreen, in partnership with Optimale, a distributor of LGBT + films.

"Shadowz is our first platform mounted on our own," explains Christophe Minelle. We have invested a lot in it, we believe in it enormously. As genre enthusiasts, we realized, and we are not the first, that there is a lack, a void, for horror films. The latter do not go into prime time, so the channels do not finance them, and even on existing platforms, it is often the premium for novelty with very few classics, or even films from before 2000. "

Good evenings in perspective !! Thanks again @shadowzvod #shadowz pic.twitter.com/jH5lsJrWJ5

- rocking-chair (@Nio_Herzn) March 9, 2020

A loyal and committed community

Other services like FilmoTV already defend the genre, at their level, but the model claimed by Shadowz is Shudder, the Netflix of horror which has a million subscribers in the United States and Canada especially, but also in the United - United Kingdom or Ireland. There was even talk of the service being rolled out to the rest of the world and to Europe. "Fortunately they did not come to France," jokes the manager of Shadowz, who highlights the financial difficulties of AMC Networks, owner of Shudder and chain of the walking -dead series The Walking Dead (this perhaps explains be that).

Like Shudder, Shadowz targets the genre fan community, a very loyal and very committed community. The proof with the Ulule campaign set up for the platform, "less to finance it than to verify the public interest", and which collected three times its initial objective. “The idea is for the community to make Shadowz their media, their home, with sponsors such as French filmmakers. Many of them are keen, wanting to make exclusive content between two films, when we get bigger, and until then participate in playlists, carte blanche, cult scenes… ”

3, 2, 1 ... 🚀 pic.twitter.com/rsmZmRykGV

- Shadowz (@shadowzvod) February 28, 2020

The Carpenters, Romero, Argento are there

Regarding the catalog, and this is a bit essential, Shadowz tries to be balanced with "classics from the classics, films less known by directors or essential times, nuggets little distributed in France, etc. The Carpenters, Romero, Argento are there, with also more recent cult films ( The Descent, Donnie Darko, Mister Babadook ), a focus on Ozploitation, Australian cinema, as well as a selection of short films. French films, little seen outside the festival circuit.

Finally, like Netflix Originals and all things considered, Shadowz wants to offer new content, films never released, "like French Blood , an anthology of sketches by a collective of French filmmakers". After its launch on Friday, the platform will continue to expand its offer, with the promise of new curiosities, even big shots, from 4.99 euros per month, with a free seven-day trial. And then we die of dread as in Ring ?

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