*** Official 9th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge (1 Viewer)

[Michael Elliott]

Then people need to count running times and not movies. You could watch SALEM'S LOT as one movie but I could watch THE APE, THE APE MAN and THE UNKNOWN in the same amount of time and be at three. If someone sticks to films from the 20s-40s then the running times are going to be between 60 and 70 minutes. If someone wants to 'win' they can simply watch stuff from these decades so there's always ways for people to sneak around and 'win' but I think most are doing it for the fun.

Plus, we never really know if people are watching these movies or if they just have them playing in the background while the viewer is cleaning the house, smoking a joint or talking on the phone and not paying a bit of attention to the movie. I think everyone is working on a trust level so I think people should have faith that people are going to be honest and watch what they want and not just "add up" titles to win.

Most of these have more than just a horror theme since I was talking about the very first horror picture (or at least the oldest one that's available for viewing). Plus, in 1910 ten-minutes was a movie just like in 1931 sixty-minutes was a movie. Neither of these times would fit in 2008 when we need everything to run 2 hours but that's just part of history.

 

[Ruz-El]

Yeah, the 10 minute thing rubs some people wrong, but if it scares you and played in the theater, it automatically counts. I plan to watch some more exploitation/Grindhouse things during the month, which technically aren't horror either but would of played on a double bill.

less then 24 hours! Still don't know what to watch. Probably a misc hammer film to start off during my lunch break at work tomorrow.

 

[Jeff Reis]

I'll be participating, but I doubt I'll even come close to the 31 I watched last year. My viewing has slowed a lot this year...but I'll give it a shot to watch 13 at least.

1-10 scale
first viewings bold

10/1 War of the Gargantuas (English Version) (1970) 7
10/2 Mark of the Vampire (1935) 6.5
10/9 C.H.U.D. (1984) 5.5
10/13 Chamber Of Horrors (1966) 7.5
10/15 The Wizard Of Gore (2007) 4.5
10/16 The Gorgon (1964) 7.5
10/20 Friday The 13th Part 2 (1981) 6.5
10/27 Martin (1977) 8.5
10/31 Brides of Fu Manchu (1966) 6.5

A pitiful showing by me this year...oh well. Just don't have the time or inclination to be as ravenous about movies as I was the past couple of years. All were entertaining enough though, with Martin being the best of the bunch, the Wizard of Gore remake being the worst, taking an interesting premise but going off the rails largely due to the awful direction.

 

[Jason Roer]

Karloff's Frankenstein is up first for me - tonight at midnight! Can't wait. Love the film! As a bonus to all the horror movie watching, this month's book reading for me will be World War Z by Max Brooks. Won this at a film festival last year and never got to it. Looking forward.

As far as inclusions - I find it hard to believe that you would offend anyone with choices you make. Does it really matter to anyone who wins? I always include my short film viewings in my yearly tally (I keep track of every film I watch) and every year, I've included shorts with my total. Usually only about 3-5 shorts, but they are films. And should be included if you ask me.

Anyway - to each his own. This is all for fun. So let's get ready! Midnight is only 6 hours away on the East coast!

Cheers,

Jason

 

[Ockeghem]

Radioman,

Yeah, it's the Dies Irae ("Day of Wrath"). It is a plainchant used during special circumstances in the Roman Catholic liturgy. As for the music, it is in a minor mode, and it's very dark. The text is quite chilling as well. That's what I was thinking of when I wrote that.

The brass setting of it used in The Shining works wonderfully, given what is going to transpire in the film.

 

[Brian Borst]

I'm in for the very first time, and I'm going for the 31 movies. I still have some movies left in the Monster Legacy Collection, so the ten never before seen films shouldn't be difficult. And otherwise there probably will be a lot of them on tv, anyway. I'm really looking forward to it

.
Going to start off tomorrow with, Dracula, I think. The original one, with the Philip Glass soundtrack (I love that).

 

[Joe Karlosi]

True. For me personally, I just couldn't live with myself if I was otherwise engaged doing something else while "watching" a movie, or if I nod out and don't finish an entire film and then still include it, but that's just me. I set my own rules and just try and top myself. It'll be hard to do this year because I'll be watching TV shows too, which I prefer not to count.

I know in the past I was one of the guys who made observations of the short subjects and things, but I say to each his own.. just have a good time.

 

[Michael Elliott]

I'm not sure. I think watching silent movies is hard for a lot of people and especially a 10 minute one, which is so pre-Hollywood that some don't know how to take them. One certainly has to be use to the style and look of a film from 1899 to really get what's going with it. I don't expect to see too many silent films watched by many as they aren't hardly watched in the TRACK, S&S or AFI threads.

With that said, anyone who feels cheated can watch FRANKENSTEIN at countless sites online. If anyone hasn't seen it then it would be a good time to start considering how important of a title it was.

Any of the other shorts that get watched can also be found on official DVDs, Fearnet or even TCM so anyone can get them.


As far as "Scary" goes, is anyone really scared by what they watch? If that was really a rule then I could only watch one horror movie (THE SHINING) because that's the only one I could call scary for me. Is suspense the same thing as scary? If so, isn't something like Holmes' HOUSE OF FEAR able to be watched and counted? These Holmes films are certainly trying to put the viewer in suspense. You could say the same with film noir, sci-fi, thrillers like BASIC INSTINCT or even dramas like THE VERDICT. They offer suspense more than horror films offer scares IMO.

We could spend 11 month debating these issues and never come to any sort of conclusion so I say just have fun with it. Even if you think PHILADELPHIA is scary.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Agreed.
But with the name "Scary", I think that's just a way to signify the genre, not that we're actually scared. It could be called "Halloween" or "Horror" challenge, whatever.

 

[Ockeghem]

I need to ask this before I get going too far. Do the Disney films (e.g., the "Halloweentown" films and a plethora of other Halloween-themed movies put out by Disney) count? I have a steady diet of films that I watch each year at this time with my children.

I have the first six to eight (non-Disney) films lined up; I'll be beginning late tonight with at least one film. I'm really looking forward to it.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I'd certainly say they count, and I think I speak for everyone else here when I say don't sweat this at all; have fun and just watch what you like and what you feel suits your Halloween "needs"!

 

[Ockeghem]

Joe,

Sounds good.

 

[Ruz-El]

I think all the above mentioned films count, other then maybe THE VEDICT which is much more of drama. BASIC INSTINCT is really more of fancy exploitation film, I suppose it would count. I'd think if it has Halloween in the title or setting you might as well count it, kinda like how DIE HARD is a Christmas movie in my house I remember one of the donald Duck shorts counting last year. It's all good. As said before, there isn't much of aprize for winning, other then taking the responsibility to start the thread the next year. I'm quite pleased not winning frankly! XD

Can't wait to get started!

 

[Michael Elliott]

Can we count hot ass women making out in prison films while being tortured by the wicked warden Ilsa? What about nunsploitation that go around killing young ladies in the name of Satan and sex?

Plus, anyone want to make any recommendations? If anyone is looking for something to watch then I'd highly recommend BLACK WATER an Australian horror film that is another film that left my blood ice cold in terror. It went straight to DVD over here in the States but it's certainly the best horror film I've personally watched since Carpenter's THE THING.

Wish I could start tonight but I have to be at work at midnight.

 

[Ruz-El]

I counted both those genres last challenge to no complaints, so go for it!

I'll have to keep my eye out for BLACK WATER, WOLFS CREEK was a good OZ horror as well. I thought anyways, but I'm easy to please.

I want to start at midnight too, but I think I'll be sleeping.

 

[Ockeghem]

Speaking of recommendations, one of the 'new' films (for me) may end up being Theater Of Blood, on the recommendation of Radioman970. Now I just have to purchase it.

 

[Brook K]

I'm in. 2 years in a row I've somehow been stuck at 30 movies, I plan to get to 31 at all costs this time around.

Right now I've got a mix of newer foreign horrors, some of the later Hammer Dracula and Frankenstein sequels I haven't seen yet, some Vincent Price stuff, some of the old Legosi films Joe and Michael are always on about, and a couple of Italians lined up at Netflix. I'll also squeeze in several favorites I watch every year like The Wicker Man, The Shining, The Bride of Frankenstein, I Walked With a Zombie, Carrie and of course Suspiria.

My first viewings will be tomorrow night, War of the Gargantuas with my son (ok a Toho monster flick and not really horror, but if Donald Duck counts...), and Lost Boys 2 or whatever it's called, which I'm expecting to be a different kind of horror, frighteningly bad, but I couldn't resist a rental.

 

[Ruz-El]

I might get to "WAR OF THE GARGANTUANS" as well, so I'm fine with it. Giant monster rampage = horror in my books, even if it's more sci fi based. I also finally got those Universal Sci Fi collections that everyone watched the past couple years, so I'm going to check those out. You can kinda go by tone I think. A film like "2001" despite being creepy with all the HAL stuff is certainly more sci fi then spooky, but still, make your own rules.

My frist film is going to be the Coppola DRACULA I think. I couldn't resist, so I'm watching the extras tonight (I'm not planning on counting the extras, but I do plan to watch DEADLY MANTIS and the MST2K version of the same film since I never saw a mystery science theater thing before, and I'm counting both) so I'm all primed.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

The Toho giant monsters films had better count, since I plan on watching some myself. I also think this technical mincing of "is it horror or science fiction" should cease. Just watch what you want. There shouldn't be any concerns here and it should just be a good time. Though if someone wants to include something like COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER I'm sure it would raise some eyebrows!

 

[Pete Battista]

I got an early start to my Month Long Horror/Halloween Marathon.... I actually woke up and watched the first movie right at Midnight!

My Goals for this Marathon:
- Watch at least 1 horror/Halloween Movie or TV Show Episode per Day through-out October
- Beat Personal Best Total Movies (84)
- Beat Personal Best Total TV Eps. (34)

NOTE: I do realize that TV Shows don't count here.... but I have them included in all the other sites that I post on so I will leave them on here too... just for the fun of it... I know they don't count... which is why they are listed separately.

Here I will be listing what all I watch and will rate each show between 1 and 5. The titles I put in Bold is titles I have seen for the very first time.

Movies:

Oct. 1st:
1. Shadow Zone: The Undead Express :star::star::star::star:
2. Embrace of the Vampire :star::star:1/2
3. Fright Night :star::star::star::star:

TV Episodes:

Oct. 1st:
1. Masters of Horror: The V Word :star::star::star::star:1/2
2. Tales from the Crypt: The Reluctant Vampire :star::star::star:1/2