Netflix, Inc. (NFLX): A Frightening Way to Push This Stock to New Highs

Television audiences can’t seem to get enough of bloody murder, and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is more than happy to oblige. The streaming sensation releases all 13 episodes of new horror series Hemlock Grove on April 19, just three days before releasing first-quarter earnings.

Unlike political thriller House of Cards, which earns a remarkable nine out of 10 stars over more than 26,000 ratings at IMDB, Hemlock Grove is a genuine chiller in which a Rust Belt town is paralyzed by an unknown werewolf lurking among them:

Can actor and horror director Eli Roth deliver as Kevin Spacey and David Fincher have? Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock jumped nearly 10% in the week following the Feb. 1 debut of House of Cards, a high bar. In terms of ratings, the show also purportedly rivaled the HBO hit Girls during this debut week.

Roth, meanwhile, is known for playing the “Bear Jew” in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and for directing profitable torture flicks Hostel and Hostel II for Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) (NYSE:LGF). Hemlock Grove doesn’t appear to be as harsh, but it’s a sure bet Roth’s werewolf will have a sharper and bloodier bite than the shirtless lycanthropes featured in the Twilight films.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is also airing Hemlock Grove at an interesting time. AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX) is coming off yet another record-setting season for apocalyptic drama The Walking Dead, which drew 12.4 million viewers during its Easter Sunday finale. Shares of AMC Networks Inc(NASDAQ:AMCX) are up more than 27% year to date.

So get ready to get scared. Especially if you’re among the brave souls shorting Netflix stock right now.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of, and had a long-term call options position in, Netflix at the time of publication. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Netflix.