Bloody Tennis review
Will Zach Cregger make it through this Shudder Original?
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Bloody Tennis
Directed by Nikias Chryssos
Written by Nikias Chryssos
Starring Sandra Guldberg Kampp, Elina Lowensohn, Tracy Gotoas, Lily Taieb, Juliana Vieira-Guerra, Helena Zengel and Lucie Zhang
Bloody Tennis Review
There is a new elephant in the room when discussing Shudder’s ongoing stream of original and exclusive movies. It arrives courtesy of Weapons and Resident Evil director Zach Cregger. During an interview promoting his hit (sorry so-called Resident Evil “fans”) video game adaptation he commented on the state of Shudder’s content. He said he starts every Shudder movie…but he doesn’t finish 75% of them. He also noted that he loves the streamer and will always be a subscriber…but his point is worthy of discussion. When the director of the #1 movie at the box office takes a little jab at you…it’s going to become a talking point. To their credit, Shudder has taken the critique in stride. They thanked everyone who starts one of their movies…and awarded bonus points to those who finish them.
But Cregger has a point. Even if it was meant somewhat in jest. It isn’t all that different than the point I’ve been making about the streaming service since they had a change in leadership a couple of years ago. There was a tough stretch where Shudder simply wasn’t providing enough original/exclusive content that debuted directly on the service. It felt like almost every movie Shudder would hang its hat on would head to theaters first…which wasn’t the way things were handled under the previous administration. But things have changed for the better…at least quantity wise. 2026 has seen a resurgence in Shudder original/exclusive content. There is a lot more independent horror available now. But Cregger’s comment is a matter of quality…not quantity. And that’s where the issue has remained stuck in the mud a little bit.
I thought about Cregger’s quip repeatedly while watching Bloody Tennis. He never stated that the movies themselves were “bad”. He basically intimated that they were rarely felt worth sticking through for an entire watch. A movie doesn’t have to be bad to lose your attention. It can simply…not be for you. Maybe it’s too slow…maybe it just isn’t your subgenre…maybe you can’t even tell what subgenre category it fits into. Bloody Tennis is the unfortunate first Shudder original/exclusive drop since Cregger made his comment. And it fits his point really well.
If I wasn’t reviewing the movie (which I promise I will be doing shortly) I’d probably have seen what else was on at some point during my viewing. That’s not because Bloody Tennis is a bad movie. Like most Shudder releases…it’s fine. Ironically, the best part of the movie comes at the end which is where Cregger or the theoretical version of me who didn’t have a review to write wouldn’t have even seen it. But is this a Shudder issue…or is this an independent horror issue? One of the best things about horror is the amount of movie types it can encompass. Indie horror allows us to hear all different kinds of voices and gives them a chance to be discovered. That’s a great thing. But it also means…there are a lot of indie horror movies out there to choose from.
Every week I do a write up on the following week’s new horror releases. It’s never a short list. The days of Shudder providing a unique spot to see foreign or independent horror releases are long gone. Foreign horror movies are playing in theaters now. Colony, Hope, Never After Dark…these would have been prime Shudder exclusive options back in the day. Independent horror heads to the theaters now too. Not all of it, of course…but enough of it. Other streamers don’t seem as horror-averse anymore (although it is an incredibly weak spooky season for most of them this year). Direct to VOD has become a reliable option for indie horror of the same quality Shudder is offering as well. There is simply too much competition for a “fine” movie to hold your attention anymore.
Bloody Tennis is fine. It’s slow…and it feels pretty directionless for longer than you’d prefer. But it’s pretty good once it gets going. The title card on Shudder pitches it as Challengers meets Suspiria. I think that’s an over-sell, but it is about both tennis and a foreigner joining a prestigious and messed up academy of sorts. It lacks any of the style you’d associate with the latter…trading in remarkable visuals for dark, dank and lifeless locations. That’s not done without purpose…but don’t go into it expecting a dreamlike version of a real nightmare. Mostly…Bloody Tennis is about waiting to get to the point. I could have punned match point…and I already regret it.
After the lengthy introduction to the girls at the tennis academy and the weirdos who run it…Bloody Tennis just kind of exists until something happens. That something comes in the way of murder…which is a welcome respite from the barely there tennis action and the dangerously close to repetitive training/living with the other girls sections. There is a romance if you want it. I’m not certain Bloody Tennis ever did. Its best quality is finding out what happens when you lose a match and are ejected from the academy. Let’s just say that winning and losing here really is a matter of life and death.
Then the third act arrives and Bloody Tennis becomes more interesting. Is it enough to warrant sitting through the slow parts? That’s up to you. Zach Cregger probably didn’t make it. If I wasn’t writing this review I probably wouldn’t have either. But I’m glad I did. Because Bloody Tennis eventually becomes pretty fun. The question of whether that’s enough anymore is still to be answered.
Scare Value
We didn’t dive very deep into Bloody Tennis in this review because the talking point of what Shudder is now has become more interesting than most of the movies they put out. It’s great that we have a place to see more original independent horror content…but the streamer is struggling to make the case for being a necessity of late. It’s missing that can’t miss feature…something that is only going to become clearer when they run out of Joe Bob specials. Bloody Tennis is fine. It’s watchable. Well…it’s worth starting, at least.
2/5
Bloody Tennis Link
Streaming on Shudder
