Wick

I've only seen two episodes and I didn't think much of them. The two were Imprint and Dance of the Dead. Imprint is the better of the two, but it's still nothing great. I wouldn't mind seeing the rest of them - however, a friend who has, told me that they're pretty much all mediocre.

josepotato

At this point a few of my favorite first timers are, Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968) , Bluebeard (1944) , Phone (2002) , The X from Outer Space (1967).

I thought The Jacket was overrated as a horror film, it was marketed as horror but ended up being more of a Sci-Fi/Thriller. Also Infection ended up being kind of a snoozer, I usually don't mind the strange plot twists in Japanese and Korean horror but this one I just couldn't get into.

Wick

The only film that was new to me, that I've liked, is Slither. I thought that it was a really fun movie. It was a lot better than I thought it would've been, and it definitely lives up to all of its hype. Sadly, Imprint, Amityville: A New Generation, TCSM: The Beginning, and Graveyard Shift, were all pretty bad, namely the TCSM prequel. Puppet Master 4 was fun, but nothing too great.

(I've been using this as an excuse to watch some old VHS tapes I randomly picked up for cheap, of mediocre horror movies, as well as an Amityville DVD I picked up to complete my collection. I'm going to sell it, whether it completes my collection or not.)

Cameron

I've been watching things that I hadn't seen in years and years mostly....trying to hit some of the mainstay classic in the first week...i did watch college girl murders, and it was nothing like i expected.

marketed as horror by dark sky...its in the horror section at just about every video store i have seen it in...but its more of a whodunnit murder mystery with a crazed monk...doesn't lend towards horror in the music or pacing so much...but does have that madman in the bushes thing going...

Wick

I actually forgot to mention Suspiria. I'd never seen it before, so it's a film that was "new to me." I loved it. Every second of it was pure cinematic greatness. I wish I would've seen this before, and bought it at the Rue-Morgue Convention this year.

Shack

I skipped both Goke and The X from Outer Space in their recent TCM broadcasts (too late at night) but will try to catch them next time.
Yeah, for me it started well but drifted off quickly. I'd been warned it was a slow starter so I kept with it, but considering some of the other great Asian horror, it's a disappointment.

As for the Masters of Horror series, I've watched most of last season but haven't been overly impressed with any of them. But, kind of like the "there must be a pony here somewhere" joke, I keep watching.

Cedrock

lmao

I have an idea to clear things up, only movies with a rating of pg-13 and up should count as horror. Unless you can show a reputable website that shows it as a horror title (imdb, amazon, etc.)

caligulathegod

Yeah, my proposal was for next year. It's not fair to change the rules nine days into it. If any wants to use it as a guide for this year, its up to him. It might be useful to solve arguments. It's always easier to resolve a controversy if there's some sort of constitution to refer to rather than arbitrary opinions. I like the idea of the limited wild cards to legitimize the Charlie Brown rule and to allow something like Tales From the Crypt, without allowing it to be a crutch. It would be too easy to pop in four 24 episode series and be almost complete, which would defeat the entire concept of the challenge. The infamous listing of South Park episodes last year really put a distaste in my mouth for inclusion of typical TV shows but I'd hate to shut out, say, Richard Matheson episodes of Twilight Zone completely. Wild card lets you count ONE DVD's worth of episodes or shorts and an individual short.

Documentaries are allowed under this year's rules, so if you want to count them then OK. I came up with the documentary rule because they can be features and can be scary because they are real. Those Sunn-Schick Classics used to scare the hell of of me as a child of the 70s. Making-of's aren't meant to be scary.

The hour rule is because despite the AMPA&S rule, have you ever heard of a sub-hour film in a theater you would pay admission for? Maybe as part of a film festival (which would show shorts, too) or a compilation (Think Two Evil Eyes), but never as a standalone feature. This rule would weed out most TV shows while allowing Masters of Horror (Unplanned, but it worked out nicely.). Your average hour long TV show is about 44 minutes. That makes it a feature under current rules. If Masters of Horror had been under an hour then it would be excluded, too. They aren't and are even sold as stand alone features on DVD. Plus, someone came up with a great concept to get those guys to be able to make another horror movie without spending 10 years to get one financed.

Anyway, I like hearing what people think and we can decide if we want to alter any of them, compromise, and whatever and if we want to implement them next year. They are still basically Chad's rules, with a few tweaks for structure, fairness and extra challenge.



Anyway, about movies new to me that I liked. I did like Goke, too. It was on cable so I DVR'd it and watched it and was impressed. I'd never even heard of it before. I enjoyed Blood For Dracula more than I expected. I'd avoided I Spit on Your Grave for years, but decided that if I was ever going to watch it, this was the context. First rape was unpleasant, but typical movie rape. Second one was icky, then the third and fourth one was, "Damn". I want to watch the commentaries, but that means seeing the film again, twice. Camille Keaton will be at Cinema Wasteland in Cleveland next Spring.

Most of my films I'd seen before, but not for a while.

RKillgore

What's the general consensus for Ghostbusters and Addams Family movies and The Nightmare Before Christmas? Definitely not horror, but Halloweeny enough for approval?

Cameron

I think its a bit ridiculous to let the MPAA decide if its scary enough to be horror...

the classic universal monster movies are all rated pg in canada. Horror isn't a rating, or a body count...its a genre that can play to most sadistic, as well as the most innocent of nature...

Giles

'Sick Girl' was my fave.

MechanicalMan

No it doesn't. You can allow people to include <60 minute movies without allowing them to include <60 minute episodes of TV shows. This is a totally unnecessary rule. You're just trying to ban short films while allowing MOH.

Cameron

thats the kind of titles i was talking about...

Beetlejuice
corpse bride

caligulathegod

Nightmare Before Christmas is coming out in 3-D. I'm seeing it and counting that mo-fo. Personally, I count horror comedies. I'd count Ghostbusters and Addams Family. After something like I Spit on Your Grave, I'd welcome a comedy.

Giles

what?! where was this ruled - anything that meets the minimum 40min is accpeted. TV shows do fall into that catogory - they are just over the 40min mark. MOH all run up to 60min in length, shorts films are films that are 40min or shorter.

Giles

so am I.

Sex Fiend

The Joe Bob Briggs commentary track on ISOYG is pure gold - one of the all-time best (and funniest) commentary tracks I've ever heard. It gave me a newfound respect for the film. I would definitely recommend it - I guarantee it will increase your appreciation for the movie.

caligulathegod

Truth is, I've never actually even seen one. Quite a lot of people are counting them (which I take as a consensus), so I looked it up after I came up with the rule and saw that it worked. Total coincidence, I swear. I do like the concept, though. I am trying to ban short films, though. It would be too easy to load up on 44 minute films to reach the total. The wild card lets folks count a few favorites while still keeping the focus on features. If someone watches only 30 films, it's about 13%. If someone goes all the way and watches all 100, it's only 4%.

If there are that many good student/short films of less than an hour, but more than 40 minutes, we could allow more. Perhaps 5? I believe in limiting them but perhaps not an outright ban.

caligulathegod

He's talking about my proposal for next year. Doesn't count for this year. There are strong feelings against TV shows, so it's a compromise.

MechanicalMan

In the title of this thread where it says "Horror Movie Challenge."


I was obviously referring to the 40 - 59 minute films that would be excluded under the proposed rule.

Cameron

actually Halloween is the reason that this contest goes on in October, and the same reasoning that Charlie Brown is the one exception to the rule. I don't think it should be dropped, as much as debated.

I like the idea of being able to do a wild cart for actual shorts...stuff like Frankenweenie or the Skeleton Dance, but stand by that 40 minutes or over should be a feature. Tv shows should not count in any shape or form, though made for tv movies should.

Giles

that's utter bullshit. Chad and I mentioned this last year that the rules and running time of a feature length film (aka 'movie') is 40min+ ... live with it people...

mikewendt

anybody else's EDIT button gone? I can't edit any of my posts... so instead of posting daily updates, i'm just gonna post once a week (or until the edit button returns).

MechanicalMan

I'd be impressed if someone actually found a lot of 40-something minute films to watch, unless they were mostly student films. Anyhow, I don't think many people are trying to watch the shortest films possible just to increase their totals. Is that really a concern?

Cameron

i have not seen any of the Master Of Horrors Series, but from reading i would place these in the movie category and this is why.

The website http://www.mastersofhorror.net/ clearly states that they are 13 original one hour movies. as does the showtime site http://www.sho.com/site/mastersofhorror/home.do

The way i understand it, Showtime gave directors X amount of money to shoot a film on their own, using there original stories, cast, crew. Unlike series like Tales from the crypt who often used the same crews and writers.