***Official 17th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2016*** (1 Viewer)

[PatW]

Well, looking forward to this year's watch. Been holding off on watching the new season of Z Nation and the new series Exorcist. Looking forward to the Exorcist. I've heard some good things about it though nothing can beat the movies for me so we'll see. Got a lot of new stuff lined up & I hope I can get to it all. Will be including a lot of Sci-fi at least those movies with a horror aspect. Oct. 1 can't come soon enough.

 

[Radioman970]

leaving my mark

oops sorry
that can be so
messy

(new stuff bolded)
October 1
1. Zombieland.
2. Pacific Rim.
3. Toolbox Murders. 2004 redo.
4. The Caller.

TV.
1. Dark Shadows. 538th episode. Not even halfway to the end.

October 2
5. Open Water 2.
6. We Are Still Here.
7. When a Stranger Calls.
8. Severance.

October 3
9. Atrocious.
10. Night of the Living Dead. The original 1968 in black and white.

October 4
11. Lovely Molly.
12. Hostel Part 2.

October 5
13. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

October 6
14. Poltergeist. This is the redo from 2015.
15. Friday the 13th A New Beginnning. (Part 5)

October 7
16. Sinister.
17. Death Bed the Bed that Eats.

October 8
18. World War Z.
19. Coraline.

October 9
20. The Last Exorcism.
21. V/H/S/2.
22. Strangers on a Train.
23. Misery.

October 10
24. All Hollow's Eve 2.

October 11
25. Fourth Kind.
26. Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part 6.

October 12
27. The Killers. (2014)

October 13
28. The Last Exorcism 2.

October 14
30. The Cottage.
31. Paranormal Activity 5: The Masked Ones.
32. Creature.

October 15
33. Nightmare.
34. Aliens Director's Cut.
35. Halloween. (original)
36. The Hills have Eyes. (original)

October 16
37. Under the Skin.
38. Cat People. (original)
39. The Woman in Black. (2012)

October 17
40. Happy Birthday to Me.
41. It's Alive! (1974)

October 18
42. Sinister 2.
43. Seed of Chucky.

October 19
44. ABCs of Death 2.
45. Halloween 2 (original sequel)

October 20
46. 28 Weeks Later.

October 21
47. The Final Terror.
48. Dead Calm.

October 22
49. Goodnight Mommy.
50. VHS Viral.
51. MST3K: Attack of the (the) Eye Creatures.
52. Mum & Dad.
53. Alien 3 Director's Cut.
TV. Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Season 1, Episode 10. "The Case of Mr. Pelham"

October 23
54. Paranormal Activity. Ghost Dimension
55. Night of the Hunter.
56. Blood for Dracula.
57. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.
TV. Dark Shadows. Episodes 539 & 540

October 24
58. Manhunter.
59. Dawn of the Dead. (1978)

October 25
60. Southbound.
--. Severance. With commentary.

October 26
61. Picnic at Hanging Rock.
62. National Lampoon's Class Reunion.

October 27
63. Frankenweenie. (2012)
64. Pet Sematary.

October 28
65. Willow Creek.
66. The Eye 3.

October 29
67. Rebecca.
68. Day of the Dead.
69. Blair Witch Project. (1999)
70. House of the Devil.
71. Innkeepers.

October 30
72. Alice Sweet Alice.
73. Time Crimes.
74. Reanimator.
75. Trick 'r Treat.

TV: Dark Shadows 541.

October 31 HALLOWEEN!!!
76. Killer Legends.
77. Creepshow.
78. The Fog. 1979.

78 movies
4 Dark Shadows
1 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Total 80.3 (I think)

 

[JohnS]

Herschell Gordon Lewis the "godfather of gore" has passed away today.
We need to honor him and watch some of his movies.

 

[Ruz-El]

Herschell Gordon Lewis the "godfather of gore" has passed away today.
We need to honor him and watch some of his movies.

I got that fancy Arrow boxset on order, but being in Canada it probably wont show up in time to dive into.

 

[Ruz-El]

"It" and "Salem's Lot" just arrived on bluray, but I'm thinking of skipping them for the challenge since they eat up so much runtime haha. Are the blurays in two parts like when they were on TV? Then I can grease the rules and count each part as one film!

 

[Malcolm R]

"It" and "Salem's Lot" just arrived on bluray, but I'm thinking of skipping them for the challenge since they eat up so much runtime haha. Are the blurays in two parts like when they were on TV? Then I can grease the rules and count each part as one film!

From what I hear, the blu's are edited together into one big movie. I'm OK with counting each "part" of the miniseries as it originally aired as a separate entry on lists, but maybe that's just me.

The rules don't really address mini-series, but say that for TV, two hour-long episodes count as one entry. So a mini-series airing 2-hours per night over two nights would seem to qualify as two separate entries to me.

I'd even be OK with some modification to the rules that any movie over 150 minutes (if there is such a film in the horror genre) could be counted as two entries given the time invested. I'm hoping to watch both seasons of Masters of Horror this year which, according to the rules, I can count every episode as a single entry (Anthology rule) even though I think they're only about 60-ish minutes each.

 

[John Stell]

Ya know, if people would be up for it next year, I'd say we trash the current rules and just add up total minutes of horror viewing watched. We could use the IMDB as the official running time reference. You'd just note the running time next to your title and add them up at the end; simple. The person who watched the most horror "wins". Makes sense to me. As the person who tried to tally up certain scores for a few years, not always knowing what TV shows were an hour or half an hour and then having to look that sh*t up, I can attest to what a pain that was with no reward. Is it midnight Friday yet?

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

I thought TV mini-series and TV movies, no matter how long, were considered as movies and counted for one point. I'm okay with amending the rules to add a mini-series category and count them as 2 points.

 

[Ruz-El]

they have always counted as one, if I watch them I'll count them as one.

As far as the end of the month tally, I thought we were on the honour system and it was up to each of us to post our final scores. That's how I did it the one year I was the horror host.

 

[John Stell]

As far as the end of the month tally, I thought we were on the honour system and it was up to each of us to post our final scores. That's how I did it the one year I was the horror host.

People are supposed to do that, yes. But not everyone always did.

 

[TravisR]

Ya know, if people would be up for it next year, I'd say we trash the current rules and just add up total minutes of horror viewing watched.

That seems like a lot of trouble and a whole lot of potential for mathematical errors.

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

Anyone who wishes to be able to edit a post during the Challenge please PM Adam Gregorich and allow 24-48 hours for it to take effect

 

[Malcolm R]

Sounds like maybe we're getting too far away from the original intent of the Challenge...to watch and discuss scary movies and TV. The point system should really just be secondary and indicative of personal triumph, not necessarily a competitive contest.

 

[Ruz-El]

Sounds like maybe we're getting too far away from the original intent of the Challenge...to watch and discuss scary movies and TV. The point system should really just be secondary and indicative of personal triumph, not necessarily a competitive contest.

couldn't agree more.

 

[dana martin]

sorry folks, late to the party, school and work have kept me from really being able to watch a lot this year, but as always ready to give it a try, lots of "new" Hammer on blu, and some other goodies, TV still counts thinking of starting off an Evil Dead/ Evil Dead 2/ Ash vs Army of Darkness/ Ash vs Evil Dead weekend , after I burn through Luke Cage!

 

[Tony J Case]

Are you hard up for ideas on what to watch? Then Scarecrow Video has your back! Here's a handy 31 horror movie ideas for October!

01. Family day (aka easin’ in to it). Something rated PG or less.
02. Mad(e) for TV day. Any feature length that was made for TV.
03. Director day. Something from a well known auteur.
04. Part IV day. Any 4th part of a film series.
05. Gamers in Daylight day. Something based on a video or board game.
06. Bookworm day. Something based on a book. Bonus points to you Giallo fans.
07. Disaster day. You know, earthquakes, floods, viral outbreaks etc.
08. Post-Apocalypse Day. Something with a future we can all look forward to.
09. Back To Nature day. No, not a nudist colony film, sheesh. One where nature is the true terror aka a plant/animal protagonist.
10. Some Kind of Satan day. Go pure evil with this pick. If only there were 666 days in October…
11. Space is Cold and Unforgiving day. Something that takes place in outer space.
12. Time is Not What it Seems day. Anything with time travel or that takes place in a alternate timeline.
13. Dragons Ate My Blacksmith day. A stone cold fantasy. Or a regular fantasy if you’re a softy.
14. Pseudotronic day. Just about anything with a Troma logo on it will suffice. Practical effects are a must, no CGI!
15. Video Store Day. This is a big one. Watch something physically rented or bought from an actual video store. If you live in a place that is unfortunate enough not to have one of these archival treasures then watch a movie with a video store scene in it at least. #vivaphysicalmedia
16. Classics Are Classics For a Reason day. Watch a Hammer film or something made before 1970 preferably in black and white.
17. VHS day. Something on the greatest physical format known to psychotronica. If you don’t have a VCR or access to one then watch a movie with a VCR/VHS theme or scene in it.
18. Host With the Most day. Watch something with a host /hostess in it.
19. Good Neighbor day. Watch a Canadian horror movie that is not made by David Cronenberg.
20. UnAmerican Activities day. Watch a non N. American made flick.
21. More Bang for Your Buck day. Any horror anthology.
22. Atkins Diet day. Cannibals save a lot of money on groceries, see how they do it.
23. Possession is 9/10 of the Law day. Watch a demon film then exorcise vigorously.
24. Specters and Apparitions day. Put on a sheet and try to scare your TV as much a ghost movie scares you.
25. Pitter-patter of Little Feet day. Since pregnancy is not scary enough, watch a pregnancy horror film.
26. Doctoral Candidates day. Not sure where some of these mad scientists and doctors get their degrees but it will take some looking into. Please help.
27. Right Tool for the Job day. Power tools aren’t always used for their intended purposes. This day is not OSHA approved.
28. As If This Could Suck More day. A terrible vampire film.
29. Moonful of Puppies day. A werewolfer.
30. Black Sunday. Witches, warlocks, voodoo priests etc. See if you can conjure the strength to make it one more day. And don’t watch Black Sunday you cheater.
31. Dead Tired From This Challenge day. I bet you stayed up all night watching movies trying to make up for wasted time earlier in the month. Therefore, you have to watch a zombie movie since you probably feel like one anyway.

 

[Michael Elliott]

The whole TV thing always confused me so I didn't count them (unless they were actual TV movies). So, is ASH VS EVIL DEAD 1 point each episode or 3 equals one point? What about Scooby Doo?

The running time thing would be a pain because it isn't always 100% accurate. Movie and TV could always be split up.

As with the past two years I've got a music festival this weekend so I won't be starting until Monday but I will be seeing the original TCM on the big screen. A local theater has been doing a horror festival so I've gotten to see TARGETS and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD over the past couple weeks. Not to mention the remastered PHANTASM.

 

[Ruz-El]

The whole TV thing always confused me so I didn't count them (unless they were actual TV movies). So, is ASH VS EVIL DEAD 1 point each episode or 3 equals one point? What about Scooby Doo?

It's episodic so three half hour episodes count as one point. If it was hour long (walking dead) then 2 episodes equal one point. The idea was that then it would be closer to movie length to balance it title wise. Which only works too a point. Edison's FRANKENSTEIN is 13 minutes and counts as one since it was theatrically shown. I don't think anyone really gives a shit at this point to be honest. Not like there is a fancy cash prize, or that watching hundreds of hours of TV is really something to brag about... (says the guy who routinely ends up in the "Top 3" haha).

More emphases on fun instead of numbers!

Are you hard up for ideas on what to watch? Then Scarecrow Video has your back! Here's a handy 31 horror movie ideas for October!

Cool list, but I'm going to stick with random picks from my pile of movies sitting next to the TV haha. I try to watch something cool for my first, but I'm even torn for that one. Do I watch DOCTOR BUTCHER MD? Or CAT IN THE BRAIN? Or old favourite I haven't seen since VHS days in THE STUFF, or some weird title from my beloved Vinegar Syndrome? Or a classic like NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET or THE EXORCIST?

I'm the worst at these things!

 

[John Stell]

001) 10/01/2016 The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962)

Source: Olive Blu Ray
What: Italian Gothic mad scientist yarn set in late 19th Century London
Who: Barbara Steele
Halloween elements: Thunderstorms, black cat, skull, castle, secret passageway, cackling hag, point of view stalking shots with squeaky shoes on soundtrack, finale of fire
Comments:There's not a whole lot of dialogue and what there is purely plot stuff. The film works because of the visuals: they're mesmerizing.

Rating (out of four skulls):

002) 10/01/2016 Blood and Black Lace (1964)

Source: Arrow Blu Ray
What: First color giallo; set at fashion house where models are being gruesomely murdered
Who: Mario Bava directs
Halloween elements: Frequent forceful winds, gruesome murder set pieces
Comments:Highly regarded film is emotionally cold if beautiful and stylish. It's very watchable but somewhat overrated.

Rating (out of four skulls):

1/2

 

[whacky blacky]

October 1
1. 31 (2016) * New to me. 2.5/5
Rob Zombie's latest is set in the seventies with some carnies kidnapped by a sadistic rich group for their annual game of 31 which consists of the carnies having to remain alive for twelve hours while psychotic characters try to kill them.

Meg Foster stars in this one who is looking really old but she still has it. Kudos to her. Washington from Welcome Back Kotter (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs) plays a Rastafarian who hasn't aged at all. The man behind all of it is Malcolm McDowell who dons a 17th century judge wig making the odds for each kill. Sherri Moon Zombie steals the show in this one.
To me it seemed like an updated version of The Running Man (1987) with vulgar language and sick jokes. There is some violence like falling on chainsaws and stabbings but not too extreme. The dialogue tries to be snappy and witty but most of the time it's just stupid.

I thought it could have been a lot better. The ending was disappointing big time.