Exactly my thoughts. The concept behind all of these challenges is to actually WATCH movies. Having a movie playing in the background while you're doing something else isn't exactly true to the concept of WATCHING movies.

Agreed,also. While I enjoy occasionally blasting through an all-day movie marathon, it isn't something I'd want to do daily for an entire month. And I wonder exactly what someone retains from each movie while watching that many. In the two years that I "won" this challenge, I find that I don't recall quite a few of the movies at all. And my numbers were nowhere near as high.

While the ZOMBIEDAVE situation also falls into this category, I was most definitely referring to mightysparks. I didn't believe her numbers at the time of the challenge, and I still don't. I KNOW that there are several others who agree with me. Whether they choose to come forward or not is up to them. I think a lot of members were too busy tripping over themselves because of the whole "OMG!!!!1!! A GIRL WHO LOVES HORROR MOVIES" aspect of it to consider the validity of her list.

Admittedly, quite a few films I don't remember because they were just unmemorable, but then I watched 2 movies yesterday and one was boring as hell and I barely remember anything from that. I try not to do anything else while watching a film but I will multitask sometimes. It was quite easy for the first 20 or so days and then I really had to force myself (I was so exhausted by that point. I took a before/after photo to show what a day does, but I'm at work right now and don't have it on me. Basically fresh faced -> exhausted). I was trying to push myself to the max because I figured I had the whole month free, it's my favourite genre; might as well take the opportunity and watch as many films as possible :P

Are you on the iCM forum ororama or did you just glance at the link? (also I'm Australian not a Kiwi :P close enough though).

The year I managed 159 was exhausting and 136 the year before that one wore me out. The year I hit 159 for Horror I pushed myself in the others too and within 6 months had totally wrecked my sleeping patterns. For me those higher counts were neat to get but absolutely not fun. By the time I finally stopped it had started to feel too much like work and I tended to totally exclude everything else for the sake of higher numbers. I was unbearable by the end of the challenges those years (my will will attest to this). Had I not had to work it would have been OK as then there would have only been 1 "job" for the month and I'd not have spent sleepless nights just to squeeze in another film.

While I believe someone with nothing else to do and no family pulling on them can hit 300+ viewings a month (especially if they go for older films which tend to run in the 70 minute or less range) I can see the fun leaving after a week or two at most.

I know what you mean here. I caught myself a few times picking up a movie months ago and thinking to myself "Not now, I have to wait for October!"

Yeah, it was fun to experience once, but never again. I could've fit in an extra few films each day if I cut down on my sleep and didn't do my daily exercise, but it probably would've killed me. I had forgotten I did 176 the previous year, and I was working part-time, but it wasn't anywhere near as difficult. This is the pic I mentioned earlier. Taken on the 10th October last year. The first one was taken in the morning, after showering the night before, and the second was at the end of the day. Not a good feeling, haha. Sometimes I was just too tired for another movie and would just go to sleep instead.

The London FrightFest I am attending on Thurs-Mon will be 3 films on Thurs, 6 on Fri, Sat and Sun, and 5 on Monday. I live an hour away, which means early mornings and late nights and I am going to be exhausted just for a 5 day stretch! There is a 30-60 odd minute break between each showing though, and a longer break at dinner time, which should help keep things going (better than my occasional 5-10 minute pee breaks). Plus I will have company to keep up motivation

I'd just like to point out the part I bolded (and clicking on "find more posts by" shows you weren't kidding). People would be more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt if they saw you post here some time other than September or October (like they do other members who have listed similar high numbers in previous challenges).
Same here. If you see a movie on one of my lists, I watched the movie. If I felt the need to surf the net, or take a nap, or read a book while watching that movie, I shut the damn thing off and went back to watching it later on. Every time I see someone make a post in one of the discussion threads like "I just started Movie X" or "now watching Movie Y," I think, no you didn't, you're playing around on the internet.
I hit 164 one year (and 159 the year before). I have no desire to do that again. Like you say, it became too much like work after a few weeks.

Yeah I know, but I am already constantly active on one forum (one that I started), so joining an already established community on yet another forum seems kind of redundant. I honestly didn't think there'd be any issue with believability either, tbh. I just like to pop in here for the horror challenge because there is a bigger horror community here than on my forum (where we've been lovingly labelled 'the horror mafia' )

Getting close again. Been buying a few more titles to view for the challenge. Always looking for more horror to watch. Waiting for a few titles in September just before the challenge.

Well, to your credit, last year was your third Horror Challenge, which, for me at least, tells me to give you the benefit of the doubt for your crazy-high number last year (since it'd take a really dedicated troll to wait three years to actually get to the trolling). But, I have to wonder, since it was your third year with us, why you're surprised that some folks don't believe your total? I'm pretty sure the unfortunate incidents from the early years have been discussed almost every year, if only briefly.

Just curious, but why do some people care about others' totals whether they seem outlandish or not? Is it that there are prizes involved?

I used to get bent out of shape over some of the non-horror titles people would list (and also when they weren't movies since this was called the horror "movie" challenge) but I just don't care anymore. I do my list and read others' list for recommendations and then leave it at that. I personally enjoy people's comments and reviews on movies more than anything (and I wish more people participated in the reviews section during this time more than concentrated on their numbers, but that is just me).

I agree with people actually paying attention to the movies they claim to watch but how can you police that? Personally it wouldn't bother me if all the prizes were just randomly given away since no claims can be substantiated but hell, I think it is cool just to have prizes for an activity I had been doing personally for years before this challenge even began.

I say just enjoy the movies you watch and reviewing other people's lists. No need to worry with claims being made that don't affect you and that you cannot have any affect on anyway.

I just assume everyone's totals are bullshit, including my own.

Been a few years since I've done a challenge, but I've been hankering for some horror, so I might jump in this year.

Oh, and I'll be multi-tasking like hell while I'm doing it.

Yes, I vote for not caring what other people are posting or watching or posting while watching and just tend to your own garden.

I agree with you shadokitty. I'm in it to have a good time and get over my fear of horror movies!!

For me personally, the reason I get so irked by lists that seem like obvious bullshit is because we are all supposed to be on the honor system here. I have a competitve streak in me, so when I see people that don't seem to be operating by the same set of rules, I tend to call them on it. For anyone who has been here for a while, my speaking out on this shouldn't come as a surprise. This was the first DVD Talk challenge and when it started, it was all about the numbers. And to me, all these years later, this challenge is still all about the numbers. If this isn't the case, then why do we have such strict guidelines regarding counting tv shows and wildcards when none of the other challenges are quite as rigid?

Not that mightysparks needs anyone to stand up for her, but for what it's worth I can confirm that she's an active member of ICM and one of the most prominent posters on the (officially) unofficial ICM forum where she regularly posts comments and ratings for the movies she watches.

Of course, it is the internet and it's possible that she could be making those numbers up. But it would take a lot of persistent, thorough, and consistent lying over the course of years and across multiple sites - and I just don't think there's any incentive strong enough for that.Those numbers may seem implausible (even if I had the time, I wouldn't be able to watch a third that many titles without wanting to die), but they're not impossible. And in this case I'm pretty confident that they're not "bullshit."

We don't all post on icheckmovies. We do post here, however.

And I never said I thought her numbers were "bullshit." Here's what I said:
Pretty close to your reasoning in believing her numbers, I'd say.

Awesome, thanks for the link! Purchased The Exorcist and The Thing pillows, will make great decoration for my new black leather loveseat I bought specifically for my new tv/theater room in my basement.

Few goals this year for me:
1)Watch every Scream Factory blu ray release I own this far (which is a lot, I think all but maybe 3 released)
2)50% first time views
3)More Jean Rollin and Hammer

I never participated in the discussion threads the previous years; I think I may have briefly glanced at them, but that's it. We've never had any similar issues with the iCM forum, but then we are a fairly small community and we know each other pretty well by now.

Also, being on iCM - I understand about the competitive streak and relying on the 'honor system'. We have a thread on the forum for discussing possible cheaters and such and are regularly getting them removed from the site. And the 2011 horror challenge, I came second on my forum and was really annoyed that I didn't win (I was working part-time and I couldn't squeeze in any more than I already was), so that kind of motivated me to go all out the next year.

I'm also working on overcoming my fear! Learning to handle guts and gore or even unexpected deaths in film has been an uphill battle for me. That said, I'm not sure about participating this year. I typically use these challenges to whittle down my unwatched pile, and there isn't much in my collection that qualifies. I suppose I could use the time to catch up on The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, and Supernatural.

I signed up on the iCM forum shortly after it began, but didn't post before I was invited by Angel to participate in the 2013 Favorite Movies poll. My second post was yesterday, in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge.

I check out what's going on over there when I'm caught up with what I'm interested in here and on mubi, and when I'm there, the Horror Lounge is something I usually look in on.

Sorry about mixing up your nationality. When I'm writing when I should be sleeping, I often don't feel like doing even the simplest fact checking.

Yes, I get that. And I definitely understand why those who only know her from her few posts on this site would be skeptical of her claims. But I am a fairly regular poster both here and on another site where she posts on a regular basis, and - for what it's worth - I can vouch for her.

The point was that she's not a completely anonymous internet stranger - the mere fact that she has the same username across multiple sites (and that her "story" is consistent across multiple sites) should lend her claims more credibility than if she were just someone who posted here a few times and then disappeared into the ether, never to be seen or heard of again.Sorry, that last part was more of a response to EdtheRipper's post directly above me, who referred to lists like hers as seeming like "obvious bullshit." I should have made that clearer in my post.

Anyways, I don't know why I'm even bothering - I'm probably not even going to be a part of this challenge, and mightysparks is more than capable of defending herself anyways. I just thought I'd chime in as someone who knows her from another site.

The bit I bolded is basically what occurred here in the first few years of this challenge. I believe at least one guy that was banned returned with a new name and got banned again the following year.
And that's all I was trying to say in the post you quoted.

I am considering the VHS pillow with The Stuff label (you just don't see merch for The Stuff). But $25.....

Thank you. But no, neither have been sponsors in the past. I emailed Scream Factory last year and unfortunately never heard back. With Scorpion Releasing I don't recall them ever being a consideration and, well, now they are.

I'm usually pretty persistent when it comes to reaching those that are hard to get in contact with (or just plain ignore me) and move on to other forms of communication after a couple or so tries. A good example is Mondo Macabro - started with their email, which continually gave a bounce back message, moved on to their Facebook page, then their Twitter feed until eventually stumbling onto Pete Tombs' email. Of course, it turned out Mr. Tombs was simply out of town on business and even apologized for not getting back in touch. Of course, in the end, it turns out they were extremely generous and donated 15 titles.

And I should also mention the majority of the sponsors are NOT 100% guaranteed to return. We're extremely lucky to have people like GoldenWheels and Seth that not only let me know in advance that they're returning as sponsors, but even participate in the challenge itself. While I'm obviously appreciative of the others, there's never been any type of ironclad assurance that they'll be returning for the next year. And thus the reason I start the process this early in the game ...not that anyone was asking. I'll stop rambling now.

Email sent on August 15; currently awaiting response.


Oh, please let's not open that can of worms again. I think it's fairly obvious that we're never gonna satisfy everyone on this matter. There's always going to be those that wanna keep it "pure" and disagree with the inclusion of TV content. And there's the "I don't mind, but don't wanna see a 22-minute show count as a complete entry" crowd. Personally I think we have a great compromise going on. I don't really see changing things resolving much of anything, that is, other that making my job easier due to not having to deal with all the fractions.

For all the complaining about the high numbers now, well, just imagine the totals after everything is counted as one entry: "Hey, there's no way in hell this guy hit 653!" would replace the old hitting 300 discussion.

And just for the record, I'm extremely lenient when it comes to tabulating the TV shows. I can tell you straight up that there's always a few oversights or some that don't count them according to the guidelines and it's overlooked. I'm pretty good at abiding by the opening thread mantra of "It's not an exact science".

As far as the wildcards go, it looks like that could be an upcoming debate we need a fresh vote on.

You apparently read my mind considering I added her name the day she died. I don't think anyone will disagree with that inclusion. And all the actors are replaced with a new batch every year, BTW.

I can get some Scream Factory titles for prizes. They are incredibly generous with samples (99% of which end up in my personal collection, ahem) and we order every title (I think) they release.

If anyone happens to talk to Walter of Scorpion please tell him I'd badly like to have his product in our catalog!