#31HorrorFIlms31Days - Another Dark Descent
Another October gone. Another slew of horror movies watched.
For the past few years, author and Booklist editor Daniel Kraus (@DanielDKraus) has invited his Twitter followers to participate in an event where he challenges us to watch 31 horror films in the 31 days before Halloween. Since I love both horror movies and Halloween, I can never resist.
As this is the 3rd year or so that I've done this, I'm surprised that I always forget how difficult it is to watch what are typically very terrible, violent, and silly movies every single day for a month. It's kinda like soaking your brain in a tub of vinegar and bug guts. My goal this year was to find a new gem or two, and I'm happy to admit that I succeeded. YAY! 32 films watched, and Housebound is one of my new favorites!
My list follows, along with my Twitter commentary. Also, I've starred *** my favorites. (ALSO: This list is in NO WAY a recommendation to watch these films, especially since many of them are rated R and are very violent. ACK! If you're a young person and wish to view any of these films, please ask your parent or guardian first!)
1) A FIELD IN ENGLAND. If Lynch and Kubrick had co-directed an adaptation of HOLES, it might've looked like this.
2) FREAKS. A group of unique circus performers turn a gold-digging trapeze artist into ONE OF THEM.***
3) HALLOWEEN (by Rob Zombie). A god-awful remake of one of my most favorite movies. Why did I just do that to myself?
4) THE HILLS HAVE EYES (remake). Heroic dog saves one terrible American family from another terrible American family.
5) HONEYMOON. All I'm gonna say about this one is I watched the last 15 minutes with my hands covering my face. OMG. ***
6) ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE. But when they come back, all football players die too.
7) HALLOWEEN III. Evil CEO of novelty mask company competes with Willy Wonka for creepiest factory on the planet. ***
8) THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS. Bette Davis loses daughter during pagan ritual in abandoned church. From Disney! ***
9) WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? Oh didn't you hear? She turned into a psycho. Ultimate elder abuse tale. ***
10) INSIDE. Buck-toothed French woman with scissors really, really, REALLY wants that pregnant lady's baby.
11) SHIVERS. Parasitic aphrodisiac slugs wreak havoc on a luxury Canadian condo, turning residents into sexy zombies.
12) THE RING. A haunted VHS tape kills. Thank goodness no one owns VCRs anymore.
13) THE SACRAMENT. Lame, boiled-down mocumentary of the truly horrifying massacre at Jonestown. (PBS doc is amazing.)
14)BANSHEE CHAPTER. A new version of Lovecraft's From Beyond. CIA experiments go awry when alien entities interfere.
15) ALIEN ABDUCTION. Would've much preferred Alien: A Duck-Chin. That's not even a thing, but I would've preferred it.
16) A GOOD MARRIAGE. From Stephen King. With this film and Gone Girl out now, marriage rates may drop this month. ***
17) THE RETURNED. A cure for zombification? Cool! Supplies run out? So not cool.
18) SADAKO. (basically Ringu 4) Not as bizarro bonkers as Hausu but may be just as fun. Giant ghost-spider girls. Yay!
19) DOOMSDAY BOOK. 3 shorts from Korea about 3 very different apocalypses. Zombies, robots, and internet wormholes.
20) THE DOUBLE. Dostoyevsky's evil doppleganger story. Bureaucracy is hell, especially when a coworker steals your ID. ***
21) THE RAVEN. A deranged fan of Poe recreates the literary murders to impress Mr. Edgar. Based on an untrue story!
22) ALIEN. HAD TO WATCH ONE OF THE BEST FILMS EVER TO CLEANSE MY BRAINS. You've seen it. You know what it's about. ***
23) ALIENS. Like the first one, but plural. ***
24) HORNS. Daniel Radcliffe turns into a literally devilish detective determined to find his girlfriend's killer.
25) MOTEL HELL. Farmer Vincent's Beef Jerky is PEOPLE!
26) THE TAKING OF DEBORAH LOGAN. Alzheimer's is a horrible disease, especially when it's caused by demonic possession.
27) THE CHILDREN. They were so well behaved until the bus drove thru nuclear fog. Now, their hugs are DEAAADDDLYYY.
28) HOUSEBOUND. A young criminal under house-arrest fears that she's sharing a room with a vengeful spirit. AMAZING. ***
29) SIREN. She'll break your heart. And smash your ship on the rocks. And then kill and eat you.
30) C.H.U.D. Cannibalisitic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. NYC. 1984. What else is there to say?
31) CURTAINS. 6 actresses audition for a role at a secluded country house. One wants the part much more than the rest.
32) VHS: VIRAL. More of the same. Less interesting. Except that crazy portal section. That was insane. (Actually, I ended up really liking parts of this one).
THAT'S IT! Til next year...
