Photo by van Ort  Some rights reserved from Flickr

As I said last week, we did the 31 Days of October Challenge–which is to watch one horror movie every night in October. Because we’re damned fools that should know better, we actually worked in quite a few extras.

Seriously, we have a serious movie problem. Especially me. I have it bad. What am I gonna do, though, NOT watch a movie?

Last week, my wife wrote up her thoughts on each movie we watched, and now it’s my turn!

Please enjoy!

1. Gerald’s Game
   • Mike Flanagan can basically do no wrong for me at this point. I love horror, but my favorite horror is when creators tap into their characters and create very personal stories that aren’t just scary, but display the heart of the story. It’s why King’s books work so well, and Flanagan does that perfectly in his movies. I’ve heard some complaints that it goes too long, but I thought the ending was very good thematically for the character. Don’t @ me.
2. Beware the Slenderman
   • My wife is obsessed with true crime documentaries, so this was her pick. I liked it, I thought it was an interesting look at a complicated case since mental illness is a complex issue. However, there were times where the documentary sauntered up to “people who like creepy things could be dangerous,” and I’m just not here for that. The best part for me was exploring the history of the Slenderman mythos since, unlike traditional folklore, it has a discernible creation we can point to. And yet people still believe it. I get it was supposed to be a documentary about the crime, but I really want a documentary that just deep dives into internet folklore and creepypastas now.
3. Ginger Snaps
   • I dug the hell out of this. Katherine Isabelle is great, and it’s one of those beautiful movies that could have only come out in 2000 that has just enough late 90s trends to make it feel of the time but gives a fascinating peak to where cinema and horror could have gone if 9/11 hadn’t happened. More practical creatures in horror movies!
4. Wrong Turn
   • This movie sucked. It wasn’t the worst thing, I suppose. Just a dumb slasher movie, but without the charm of the 80s or early 90s and without the silly cynicism and deconstructionism of the late 90s early 00s. It was just…there. Mutant rednecks murder folks. Yay…
5. Cube
   • I really liked this movie. It’s fascinating how similar it feels to Saw–traps, a mystery that has to be solved for why these people are here–while predating the entire Saw franchise. It’s a lot of fun, a tad cheesy at times, but I actually have a soft spot for the “people locked in  room figuring out why they’re all there” genre–which Saw dips into, not always, but frequently.
6. It (2017)
   • I was surprised that my wife was so keen to watch this movie. She has been afraid of clowns since I met her. She watched the first trailer and called me at work freaking out–scared, but also excited? Turns out, this movie is fantastic. Probably my second favorite horror movie this year. The choice to just leave the adults stories to a sequel was the right one. This movie earns its R rating, and I didn’t expect that since R rated horror movies are pretty rare these days. Very good, I’m stoked for the sequel.
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
   • We all know this movie. I like it. It’s cute. But the reason we saw it for Spooktober was because we had the chance to see it outside with a live orchestra performing the score. I literally got goosebumps repeatedly throughout the film. They’re doing it again next year with Chamber of Secrets, and I will be there if I can.
8. Blacula
   • I really really liked this movie. I didn’t really know what to expect. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a proper blaxploitation movie. I’ve seen the parodies of those, so my understanding of the genre is filtered through style and parody. That said, this movie was great–a fascinating spin on Dracula. Using the slave trade as the backdrop for vampires was an excellent idea, and Blacula really came across like a tragic figure. The movie was surprisingly sad.
9. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
   • This was actually my 3rd or 4th favorite Friday, I think. I don’t have a lot of love for the Friday franchise–they’re very repetitive and don’t really get interesting until part six. That said, this one was silly, and I enjoyed the bounty hunter character.
10. The Purge: Election Year
    • It was chilling watching this movie in a post-election world, especially since there’s a subplot about Russians that was insanely prescient. The franchise has turned more action oriented than horror–if it’d been me, I wouldn’t have followed up on Frank Grillo’s character and instead pursued another character, but it was good.
11. Flatliners  (2017)
    • This movie sucked. I thought maybe the hype was overly negative because people were nostalgic for the original, and since I’d never seen the original, I figured I’d enjoy it more. No. It was very stupid. Diego Luna’s character has nothing to do, and the ultimate pay off for what’s causing the haunt is so so so weak. Seriously the saddest, silliest movie. Also, the PG-13 rating felt like it was handcuffing the movie. Like, at times the movie felt like it wanted to go super dark, but back-pedaled instead to a softer, weaker place. Just don’t. It’s not worth it.
12. Happy Death Day
    • Essentially, this is horror Groundhog Day. Unlike Flatliners, this movie didn’t feel handcuffed by its PG-13 rating. The point of this movie wasn’t gory deaths, but the inventive ways she dies and the mystery behind her repeating day. The main actress is really great in it. The movie was a great time–highly recommended.
13. Freddy vs. Jason
    • This movie gets a lot of hate, but I actually like it. I thought the way the two franchises together was pretty seamless. Some people were apparently pissed they focused more on Nightmare’s mythology than Jason’s, but I ask you this: what Jason mythology? There isn’t any. Nightmare, meanwhile, has tons. Not casting Kane Hodder was bullshit, though. And that homophobic line toward the end. Otherwise, pretty solid. I wish it had revitalized the two franchises rather than being a dying gasp for both of them.
14. Halloween
    • This was the original, and it was great. I’d never seen it before, and I got to see it with a double feature of Friday the 13th on…well…October, Friday the 13th. Obviously, this movie is a classic. It is the best slasher I’ve seen of its era. And that score. Chills.
15. Jason X
    • So stupid. So glorious. So many puns. So much late 90s early 00s future nonsense. A robot lady fights a nano-bot armored Jason in space. That is all you need to know to understand this movie. I love it. It is dumb, but I love it.
16. Get Out
    • Amazing. Chilling. My favorite horror movie–and might be my favorite movie of this year. I look forward to Jordan Peele’s future works.
17. Life
    This movie was basically Alien. That said, it’s really good. It has a few interesting twists and turns, the set work  to make the antigravity feel real was astounding. The creature was cleverly designed, and as it evolves throughout the movie, it still looks cool. A surprisingly big budget, all star cast that basically no one saw, and that is a shame.
18. Little Evil
    This was a very silly, fun little movie. Lots of references to horror classics packed into the movie without it devolving into the lazy reference humor of the Scary Movie franchise. Adam Scott is great in everything.
19. Final Destination
    • I really like this movie. It FUCKED ME UP as a kid. Death will come for you in a Rube Goldberg machine-esque fashion! The plane crash in the beginning was wild since this came out in, I think, ’99. In just 2 years, this movie wouldn’t have come out.
20. Saw 2
    • I actually like most of the Saw movies. The mystery of them keeps you going into the next one, and the gore, to me, never really felt gratuitous. I mean, it is gratuitous, but there’s always a point for it. John Kramer’s story is fascinating, and while the first one was a great locked room mystery, this one is great to get a peak into the mind of the killer. Plus, it’s a bit of a commentary on how toxic hypermasculinity hurts everyone, including yourself.
21. Nightmare on Elm Street 1984
    • A classic. Amazing. I love this movie–although maybe not as much as the sequel? So good.
22. Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
    • Jackie Earle Haley is amazing. He, seriously, did a great job making Freddy scary again. Unfortunately, the movie can’t decide whether it wants to remake the old movie, or do something new, so it keeps waffling back and forth. The movie’s opening scene is legitimately great–the red and green lighting of Freddy’s world is a wonderful call back to the original series, there’s surreal, spooky imagery. And then the rest of the movie is…bland to bad. The calls back to the original are bland. The pay off the mystery is bad bad bad.
23. Saw 3
    • Again, I liked this movie. This is the movie in which–spoilers–Jigsaw dies. A doctor is tasked with keeping Jigsaw alive while another guy goes through a maze, confronting each person that was responsible for the death of his son as Jigsaw tries to teach him forgiveness. I feel like they perfect this hall of horrors premise in a later sequel, though. Tobin Bell is fascinating.
24. You’re Next
    • I love this movie. Adam Wingard’s recent efforts have left me cold–Blair Witch was…fine…and Death Note was stupid. But this movie? This is just about perfection. A beautiful twist on the home invasion genre, and I’ve read their pitch for the sequel. It kills me we’ll probably never see it.
25. Saw 4
    • This one was my favorite for a long time because we learn the most about Jigsaw. And I do like some of the final twists. However, Riggs isn’t quite as interesting a character to focus on as some of the others, and I feel like they waste some of the potential with Eric Matthews character. But still solid.
26. Saw 5
    • This movie focuses on Luke, who has retired from his diner in Stars Hollow and become a cop in the city. Not really, but basically. And it’s…okay. It’s a bit of a pissing match between two cops, both of whom look similar enough that sometimes you have a hard time telling them apart. Still a decent mystery, but it feels less like a full movie in itself and more like an episode from a TV show.
27. Saw 6
    • I don’t like the story of the cop that survived the previous movie. I do like that this movie retcons the entire franchise into a commentary on the health care industry in America. This is the movie that perfects that hall of horrors things that Saw 3 did. I had a quibble with one person’s inclusion that wasn’t really clear enough in what they did to deserve Jigsaw’s wrath, but otherwise I dug this one quite a bit.
28. Saw 7
    • This poor movie. Oddly, the most expensive, it looks the cheapest, and that’s sad because this features the return of Dr. Gordon from the first movie! I like the way this movie ties up a lot of the mysteries and feels like a decent final chapter…which…it is. They did good.
29. Tucker and Dale vs Evil
    • Hilarious. One of my favorite horror comedies ever. Maybe it’s because I’m from Arkansas, but this one really hits home.
30. The Fog (1980)
    • Some people said this movie was slow, but I would call it atmospheric. It’s all about setting up the characters and building the dread. The fog effect was a great way to make a scary movie monster for cheap. Not my favorite John Carpenter, but pretty good.
31. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
    • Love this movie. (Im)patiently waiting for the Criterion release.
32. Jackals
    • A decent movie with an interesting set up for a home invasion movie, but I feel like it fell just a little short of being really good. There were a few stumbles in the plot, but there were some really good performances.
33. Jigsaw
    • I really dug this movie. Somehow, this one feels more cinematic than the other ones. I don’t know if they got a bigger budget or what, but the scope somehow feels bigger. Tobin Bell returning to the franchise was very welcome. There were some questions, some quibbles, I had with the ultimate twist that don’t necessarily strike me as a problem…but I would love to see them addressed in a sequel.
34. Gone Girl
    • This is my 2nd favorite Gillian Flynn book, and I love this movie. Creeping dread, disturbing, cerebral. It has a weird almost anti-feminist flavor to it that works for the movie, but also makes me tilt my head at Gillian Flynn a tad, but also this movie is great.
35. Trick r’ Treat
    • Fun. Silly. A wonderful Halloween movie. I forget this movie is an anthology sometimes because the films are woven together so carefully.
36. Halloweentown
    • I love these goofy movies, especially the first two. Classica, and with Carrie Fisher’s mom! And one of the great villains of a Disney movie: Kalibar!
37. Hocus Pocus
    • Hilarious. Amazing. Gay as shit. I love it so much. Pretty much entirely carried on the three witches’ performance. So so campy and great.
38. The Nightmare Before Christmas
    • This movie made me who I am today. It is the first movie I can remember that really twisted my tiny heart and got me into horror. I’ve loved creepy, spooky stuff ever since. I love, love, love this movie from top to bottom. It’s also a wonderful movie about cultural appropriation and how just because you like a thing doesn’t mean you understand it or can take ownership of it.