My Horror Challenge History with HTML

2005
unaware

2006
I didn't plan to play, but stumbled across this thread.

I buy many more movies that I watch, but I do try to watch a few horror films every October.

So far:

1 - Oct. 1st - Phantasm
2 - Oct 9th - Massacre at Central High
3 - Oct 11th - House on Haunted Hill

hopefully - Frankenstein, Lifeforce, The Hidden, Evil Dead 1-2, Army of Darkness

Edit two years later to add: Wow, so here is the humble beginning of my later obsession with these DVDtalk challenges. Wish I could go back in time and warn myself to stay out of this thread.

2007
Monday October 1st -
1- The Brain That Wouldn't Die (MST3K version) - 7.5/10 - This is a guilty pleasure of mine, one of the first horror films that I remember seeing, back when I was 8 or so I imagine. Very vivid imagery, I can always picture the basement laboratory, the shriveled arm, the death scenes, the blood smeared walls. If I watched it now for the first time, I'd perhaps recognize it as cheesy mediocre horror, but because of my history with it, it will always remain a favorite. I think I own at least 3 versions of it on DVD. The MST3K riffing is quite good on this one, Mike's first film as lead.
2- Horror 101 * - 1.5/10 - I bought this years ago (part of a big sale, probably B1G1F), haven't watched it until today. It and its sequel seemed appropriate for this contest and this day, just because of the titles. Wow, did this movie suck. Would rate it lower, but it was cool to see Bo Derek again. Pretty bad acting, few scares, and an ending I pretty much had totally figured out 10 minutes into the film. I didn't bring much else to work, and want to just get this disc watched and then traded/sold, so I think I'll suffer thru the other two films on this disc. But tomorrow I'm picking some good horror, maybe the Frankenstein series
3- Horror 102: Endgame * - .5/10 - Halfway thru and pretty lame so far. I'm glad there is no Horror 103. Wow, real crap. Another surprise ending, this one I didn't figure out, but only because I didn't care enough about any aspect of this movie to think. No possible reason to ever watch this film again. There is a third "bonus" movie on this disc, from the same producers/director as the first two. I must hate myself, starting it now.
4- Museum of the Dead * - 0/10 - I'm not expecting much, this one has even lower ratings on IMDB than the first two on the disc. But I'm committed to watching some of these discs I've been collecting over the years. Disc already up for trade in the exchange forum (hopefully anyone who wants it isn't reading these reviews). Quite possible the worst movie I've ever seen. I want to stick to a 0-10 scale, so I think I'll have to raise Horror 102 to a .5 from a zero, as nothing should be compared to this mess of a film. I prefer to stop giving this film thought or time, so for a fuller explanation as to why it is so bad, see the comments on IMDB.
5- Frankenstein (1931) (with historian commentary) - 9/10 - I needed something good to clear my mind of the nonsense I watched all day. The commentary was excellent.
6- Frankenstein (1910) * - NR/10 - (Wildcard #1, length) The first American horror film? Not really fair to rate this silent, but interesting from a historical perspective.
Tuesday October 2nd -
7- The Hitcher 2: I've Been Waiting * - 6/10 - Finally watched this sequel to one of my favorite horror films of all time. I didn't realize that this was a direct sequel of sorts, complete with C. Thomas Howell, flashbacks, and locations from the first film. They didn't help much, as this film is not very good. But I'm still giving it a 6, based on my history with the original, and all the tie-ins. If I saw this one first, more like a 3/10.
8- Jaws: The Revenge * - 4/10 - Jaws is probably my favorite movie of all time. I re-watch it often, but have, until recently, avoided the third and fourth films in the "series". Jaws 2 was ok, but I had heard so many bad things about 3 and 4 that I avoided them, for fear of putting a pall on my love for the original. I finally watched Jaws 3 a month or two ago, and regret doing so. And although I am sure that this film, "Jaws 4", will be incredibly putrid, I feel the need to just get it over with and watch it this one time. Here goes. Half way thru, it's pretty bad. But like with Hitcher 2, I like all the references to and characters from the first movie. The child/father mimic scene, while somewhat poorly done, brought a smile to my face. Took me about 8 hours to get thru this, busy at work today. It wasn't as bad as I feared.
9- Hideous! * - 3/10 - Another that I have owned for years but never watched. Not really sure how to rate this one. I almost want to give it a 1 or less, as it was quite, hideous. But something about it is intriguing, like maybe if I watch it again someday I'll actually like it. Strange, I rarely get that feeling. I think it will pass and I'll trade/sell this disc.
Wednesday October 3rd -
10- Bride of Frankenstein - 8/10 - Again, I had to wash the bad taste of the last few films out with a classic.
11- Alien - 10/10 - Decided to try to watch all 4 Alien films today. The original is my 5th or so favorite film of all time.
12- Aliens - 9/10 - In my top twenty.
13- Shaun of the Dead - 8.5/10 - Taking a short break in my Alien marathon for my first "fun" horror since my first film of the challenge. The more I see this movie the more well done I think it is.
Thursday October 4th -
14- The Execution of Mary Stuart (1895) * - NA/10 - (wildcard #2, length) Nice try at a "special effect".
15- Le Chaudron Infernal * - NA/10 - (wildcard #3, length) More early special effects. I've used up all my wildcards, but wanted to experience horror films from their origins.
16- Son of Frankenstein * - 7.5/10 - Much better sequel than I anticipated.
17- The Ghost of Frankenstein * - 7/10 - Again, I enjoyed this much more than I planned.
18- House of Frankenstein * - 5/10 - Finishing off the Universal Frankenstein series, although I guess there were a few more crossover titles. Nope as good as I had hoped. Combining Dracula and The Wolfman with Frankenstein was better done in The Monster Squad.
19- The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster (documentary) * - 8/10 - Very well done documentary, but I think I'm Frankensteined out for awhile.
N/A- Boo - 3/10 - This 1932 Universal short won't count for my totals, but I wanted to watch it before I put the disc away. It is interesting in perspective perhaps, but not very funny or all that well done.
20- House on Haunted Hill (1959) - 8/10 - Pulled this disc out to watch the other film on the disc, The Last Man on Earth, in anticipation for the forthcoming "remake". But I noticed that I owned no other 1950s horror, so decided to watch this gem again. I remembered that I also have the version with Mike Nelson commentary, and was ready for some laughs, so watched this Legend release instead. Pretty funny riffing, not his best work, but close. They have both the original B&W and the colorized versions on the disc, I watched it in color for the first time. They did a fine job with it, although I generally prefer to watch my films as they were originally shown.
21- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) * - 7/10 - Possibly the first feature length horror film. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.
22- The Last House on the Left * - 3/10 - The first gorenography? Very disturbing. I knew absolutely nothing about this film going in, total blind buy. I actually brought it to work the other day, but 30 seconds in found it to be NSFW with that mild shower scene. Little did I know.....
23- Hollow Man - 6/10 - Wanted to finally watch with the director/star commentary on this, but it has been so long since I've seen it that I feel I have to watch it normally first. Interesting cast.
Friday October 5th -
24- The Hidden 2 * - 3/10 - The original is a guilty pleasure, and one of my desert island top 30. I started to watch the sequel once, and gave up in frustration. But I'm using this challenge to clear out some of my unwatched horror, so I'm trying this again. Fairly awful, the best part was that the first 15 minutes of this film was the actual last 15 minutes of the classic original. Yes, they actually re-used the same exact footage. I've seen 1 to 2 minute recaps before, but this was about 15 minutes. Raised it from 1 star to 3.
25- Incubus - 7/10 - The first film in Esperanto. I'm a big Shatner fan (I know...), and this is perhaps my favorite film of his besides Free Enterprise.
26- Ringu * - 7/10 - Sacrilege to purists maybe, but I think the American remake is scarier and a better film.
27- The Omen (1976) * - 9/10 - Can't believe I've waited this long to see this classic.
28- The Omen (2006) * - 3/10 - Why?
Saturday October 6th -
29- King Kong (1933) (with commentary) - 9/10 - Still amazing.
30- April Fool's Day * - 6/10 - I'm not sure if I should leave the * there or not. I am almost positive that I had never seen this movie before, but after watching it, I know that I have seen the ending before. But I am incredibly firm on my philosophy of never watching a film unless I see it from the very beginning. If I walk in even 2 seconds late to a theater, I'll walk out and see another film or exchange my ticket for another day. So this film was either so forgettable that I have no memory of the first 85 minutes, or it was the one time in my life that I watched part of a movie I had not seen before. Or maybe I originally watched it back in my drinking days. Either way, not all that bad.
31-The Evil Dead (with Bruce Campbell commentary) - 8/10 - So I was on a first date with this girl, a group outing actually. After dinner, we went to the video store and wanted to find a scary movie. I had heard things about this film, and insisted that we rent this film. I never went out with that girl again. I imagine I lost her in that scene in the woods....
32- The Silence of the Lambs (with "group" commentary) - 10/10 - A modern classic.
33- Flesh for Frankenstein * - 1.5/10 - I bought this years ago when I thought about collecting every Criterion release. I gave up that plan, but am glad that I ended up with this one, as it is the closest I'll come to owning an X rated film, and therefore I can check something else off the stats section below.
34- House of the Dead * - 1/10 - Bought this only to satisfy the "Uwe Boll" part of the challenge. I imagine I'll regret this next ninety minutes.
Sunday October 7th -
35- The Fog (1980) - 7/10 - I had no plans to watch this for this challenge, as I watched this three times last year. The original, again with the commentary, and the remake. But I'm quite OCD about completing the "extra stats" section, and I wanted to get a Jamie Lee Curtis film watched. I plan to watch all the Halloweens at the end of the month, but just in case I move on to some other pursuit, I better watch this, my only non-Halloween JLC horror, now. Much better than the remake.
36- Below * - 7/10 - Been meaning to watch this for quite awhile, as I am a fan of David Twohy and Darren Aronofsky.
N/A- The Kingdom (2007) * - 9/10 - Thriller, not horror, although the subject matter is as horrific as you can get. But this movie was so good that I wanted to give it a little plug here. I'll watch some horror in the theater next weekend, RE3 and 30 Days of Night.
37- The Phantom of the Opera (1925) * - 8/10 -
38- The Satanic Rites of Dracula * - 4/10 - Horrible ending.
39- The Rocky Horror Picture Show * - 7/10 - Not sure how I feel about this one. I might have loved it, or maybe I hated it, but I am glad I watched it finally, and will see it again, hopefully in a group setting.

Monday October 8th -
40- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) - 9/10 - Incredible performances from Spencer Tracey and Lana Turner. First time I've seen this since I was a kid.
N/A- Hyde and Hare - 8/10 - Makes me want to dig out my Looney Toons DVDs, but I guess I'll wait until November.
41- Gremlins - 7/10 - Haven't seen this since the VHS rental days.
42- The Mummy (1932) - 7/10 - Can't remember the last time I saw any of the older Mummy movies. To be honest, after watching this, I have no memory of seeing it before. I know I saw at least a couple mummy movies in my youth, but nothing in this one rang any bells (speaking of which, I need to watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame). Karloff had such a great look, perfect for horror films.
43- The Mummy's Hand * - 6.5/10 - More humor in this follow-up.
Tuesday October 9th -
44- Tremors - 9.5/10 - Some call this a guilty pleasure, but it is more than that for me; one of my top 20 films of all time.
45- Tremors 2: Aftershocks - 8/10 - Again, I acknowledge that I rate this so highly partly because of my love for the original. But I still love all the Baconless sequels. I love the little world of Rejection, the references to the original throughout the sequels, and the appearances of the original actors.
46- The Sixth Sense - 8/10 - First time watching my DVD, haven't seen this since the theater. Disappointed that I couldn't forget "the twist", but was still surprised at how powerfully this affected me. I jumped once or twice, and welled up at the ending. I'm a wimp.
Wednesday October 10th -
47- Tremors 3: Back to Perfection - 8/10 - Almost had a movie-less day. Days of little sleep caught up to me, and I needed a break to do non-movie things and catch up on sleep.
Thursday October 11th -
48- The Cave (2005) * - 6/10 - Would have been a totally forgettable action-horror, but I loved the little post ending. Also enjoyed seeing Eddie Cibrian, who I loved in Invasion.
49- Resident Evil - 8.5/10 - Watching these in anticipation of seeing the third in the theater tomorrow. I love Milla.
50- Resident Evil: Apocalypse - 7/10 - Pretty decent follow-up. Above average action horror IMO. Hope to get at least the same out of the third movie tomorrow.
51- Identity (2003) - 8/10 - Another first time DVD viewing, haven't seen it since the theater. And again, I couldn't forget the twist ending. Still loved it though, John Cusack was great as usual. I wish they had ended it at the "I see you in orange groves" line, a touching moment.
52- The Hidden (with commentary) - 9/10 - Love the little touches of humor, the script, the basic plot. Maybe I should call it a guilty pleasure, but again, I'll confess that it is a bit more than that for me, and a desert island disc (top 25-30). Pretty decent commentary track, my first time thru that.
53- The Hitcher (1986) - 9/10 - Another all-time favorite of mine, perhaps I'm watching too many of those lately, should spread them out a bit more. Watched the disappointing sequel last week, although it had its moments; and may rent the remake later this month. I can't imagine it coming close to the creepiness Rutger Hauer exudes in this film.
N/A- The Skeleton Dance - 8/10 - Classic Silly Symphonies. Watched to satisfy the animated category, since Monster House is not listed as horror at IMDB.
54- The Fly (1986) - 8/10 - I dated a girl that looked just like Geena Davis.
Friday October 12th -
55- The Lost Boys * - 6/10 - Somehow avoided watching this movie until just now. I know a lot of people love it, but it was just ok to me. I think it is one of those films, like the Goonies, that you could fall in love with as a kid, but not as an adult.
56- Le Pacte des Loups (The Brotherhood of the Wolf) - 8/10 - Probably the longest movie I'll find for this challenge, at just over two and a half hours.
57- Brotherhood of the Wolf: The Guts of the Beast * - 7/10 - My first documentary with subtitles.
58- The Seeker: The Dark is Rising * - 6/10 - Fairly mediocre adaptation of the book. The acting is fairly bad, nothing all that original in the script.
N/A- Why Did I Get Married? * - 7.5/10 - I had a free ticket to use before it expired, and this movie was the only thing starting at the time I showed up. I walked into it knowing absolutely nothing about the film. Once in the theater, I knew that it must be a Tyler Perry flick, as I was the only whitey in the theater. I expected to hate it immensely, and argue here that it should count in my list, as it was going to be quite horrific. However, I really really enjoyed it. The characters are a bit stereotypical perhaps, and Janet Jackson is never going to win an acting award, but I laughed by ass off.
Saturday October 13th -
59- The Making of Brotherhood of the Wolf * - 7/10 - Another excellent documentary. I wish I knew French, as I'd love to listen to the multiple commentaries on this film. With these documentaries, the hour long deleted scenes, and other special features on the 3 disc set, I've spent perhaps 10 hours on this one film.
60- Resident Evil: Extinction * - 7/10 - Not bad for a third, but just more of the same really. But when that same is Milla, I'm ok with it.
N/A- Eastern Promises * - 8/10 - I've been seeing a lot of thrillers in the theater lately, although I really think you all should let me count this as horror, as I was not expecting to see Viggo's penis flapping around for an extended scene. Great performances from Vincent Cassell, Naomi Watts, and Viggo Mortenson. Sure to get some Oscar nods.
Sunday October 14th -
61- Wishmaster * - 3/10 - Lame.
62- The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) * - 5.5/10 - Never saw the remake, heard it is pretty weak. There was a moment late in the film where Michael York looked just like Val Kilmer, up until that point I had forgotten that Kilmer was in the remake. I'll probably rent the remake some day just to see how bad it really was.
63- Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies * - 3/10 - Decided to finish off this double feature disc while it was out, now I can get rid of it, as I can't see myself ever watching them again. But Andrew Divoff was excellent as the bad guy, hopefully his career will strengthen. He's rumored to be in the new Indiana Jones film.

Monday October 15th -
64- The Mummy's Tomb * - 6.5/10 - Rated higher than I should perhaps, only because I'm a sucker for films that refer back to other films well. This mummy sequel has some nice touches merging it with it's predecessor.
Tuesday October 16th -
65- Alien 3 - 8.5/10 - I don't understand the hate for this film, but maybe I just like "dark". This was the theatrical version, the special edition cut adds another .5 to my score.
Wednesday October 17th -
66- Alien: Resurrection - 7/10 - Possibly my favorite series of all time. Looking forward to the new AvP.
Thursday October 18th -
67-Manos: The Hands of Fate (MST3K version) * - 1/10 - That rating is for the movie itself, the MST3K version is a winner.
68- Jacob's Ladder * - 6/10 - Really enjoyed it until the ending, although I'm not sure what would have been better.
69- The Cavern (or, Within) * - 1/10 - This makes The Cave looks like Citizen Kane. I'm going to have to watch Descent again to see a decent cave movie.
70- Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens * - 9/10 - These classic silents are surprising me.
Friday October 19th -
71- Shadow of the Vampire - 8/10 - Brilliant.
72- Dracula (1931, Spanish) * -7/10 - Like most critics apparently, I think this version is better than the English one.
73- Decoys * - 2/10 - Awful, but filled with cute college women at least.
74- Decoys 2: Alien Seduction * - 3/10 - Slightly better than the first, only because I like Tobin Bell.
75- Bad Taste * - 6/10 - Funny, and possibly the grossest film I've seen. Not bad for a low budget flick. Was this Peter Jackson's debut?
Saturday October 20th -
76- Are You in the House Alone? - 4/10 - Burned this to DVD-R to free space on my DVR for some TCM movies.
77- Freaks * - 8/10 - Confession time. I've been using and laughing at "one of us" references for years without ever watching this film.
78- Jeepers Creepers (2001) (with commentary) - 6/10 - The first time I watched this, I found it mediocre and forgettable; I enjoy it more on each subsequent watching. Took me awhile to figure out where I had seen the lead actor before, Die Hard 4.
79- Psycho (1960) - 9/10 - Going to try for a Psycho marathon this weekend.
80- Psycho II * - 6/10 - Not bad for a sequel, and cool to see a younger Meg Tilly and Dennis Franz.
Sunday October 21st -
81- Psycho III * - 5/10 - Not as bad as it could have been, doubt I'll ever watch it again though.
82- Psycho IV: The Beginning * - 6/10 - Pretty good ending to the series, although I would have loved a twist ending of Norman holding the baby, and it speaking to him in his mother's voice.
83- The Grudge - 7.5/10 - Still haven't seen the original, but this one still gives me the creeps.
84- Re-Animator - 9/10 - Love this film. I guess we could count it under the "Frankenstein" category, right?
85- It's Alive (1974) - 6/10 - I remember the trailers and posters for this film scaring the crap out of me as a kid. For twenty or so years, I imagined it to be a great "monster" movie, and possibly too scary to watch. I never saw it until just a few years ago on cable or video. It probably isn't as good as I perceive it, but those many years of being afraid of it hold it up a bit for me. Anyone seen the sequels?
86- Gothika - 5/10 - Thought I'd give this film one more chance. It still wasn't very good. I'll probably watch the special features once and then sell/trade this set. Cruz was pretty good.
87- Wolf Creek - 6/10 - Scary, and well done I guess if you like gorenography, but not my type of film, will probably sell it.
88- Mark of the Vampire * - 8/10 -

Monday October 22nd -
89- The Devil-Doll * - 7/10 - Lionel Barrymore gives a great performance....twice.
90- AVP: Alien vs. Predator - 7/10 - Call me a fanboy, but I truly enjoy all the films of these series. I'm hoping that AvP2 improves on this one though.
91- Jaws - 10/10 - My favorite film of all time, or at least tied with Ben Hur at the top.
92- The Mummy (1999) - 7/10 - More action than horror really, but fun.
93- Soul of a Monster * - 5/10 - Preachy, and slow, but somewhat charming for some reason. DVRd and saved, might watch it again next year.
94- Sometimes They Come Back... For More * - 1/10 - Am going to break my rule of never watching movies out of order. It's on my DVR and I just need to clear it for more TCM horror next weekend. Wow, that was awful. I find Faith Ford adorable, but again, wow, absolutely horrible.
95- Wicked Little Things * - 2/10 - This is a film to die for? No, it is crap. Some of the scenes with the kids were scary (their faces, their eating habits), but the script was lame, nothing really new here.

Tuesday October 23rd -
96- Night of the Living Dead (1968) - 8/10 - Believe it or not, I just watched this for the first time (in its entirety at least) a few months ago. I think I'll end collecting all the dead movies and watch them next year, as I've seen very few of them, but they seem like a fun thing to collect.
97- King Kong (1976) - 7/10 - The least of the three versions in my opinion, but still a more than decent film. Jessica Lange is so beautiful.
98- The Monster Squad - 7/10 - Better than The Goonies, yes, I said it. I really think that The Goonies is one of those films that you can fall in love with as a kid, and glance over it's weaknesses as you mature; but if you see it for the first time as an adult, it's just average. The Monster Squad isn't much better, but slightly so.
99- Hellboy - 8/10 - Have the director's cut unopened somewhere; but this is just the theatrical cut. Great comic book, and movie. Haven't watched the animated "sequels" yet, any good?
100- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) * - 6/10 - Ok, I really wanted to choose something different for my #100. But I was at my sister's, and she had a limited selection of horror, so I grudgingly allowed this film, which I never planned to see, to claim this honored spot. And while I am not really a fan of this type of horror, it wasn't as bad as I expected, and I may even agree to watch the prequel with my sister next week.
101- Rinne (Reincarnation) * - 7.5/10 - A much better film in the "8 Films to Die For" series. Somewhat confusing, but a stellar idea/script. I'll watch this again.
Wednesday October 24th -
102- Disturbia - 8/10 - I really enjoy this film, even on my 3rd viewing now.
103- The Ring - 8/10 - Embarrassing story that I prefer to not tell, but this film made me cry the first time I saw it. Here goes viewing number two......
104- Premonition - 7/10 - I'm a sucker for any story about time travel or such stuff. This could have been so much better, such a great premise, and I still enjoy it more than most.
105- Cat's Eye - 7.5/10 - One of the best King adaptations in my opinion. I think I bought Cujo recently, so I'll be getting some more King soon.

Thursday October 25th -
106- The Prophecy: Forsaken * - 3/10 - Interesting ideas, mediocre execution, weak finish. I didn't realize until after the film that this was the fourth (?) film in the Christopher Walken Prophecy movies. Darn, haven't seen any of the others yet, so broke my sequel rule again.
107- Die! Die! My Darling! * - 6/10 - Great performance by Tallulah Bankhead.
108- Way of the Vampire * - 1.5/10 - Five minutes in, and I think that this just may turn into the worst film I've ever seen. I'm quite excited actually. Oh, I see that it a film from "The Asylum", now I understand the infamy of that studio. I think this will be my first film from them. And hopefully my last.
109- Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula * - 6/10 - I'm a sucker for "historical" horror.
110- Vampires: Los Muertos * - 4/10 - Jon Bon Jovi?! How did I miss this? I enjoy the James Woods original, this was like a pale copy.
111- Spiders II: Breeding Ground - 2.5/10 - I picked this to DVR so that I could confront my fear of spiders. Five minutes in, I realized that I had seen this trainwreck before. Hopefully I won't make the mistake a third time.
112- High Tension * - 6/10 - A little too gory for my taste, but surprisingly good.
113- Slashed Dreams * - 2/10 - This came in one of those 50 packs, and I was intrigued by the fact that it had a 1975 Robert Englund appearance. Pretty bad, even for a low budget older film.

Hit the long post forum software bug, have to break up my week.

Friday October 26th -
114- Scary Movie 4 * - 6.5/10 - I had seen one or two of the earlier films in this series, and wasn't overly impressed. This one was better, although perhaps I only liked it because I had seen The Grudge very recently, and was familiar with most of the movies being spoofed.
115- The Exorcist * - 8.5/10 - I have purposely resisted watching this film all of my life. Cut to the chase reason; because I know that demon possession can be real. I was too scared to watch it. Well, I bought it years ago (I think it was actually free with some mail-in offer back in my early DVD days), knowing that I must confront my terror and watch it someday. Also, it is considered a classic of horror, my favorite genre. I waited until I could watch it in the morning, and have all day to recover. I'm glad I did, there is no way I could sleep right now. I was going to make it a marathon and watch the sequels and prequels later, but now I doubt I'll do that. Perhaps some comedy horror later tonight.
116- Exorcist II: The Heretic * -3/10 - And there it was, my horror comedy. Well, it was so bad of a sequel it was more criminal, not funny. I hear III is better, I'll watch that and then something funny before dreamtime.
117- Exorcist III * - 7/10 - Not nearly as scary as the first, but quite well done, and progresses the story nicely.

Saturday October 27th -
118- Arachnid * - 2.5/10 - Extremely mediocre, nothing new here.
119- Dead Men Walking * - 4/10 - DVR was filling up, almost deleted this when I realized this was an Asylum film, but, for the challenge, decided to watch it. It is actually pretty good considering. Deleted and will never watch again of course....

Wanted to watch more last night and today, but my parents picked this weekend to move. I tried to explain to them how I had to watch 12 movies per day to build my totals, but parents just don't understand.

Sunday October 28th -

Pretty much finished the move yesterday, so am going to try 24 hours of horror today. Only 6 hours in, and acutely realize that this plan should have involved me getting more than 12 hours of total sleep the past 3 nights. Still going to try, will post tomorrow when I'm done (or wake up after failing...).

120- Jenifer * - 5/10 - Biases: I love Steven Weber (mainly from his Wings role) and he wrote the teleplay and starred here. I also love Bruce Jones, who wrote the original comic book story. The concept is decent, the acting fine, but the ending is so darn predictable. Very disappointing, as I thought that this would be my favorite MOH perhaps. I hope it gets better.
121- The Black Cat (1941) * - 6/10 - A fun little Bela Lugosi flick. Almost seemed like an Abbot and Costello film at times. Confusingly, Lugosi also starred in a 1934 film of the exact same title.
122- Cigarette Burns * - 6/10 - Awesome premise.
N/A - Le Fin Absolue du Monde * - 10/10 - Just kidding. I don't think I'd watch it actually.
123- Man Made Monster
124- Imprint
125- Sick Girl
126- White Zombie
127- The Vampire Bat
128- Horror Island
129- Dracula (1931)
130- The Unknown
131- Haeckel's Tale
132- The Mummy's Ghost
133- The Mummy's Curse
134- Deer Woman
135- London After Midnight
136- The Corpse Vanishes
137- Pick Me Up
138- Captive Wild Woman
139- Dead Men Walk
140- The Fair-Haired Child
141- Chocolate
142- Homecoming
143- Incident On and Off a Mountain Road
144- Dreams in the Witch-House
N/A- Dance of the Dead

Monday October 29th -
145- Dog Soldiers * - 6/10 - If you can totally check your brain at the door, this is a pretty good action horror film, especially for a made for TV movie. Huge plot holes and some stupid moments, but decent dialogue and character growth.
146- 30 Days of Night * - 8/10 - A great adaptation of a comic book. If anyone hasn't seen this in the theaters yet, I highly recommend it. And there are free tickets for it inside certain horror DVDs at CC, some as low as $4.99.
147- Saw IV * - 6/10 - Maybe I should have watched part 3 before I saw this, but I figured I had a free ticket and I wanted to see it for the challenge. I wasn't a huge fan of the first two, but I did like how are four are tied together.
148- The Flesh Eaters * - 5.5/10 - I quite enjoyed this 1964 flick. It has some weak acting and bad dialogue, but some interesting ideas. Apparently, there is a DVD out or forthcoming with some deleted scenes and a commentary. I'll probably buy it someday.

Tuesday October 30th -
149- Trilogy of Terror - 7.5/10 - Like many, I really love the third segment. I watched this on TV when it originally aired I imagine, and it freaked out my sister and I quite a bit. This film is a big part of the reason why horror became my favorite genre I imagine. Haven't bought the DVD upgrade yet, anyone else?
150- The Thing - 10/10 - Saved one of my top ten films of all time for the number 150 spot. What a fantastic opening sequence! It really gets you ready for something different.
151- Phantasm - 7/10 - I was too young to see this in the theaters when it came out, at least according to my parents. I loved the trailers and so looked forward to seeing it on home video that I think I built it up it up so much in my mind that I was bound to be disappointed by it. I still find it quite fun, and will buy the sequels once they hit the bargain bin.
152- Pitch Black - 8.5/10 - The sequel was such a let down.
153- Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms * - 6/10 - Meh.

Wednesday October 31st -
154- Halloween (extended TV version) - 8.5/10 - It's going to be difficult to slog thru all the sequels today, as I hear some of them are awful.
155- Halloween II - 6.5/10 - I love that it continues immediately after the original. I work in a hospital, so I was a bit bothered by the complete lack of personnel staffing what looked like a 100+ bed facility. But overall, pretty decent for a sequel and a few nice scares.
156- Halloween III: Season of the Witch * - 6.5/10 - If you go into this knowing that it has nothing to do with the Michael Myers Halloweens, it is not that bad of a horror film.
157- Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest * - 8/10 - Documentary.
158- Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers * - 6/10 - Not as bad as I feared.
159- Halloween V: The Revenge of Michael Myers * - 3/10 - Pretty weak.
N/A- It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - 8/10 - A holiday tradition that originally aired just after I was born.
160- Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers * - 3/10 - I hear the producer's cut is better, but I can't imagine it being enough to make it an annual watch for me.
161- Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later - 7.5/10 - The scene where Laurie and Michael reunite thru the window is a classic. After a couple of weak efforts the Halloween franchise is back on track!
162- Halloween: Resurrection * - 2/10 - They should have stopped with H20. This movie was awful, as was the Zombie remake.
N/A- Halloween: 25 Years of Terror * - ?/10 - Documentary. Started this last night, but fell asleep, so it won't count for this year.


Watch one film from every decade, starting with the 1890's.
-X- 1890: The Execution of Mary Stuart
-X- 1900: Le Chaudron Infernal
-X- 1910: Frankenstein (1910)
-X- 1920: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
-X- 1930: Frankenstein (1931) , Bride of Frankenstein , Son of Frankenstein , Boo , King Kong (1933),
-X- 1940: House of Frankenstein , The Ghost of Frankenstein
-X- 1950: House on Haunted Hill (1959)
-X- 1960: The Brain That Wouldn't Die , Incubus,
-X- 1970: The Last House on the Left, The Omen (1976), Flesh for Frankenstein, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, The Rocky Horror Picture Show,
-X- 1980: Alien , Jaws: The Revenge , Aliens , April Fool's Day, The Evil Dead, The Fog (1980),
-X- 1990: Hideous! , The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster , The Hidden 2, Ringu, The Silence of the Lambs,
-X- 2000: Shaun of the Dead , Horror 101 , Horror 102: Endgame , Museum of the Dead , The Hitcher 2: I've Been Waiting , Hollow Man, House of the Dead, The Omen (2006), Below, The Kingdom (2007),

Watch films in at least two languages other than English.
-X- First language, Esperanto. Incubus
-X- Second language, Japanese. Ringu
-X- Third language, French. Brotherhood of the Wolf: The Guts of the Beast
-X- Fourth language, Spanish. Dracula (1931)
-X- Fifth Language, Australian. Wolf Creek

-X- Watch the MST3K version of a horror film. The Brain That Wouldn't Die
-X- Watch a film and its remake. The Omen (1976) The Omen (2006)
-X- Watch a film based on a novel. The Omen (1976)
-X- Watch a film based on a video game. House of the Dead
-X- Watch a film which won an Academy Award -- any category. The Silence of the Lambs, Jaws, Alien , Aliens , The Omen (1976), The Fly (1986)
-X- Watch a silent horror film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Execution of Mary Stuart , Le Chaudron Infernal , Frankenstein (1910) , The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
-X- Watch a Criterion version horror film. The Silence of the Lambs
-X- Watch a film with commentary. King Kong (1933)
-X- Suffer thru a film directed by Uwe Boll. House of the Dead
-X- Watch a film and at least two sequels. Frankenstein (1931) Bride of Frankenstein Son of Frankenstein , The Ghost of Frankenstein , House of Frankenstein
-X- Watch a film that takes place on a holiday. April Fool's Day
-X- Watch a film that takes place in space. Alien , Aliens ,
-X- Watch a film that takes place on or under the sea. Below
-X- Watch an animated horror film. The Skeleton Dance

Watch a film for each rating:
-X- G Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
-X- PG Gremlins
-X- PG-13 Jaws: The Revenge , Horror 101
-X- R Alien , Hideous! , Aliens , Shaun of the Dead , Hollow Man, The Hidden 2, The Omen (1976), The Omen (2006), April Fool's Day, The Silence of the Lambs, The Fog (1980), Below, The Kingdom (2007), The Satanic Rites of Dracula, The Rocky Horror Picture Show,
-X- NC-17 The Evil Dead
-X- X Flesh for Frankenstein, The Last House on the Left
-X- Unrated The Execution of Mary Stuart ,Le Chaudron Infernal , The Brain That Wouldn't Die, Horror 102: Endgame , Museum of the Dead , Frankenstein (1910) , Frankenstein (1931) ,Bride of Frankenstein , House of Frankenstein , The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster , Boo , House on Haunted Hill (1959) , The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Incubus, Ringu, King Kong (1933),

Watch a film in each of the following horror subgenres:
-X- Vampire The Satanic Rites of Dracula
-X- Frankenstein Frankenstein (1910) , Frankenstein (1931) ,Bride of Frankenstein , Son of Frankenstein , The Ghost of Frankenstein , House of Frankenstein , Flesh for Frankenstein,
-X- Werewolf House of Frankenstein
-X- Mummy The Mummy (1932)
-X- Invisible Man Hollow Man
-X- Ghost/haunting House on Haunted Hill (1959)
-X- Witchcraft/satanic/religious The Omen (1976), The Omen (2006)
, The Evil Dead, Incubus,
-X- Zombie House of the Dead, Museum of the Dead
-X- Musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show
-X- Slasher/psycho/homicidal maniac The Hitcher 2: I've Been Waiting , The Last House on the Left
-X- Monster/creature feature King Kong (1933)
-X- Documentary The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster
-X- Spoof Shaun of the Dead
-X- Revenge The Last House on the Left, Ringu,
-X- Killer doll Gremlins
-X- Killer animal Jaws: The Revenge
-X- Evil child The Omen (1976), The Omen (2006)

Watch a film starring:
-X- Bela Lugosi Son of Frankenstein , The Ghost of Frankenstein
-X- Lon Chaney Sr. The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
-X- Lon Chaney Jr. The Ghost of Frankenstein , House of Frankenstein , The Mummy's Tomb
-X- Peter Cushing The Satanic Rites of Dracula
-X- Boris Karloff Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein , Son of Frankenstein , House of Frankenstein , Boo
-X- Vincent Price House on Haunted Hill (1959)
-X- Christopher Lee The Satanic Rites of Dracula
-X- Jamie Lee Curtis The Fog (1980)
-X- Robert Englund Wishmaster
-X- Bruce Campbell The Evil Dead

(* - First Time Viewings)

Link to blank template of above checklist

Link to Week One - Weekly tally 39. Got off to a much better than expected start.

Link to Week Two Weekly tally 24. Slowed way down, as I spent time reorganizing my bedroom. Next week is looking even worse, with family coming to town.

Link to Week Three Weekly tally 25. Only one film a day the first three days, but got back up to speed by the end of the week.

Link to Week Four part one Thru first four days of the week watched 25. Broke 100 on the 23rd, and still gearing up for my 24 film day.

Link to Week Four part two Weekly tally 56. Another 31 films on the weekend, marathoned thru 25 films on Sunday alone.

Week 5 link

2008

Warning: There are possibly a few spoilers in my movie comments.

Wednesday October 1st - Sweet! I've been overly anxious to start this thing for days now, getting my DVDs piled up in stacks in preparation. Decided to start things off with a guilty pleasure genre, and a film I've been putting off watching for far too long. Despite working 12 hours, got in much more than I thought I would. Slept very little, and work was slow enough to allow a few films on my iphone.

1- The Guardian of the Universe (1995) (90s Gamera #1) - 7/10 -* - I admit it, I'm a sucker for kaiju films. As a kid I fell in love with Gamera and Godzilla, and I've never grown up. Trying to clear out my unwatched pile (of 1000 or so films, ughh), so much of this year's challenge will hopefully be new to me. Some cheesy special effects and a fairly standard story, but a nice re-introduction for the franchise. Nice melding of the monster and human storylines, decent acting for the genre. Long live the turtle!
2- Attack of the Legion (1996) (90s Gamera #2) - 6.5/10 - * - Loved the enemies, insects scare me anyway, so putting them in a horror film guarantees at least a big freak out factor. Enjoyed the movie overall, but the way Gamera dispatches the Queen takes a point off for me. Come on, an all powerful chest cannon? Why not just use it earlier or all the time?
3- Frankenstein (1910) - 8.5/10 - (Wildcard #1, short) - First use of split screen with that mirror thing? The cauldron scene is fairly chilling, and was probably one of the most creative things done on film at that point in time. It's actually quite a compelling and moving story. This wiki article is perhaps a bit too effusive in its praise though.
4- Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (1922) - 8.5/10 - More in the 31 days thread. Anxious to buy the new special edition on DVD, and just ordered the Kinski remake.
5- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - 8/10 - Didn't really need to watch this again, but it was handy when I was testing handbreak, so it was on my iphone. It's one of my all-time favorite horror films, so I really didn't mind. The best of the four versions of this story imo.
6- The Vampire Bat (1933) - 6.6/10 - Another that I only re-watched because I already had it in itunes/my iphone and work was slow. Nice to see a young and gorgeous Fay Wray, perhaps I'll fit in a day of Kong before this challenge is over.
7- The Corpse Vanishes (1942) - 4/10 - Bela Lugosi must have needed the cash. A bizarre little film, perfect for MST3K, unfortunately their riff of it is not on DVD yet.
8- The Phantom of the Opera (1929 reissue) - * - 8/10 - First time seeing this reissue, didn't notice the slight differences, but then, I haven't watched them as often as I should. Silent film actors don't get enough credit, I think they actually had to work harder and be better before voice entered the film industry.
9- The Last House on the Left (1972) - 3/10 - Disturbing. Not a good film to go to sleep after. Not my type of movie; I only bought it, and watch it, for checklist purposes.

Thursday October 2nd - I have to work the first six days of this challenge, but luckily today and tomorrow are only 3-4 hours each day. My OCD is beginning to kick in, well, kick in more than usual, and I have the next 4 or so days planned out. Hope to finish the checklist by the 7th, and then be free to concentrate on my unwatched mountain.

10- The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895) - 7/10 - (Wildcard #2, several shorts) - Watched this and a few others (below two, plus a couple not listed) for checklist purposes. Will combine into one wildcard. This film is important historically, and features perhaps the first special effect.
N/A- Le Chaudron Infernal (1903) - 8/10 - I'm looking forward to one day fully exploring the work French director Georges Méliès.
N/A- Le Monstre (1903) - 7/10 - * - Nice special effects for the time. This and many of his other films can be found online, but I'll be seeking out the DVD set of Méliès' work.
11- Trilogy of Terror (1975) - 7.5/10 - This is one of the first horror films I ever saw, a family favorite. I'll probably watch this every Challenge. Has anyone bought the re-release of the DVD? Worth the upgrade?
12- Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later (1998) - 7.5/10 - I really enjoy this sequel. Repeating myself from last year, the scene where Laurie and Michale are face to face for the first time is a wonderful moment.
13- Darkman (1990) - 7/10 - I'm getting away from my goal to watch films from my unwatched pile (if 1500 films could fit in a pile), but I've been meaning to watch this for a long time, and couldn't wait any longer. Wish they got Neeson for the sequels, but I'll still watch them someday.
14- Revenge of Iris (1999) (90s Gamera #3) - 7.5/10 - * - Really well done. Usually in kaiju films, I want them to limit the human storylines and just get to the monsters, but here I actually enjoyed the human scenes. Nice trilogy, consistent storyline, I hope there is more Gamera to come.
15- Shadow of the Vampire (2000) - 8.5/10 - Watched it with the director's commentary. Simply amazing film, more in the 31 days thread. Maybe I'm easily impressed, but the whole concept is just amazing. The movie probably could have had horrible acting, directing, lighting, whatever, and I'd still love the frigging movie because the idea is just so darn cool to me.
16- Mad Monster Party (1969) - 6/10 - * - Would have loved it, but the voices of the two main characters annoyed the heck out of me.

Friday October 3rd - Second day in a row that, besides a few hours of work, I've done almost nothing but watch films. Moving back and forth between two televisions and my computer to keep myself awake and get my daily exercise. Probably shouldn't admit this, but I'm even watching on my iphone at stop lights, breaks in meetings, and in the bathroom.

17- Jaws the Revenge (1987) - 3/10 - Only watched this to fill in a couple of boxes on the checklist.
18- Full Tilt Boogie (1997) - 7/10 - * - Nice documentary on From Dusk Til Dawn.
19- La Culpa (aka Blame) (2006) - 5.5/10 - * - First film of the Six Films to Keep You Awake DVD set. It did so, but not by much. I'm hoping the next 5 films of this set are better.
20- House of the Dead (2003) - 1/10 - Stupid checklist. I hereby vow to never watch this film again.
21- Jigoku (1960) - 6/10 - * - Definitely the most bizarre title I've watched so far.
22- Suspiria (1977) - 7.5/10 - More in the 31 days thread. Fantastic atmosphere compensates for the thin plot and bad-at-times english "dubbing".
23- Tenebre (1982) - 7/10 - * - I don't think I'll ever become a huge Argento fan. Often visually amazing, great music/sound usually, but the stories are always mediocre for me. This one had a very interesting premise at least.
24- Return of the Living Dead (1985) - 7/10 - * - Very well done, as long as you realize that it is meant more of a comedy than a horror flick.
25- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) - 7/10 - How can you go wrong with Spencer Tracey, Lana Turner, and Ingrid Bergman?

Saturday October 4th - Back to my normal 12 hour work days, so probably won't get in too many today, unless work is really slow. Edit to add - It was a slow day, helping my checklist immensely. I'll admit that I wasn't planning on watching quite as much as I did this week, but saw that wlverinefactor was racing towards finishing the checklist and decided to try to defend last year's Bingo win.

26- Scream and Scream Again (1970) - 7/10 - * - Bizarre thing that jumps all over the place. Great for checklist purposes, given the cast.
27- Night of the Living Dead (1968) - 8/10 - More in the 31 days thread. Stupidly bought the 30th anniversary edition with all the horrible additions, will need to find a better version.
28- Night of the Living Dead (1990) - 7/10 - * - Pretty darn good for a remake. I actually like the slight changes. Regrettably, many people refuse to watch black and white movies; so this remake gives them a chance to see a classic. I still like the original more of course.
29- Bride of the Gorilla (1951) - 5.5/10 - Watched online to get a 1950s movie for the checklist. Interesting Wolf Man derivative.
30- Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - 7.5/10 - More in the 31 days thread. Enjoy this still scary Freddy, before most of the sequels ruin him.
31- And the Children Shall Lead (1968) - 7/10 - (Wildcard #3, TV episode) - I've always thought of this as one of the scariest ST episodes, there is just something freaky wrong with kids killing adults.
32- Dawn (2003) - watch online - 4/10 - * - Very low budget film that I found on lycos and watched online. I admire their effort, but hope that this was the first film for all involved.
33- Man Bites Dog (1992) - 7/10 - * - Well done mockumentary, but I don't think I liked it.
34- Phantom Planet (1961) - 7/10 - * - The rating is for the MST3K version of the film, don't think I would have enjoyed it without Mike and the bots.

Sunday October 5th - Bingo.

35- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) - 8/10 - * - Always avoided this film on my DVD which also includes the 1941 version. I looked at the casts involved, and figured that the later Spencer Tracey, Lana Turner, and Ingrid Bergman version had to be an improvement, right? Wrong. Fredric March outclasses Tracey in this role, and overall I enjoyed this one a bit more. Looking around I see there have been at least a dozen versions of this story over the years, might try to collect a few more of them, and have a Jekyll marathon one weekend. Also, I read that the studio tried to suppress the 1931 version in order to promote the 1941 version, going so far as to buy the rights to it and destroy prints of it.
36- Hobgoblins (1988) - MST3K version - movie 1/10, riff 8/10 - * - This could possibly be the worst movie I've ever seen. I'm so glad it was being riffed, very well at that, or it would have been extremely painful.
37- Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) - 1/10 - Just a checklist buffer, might as well have two of everything. And since I'm not doing the checklist next year, I never have to watch this film again.
n/a- The Revenge of the Shanytown (1995) - Another checklist repeat. Silly Highlander Animated series. Don't want to waste a wildcard on this, I have plans for some better things in my last three slots.

Monday October 6th - Looking forward to a day off tomorrow. Cramming 37+ films in those first five days made me realize that I'm not going to do that anymore. My OCD for this challenge is sated, the bingo card was done, I'm going to slow down and watch some non-horror each day. But I'll be honest, if I didn't have a lot of real-world work to do this month, I'd probably watch 4+ a day and try to hit 200, but now I'm just going to try for 100.

38- The Shining (1980) - 9/10 - For just the second time this challenge, I was scared. Kubrick was a master of cinematography. More in the 31 days thread.
39- Alien (1979) - 10/10 - One of only 5 or so films that I have rated 10/10 in my life. Can't imagine a horror challenge without watching this. Watched with group commentary, which I found very entertaining.
N/A - Minnesota Vikings 30, New Orleans Saints 27 (2008) - * - This was a total horror for New Orleans Saints fans, as their team basically gave the game away. Luckily, I'm a Minnesota Viking fan. So while I'll be having nightmares of Reggie Bush returning punts for weeks, I'm happy to see my team re-discover a passing game.

Tuesday October 7th - Finally, my first day off work this month. Spent some time with my Mom, and went to the theater with my sister, niece, and nephew. Found time to order a few more horror DVDs as well, some good sales at Amazon and DD. I always manage to buy 50+ new horror titles every October.

40- Re-Animator (1985) - 9/10 - Maybe a bit of a guilty pleasure, but this is one of my favorite horror movies. Looking back, I was young and easily impressed by gore and nudity when I first saw it. But it is still fun, although less "groundbreaking" and more campy for me now. More in the 31 days thread.
41- Bloody Birthday (1981) - 5.5/10 - * - Good premise, and some nice stabs at stereotypical parenthood fears.
N/A- Righteous Kill (2008) - 3/10 - * - Why did Pacino and DeNiro agree to this? At least it was free thanks to the ubiquitous free movie tickets at retailers.
42- Spoorloos (The Vanishing) (1988) - 9/10 - Very well done Dutch film. Haven't seen the remake yet, but imagine it's horrible.

Wednesday October 8th - Back to work for another 12 hour day, but saw most of the FDTD trilogy on my iPhone there.

43- From Dusk Until Dawn (1996) - 8/10 - I really like George Clooney (in movies at least, not his politics).
44- From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999) - 4/10 - * - Not too horrible actually, I feared much worse. Some interesting camera work, lots of gore, and Robert Patrick wasn't bad. I'll likely never watch it again though.
45- From Dusk Til Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (1999) - 2/10 - * - Crap.
46- Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) - 8/10 - Haven't watched this in years. Some fine acting and great underwater cinematography. Looking forward to fully watching the extras and sequels before I put it back on the shelf. More in the 31 days thread.

Thursday October 9th - Hope to finally see some horror in the theater tonight. After work made it to the theater for the $5 Horror Double Feature, I heartily recommend this to anyone with participating theaters near them.

47- Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein (1999) - 4/10 - * - Pretty much what I expected. I was never a chipmunk fan, so have no idea why I bought this DVD, probably for future checklist purposes. Sad that I would actually buy things I don't want just for a meaningless checklist, but that's OCD for you.
48- House on Haunted Hill (1959) - 8.5/10 - A staple of my library, I'll watch some version of this at least once a year.
49- The Amazing Transparent Man (1960) - 3.5/10 - * - While this I'll hopefully never see again. Looks like it was made in a week.
50- The Devil's Rejects (2005) - 5/10 - * - More in the 31 days thread. Not my type of film, but some decent acting, and I enjoyed how they melded Free Bird and it's lyrics into the final sequence.

Friday October 10th - Some family drama kept me away from movies.
51- Rosemary's Baby (1968) - 8/10 - * - Really enjoyed watching this in full for the first time, great to see some older actors given good roles, including an Oscar winning performance by Ruth Gordon. More in the 31 days thread.

Saturday October 11th - Just tried to randomize some films today, picking things out of my unwatched piles.
52- Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) - 7/10 - Started this one thinking that I had never seen it before. I guess it was pretty forgettable, but did realize about half way thru that I had watched it. Almost stopped it to go to an unwatched film, but decided I was too far in to stop. Gorier than I thought it would be. Nice to see early Steve Buscemi, Rae Dawn Chong, and Julianne Moore. I actually really enjoyed the wrap-around story.
53- Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1994) - 4.5/10 - * - Not horrible, but nothing at all new. Not sure how they expect us to believe Durant surviving the crash at the end of the first film. An identical twin would have been much more believable.
54- Terrified (1963) - 6.5/10 - * - Great settings! Film gets a bit talky at times, but overall it does a great job of showing people being terrified. Great opening scene, nice soundtrack, and an early appearance from Uncle Jesse!
55- The Ghost Ship (1943) - 7.5/10 - * - My first (?) Val Lewton production.
56- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) - 4/10 - * - I recognize it's importance to the medium/genre, and admit that I may have liked it or appreciated it more if I had seen it 30, or even 10 years ago. I understand that many of the horror films I watch and enjoy owe a lot to it, but I just couldn't get into it. One big problem for me was that I couldn't generate sympathy for any of the kids. Strange that I prefer really old horror, or stuff from the 90s and on, but many "classic" of the 70s or so don't do much for me. More in the 31 days thread.

Sunday October 12th - Between football and a few movies, barely left the TV all day.

57- Night Monster (1942) - 7/10 - * - Finished off my Universal Horror boxset, not sure how I missed this one last year.
N/A- St. Louis Rams 19, Washington Redskins 17 (2008) - * - What a nightmare. My hometown and second favorite team, the Redskins, were starting to generate SuperBowl buzz, and were home against the winless and pathetic looking Rams. They hadn't lost a turnover or even fumbled all year, but had four fumbles, losing three, in their first six possessions. On a slightly bright side, my Vikings won another game that they probably deserved to lose.
58- Freaks (1932) - 8/10 - Some genuinely creepy moments in this. More in the 31 days thread.
59- Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (1996) - 3.5/10 - * - Interesting that this one was filmed and meant to be released before Darkman II. I don't think it mattered either way, both are mediocre and forgettable.
60- The Food of the Gods (1976) - 5/10 - * - This is a "so bad it's good" film. Regretfully admit that I remember being scared by the trailers as a kid. Perfect MST3K-type fodder. Coincidentally appropriate that I chose to watch it on a Sunday, as it features pro football players as it's leads.
61- Snake People (1971) - 4.5/10 - * - The first 20 minutes has got to be the most bizarre opening I've ever seen in a film. So sad that Boris Karloff's last films were these pieced-together Mexican films put out a few years after his death.

Monday October 13th - Back to work, but will try to squeeze in a couple.

62- Friday the 13th (1980) - 6/10 - Was never a big fan of this series, have probably only seen one of them all the way thru in my entire life, the original. I'm sure I've seen parts of several of them on cable over the years, and have probably seen the original 5 or more times, but never really got into them enough to seek out the sequels. Seeking the Best Buy exclusive disc, I finally bought the box set of this earlier this year, and planned to marathon thru all of the movies this month. So far, watched the first two and have enjoyed them. I swear I don't remember Kevin Bacon being in this, and he had a pretty good death scene. More in the 31 days thread.
63- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Gore_De_Vol - 7/10 - * - (Wildcard #4, see description) - Count Gore de Vol, real name Richard Dyszel, was a television horror host. I believe that most television markets had them back in the 70s and 80s, so many of you may be familiar with the Count or similar characters. Basically, one of the local independent channels, WDCA, channel 20, hired him to host the syndicated horror show, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creature_Features. Creature Features is a big part of the reason I became a horror film fan. As a kid in the 70s, the highlight of my weekend was watching the Count host Creature Features, introducing me to the Universal standards, the Godzilla and Gamera films, and other sci-fi and horror classics. Though quirky local programming hosts and Creature Features are long gone, the Count has stayed active, hosting an internet site with a weekly "show" since 1998, and releasing several DVDs. Some of the DVDs are the actual Creature Feature movies, complete with host segments; and some are collections of promos and host material, with new framing segments. This DVD is his first release, showcasing his early years. The wiki articles I've linked are quite accurate, and contain some details as to how groundbreaking the show was in some areas. He hosts an annual horror film festival here in DC, which I hope to attend this weekend.

Tuesday October 14th - My Mom had some cable issues, and just went 72 hours without television. Guy finally showed up at 1830, after they told us we had to wait for him from 1300-1800. Why can't companies give you better time windows than that? They make you take off work or whatever, sit at home for 6 or more hours, and can't call you with updates during the day? She watches a lot of network TV, so I was amazed that she survived that long without it. Made me wonder what I would do. Then I realized that I do that almost every week, go 72 hours or more without watching TV. Between my DVDs and the internet, I can keep my TV busy without ever turning on the cable (Fios) box. I probably only watch 7 hours of TV a week, usually in one or two sittings per week thanks to the DVR. Could I live without that entertainment, and keep that $80 or so per month? Probably.

64- Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) - 5.5/10 - * - Interesting that two films into this series, which is identified as Jason in that hockey mask, and we have yet to see it.
65- The Wolf Man (1941) - 7.5/10 - Never noticed before that this is set in Wales. My grandfather immigrated from Wales, and I was able take my father there a few years ago to track down some of our ancestral heritage; visiting record offices, cemeteries, and distant cousins. No werewolves found. Also never knew that there was an earlier Universal werewolf movie, Werewolf of London. It's on the legacy set, perhaps I'll watch it later this month. More in the 31 days thread.
66- Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) - 7/10 - * - Probably shouldn't rate it this high, but I'm a sucker for monster combo movies.
67- Death Proof (2007) - first half 9/10, second half 2/10 - I know that many disagree, but I hate the second half of this movie. The girls are incredibly annoying, the car chase scene is not as amazing as people claim, and changing Kurt Russell from a chilling homicidal maniac to a whimpering idiot is something I'll never forgive QT for.
68- The Dead Pit (1989) - 4/10 - * - Bleh.


Wednesday October 15th - Skipped half of my sleep last night to watch Claw of Terror. Not sure whether to thank Mister Peepers or curse him. Lack of sleep has really caught up with me. Work was a chore to get thru, and ended up going to bed almost as soon as I got home.

69- Scream Bloody Murder (aka Claw of Terror) (1973) - 5/10 - * - At first, I thought it was going to be a chore to get thru this thing, but finally decided that it was good campy fun. I can see a remake with Jim Carey as Matthew. The beginning was great, easy to get hooked into it. Was that The Tall Man (from the Phantasm films) we saw early in this film? It was! More in the 31 days thread.

Thursday October 16th - Today I'll be going to my first film festival. It's not a full blown festival perhaps, with conference rooms, discussion panels, and all that. But it does have film screenings, some goodies handed out, some of the talent each day to discuss their films and answer questions, people dressing up, and a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Gore_de_Vol hosting it. I grew up on Count Gore de Vol, owe/blame a lot of my horror addiction to him, so I'm pretty pissed that I didn't go to this festival the first two years they had it. Won a door prize tonight, a DVD of the soon to be released Trailer Park of Terror, and got to meet the Count, so a pretty awesome day for me.

70- Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) - movie 1/10, MST3K riff 9/10 - Without MST3K, this movie would be painfully bad, and anyone who watched it sans Joel and the bots deserves extra credit. More in the 31 days thread.
71- Man-Thing (2005) - 4.5/10 - * - Not nearly as bad as I expected. This was a favorite comic series of my youth, and this story has very little to do with the excellent comics. But I knew that going in, and was able to separate it from the comics and see it as its own thing, a mediocre movie.
72- The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) - 9/10 - First time seeing this since I was a kid, when it used to come on late night TV quite often. A timeless (pun intended) classic, great dialogue, makes you think.
73- The Spooky Movie Film Festival (2008) - 10/10 - * - (Wildcard #5, about 30 shorts, listed separately below) - So I just got home from my first film festival, or at least day 1 of a 5 day festival. Using this one wildcard for all the shorts and other trimmings of this tons-of-fun 5 day film festival. Using this one item and rating for the theater/festival experience as a whole. The atmosphere, the hosts, seeing all the fans in costumes, the freebies and door prizes, meeting a few of the directors; it all was well done and a great experience. I've put off going to something like this for years, and am so glad that I finally made the effort.
N/A-

Back to Life (2008)

- 8/10 - * - Funny animated short, watch on this youtube link.
N/A- Foet (2001) - 7/10 - * - Disturbing little short with socially relevant concerns.
N/A- The Sleuth Incident (2008) - 6/10 - * - Bizarre little short. I'll never look at teddy bears the same way again.
N/A- Snip (2008) - 6.5/10 - * - Well shot, and disturbing, but I don't think I ever want to see it again.
74- No Through Road (2008) - 7/10 - * - Surprised that I can't find this film on IMDB yet, as it has won some festival awards and has talent that have IMDB entries. Decent Australian flick.

Friday October 17th - The Exorcist really freaks me out, as it is a possible reality imo, so I choose to watch it early in a day to give me time to recover. I'm really enjoying this film festival so far, tonight ended up having better films than the first night.

75- The Exorcist (The Version You've Never Seen) (1973) - 9/10 - * - The new spider walk scene freaked me out the most. I remember when it was released to the theaters, and the big controversy. I was too young to go, but think my parents may have gone. I'll have to ask my mom about it. More in the 31 days thread.
N/A- The Exorcist (The Version You've Never Seen) (1973) - 9/10 - * - Watched it again with director's commentary. The most painfully boring two hours of this challenge, as all Friedkin did was describe what was happening on screen for the most part. Odd that he put in such a poor performance, as his previous commentaries have been quite good.
76- The Crow (1994) - 9/10 - A favorite of mine, a comic adaptation done right. Watched it this time with the producer and writer commentary. Not sure why it hit me this time, but for the first time while watching this film, and the first time this month, I kind of cried. Not a full blown cry, but a pretty good welling up. So sad to lose Brandon Lee the way we did, he had a ton of talent, and seemed like a really good kid from the interviews I've seen.
N/A- Night of the Hell Hamsters (2006) - 8/10 - * - The second night of The Spooky Movie Horror Film Festival started off with this hilarious short, worth the price of admission alone. One particular death had me cringing for minutes.
N/A- Excision (2008) - 9/10 - * - Best film of the festival so far. Great acting from some locals.
77- Crushed (2008) - 2.5/10 - * - Started off with some potential, but then just dragged on and on and on, and got gorier than most of the Saw and Hostel films. One of the supporting characters has some hilarious dialogue, which kept the first half bearable, if not decent, but wow, did I mention how this thing was too long? The last 20 minutes was painful.
N/A- A Break in the Monotony (2007) - 8/10 - * - - Fun little short with a great twist.
N/A- Prombies (2007) - 6.5/10 - * - Another funny little short highlighting zombies. Starts off really well, but I think the ending could have been better.
78- Brain Dead (2007) - 6/10 - * - Best production values of the festival so far. Ok, if overused concept, some decent acting, but not really very good overall. Will probably re-watch someday, may grow on me, some nice eye candy at least. But why the heck did they give it the same name as two other fairly recent and popular horror movies?

Saturday October 18th - Basically skipping some sleep this weekend so that I can go to this film festival. Finding that doing that is getting more difficult as I age. Skipping a night of sleep was an almost weekly thing when I was in my teens and twenties, and didn't affect me at all. But now, I struggle if I don't get my 4-9 hours per night.

79- The Invisible Man (1933) - 8/10 - Still haven't watched any of the four sequels. Next year, when I'm not encumbered by the checklist, I'll be more free to watch these and other unwatched films in my collection. More in the 31 days thread.
N/A- Harvest Moon (2008) - 7.5/10 - * - Nice little short from FSU. A couple/few of the shorts from this festival have been from there, and all well done so far, makes me think they have a pretty good film school there.
N/A- The Blue Rhino vs. the Diabolic Brain (2008) - 1.5/10 - * - Absolutely no budget, attempt at an Ed Wood homage, but didn't do anything for me. Painful to get thru actually.
N/A- Cheerbleeders (2008) - 7.5/10 - * - Another well done short. I often like my horror mixed with humor, takes the edge off.
N/A- Fun on Earth (2007) - 6/10 - * - Good concept, decent acting. Enjoyable, but I won't be going out of my way to buy it on a shorts collection or follow the director's future work.
N/A- The Procedure (2008) - 7.5/10 - * - Nice work. I've been surprised at how well done some of these shorts have been.
N/A- The Room (2007) - 8/10 - * - Some nice camera work, decent effects and acting, surprised at the low rating for this on IMDB.
80- Vlog (2008) - 4/10 - * - Possible slightly interesting marketing story here. From the producer of Saw, this was apparently billed as the first ever web movie. Webisodes at a borderline porn site collected into a movie. Story is actually halfway decent, but a bit too long. Made the mistake of following the links to research my write-up here, hopefully I don't get fired from work over this mediocre thing.
81- Snuff: a Documentary About Killing on Camera (2008) - 5/10 - * - I never would have paid to see this, or watched it even if it was free on TV. But since I paid for an all festival pass I felt like I needed to see as much as possible to get my money's worth. Very disturbing, I left the theater shaken and depressed. Very well done review here on DVDtalk for this film.

Sunday October 19th - Can't believe that something has supplanted the NFL in my life, but this makes two years in a row that I've spent Sundays in October actually doing something other than watching 10+ hours of the NFL. Very ugly start to the day with the after midnight screening of Snuff, and then way too little sleep, but hopefully the 20 or so films I'll see today will perk me back up.

82- The Shadow Within (2007) - 8/10 - * - Best feature of the fest so far. Thought it was a British film, but was filmed in Italy by Italians. Nice job by Kate Winslet's sister Beth.
N/A- Lawn of the Dead (2008) - 2/10 - * - Local short that probably won't make it to any other festivals.
N/A- Crystl (2008?) - 5/10 - * - The first short on which the google machine thingy fails. A weird music video horror mash up.
N/A- A Beautiful Day (2008?) - 6/10 - * - Another google fail. Does it cost money to add your shorts/films onto IMDB? I don't think so, you'd think new filmmakers would want to get their stuff noticed.
N/A- Peekers (2008) - 8/10 - * - Fun, and yet quite creepy at the same time! Nice to see older actors getting these types of parts.
83- Thicker Than Water: The Vampire Diaries Part 1 (2008) - 8/10 - * - Wow! I am quite surprised at the quality of many of these shorts and feature length films. When I started this festival, I expected more local stuff, and feared films that a few people with a weekend to kill and a video camera could put together. Instead I'm getting stuff that is better than half my horror collection. I will not be surprised to see some of these filmmakers and actors go on to much bigger things. Will try to remember to check these links in a year or two to see their progress.
N/A- Attackzoids! (2008) - 7.5/10 - * - Nice melding of animation and live action, and cool effect with the actress' eyes. Not a huge fan of the ending.
N/A- Reflections (2008) - 7/10 - * - Solid, nice ending.
N/A- Transerexia (2008?) - 7/10 - * - A third short with pretty much nothing found on the net. Tiny thing for fans of The Psychedelic Furs.
N/A- Cam 2 Cam (2008) - 7.5/10 - * - Why I don't chat online. Not on IMDB, but watch the whole thing at that link.
84- Strange Girls (2007) - 8/10 - * - Another wow, much better than what I expected I'd find this weekend. Great acting.
N/A- Dead Boyfriends (2008) - 7/10 - * - Fun little lyrical short.
N/A- Vanished Acres (2006) - 8/10 - * - Great cinematography, production values, and acting. In fact, pretty much perfect technically. Requires the audience to think, and fill in some blanks, so most people won't like it much perhaps.
N/A- Kirksdale (2007) - 8/10 - * - This creator will go places. By the way, here is a trailer for this 5 day Spooky Movie Film Festival.
N/A- Shuteye Hotel (2007) - 7/10 - * - Always love Bill Plympton's stuff, this is perhaps the darkest and least funny of his shorts.
85- Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007) - 8/10 - * - One of the best documentaries I've seen, although the subject matter is a bit fluffy.
86- Hard (1998) - 4.5/10 - * - Nice effort, but horrible acting drags it down. More in the 31 days thread.

Monday October 20th - Indie horror films, work, indie horror films, cat nap, work, indie horror films, cat nap... That's been my life the past 5 days. I'm loving it, although really need a full night's sleep tomorrow.

N/A- Mr. Video (2007) - 7/10 - * - Nice anti-piracy short.
N/A- Little Snaps of Horror (2008) - 7/10 - * - Watch it online thru the link.
N/A- Walker Stalker (2008) - 8/10 - * - Inventive and quite unique British short.
87- Bane (2008) - 5/10 - * - This apparently won awards at some film festivals. I feel sorry for the people who spent a weekend watching nothing better than this. Pretty mediocre ending to an otherwise fantastic film festival.
88- April Fool's Day (1986) - 6.5/10 - Original story, some decent scares. Haven't seen the remake yet. More in the 31 days thread.

Tuesday October 21st - After about 6 total hours of sleep over the past 5 days, I slept in today. The sleep deprivation was definitely worth it, as the film festival was great, and I hope to go to others in the future.

89- The Thing (1982) - 9.5/10 - One of the greatest movies made in the last 30 years, if not ever. Even if you take out the ground breaking special effects, remove all the alien/monster stuff, and make it just a film about men and isolation, it's still an amazing film. More in the 31 days thread.
90- The Thing: Terror Takes Shape (1998) - 7.5/10 - * - Nice 83 minute documentary on one of the ten best movies of all time.
91- Revolt of the Zombies (1936) - 3/10 - * - Too romantical.

Wednesday October 22nd - Had a sort of nightmare this morning. Normally wake up for work at around 0500 to my alarm. But today, I instead gradually wake up and notice daylight. Crap. Look at the flashing clock, power had gone out, it was after 0800, and I have to be at work by 0700.

92- The Evil Dead (1981) - 8/10 - Listened to this with the producer/director commentary. Is it just me or did Sam Raimi sleep thru half of this? He seemed to only talk when the producer dragged comments out of him. More in the 31 days thread.

Thursday October 23rd - All those days of no sleep have caught up to me, so now I'm actually sleeping. 12 hours of work, 2 hours of commuting, 7 hours of sleep, 1 hour of showering/eating/other necessities only leaves 2 hours a day for anything fun.

93- Psycho (1960) - 9/10 - Probably my favorite Hitchcock film, still need to watch/re-watch several of them to be sure. More in the 31 days thread.
94- The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976) - 8/10 - Genuinely creepy film, from the performances to the subject matter.

Friday October 24th - A full weekend off with very few plans! I hope to get at least 10 films in this 3 day weekend.

95- The Mysterious Doctor (1943) - 7/10 - * - Lots of The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man in this fun little war-time thriller. A bit propaganda-ish perhaps, but some creepy settings and fine acting make it worth your while.
96- The Mummy (1932) - 7/10 - Perhaps my least favorite of the "big 5", at least when rating the original films only. I love it, but it just doesn't grab me as much as the other big 4 do. More in the 31 days thread.
97- The Unearthly (1957) - film 4/10, riff 7/10 - * - Very Ed Wood-ish, he is even given a disputed writing credit, so a horrible film, but slightly so-bad-its-good. Mike and the bot's riffing is average, and it had great eye candy. The three main actresses were a Miss America winner, a playmate of the month, and a Miss America contestant.

Saturday October 25th - A beautiful rainy day, sounds perfect for some film watching.

98- The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) - 8/10 - * - Happy to see that I have five more Corman/Poe/Price films to look forward to. I would say this film had some impact on Italian horror directors. More in the 31 days thread.
99- The Crow: City of Angels (1996) - 1/10 - * - What a total piece of crap. The worst film I've seen this month, or perhaps ever. The cast and crew should be ashamed of themselves. Vincent Perez is horrible as the lead, the plot is completely unoriginal, and the ending couldn't be more horrible.
100- Curse of the Demon (1957) - 8/10 - * - My first ever netflix instant watch, and my #100 for this challenge. I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised to really enjoy this film. I'm pretty sure the version I saw was the re-titled and (slightly?) edited US version, and not the British original, Night of the Demon. Anyone have the original cut? Any major differences? What a great ending! Despite my vow to rent more and buy less, and the fact that I watch this online for free whenever I want as long as I keep Netflix, I plan to buy this DVD ASAP.

Sunday October 26th - Could have easily doubled my film output this weekend, but decided to do two other things instead. One, I decided not to ignore my friends and family quite as much as I had planned. Had some meals and NFL watching with some of them. Also, took advantage of some Best Buy coupons to stock up on $5 blu-rays, spending way too many hours in various Best Buys over the course of the weekend, although I did get to play some of the new Guitar Hero there, and scored 10 Blu-rays for $50. Now I just need a HD TV and a Blu-ray player.

100+ Horror of Dracula (1958) - 7/10 - * - May have seen parts of this on TV over the years, but this was my first full viewing. Great performance by Peter Cushing! I know that one could make these complaints on almost every horror movie, but little mistakes by the characters dampen this one quite a bit for me. So Peter Cushing absolutely knows that vampires are real, and knows the foolproof ways to stop them. But does he come prepared? No. He carries one cross, which he purposely leaves before running after Count Dracula! What?! If I were him, I'd have crosses in every pocket, several around my neck, and heck, I'd have them tattooed all over my body. I'd also have garlic stuffed in all my clothes and at least 4 holstered stakes/mallets. And Count Dracula, an intelligent being hundreds of years old, knows he's very vulnerable when in his coffin during the day. Does he take any steps to protect this location? No. At his castle his coffin is simply in the back house, just inside an unlocked door. So after barely surviving an attack in his coffin by his arch nemesis, he moves his coffin to the current home of this man, a foe who has vowed to kill him. Does he at least make a modest attempt to hide this coffin? No! It is plainly in sight just inside the unlocked basement door! More in the 31 days thread.
DVD- The Crow: Salvation (2000) - 4.5/10 - * - Citizen Kane compared to the dreck of the first sequel, but I'll still likely never watch these sequels again.
DVD- Scary Movie 4 - 4.5/10 - Didn't really want to watch this, but I wanted to spend some time with my niece. She doesn't like scary films, so this was the only "horror" film in my sister's collection that Jaime was willing to watch with me. I rated this one slightly higher last year on my first viewing, dropping it now.
DVD- Werewolf of London (1935) - 7.5/10 - * - Under-appreciated classic. This should be seen by any Wolf Man fan. Fine performances and effects, and some nice comedy elements make for an engaging time, the earliest (surviving) film version of a werewolf.
DVD- Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of the Wolf Man (1999) - 6.5/10 - * - Documentary hosted by John Landis is a bit too clip heavy and Universal-centric (but obviously I guess). Not part of my count.

Monday October 27th - Working, so won't get much in, but hope to rent a couple free horror titles since this is Redbox Free Monday. Oops, ended up finding some non-horror to rent this week, Mongol.

iPhone- Dead Men Walk (1943) - 6/10 - * - Mildly entertaining vampire story. The twin twist might have been original at the time. Dwight Frye, Renfield from 1931's Dracula, plays, guess what, a hunchback assistant. Good dual performance from George Zucco, nice quirky role for Fern Emmett, and a perhaps often copied fiery climax.
DVD- She-Wolf of London (1946) - 6.5/10 - * - Great to see a young and beautiful June Lockhart! Not much of a horror, more a mystery, and a decent one at that.
DVD- The Innocents (1961) - 8/10 - * - Wonderfully disturbing. Much more in the 31 days thread.

Tuesday October 28th - Decided to mix things up today and watch several different types of films in several different locations/medias. Including films that I was almost positive would be lousy turned out to be a lousy idea, as I was right.

DVD- Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) - 8.5/10 - * - The day started off very well as I experienced my first ever Fulci film. Appropriate that I started with Fulci's personal favorite of his films. Loved it. Great story, using about 7 different people as suspects in the murder mystery, most being quite compelling possibilities, which left me guessing up until the ending. Big thanks to edwardnortonfan and others for the suggestion. I'm definitely up for more Fulci, but given that this is regarded as his most linear (and best by many), I'll likely not like his others as much.
online- [REC] (2007) - 8.5/10 - * - Maybe I'm easily pleased by gimmicks, but I loved this "video." Wasn't expecting much once I saw that it was going to be all handycam, but after a few weak opening minutes, I was sucked in, and genuinely scared several times. I'll be seeking out the DVD for sure, and will try to catch the American remake Quarantine before it leaves theaters.
online- Shark in Venice (2008) - 1.5/10 - * - It was as bad as it sounds.
TV- Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007) - 3/10 - * - Some decent gore, but not much else.
TV- The Mephisto Waltz (1971) - 7.5/10 - * - Had never heard anything about this somehow, surprising since I love the genre, Alan Alda (sort of), and Jacqueline Bissett. Loved it.
DVD- Black Sunday (1960) - 7.5/10 - * - Incredible gothic atmosphere. Thanks for getting me to watch my first Bava film Chad. Looks like many regard this one, his first as full director, as his best. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of his stuff. Loved "meeting" star Barbara Steele, nice that we got two of her films this week into the 31 days thread.

Wednesday October 29th - My last day of work this month. Planning to go out of town tomorrow, but will have my portable DVD player and films on my iPhone.

online- Dementia 13 (1963) - 7/10 - * - Another well done Roger Corman production, with Francis Ford Coppola cutting his teeth as a director.
online- White Zombie (1932) - 7/10 - What a lousy wedding day. Mediocre acting outside of Lugosi, but a well done story, one of the first full scores, and some notable cinematography. And hey, it's the first ever zombie movie! We all have to love it for that at least.
online- Maniac (1934) - 3/10 - * - Interesting in a historical perspective, as it may be the first exploitation film.
TV- The Black Room (1935) - 7.5/10 - * - My DVR is filling up, so I need to clear some of it out to clear space for the 24 hours of horror that TCM is starting tomorrow. Very happy to find this old Boris Karloff gem.
TV- Before I Hang (1940) - 7.5/10 - * - I think Karloff does a great job in this "dual" role. Wonderful little "B" picture, thanks to TCM for showing this and so many other great older gems as always.
TV- Almost positive I watched at least one more item before closing the night with Dracula, but I can't remember for sure. Went back to my no sleeping ways I'm afraid, looking forward to November.
DVD- Dracula (1931) - 7.5/10 - For this year's viewing, I listening to the commentary track from film historian David J. Skal. It looks like he has written several books that would interest all of us. Has anyone read any of these: Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen,

The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror,

The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror,

Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning, V Is for Vampire: The A to Z Guide to Everything Undead, Screams of Reason: Mad Science and Modern Culture, Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween, Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice (2008)? Now that I'm slightly "movied out", I hope to read several books this month. More in the http://forum.dvdtalk.com/dvd-talk/540759-31-films-31-days-horror-challenge-subset.html
Thursday October 30th - Didn't sleep much Wednesday or Thursday nights, so got in more than planned. I've been recording tons of stuff off of TMC and other channels, my DVD burner has been in constant operation all month. It stopped working yesterday, guess I burned it out. Have let it sit for a few hours, tried different media, but it has weird hang ups and refuses to burn anything. But my DVR was 90% full, and TMC was airing tons of stuff that I didn't have on disc yet. So I had to get another DVD burner and scramble to keep up. Got as high as 97% full earlier today, with two films recording to my DVR as I was hurriedly burning things as quickly as possible to the new DVD burner. Think I'm home free now, below 90% and not much else in set to record tonight. So that's two multiple hundred dollar devices that I've bought for this challenge, and almost bought a PS3 to watch Halloween in hi def.

DVD- Dracula's Daughter (1936) - 5.5/10 - * -
DVD- Son of Dracula (1943) - 4.5/10 - * -
DVD- House of Dracula (1945) - 6/10 - * -
iPhone- Idle Hands (1999) - 8/10 - Not quite as funny as it could be, but a great concept and some hilarious bits make this my favorite modern horror-comedy. But to be honest, I'd probably give it a 7/10 for Jessica Alba alone.
DVD- Regreso a Moira (aka Spectre) (2006) - 7.5/10 - * -
theater- The Bat (1959) - 7.5/10 - * -
theater- Lycanthropus (aka Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory) (1961) - 6/10 - * -
theater- Quella Villa Accanto al Cimitero (aka The House by the Cemetery (1981) - 7/10 - * - I imagine this was heavily edited.
theater- Quarantine (2008) - 6.5 - * - [Rec] was much better. Why must we dumb things down for Americans?
DVD- Frankenstein (1931) - 9/10 - Another commentary listen for me, as I have seen this film countless times. Film historian Rudy Behlmer does a good job, lots of information, but it seems scripted and has little if any scene-specific information. More in the 31 days thread.

Friday October 31st - So this ended up being a marathon day of eclectic films, the randomness of it kept me focused. Ended with the classic right around midnight, and started another film, as I planned to just skip sleep again and marathon thru until dawn. But decided that perhaps a few hours of sleep before work would be prudent. So I can proudly say that I ended things at midnight-ish with one of the best horror films ever, Halloween.

TV- Dead of Night (1945) - 8.5/10 - * -
DVD- Adivina Quién Soy (aka A Real Friend) (2006) - 8/10 - * -
DVD- Cuento de Navidad (aka A Christmas Tale) (2005) - 8/10 - * -
DVD- La Habitación del Niño (aka The Baby's Room) (2006) - 8/10 - * -
DVD- Para Entrar a Vivir (aka To Let) (2006) - 7.5/10 - * -
DVD- The Haunted Strangler (1958)- 7.5/10 - * - Criterion did a great job on this Monsters and Mayhem set.
DVD- Jack Brooks Monster Slayer (2007)- 7.5/10 - * -
DVD- The Invisible Man Returns (1940)- 6/10 - * -
TV- The Office - Employee Transfer (2008) - 7/10 - * - Watched the Halloween episode with my kind-of girlfriend. Won't count it as I am compelled to save the last wildcard for something truly unique and special, something that I plan to watch every Halloween season for the rest of my life.
DVD- It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)- 9/10 - (Wildcard #6, the original wildcard) - When I think of Halloween, this is the first thing that comes to mind. Originally airing just after my birth, I think that Charles Schulz wrote this and the Christmas special specifically for me.
DVD- Halloween (1978) - 9/10 - More in the 31 days thread.
DVD- Blood Legacy (aka Legacy of Blood) (1971) - ?/10 - * - Started the Cinematic Titanic version of this in the pre-dawn hours, but kept falling asleep. Not because it wasn't hilarious, but because I had gone almost 48 hours without sleep. Decided to stop rewinding it every 5 minutes and just watch it later. The Challenge should end on Halloween anyway.
iphone- Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920)- 8/10 - Actually got an unexpected second wind after preparing for and getting into bed, so started this film. After awhile I thought, "What the heck are you doing Trevor? You have to be at work in 4 hours!" So I turned it off and got some much needed sleep.

Wildcards

Expanded Checklist/Bingo Card spoilered below

2009

First page! I plan to pretty things up in the coming week or two, but here is my rough list. Nah, I think I'll stay simple this year. Red numbers equal a first time viewing.

Thursday, October 1st
Bahamas vacation, no movie watching.
Friday, October 2nd
Bahamas vacation, no movie watching.
Saturday, October 3rd
Bahamas vacation, no movie watching.
Sunday, October 4th
01 - The Manitou (1978)
02 - Nightmare Castle (1965)
03 - Cube (1997) (with filmmaker commentary)
Monday, October 5th
04 - Do You Like Hitchcock? (2005)
05 - Jigoku (1960)
Tuesday, October 6th
06 - Poltergeist (1982) - blu-ray -
07 - Wildcard #1 (length) -The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895)
08 - Wildcard #2 (length) -Le chaudron infernal (1903)
09 - Wildcard #3 (length) -Frankenstein (1910)
10 - Blood for Dracula (1974)
11 - His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th (2009)
12 - Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)
13 - Poltergeist III (1988)
Wednesday, October 7th
14 - The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
15 - The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
16 - House of the Dead (2003)
17 - The Descent (2005)
18 - The Nanny (1965)
Thursday, October 8th
19 - Haute Tension (2003)
20 - Ghost Ship (1943)
21 - The Leopard Man (1943)
22 - Alien (1979)
23 - P2 (2007)
24 - Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978)
25 - Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey (1932)
26 - Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
Friday, October 9th
27 - Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
28 - Revenge of the Living Dead Girls (1987)
29 - Dead Space: Downfall (2008)
30 - Masters of Horror: The Fair Haired Child (2006)
31 - Tales From the Crypt (1972)
32 - Man with the Screaming Brain (2005)
33 - Child's Play 2 (1990)
34 - Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Saturday, October 10th
35 - Night of the Living Dead (1968) (with Rifftrax commentary)
36 - Scream and Scream Again (1970)
37 - Prom Night (1980)
38 - Return of the Killer Tomatoes! (1988)
39 - Mad Monster Party? (1967)
Sunday, October 11th
40 - Baby Blues (2008)
41 - The Signal (2007)
42 - Bats (1999)
43 - Wildcard #4 (length) -Le spectre rouge (1907)
Monday, October 12th
44 - Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)
Tuesday, October 13th
45 - Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977)
46 - Psycho II (1983)
47 - Believers (2007)
48 - Naked Fear (2007) - Only watched this because it was expiring from Netflix instant availability next week.
49 - The Stink of Flesh (2005) - Only watched this because it was expiring from Netflix instant availability next week.
50 - Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001) - Only watched this because it was expiring from Netflix instant availability next week.
51 - The Dead Next Door (1989) - Only watched this because it was expiring from Netflix instant availability next week.
Wednesday, October 14th
52 - Malevolence (2004)
53 - The Lost
54 - Dr. Giggles (1992)
55 - Eyes of a Stranger (1981)
56 - Deadly Friend (1986)
57 - Someone's Watching Me! (1978)
58 - The Girl Next Door (2007)
Thursday, October 15th
59 - Troll (1986)
60 - Troll 2 (1990)
Friday, October 16th
61 - Blame (2006)
62 - Spectre (2006)
63 - A Real Friend (2006)
64 - The Christmas Tale (2005)
65 - The Baby's Room (2006)
66 - To Let (2006)
67 - From Beyond the Grave (1973)
68 - Alligator (1980)
Saturday, October 17th
69 - Nutcracker: An American Nightmare (2001)
70 - Off the Beaten Path (2004)
71 - The Crate (2007)
72 - Attack of the Puppet People (1958)
73 - Let the Right One In (2008)
Sunday, October 18th
74 - Edgar Allen Poe's Darkness (2005)
75 - Purvos (2006)
76 - Human Behavior (2006)
77 - The Beast Within (1982)
78 - The Hand (1981)
Monday, October 19th
79 - The Bat People (1974)
80 - The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955)
81 - The Beast With a Million Eyes (1955)
82 - Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1968)
Tuesday, October 20th
83 - The Blair Witch Project (1999)
84 - Fiend Without a Face (1958)
85 - Seeds (1968)
86 - The Ghastly Ones (1968)
87 - Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)
88 - Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Wednesday, October 21st
89 - The Phantom of the Opera (1998)
90 - An American Werewolf in London (1981)
short - Psycho Hillbilly Cabin Massacre! (2007)
91 - Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964)
Thursday, October 22nd
short - Attackazoids, Deploy!! (2009)
short - Allure (2009)
short - Mamá (2008)
short - Tinglewood (2009)
92 - Evil Angel (2009)
Friday, October 23rd
93 - 100 Feet (2008)
94 - Ravenous (1999)
95 - End of the Line (2007)
96 - Dawn of the Dead (2004) - blu-ray -
short - Zombies & Cigarettes (2009)
short - Lazarus Taxon (2008)
short - Rising Up: The Story of the Zombie Rights Movement (2009)
97 - George's Intervention (2009)
98 - Doctor S Battles the Sex Crazed Reefer Zombies: The Movie (2008)
Saturday, October 24th
99 - Saw VI (2009) - It was free and I had time to kill, otherwise I never would have seen it.
100 - Paranormal Activity (2007) - Better than I expected, but didn't live up to the hype of course.
101 - Day of the Dead (1985) - blu-ray -
102 - Prince of Darkness (1987)
short - More Control (2008) -
short - Altar (2008)
short - The Nightmare (2009)
short - Becoming Roman (2009)
short - Awareness (2009)
short - Phenomena: Probing the Paranormal (2009)
short - Mamá (2008) - A repeat showing of this fantastic short. Creepy!
103 - Audie & the Wolf (2008)
104 - Finale (2009)
Sunday, October 25th
105 - Wildcard #5 (television) - "Psych" Let's Get Hairy (2009)
short - The Legend of Farmer Jenkins (2006)
short - Frankenstein vs. the Wolfman in 3-D (2008)
short - Scourge of the Vampire (2007) - Couldn't find it on IMDB, but that should be the link to the actual video, can't test it due to media being blocked at work.
short - The Snow Princess (2008)
short - Back to Life (2008)
short - House of Harrington (2008)
short - Death in Charge (2009)
short - Thorns (2008)
short - Orla's Song (2009) - Couldn't find it on IMDB, but that should be the link to the actual video, can't test it due to media being blocked at work.
short - Elder Sign (2009)
106 - The Death of Alice Blue (2009)
short - The Savannah Story (2009)
short - Initiation (2008) - Couldn't find it on IMDB, but that should be the link to the actual video, can't test it due to media being blocked at work.
short - The Ugly File (2009)
short - Shrove Tuesday (2009)
107 - Must Love Death (2009)
short - X-Mess Detritus (2008)
short - À mère et marées (2008)
short - Hunger (2009)
short - Dead Creek (2008)
108 - Morgue Story: Sangue, Baiacu e Quadrinhos (2009)
short - Seance (2009)
short - Langliena (2008)
short - Side Effect (2008)
short - Hunger (2009) - Trivial fact: there are at least 7 films named Hunger made in 2009 alone.
109 - Murder Loves Killers Too (2009)
Monday, October 26th
Work and Monday Night Football was all I did. Wait, watching the Redskins counts as a horror I think....
Tuesday, October 27th
110 - Carnage for the Destroyer (2006) - The worst piece of crap ever put on film. Supposed to be a comedy, but absolutely none of it was funny.
111 - Masters of Horror: The Damned Thing (2006)
112 - Masters of Horror: Family (2006)
113 - Masters of Horror: The V Word (2006)
114 - Masters of Horror: Sounds Like (2006)
115 - Masters of Horror: Pro-Life (2006)
116 - Masters of Horror: Pelts (2006)
117 - Masters of Horror: The Screwfly Solution (2006)
118 - Masters of Horror: Valerie on the Stairs (2006)
119 - Masters of Horror: Right to Die (2007)
120 - Masters of Horror: We All Scream for Ice Cream (2007)
121 - Masters of Horror: The Black Cat (2007)
Wednesday, October 28th
122 - Masters of Horror: The Washingtonians (2007)
123 - Masters of Horror: Dream Cruise (2007)
124 - The Stepfather (2009)
125 - Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)
126 - Zombieland (2009)
127 - Wildcard #6 (television) - It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
128 - Final Destination (2000)
129 - Laid to Rest (2009)
Thursday, October 29th
130 - Revenge of the Creature (1955)
131 - The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
132 - Back to the Black Lagoon: A Creature Chronicle (2000)
Friday, October 30th
133 - Dracula (1931)
134 - Drácula (1931)
135 - Dracula's Daughter (1936)
136 - Masters of Horror: Incident on and Off a Mountain Road (2005)
137 - Masters of Horror: Dance of the Dead (2005)
138 - Masters of Horror: Pick Me Up (2006)
139 - Masters of Horror: Jenifer (2005)
140 - Masters of Horror: Sick Girl (2006)
141 - Masters of Horror: Deer Woman (2005)
142 - Masters of Horror: John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns (2005)
143 - Masters of Horror: Dreams in the Witch-House (2005)
Saturday, October 31st
144 - Son of Dracula (1943)
145 - House of Dracula (1945)
146 - Shaun of the Dead (2004)
147 - Halloween (1978)
148 - The Black Cat (1934)
149 - Man Made Monster (1941)
150 - Horror Island (1941)
151 - Night Monster (1942)
152 - Captive Wild Woman (1943)
153 - Phantasm (1979)
154 - Phantasm II (1988)
155 - Trick 'r Treat (2008)




2010