October’s here and it’s time to dust off your skulls.
“Jeez! It’s just morning breath!”
Every October, I assemble a list of horror films I plan to watch during the month. I look through my collection and find a bunch I haven’t seen yet, then I check out Shudder, Netflix, and Amazon Prime and come up with 31 new-to-me horror films. I write a little something, post the list here, and proceed to watch 31 entirely different films. Sometimes, an unplanned trip to the theatre throws off my plans in a good way. Other times, I join in a live-tweet of an old favorite. Mostly, I just change my mind. This year, I’ve decided to make a list of genres instead of specific films and just roll with it.
Giallo: I’ve watched a lot of gialli and poliziotesschi this year, so I plan to continue watching murder-obsessed Italians and ex-pat Americans murder each other in stylish and sexy ways.
Slasher: I still haven’t seen Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Midnight Meat Train, Maniac, or a couple of the Saw films, so…
Psychological: In the Mouth of Madness, Berberian Sound Studio, or The Strangers might be fun, but I’m not watching effing Funny Games again.
B-movie horror: There are still a few Corman, Wood, and Castle films I need to see.
Mystery killer flicks: Everyone’s dying! Whodunnit?
Serial killer/cult films: So scary ‘cause they’re true.
Found footage: I might have to break down and watch The Blair Witch Project. That’s harsh. It’s just slipped through the cracks. I haven’t seen REC either.
The Gerbils That Ate Manhattan: Razorback and Of Unknown Origin spring to mind here.
Demonic possession: You know, Satan.
Horror comedy: I still haven’t seen Scream.
Old fashioned horror and vampires and werewolves: You can’t beat the classics! Hammer, Amicus, and Universal are all favorites and I haven’t seen them all.
Anyway, I’ll be watching and tweeting about my picks throughout the month and writing about some of them here and on Letterboxd. I’ll post a final list of all the goodies I watch after the month is over.
Look for the #31DaysofHorror on Twitter to see what I’m up to and I’ll check out what you’re watching too.
boo.
Prowler Needs a Jump 
I love the whole Rec series, especially the fourth one. Monkies! I will definitely be following the hashish. 🙂
Fantastic! I’ve wanted to check it out. Thanks for the rec! 😄
Good call on never watching Funny Games again. I made that mistake on doing a rewatch…..whyyyyyyyyy?????
The film actually made me angry. People have told me that’s the point, but that doesn’t mitigate my hatred for it.
Haneke said that he wanted to make a film completely deglamorising violence so the audience wouldn’t accept it as entertainment like they do on so many other films. I take his point, and yet, the cruelty offered by his antagonists seems pointless. Maybe once again,that’s the point, but I think that Haneke is having a horse in each race. He wants the audience to pay for a ticket to the show while attacking them for wanting catharsis he’s not going to provide. I feel the same anger you do for this film, Kerry.
I agree, Maurice. He can claim the high ground while offering up a violent film. It’s not a stance I admire much. I also watch a good deal of violent films and don’t think they’re destroying the moral fiber of the world.