DVD Talk Forum - View Single Post - The 5th Annual "October Horror Movie Challenge" (10/1

cardsfan111 · 09-19-09, 01:27 AM

My FINALIZED 2009 Horror Movie Challenge List

October 1
1. One Hour Photo - Starting just after midnight with a "tame" selection. I'm not a huge fan of Robin Williams comedy. He plays a disturbed individual here, and does so effectively.
2. Cry Wolf - On the surface, I thought this might be a run-of-the-mill slasher film. I was pleasantly surprised. Enough twists to keep you guessing until the end.
3. The Haunted Mansion - I remember catching this in the $1 theater years ago and being bored to death. Today, I'm thankful that I don't own this movie (checked it out from the library) and that it allowed me to watch something with the kids and keep up the good early pace in the challenge.
4. My Bloody Valentine (1981) - Finally got to watch the special edition with the uncut scenes and I wasn't disappointed. Normally doing the challenge, I don't spend too much time with special features. On this one, I watched the documentary earlier in the week and spent a few moments tonight going through the deleted scenes individually with the commentary. Good stuff!

October 2
5. The Cube - First time ever watching a film from beginning to end online. Worth checking out. I'll throw in my 2 cents in the 31 film review thread.
6. Children of the Corn - Watched with commentary. Interesting, though I had watched the DVD documentary earlier in the week and the best parts of the commentary rehashed some of the same info given there. Surprised to learn that the young man who played Isaac was in his mid-20s when cast for the role. He has some genetic condition which led him to be short and have a youthful appearance. Obviously that helped him land the part.
7. Friday the 13th (1980) - Watched with commentary. This was a good, but strange commentary. The many folks involved didn't comment at all on what was taking place on screen. Instead it was all these pre-recorded comments edited together.
8. Student Bodies - Yes, this movie is dumb. Yet for some reason my brother and I can quote more silly lines from this film than any of the horror classics.

October 3
9. Poltergeist II - I hadn't re-visited the Poltergeist sequels in a long, long time since I recalled them being subpar. At least they were able to have most of the original cast back in this one.

October 4
10. Poltergeist III - This is somewhat painful to watch. For one, the movie is not very good. Secondly, the film centers around the young girl played by Heather O'Rourke. In this movie, you notice that her face is a little "puffy". Her imdb page has some fascinating trivia/info including details on how she became ill while filming this movie (leading to the puffy face) and eventually passed away.

October 5
11. Boogeyman (1980) - There aren't words to describe how bad this movie was...the worst part? I still have a sequel to watch.

October 6
12. Return of the Boogeyman - Ugh! I thought the previous one was bad. I purchased the two Boogeyman films as a double feature. Learned from this one that it's not even the immediate sequel! This movie consisted primarily of flashbacks of the first--and the other(s)--film that followed it.
13. Tales From The Crypt: "The Man Who Was Death" (Wild Card #1 - I'm going to burn through my wild cards today in order to catch up from the last few days. While familiar with TftC series, I had never watched an episode. I've got 6 seasons to go through at some point thanks to Big Lots. This first episode tells me I should like the show.
14. Tales From The Crypt: "All Through the House" (Wild Card #2) - These short stories are fun. This tale of a deranged killer Santa on the loose was entertaining. I did roll my eyes at the little child who couldn't sleep upstairs. Her mother screaming hysterically downstairs didn't wake her up. The front door closing caused her to jump right out of bed a few moments later.
15. Tales From The Crypt: "Dig That Cat...He's Real Gone" (Wild Card #3) - Predictably, this episode had me counting throughout. It led to an ending that was expected but satisfying nonetheless.
16. Tales From The Crypt: "Only Sin Deep" (Wild Card #4) - Lea Thompson was the star of this episode. I like how "name" actors are used in these.
17. Tales From The Crypt: "Lover Come Hack to Me" (Wild Card #5) - This was the most graphic/brutal of the episode thus far. Because of that and I story that was subpar in my opinion, I didn't think this episode was all that great.
18. Tales From The Crypt: "Collection Completed" (Wild Card #6) - I chuckled a bit at the humor in this one, as two older folks adjusted to life after the husband retires. I also enjoyed seeing Audra Lindley (Mrs. Roper) in this one.

October 7
19. Happy Birthday to Me - I'm surprised I hadn't seen this one before. Definitely had the same feel as all other horror movies from the early 80s. It almost seemed as if the movie went a bit overboard in coming up with twist after twist up to the very end.
20. Hack! - Motivated to watch this by noticing that Danica McKellar was in a lead role. I determined later that she was one of the few bright spots in this one.
21. Baby Blues - This was an intense film. Just a few minutes ago, I noticed it's coming up in our 31 Days/Movies Subset, so I'll leave the discussion for that thread. I had no idea it was on that list when I purchased it/watched it.

October 8
22. Harm's Way - Borderline horror/thriller type film. Kathleen Quinlan plays a character that reminded me of Misery's Kathy Bates. In fact, the movie bears some similarities with Misery. It's obviously not on that same level, but I did enjoy it.
23. Friday the 13th, Part 2 - With each F13th movie that is made, I look back on this sequel and remember how good it is. Something about the "woodsy" Jason makes it special.

October 9
24. King Kong (1976) - This film doesn't get much love it seems. I tried to imagine what it would have been like to have watched it when it came out. Surely it must have blown folks away then.
25. Flatliners - Another movie that's been out a long time. Yet somehow one that I've never seen til now.
26. Critters 2 - Not quite up to the original, but still fun. I wonder if anyone complained back in the 80s about the Critters films being ripped off from Gremlins.
27. The Last House on the Left (2009) - I've never seen the original. Since remakes often tend to be mediocre, my expectations weren't high. This was really good.

October 10
28. Hostel: Part II - I believe this is the second time I've seen a sequel before the original (Psycho being the other). Picked this up for $5 at Wal-mart because it had movie money for Zombieland which I'd like to check out. A little difficult to catch on at the beginning as it was obvious the initial character had been in the original film. Not the kind of horror movie I'd normally view--it provided my first "turn away from the screen" moment.
29. Urban Legends: Final Cut - I've been on a roll watching "part 2" films of late. Nothing special here. Surprised early on to recognize one of the characters as being in the movie Supergirl. That movie came out 16 years prior and I haven't seen it in a long, long time.
30. Saw II - Continuing with my unplanned Part 2 Saturday... I enjoy the Saw films, though I haven't seen them all. I like having to think along with the characters on screen. I also appreciate how all of the films connect together. Tobin Bell is perfect as Jigsaw.

October 11
31. Saw III - I remembered seeing this before, but couldn't recall it well enough to know how it ended. This Saw film took a step back from the previous two. I liked the main twist at the end and the story wasn't bad. However, the longer runtime for this film was spent on more gore (brain surgery) and a series of flashbacks, some of which didn't seem all that necessary.

October 12
32. Saw IV - First time watch for me. I think I liked this one a little bit more than the one before it. It is amazing how creative the writers are in bringing/linking these films together. The "parallel" story lines in this one was neat. I didn't see it coming.
33. Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door - Solid film, another tough watch. I'll post more comments in the daily thread when it's posted.

October 13
34. Resident Evil - I enjoy the fast pace of this film. It really pulls you in very quickly. The scene with the lasers going through the corridor is one of my favorites.
35. Toolbox Murders - My most confusing horror challenge experience yet. First, I thought when I bought this movie and stuck it in to play that was from the 70s/80s, and thinking I had seen it before. Instead, it was put out a few years ago (possibly a remake of the one I saw but I'm not sure). Then the movie itself was confusing going from a slasher film, before taking on more of a supernatural feel and finally ending up as more of a monster movie. The ending had significant flaws in my opinion. The heroine's husband is wounded by the bad guy and taken out by paramedics on a stretcher. Wouldn't every wife go with her husband in this case? Not here...instead, she goes to their apartment alone to pack a suitcase full of clothes...and of course giving us one final scene of her being in peril.

October 14
36. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter - I went out of order on my viewing of some of the F13th series, since I just picked up this deluxe edition used and was anxious to check out the features. Watched this with filmmaker commentary. Possibly my favorite in the whole series. If they hadn't made any more F13th films, this would have been a worthy finale. That's not to say it's not without some flaws. For some reason, as I watched this time, I was perplexed at Jason's amazing ability to transport magically from place to place. And don't try to tell me about the underground tunnel concept from the remake...this film wasn't on Jason's home turf.
37. Funny Games - Difficult to say I enjoyed this one. Too many moments that left me scratching my head. After watching, I found a thread here at DVD Talk about this film and the reasons behind some of these moments. Still left me underwhelmed.
38. Bug - While I'd hesitate to say this was a great movie, I was pleasantly surprised. I had a preconceived notion regarding what this movie would be about and how it would go. I was way off base.

October 15
39. Wolf Creek - I knew very little about this one going in. Didn't even catch on to it being based on true events. As a result, I was surprised at the ending along with the potential heroines failure to escape.
40. Vacancy - First time viewing but I felt like I'd seen it before. I had a bunch of free movie passes 2 years ago I checked out a dozen movies or so. The Vacancy trailer played before each one.

October 16
41. Halloween (2007) - Regardless of one's opinion of the movie (and I don't hate it like many), you have to give a

to the 4 1/2 hour documentary/making of feature on the 3-disc set. Spent some time plowing through it...good stuff!

October 17
42. Friday the 13th (2009) - Like the Halloween remake, this film has some flaws. However, it doesn't keep me from enjoying it.

October 18
43. Saw V - I must admit, the writers for this series of films do an amazing job connecting them. It's especially impressive that they manage to keep Tobin Bell "alive" with each sequel. This particular entry was enjoyable though the 5 people trapped seemed to make dumb decisions. It seemed obvious to me early on that they were making things too difficult on themselves.

October 19
44. Hostel - Since I watched part II, I felt an obligation to see the original. Found a cheap used copy. I'm pretty certain these will be just one-time viewings for me.
45. Let the Right One In - This film made me realize how few vampire movies I've seen. I've made more comments in the daily subset thread.

October 20
46. The Strangers - The good--This film delivers the suspense. You're on the edge of your seat from the beginning. Attackers wearing masks which show no expression are always creepy. The bad--I spent the whole movie questioning the actions of everyone. The bad guys, the couple being terrorized, the friend who shows up and even the boys in the end...constanstly scratching my head and saying, "Why?"
47. Silent Hill - Possibly my least favorite film of the challenge to this point. I appreciate horror movies that at least create a small window of thought in which you could see yourself facing a similar situation. This one failed in that respect from the beginning. I looked up info on the movie afterwards. Perhaps it would have helped being familiar with the video game this was based on.
48. The Dark - Well, at least I liked this Sean Bean entry more than the last one. Otherwise, mediocre is the word coming to mind to describe this one.

October 21
49. Dawn of the Dead (1978) - First time viewing. I've commented on how much I've enjoyed this film in the daily subset thread.
50. Copycat - In my opinion, this thriller-horror film from the 90s is very underrated. Lots of solid performances and tension from beginning to end.

October 22
51. Drag Me to Hell - Not sure yet how much I liked this one. I am sure of one thing...the old lady is the scariest horror film character I've seen for this challenge.
52. Hannibal - Had a strange experience. Several months back, I bought Hannibal Rising from a Blockbuster that was closing. I'm pretty sure I looked at the discs (probably inspecting to see if they were scratched). Today, I stick the DVD in and discover I have the movie Hannibal instead of Hannibal Rising.

I go ahead and watch but I was looking forward to seeing something I hadn't seen before and I already own Hannibal.
53. Zombieland - Is there such a thing as a feel-good Zombie movie? This fit the bill. Used my free movie money to catch this and enjoyed it.

October 23
54. Spiker - Had a free Redbox rental, not very many definite horror choices available so I grabbed this one. Get home to find it has a 2.2 score in imdb.com.

After watching, I'd give it a higher rating than that. Not that much higher, mind you...
55. Mirrors - Another Redbox freebie. Better than I thought it would be. Sutherland did well, convincing me that Jack Bauer could actually be afraid of anything.
56. I Am Legend - First time viewing of this 2007 blockbuster. Found it enjoyable, but I've never seen any of the films this remake followed. Did pick up the Vincent Price one recently, I'll have to check it out soon.

October 24
57. Dawn of the Dead (2004) - Solid remake, though outside of having much of the film taking place at a mall, there weren't many similarities.
58. Land of the Dead - I couldn't get into this one. Believe I was just zombie'd out or the lack of sleep was getting to me.

October 25
59. The Amityville Horror (1979) - I thought that I had seen this before, but surely I would have remembered "Lois Lane" (Margot Kidder) in a film like this. I thought this was just ok. Seemed like it dragged along in parts and as a result ran a little long. I have the '05 remake to tackle soon.

October 26
60. The Amityville Horror (2005) - The remake was on par with the original. Of course that means it wasn't bad and it wasn't great. Regarding this challenge specifically, I held out hope a few days ago of still making it to 100. Now, I realize, I have no shot. Oh well, still have a good number of unwatched titles to visit.

October 27
61. Planet Terror - For someone who hadn't watched a lot of zombie movies, I've caught a slew up of 'em in the last week or so. Didn't really care for this one like I thought I might. A little too over-the-top if that makes sense.
62. Identity - Had seen this a few years ago and I remembered liking the performances but not liking the ending. Going in this time, I couldn't even remember the ending specifically and I enjoyed it much more this go around.

October 28
63. See No Evil - Average film at best. The kind of movie I probably wouldn't bother with if it wasn't for the challenge.
64. Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th - These horror parody movies rarely rise above mediocre. And I won't go so far as to say this was in that category. However, for some reason, I was tickled by many of the jokes in this one.

October 29
65. Pulse - Another average entry. The only thing worse than watching these so-so films, is having to write about 'em afterwards.
66. Gothika - I thought Halle Berry was good in this film. Also, movies that involve folks who feel "wrongly imprisoned" often get to me.

October 30
67. Shaun of the Dead - Yet another zombie movie for this zombie rookie. I made a comment or two in the daily subset thread.
68. Trick 'r Treat - Rare is the horror movie that you want to watch again right away. I'll make a comment as well in the daily subset thread.
** It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - I've already used my wild cards but throwing this on my list. Enjoyed hearing the kids chuckle out loud at the antics on the screen

October 31
69. The Last Man on Earth - This Vincent Price film was solid. All along, it felt as if I was watching a stretched out episode of The Twilight Zone.
70. Friday the 13th, Part 3 - Started to watch this deluxe edition of the DVD with the 3D glasses and gave up after 15 minutes. You have to enjoy a few parts of this sequel, mainly because of the introduction of the hockey mask. However, there's a bunch of flaws in this one...the most significant being they set this movie up as if it took place immediately after Part 2. Yet Jason is a completely different character in his look, mannerisms, etc.
71. House on Haunted Hill - Watched this with Mike Nelson MST3K/Rifftrax Commentary (1st time doing this for anything). I liked it, and I think this would have been good even without the commentary. Decided to end on this note. Would have been nice to have gotten to 75 (my last 2 years I've watched 100 and 50), but ended up watching too much of the World Series this past week.

09-19-09, 01:27 AM	#38
cardsfan111 DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Indiana Posts: 5,376	Re: The 5th Annual "October Horror Movie Challenge" (10/1 - 10/31) **LISTS GO HERE! My FINALIZED 2009 Horror Movie Challenge List October 1 1. One Hour Photo - Starting just after midnight with a "tame" selection. I'm not a huge fan of Robin Williams comedy. He plays a disturbed individual here, and does so effectively. 2. Cry Wolf - On the surface, I thought this might be a run-of-the-mill slasher film. I was pleasantly surprised. Enough twists to keep you guessing until the end. 3. The Haunted Mansion - I remember catching this in the $1 theater years ago and being bored to death. Today, I'm thankful that I don't own this movie (checked it out from the library) and that it allowed me to watch something with the kids and keep up the good early pace in the challenge. 4. My Bloody Valentine (1981) - Finally got to watch the special edition with the uncut scenes and I wasn't disappointed. Normally doing the challenge, I don't spend too much time with special features. On this one, I watched the documentary earlier in the week and spent a few moments tonight going through the deleted scenes individually with the commentary. Good stuff! October 2 5. The Cube - First time ever watching a film from beginning to end online. Worth checking out. I'll throw in my 2 cents in the 31 film review thread. 6. Children of the Corn - Watched with commentary. Interesting, though I had watched the DVD documentary earlier in the week and the best parts of the commentary rehashed some of the same info given there. Surprised to learn that the young man who played Isaac was in his mid-20s when cast for the role. He has some genetic condition which led him to be short and have a youthful appearance. Obviously that helped him land the part. 7. Friday the 13th (1980) - Watched with commentary. This was a good, but strange commentary. The many folks involved didn't comment at all on what was taking place on screen. Instead it was all these pre-recorded comments edited together. 8. Student Bodies - Yes, this movie is dumb. Yet for some reason my brother and I can quote more silly lines from this film than any of the horror classics. October 3 9. Poltergeist II - I hadn't re-visited the Poltergeist sequels in a long, long time since I recalled them being subpar. At least they were able to have most of the original cast back in this one. October 4 10. Poltergeist III - This is somewhat painful to watch. For one, the movie is not very good. Secondly, the film centers around the young girl played by Heather O'Rourke. In this movie, you notice that her face is a little "puffy". Her imdb page has some fascinating trivia/info including details on how she became ill while filming this movie (leading to the puffy face) and eventually passed away. October 5 11. Boogeyman (1980) - There aren't words to describe how bad this movie was...the worst part? I still have a sequel to watch. October 6 12. Return of the Boogeyman - Ugh! I thought the previous one was bad. I purchased the two Boogeyman films as a double feature. Learned from this one that it's not even the immediate sequel! This movie consisted primarily of flashbacks of the first--and the other(s)--film that followed it. 13. Tales From The Crypt: "The Man Who Was Death" (Wild Card #1 - I'm going to burn through my wild cards today in order to catch up from the last few days. While familiar with TftC series, I had never watched an episode. I've got 6 seasons to go through at some point thanks to Big Lots. This first episode tells me I should like the show. 14. Tales From The Crypt: "All Through the House" (Wild Card #2) - These short stories are fun. This tale of a deranged killer Santa on the loose was entertaining. I did roll my eyes at the little child who couldn't sleep upstairs. Her mother screaming hysterically downstairs didn't wake her up. The front door closing caused her to jump right out of bed a few moments later. 15. Tales From The Crypt: "Dig That Cat...He's Real Gone" (Wild Card #3) - Predictably, this episode had me counting throughout. It led to an ending that was expected but satisfying nonetheless. 16. Tales From The Crypt: "Only Sin Deep" (Wild Card #4) - Lea Thompson was the star of this episode. I like how "name" actors are used in these. 17. Tales From The Crypt: "Lover Come Hack to Me" (Wild Card #5) - This was the most graphic/brutal of the episode thus far. Because of that and I story that was subpar in my opinion, I didn't think this episode was all that great. 18. Tales From The Crypt: "Collection Completed" (Wild Card #6) - I chuckled a bit at the humor in this one, as two older folks adjusted to life after the husband retires. I also enjoyed seeing Audra Lindley (Mrs. Roper) in this one. October 7 19. Happy Birthday to Me - I'm surprised I hadn't seen this one before. Definitely had the same feel as all other horror movies from the early 80s. It almost seemed as if the movie went a bit overboard in coming up with twist after twist up to the very end. 20. Hack! - Motivated to watch this by noticing that Danica McKellar was in a lead role. I determined later that she was one of the few bright spots in this one. 21. Baby Blues - This was an intense film. Just a few minutes ago, I noticed it's coming up in our 31 Days/Movies Subset, so I'll leave the discussion for that thread. I had no idea it was on that list when I purchased it/watched it. October 8 22. Harm's Way - Borderline horror/thriller type film. Kathleen Quinlan plays a character that reminded me of Misery's Kathy Bates. In fact, the movie bears some similarities with Misery. It's obviously not on that same level, but I did enjoy it. 23. Friday the 13th, Part 2 - With each F13th movie that is made, I look back on this sequel and remember how good it is. Something about the "woodsy" Jason makes it special. October 9 24. King Kong (1976) - This film doesn't get much love it seems. I tried to imagine what it would have been like to have watched it when it came out. Surely it must have blown folks away then. 25. Flatliners - Another movie that's been out a long time. Yet somehow one that I've never seen til now. 26. Critters 2 - Not quite up to the original, but still fun. I wonder if anyone complained back in the 80s about the Critters films being ripped off from Gremlins. 27. The Last House on the Left (2009) - I've never seen the original. Since remakes often tend to be mediocre, my expectations weren't high. This was really good. October 10 28. Hostel: Part II - I believe this is the second time I've seen a sequel before the original (Psycho being the other). Picked this up for $5 at Wal-mart because it had movie money for Zombieland which I'd like to check out. A little difficult to catch on at the beginning as it was obvious the initial character had been in the original film. Not the kind of horror movie I'd normally view--it provided my first "turn away from the screen" moment. 29. Urban Legends: Final Cut - I've been on a roll watching "part 2" films of late. Nothing special here. Surprised early on to recognize one of the characters as being in the movie Supergirl. That movie came out 16 years prior and I haven't seen it in a long, long time. 30. Saw II - Continuing with my unplanned Part 2 Saturday... I enjoy the Saw films, though I haven't seen them all. I like having to think along with the characters on screen. I also appreciate how all of the films connect together. Tobin Bell is perfect as Jigsaw. October 11 31. Saw III - I remembered seeing this before, but couldn't recall it well enough to know how it ended. This Saw film took a step back from the previous two. I liked the main twist at the end and the story wasn't bad. However, the longer runtime for this film was spent on more gore (brain surgery) and a series of flashbacks, some of which didn't seem all that necessary. October 12 32. Saw IV - First time watch for me. I think I liked this one a little bit more than the one before it. It is amazing how creative the writers are in bringing/linking these films together. The "parallel" story lines in this one was neat. I didn't see it coming. 33. Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door - Solid film, another tough watch. I'll post more comments in the daily thread when it's posted. October 13 34. Resident Evil - I enjoy the fast pace of this film. It really pulls you in very quickly. The scene with the lasers going through the corridor is one of my favorites. 35. Toolbox Murders - My most confusing horror challenge experience yet. First, I thought when I bought this movie and stuck it in to play that was from the 70s/80s, and thinking I had seen it before. Instead, it was put out a few years ago (possibly a remake of the one I saw but I'm not sure). Then the movie itself was confusing going from a slasher film, before taking on more of a supernatural feel and finally ending up as more of a monster movie. The ending had significant flaws in my opinion. The heroine's husband is wounded by the bad guy and taken out by paramedics on a stretcher. Wouldn't every wife go with her husband in this case? Not here...instead, she goes to their apartment alone to pack a suitcase full of clothes...and of course giving us one final scene of her being in peril. October 14 36. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter - I went out of order on my viewing of some of the F13th series, since I just picked up this deluxe edition used and was anxious to check out the features. Watched this with filmmaker commentary. Possibly my favorite in the whole series. If they hadn't made any more F13th films, this would have been a worthy finale. That's not to say it's not without some flaws. For some reason, as I watched this time, I was perplexed at Jason's amazing ability to transport magically from place to place. And don't try to tell me about the underground tunnel concept from the remake...this film wasn't on Jason's home turf. 37. Funny Games - Difficult to say I enjoyed this one. Too many moments that left me scratching my head. After watching, I found a thread here at DVD Talk about this film and the reasons behind some of these moments. Still left me underwhelmed. 38. Bug - While I'd hesitate to say this was a great movie, I was pleasantly surprised. I had a preconceived notion regarding what this movie would be about and how it would go. I was way off base. October 15 39. Wolf Creek - I knew very little about this one going in. Didn't even catch on to it being based on true events. As a result, I was surprised at the ending along with the potential heroines failure to escape. 40. Vacancy - First time viewing but I felt like I'd seen it before. I had a bunch of free movie passes 2 years ago I checked out a dozen movies or so. The Vacancy trailer played before each one. October 16 41. Halloween (2007) - Regardless of one's opinion of the movie (and I don't hate it like many), you have to give a to the 4 1/2 hour documentary/making of feature on the 3-disc set. Spent some time plowing through it...good stuff! October 17 42. Friday the 13th (2009) - Like the Halloween remake, this film has some flaws. However, it doesn't keep me from enjoying it. October 18 43. Saw V - I must admit, the writers for this series of films do an amazing job connecting them. It's especially impressive that they manage to keep Tobin Bell "alive" with each sequel. This particular entry was enjoyable though the 5 people trapped seemed to make dumb decisions. It seemed obvious to me early on that they were making things too difficult on themselves. October 19 44. Hostel - Since I watched part II, I felt an obligation to see the original. Found a cheap used copy. I'm pretty certain these will be just one-time viewings for me. 45. Let the Right One In - This film made me realize how few vampire movies I've seen. I've made more comments in the daily subset thread. October 20 46. The Strangers - The good--This film delivers the suspense. You're on the edge of your seat from the beginning. Attackers wearing masks which show no expression are always creepy. The bad--I spent the whole movie questioning the actions of everyone. The bad guys, the couple being terrorized, the friend who shows up and even the boys in the end...constanstly scratching my head and saying, "Why?" 47. Silent Hill - Possibly my least favorite film of the challenge to this point. I appreciate horror movies that at least create a small window of thought in which you could see yourself facing a similar situation. This one failed in that respect from the beginning. I looked up info on the movie afterwards. Perhaps it would have helped being familiar with the video game this was based on. 48. The Dark - Well, at least I liked this Sean Bean entry more than the last one. Otherwise, mediocre is the word coming to mind to describe this one. October 21 49. Dawn of the Dead (1978) - First time viewing. I've commented on how much I've enjoyed this film in the daily subset thread. 50. Copycat - In my opinion, this thriller-horror film from the 90s is very underrated. Lots of solid performances and tension from beginning to end. October 22 51. Drag Me to Hell - Not sure yet how much I liked this one. I am sure of one thing...the old lady is the scariest horror film character I've seen for this challenge. 52. Hannibal - Had a strange experience. Several months back, I bought Hannibal Rising from a Blockbuster that was closing. I'm pretty sure I looked at the discs (probably inspecting to see if they were scratched). Today, I stick the DVD in and discover I have the movie Hannibal instead of Hannibal Rising. I go ahead and watch but I was looking forward to seeing something I hadn't seen before and I already own Hannibal. 53. Zombieland - Is there such a thing as a feel-good Zombie movie? This fit the bill. Used my free movie money to catch this and enjoyed it. October 23 54. Spiker - Had a free Redbox rental, not very many definite horror choices available so I grabbed this one. Get home to find it has a 2.2 score in imdb.com. After watching, I'd give it a higher rating than that. Not that much higher, mind you... 55. Mirrors - Another Redbox freebie. Better than I thought it would be. Sutherland did well, convincing me that Jack Bauer could actually be afraid of anything. 56. I Am Legend - First time viewing of this 2007 blockbuster. Found it enjoyable, but I've never seen any of the films this remake followed. Did pick up the Vincent Price one recently, I'll have to check it out soon. October 24 57. Dawn of the Dead (2004) - Solid remake, though outside of having much of the film taking place at a mall, there weren't many similarities. 58. Land of the Dead - I couldn't get into this one. Believe I was just zombie'd out or the lack of sleep was getting to me. October 25 59. The Amityville Horror (1979) - I thought that I had seen this before, but surely I would have remembered "Lois Lane" (Margot Kidder) in a film like this. I thought this was just ok. Seemed like it dragged along in parts and as a result ran a little long. I have the '05 remake to tackle soon. October 26 60. The Amityville Horror (2005) - The remake was on par with the original. Of course that means it wasn't bad and it wasn't great. Regarding this challenge specifically, I held out hope a few days ago of still making it to 100. Now, I realize, I have no shot. Oh well, still have a good number of unwatched titles to visit. October 27 61. Planet Terror - For someone who hadn't watched a lot of zombie movies, I've caught a slew up of 'em in the last week or so. Didn't really care for this one like I thought I might. A little too over-the-top if that makes sense. 62. Identity - Had seen this a few years ago and I remembered liking the performances but not liking the ending. Going in this time, I couldn't even remember the ending specifically and I enjoyed it much more this go around. October 28 63. See No Evil - Average film at best. The kind of movie I probably wouldn't bother with if it wasn't for the challenge. 64. Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th - These horror parody movies rarely rise above mediocre. And I won't go so far as to say this was in that category. However, for some reason, I was tickled by many of the jokes in this one. October 29 65. Pulse - Another average entry. The only thing worse than watching these so-so films, is having to write about 'em afterwards. 66. Gothika - I thought Halle Berry was good in this film. Also, movies that involve folks who feel "wrongly imprisoned" often get to me. October 30 67. Shaun of the Dead - Yet another zombie movie for this zombie rookie. I made a comment or two in the daily subset thread. 68. Trick 'r Treat - Rare is the horror movie that you want to watch again right away. I'll make a comment as well in the daily subset thread. It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - I've already used my wild cards but throwing this on my list. Enjoyed hearing the kids chuckle out loud at the antics on the screen October 31 69. The Last Man on Earth** - This Vincent Price film was solid. All along, it felt as if I was watching a stretched out episode of The Twilight Zone. 70. Friday the 13th, Part 3 - Started to watch this deluxe edition of the DVD with the 3D glasses and gave up after 15 minutes. You have to enjoy a few parts of this sequel, mainly because of the introduction of the hockey mask. However, there's a bunch of flaws in this one...the most significant being they set this movie up as if it took place immediately after Part 2. Yet Jason is a completely different character in his look, mannerisms, etc. 71. House on Haunted Hill - Watched this with Mike Nelson MST3K/Rifftrax Commentary (1st time doing this for anything). I liked it, and I think this would have been good even without the commentary. Decided to end on this note. Would have been nice to have gotten to 75 (my last 2 years I've watched 100 and 50), but ended up watching too much of the World Series this past week. __________________ 2009 Horror Challenge List My Countdown Counting down to: DVD Talk Annual Horror Challenge The horror has begun! Last edited by cardsfan111; 11-02-09 at 10:19 AM.