31 Days of Horror

I have friends who watch a horror movie a day in October. It's a thing. A thing I have tried to do a few times, and I always seem to fall short. But, inspired by some of those friends, I am going to give it another go. I am off to a good start,and have a good partner-in-crime who wants to see some of the genre classics she has never seen before. Halloween, Evil Dead, The Howling, Eyes Without a Face- the Dr. and I have a pretty long spreadsheet (because, nerds), and I am excited to watch these films with someone who has never seen them before.

Oct. 1
I began with The Haunting, the original from 1963. I had just read Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, which our library is promoting as this years community read. Check it out if you have never read it, it's quick and unsettling. Perfect for October! The Haunting is based on Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. Shirley Jackson is a national treasure as far as I am concerned. Robert Wise's film version is best. Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn, and Richard Johnson are staying at Hill House, known to be haunted, in an effort to study the paranormal activity. Well, they didn't know what they were in for. This is the movie that all other haunted house movies can thank for making them popular as far as I am concerned (shout out to the original 13 Ghosts!) Hill House endures. Netflix is releasing a series based on the book on October 12th. Shirley Jackson is forever!


Oct 2.
Someone wrote a list of great horror films streaming in October, and it was a good list, but it included Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. And I trash talked it. Then I felt guilty. Was it really as bad as I remembered it being? So, I watched it again. It is bad. It's just very gimmicky and isn't really scary.

Oct. 3.
The Axe Murders of Villisca kept getting recommended to me on Netflix. It had a script by Owen Egerton so I thought I'd give it a shot. Sort of Amityville Horror-esque twist on the story of the unsolved Axe murders in Villisca Iowa in 1912. Decent with some good jump scares.

Oct. 4.
I was intrigued by this movie which kept showing up on Shudder with a synopsis that read like a cold diss: "Two men in a secluded cabin are haunted by their dead relationship" COLD! Rokkur (Rift) is a tense, Icelandic thriller kept me on edge throughout, wondering what was going as I waited for the plot to unfold. Also, let me spell this out for you: Gay. Icelandic. Thriller. Seriously, this is one ghost story worth your time.

Oct 5.
I love giallo, even when its really sort of on the edge of actually being giallo. Stagefright (Deliria) was close enough for me. A theater troupe tries getting a show ready based on a local actor who has lost his mind and mutilated several local women. He escapes the mental hospital and ends up at the playhouse where the troupe is. Dun dun DUN!!!  There were a couple good scares and tense moments, but this one is fun for the oddball premise, the score, and the 80's style which is crammed into every frame.

Oct 6.
Last night the Dr. and I watched Cronenberg's Rabid. Neither of us had seen it and what a wild ride! Nobody does body horror like Cronenberg. Nobody. Also, Marilyn Chambers was pretty good as the Typhoid Mary of Montreal, giving people that infecting bite via her armpit. Treat yourself to this one if you've never seen it.

It's October 7th, and I'm not sure what I'll be watching later, but stay tuned, because I will let you know.