THIRTY ONE

This October I participated once again in the ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days Twitter challenge, finishing on October 30. I chose films that I had not seen, or had watched once when I was too young to remember it well. Here are the films I watched this year:

 31. Frankenstein Created Woman (UK, 1967). What if Peter Cushing combined YOU and YOUR high school sweetheart in one body?!! ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days

30. Starry Eyes (USA, 2014). What does it take to make it in Hollywood? Turns out Pilates has nothing to do with it. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


29. Funny Games (Austria, 1997).I had only seen the remake. Henke's existential essay on cinematic violence is great filmmaking. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


28. Demons (USA, 2015). An indie rock band's manager has satanic ambitions. I fell asleep twice during this. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days

27. Rigor Mortis (Hong Kong, 2013). Gorgeous HK horror with ghosts, vampires, and wizards. I'm not sure what was happening. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


26. The House At The End of Time (Venezuela, 2013). Starts like a standard haunted house story, ends with heartstrings being tugged. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


25. Wyrmwood (Australia, 2014). Super-fun, action-packed Australian horror-comedy adventure. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days

24. Embodiment of Evil (Brazil, 2008). This long-awaited final installment of the Coffin Joe trilogy really delivers the wtf. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days

 
23. Insidious 3 (USA, 2015). Pure cheese, but Lin Shaye gets to serve up a delightful can of whoop-ass once again! ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days

 
22. Devil's Pass (UK/Russia, 2013). I thought this Dyatlov Pass-based story was going to be standard, but it got so nuts in a good way. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


21. [Rec]4 (Spain, 2014). Forgettable. Wait, what did I just watch? There was a boat, I think. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


20. Insidious 2: Electric Boogaloo (USA, 2013). "Homages" to Carnival of Souls and Poltergeist pad out this obligatory sequel. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


19. The Gallows (USA, 2015). Dumb fun in a deadly high school drama class. But what can you do- you need an elective to graduate. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days

18. Haunter (Canada, 2013). This haunted house is like an onion...it's got layers. Also, I root for any character in a Siouxie shirt. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


 
17. Creep (USA, 2014). Simple but well-acted and written. And Mark Duplass gets to be really weird. The scariest on my list so far!

16. Inner Demons (USA 2014). The crew of Intervention discovers that their subject is using drugs to escape more than her issues. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days

15. Phantasm 2 (USA, 1988). Sags a bit in the middle, but hey it's always great to see Reg and those flying metal balls. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days

14. Witching and Bitching (Spain, 2013). Was this Spanish horror comedy written by a dude going through a break-up? Pero, me gusta. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days

13. [Rec] 3 (Spain, 2012). This dark comedy set at a wedding, is perhaps the most Catholic zombie flick ever. Much love for Sponge John!‪#31HorrorFilms31Days

 12. The Company of Wolves (UK, 1984) . My take away is that I can relate to the protagonist's thing for these creepy/hot werewolf guys. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


11. Burial Ground (Italy, 1981). This piece of formaggio has it all: camp, budget effects, hilarious dubbing. And it is never dull! ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


10. We Are Still Here (USA, 2015). Imaginative haunted house flick packed with delightful scares. A real treat! ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


9. Dead Rising: Watchtower (USA/Canada, 2015). I don't usually go for movies based on video games, but when I do I go for ones this silly. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


8. Goodnight Mommy (Austria, 2014). Things go pear-shaped for a family during the worst summer vacation ever. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


7. The Beast With 5 Fingers (USA, 1946). The moment you read the cast list you know who the killer is in this "hand"-some creeper. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


6. Woman In Black: Angel of Death (UK, 2014). This sequel is pretty, but the story is dull. It's still good to have Hammer back.‪#31horrorfilms31days






5. The Fly (USA,1958). Full in parts, but the "help me help me" ending terrified me as a child, and it is still creepy. ‪#31horrorfilms31days


4. The Grapes of Death (France, 1978). It pays to be a beer drinker in this Crazies-like infected French vintner village. ‪#31horrorfilms31days

 
3. Human Centipede (Netherlands, 2009). Today was finally the day, I guess. This flick makes me very glad I never wanted to be an actor.‪#31HorrorFilms31Days

 2. The Visit (USA, 2015). Creepy fairytale atonement of M Night's past cinematic sins. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days


1. Cannibal Holocaust (Italy,1980). Now pondering "who the real cannibals are" as I battle nausea. ‪#31HorrorFilms31Days

 FUNNIEST: Though several of these are dark comedies (Creep and Funny Games being the most noteworthy) or wacky action-comedies (Witching and Bitching and Wyrmwood both delivered!) Burial Ground was absolutely hilarious, with absurd charcters, bizarre acting choices, and resourseful zombies. But I’m not sure it was intended to be.

 BEST FAIRYTALE: Goodnight Mommy, though I also thoroughly enjoyed In the Company of Wolves and The Visit.

 BEST FRANCHISE: José Mojica Marins’ Embodiment of Evil delivered everything the first two Coffin Joe flicks did, and almost effortlessly updated for a new century.

 MOST FUN: Wyrmwood, no contest. It has loveable characters, funny jokes, creepy zombies, and non-stop action.

 SCARIEST: The only movie that came close to giving me nightmares was Creep. It was a tame year, I guess.

 I WANT THAT HOUR, 30 BACK: Several films on this list are sort of dull or mediocre ([Rec4], Woman in Black 2, Phantasm 2, Insidious 2) but they all had enough going for them to entertain me. Not Demons (2015). Nope, not good. And it shares the same name as at least half a dozen other films.

 HONORABLE MENTIONS: I would recommend both Devil’s Pass and We Are Still Here. Both are entertaining, creepy, and have some surprises in store.

I love good horror films! So this was my third year participating in the #31HorrorFilms31Days Twitter challenge. This year I decided to watch only films I hadn’t seen before, though I bent the rules for GOTHIC, the Ken Russell film I hadn’t seen since the 1980’s, and was too young to understand. Also, it turns out I had seen NIGHTMARE CITY under another title (CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD), but that was almost 30 years ago!

  I saw quite a variety of great classics and contemporary independent films, and mediocre-to-terrible films from the USA, Japan, Italy, England, Canada, and Ireland.

  1. CANDYMAN. All these years I assumed it was a cheap slasher, not this little gem with a Phillip Glass soundtrack.

  2. WILLOW CREEK= Blair Witch Bigfoot. Not bad, but nothing you haven't seen before. Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait?!!!

  3. THE MUMMY (1959) Glorious Hammer reboot pits a creepy, muddy rag-wrapped Lee against Cushing's noble imperialist.

  4. PEEPING TOM. Beautiful visually as any Michael Powell film, but far more disturbing. This guy really likes to watch.

  5. ANTIVIRAL. Cronenberg Jr. directed take of biotech body horror set in a celebrity worship dystopia.

  6. KISS OF THE DAMNED. Jess leaves Stars Hollow to hang out with glampires in this faux-giallo.

  7. GOTHIC. Guy has manic episode at a narcissistic friend's house, grieving lady has a weird vision of the tragic future.

  8. BARON BLOOD. Witch curse creates a mysterious murderer, blah blah. Joseph Cotten deserved better. I deserved better.

  9. SHIVERS. Infested with disgusting parasites, residents of an isolated condo complex become oversexed and murderous.

  10. HOUSE. I think I had a nightmare that Sam Rami and Sophia Coppola collaborated on a horror satire set in Japan.

  11.GHOST OF YOTSUYA. A wicked ronin gets his comeuppance by the vengeful ghost of his murdered wife.

  12. THE BATTERY. Enjoyable mumblecore zombie flick that is oddly also one of the best films I've seen about baseball.

  13. THE BEYOND. A woman inherits a hotel built above the gates to hell. Eyeballs pop, all hell literally breaks loose.

  14. HOUSE OF THE DEVIL. Babysitter gets tricked into satanic shenanigans. It's a well-made, but forgettable pastiche.

  15.THE SACRAMENT. Awful exploitation of real tragedy for the sake of expanding a media company's brand.Done with TiWest.

  16. THE AWAKENING. Ghost buster investigates a haunted school in an atmospheric 1920's England. Everyone has PTSD.

  17. 5 DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON. Hipsters chill on an island getaway. In a meat freezer, wrapped in plastic.

  18.WE ARE WHAT WE ARE. Being a teen is rough enough. Dressing like Wisconsin Death Trip to eat long pig is even worse.

  19. DARK TOUCH. A possessed girl becomes a danger to her grey little Irish town. Quieter and more subtle than expected.

  20.VANISHING ON 7TH STREET. Strangers listen to a hot bar jukebox while an unseen force abducts people in the darkness.

  21.THE ROOST. Trapped in a farm by killer bats/zombies? Some fun stuff in here, but it's a little slow for my taste.

  22.13 SINS. A nice guy accepts a series of 13 challenges for big money. But of course, the game escalates into terror.

  23. KILL BABY KILL. A ghostly girl appears to residents of a creepy village, death results soooo slowly. Soooo slowly.

  24. NIGHTMARE CITY. Yes, the radioactive zombies look terrible, but I found this Italian charmer thrilling.

  25. PRETTY DEAD. Young woman slowly turns into a zombie over the course of months,and eats medical waste along the way.

  26. I WAS A TEENAGE ZOMBIE. Silly teensploitation parody with a hot new wave soundtrack.

  27. BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974). This is just one of the many reasons I never wanted to join a sorority.

  28. THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN. Homage to the postwar police procedural (especially Naked City) meets 70's slashers.

  29. DEAD WEIGHT. A clingy boyfriend will do anything to find his girlfriend during a low-budget zombie apocalypse.

  30.SWEENEY TODD (1982).Grand Guignol, Sondheim style. My mom wouldn't let me watch this as a kid. Also, Angela Lansbury is always best evil!

  31.DIABOLIQUE. Two women scheme to dispose of a corpse that will not disappear. It gets creepy. Challenge complete!

  My Top Picks: CANDYMAN, THE BATTERY, BLACK CHRISTMAS, NIGHTMARE CITY.

  Honorable Mentions: THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN, 13 SINS, HOUSE, GOTHIC, ANTIVIRAL, PEEPING TOM, VANISHING ON 7TH STREET, DIABOLIQUE, PRETTY DEAD