FAVE 20: Anthony Hudson

Anyone who knows me knows that I make a lot of bad decisions. From cutting my hair whilst not looking at my hair to impulse buying the Leprechaun DVD box set to substituting salsa for spaghetti sauce...listen, I may be the eternal village elder but that certainly does not make me wise! However, once in a Nell moon I make a decision that is actually to my benefit, and one of those decisions was emailing Anthony out of the blue and saying "Hey, do you want to do a podcast?" Recording Gaylords of Darkness every week has become the highlight of every week for me because it means I get to spend some time living, laughing, and loving horror movies with one of the smartest, funniest, most creative people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. If you live in or around Portland OR I know you know all of this, because you've likely seen Anthony performing as drag clown Carla Rossi, or maybe you've attended one of the essential Queer Horror nights that Rossi hosts. (Remember going places and doing things? HA HA HA) Maybe your introduction is this list of movies! Whatever the case, now you know what I know: Anthony is the best! Hmm, maybe I will try to make these so-called "good decisions" a habit.

Now where did I put my scissors...

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez)

I might not have ranked the others, but I want to crown this perfect little gem as my #1 because SHE HAS EARNED IT. I've been terrified of this movie since I first saw Tabitha Soren talk it up on MTV News, and my love affair with Elly Kedward - or found footage - hasn't let up since. It’s still the only horror movie I won't watch alone. And never forget that Heather Donahue (both the character and actor) is a goddamn formative feminist filmmaker, goddamnit.

HALLOWEEN (1978, John Carpenter)

You never forget your first. That said, I'm not sure this was my first because I've forgotten, but I still love this classic as much as I hated that new hack job reboot.

SUSPIRIA (2018, Luca Guadagnino)

As if you had to ask. This film is my politics, this film is my life.

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991, Jonathan Demme)

In addition to launching a teenage/rest-of-my-life obsession with Clarice Starling, FBI, this was one of my earliest gateway horror films, and might always be among my very top - transphobic warts and all.

BRIDE OF CHUCKY (1998, Ronny Yu)

Jennifer Tilly as Tiffany Ray was a femme fatale / icon / gender identity game changer for middle school Anthony, and this ignited my now decades-long love affair with the Child's Play series and its Martha Stewart references.

THE WITCH (2015, Robert Eggers)

For once the ending we deserve (though I'm not sure we even deserve it) is the ending we got. I couldn't believe it. I've been floating with Thomasin ever since.

BLOOD RAGE (1987, John Grissmer)

The only way to make Louise Lasser more chronically watchable is to put her in a gory Thanksgiving slasher movie full of sexy people in great '80s outfits - except she's dressed like Jon Benet Ramsey and eats green beans off the floor from the refrigerator. See? Chronically watchable. This movie is my kind of perfect.

SLEEPAWAY CAMP (1983, Robert Hiltzik)

Aunt Martha. Angela. Judy. Meg. M. E. G.

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985, Tom Holland)

A gay-soaked classic and one of my all-time I-could-watch-this-every-days. Charlie is still the cutest boy, and I love live-in-carpenters, Amanda Bearse's vampire hair extensions, and the weird he's-gonna-be-a-porn-star-ness of Stephen Geoffreys' Evil Ed.

THE DESCENT (2005, Neil Marshall)

One of the few times (as a non-child) that I’ve nearly left the theater out of sheer fear! And that was before any of the HORRIBLE DRIPPY MONSTERS showed up.

THE STEPFORD WIVES (1975, Bryan Forbes)

I love this movie and the women in it so, so much. Joanna and Bobbie are my favorites and I’ll never stop crying for them.

DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (1971, Harry Kümel)

This movie is so goddamn cool, the score is so goddamn cool, "Mother" is so goddamn cool, Delphine is so goddamn cool. I want to live in this movie.

THE LORDS OF SALEM (2012, Rob Zombie)

According to Robert Zombie's song of the same name, God hates the Lords of Salem, but I love them. I'm an admitted Zombie apologist, but this is by far his best (and a sometimes strangely thoughtful) film. How to hook me in the first minute? Have a filthy Meg Foster say "in the name of Satan."

DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978, George A. Romero)

Romero's masterpiece might be Day of the Dead, but Dawn is where it all started for me. I just love a blue zombie - and great, now I have "The Gonk" stuck in my head.

MARTYRS (2008, Pascal Laugier)

I’ve seen this movie way more times than I should probably admit. There’s something so beautiful about it that I still can’t quite put my finger on. I’ve always said if I ever ended my QUEER HORROR series I’d end it with this, and just before Anna’s final journey we’d stop the movie and provide wine and grief counselors for a processing break.

BANSHEE CHAPTER (2013, Blair Erickson)

Don't mind the egregious use of After Effects ghost face in the ending - with the exception of that final frame, this movie is pretty rad and gives me the willies. If I ever watched it in VR (it was originally designed for Oculus Rift, hence its found footage shooting style, though only the opening scene is meant to be found footage) I would poop myself. And it got me obsessed with the abject horror of numbers stations, so.

THE FINAL GIRLS (2015, Todd Strauss-Schulson)

I have what are called "mommy issues," so I cried my way through the entirety of this film on my first watchthrough. A deep emotional core elevates (oops, am I not supposed to use that word?) what could have been a campy comedy to a truly loving homage to Friday the 13th, the Final Girls we grew up rooting for, and women's relationships. And Malin Akerman's final dance sequence to that song gets me every damn time.

AS ABOVE SO BELOW (2014, John Erick Dowdle)

I love this movie so much and I don’t care what anyone thinks! It freaks me out, Scarlet is the best, and it’s the closest thing I’ll ever get to the (found footage) Tomb Raider movie of my dreams.

THE WNUF HALLOWEEN SPECIAL (2013, Chris LaMartina)

I'm trying to lean into just horror proper here, but when I think of my favorites I immediately go to this seasonal tradition. It's like Ghostwatch meets The Amityville Horror re-recorded through a VCR four times, complete with terrible local commercials. The psychics are weirdos based on Ed & Lorraine Warren and they gauge paranormal activity through their cat. Like I could love anything more?

NOROI: THE CURSE (2005, Kôji Shiraishi)

I feel like I'm cheating since I've only recently seen this movie for the first time thanks to Stacie and Gaylords! But I haven't stopped thinking about it since. I'm thinking about it right now. And Kagutaba. And the ectoplasmic worms. And that nightvision shot where SHE'S RIGHT THERE AND THEY'RE CRAWLING ALL OVER HER OH MY GOD WHY WOULD SOMEONE MAKE THIS

SHOCKtober: 784-753

Time for another chunk, baby! As you may have guessed, each of the following films received one vote.

784. Haunter -- 2013, Vincenzo Natali

783. He Knows You're Alone -- 1980, Armand Mastroianni

782. Heavenly Creatures -- 1994, Peter Jackson

781. Here Comes the Devil -- 2012, Adrián García Bogliano

780. Hocus Pocus -- 1993, Kenny Ortega

779. Home for the Holidays -- 1972, John Llewellyn Moxey

778. Honeymoon -- 2014, Leigh Janiak

777. Horror High (aka Twisted Brain) -- 1973, Larry N. Stouffer

776. Horror Hotel (aka The City of the Dead) -- 1960, John Llewellyn Moxey

775. Hostel -- 2005, Eli Roth

774. House II: The Second Story -- 1987, Ethan Wiley

773. House of Wax -- 1953, André De Toth

772. The House That Dripped Blood -- 1971, Peter Duffell

771. Howling II:...Your Sister Is a Werewolf -- 1985, Philippe Mora

770. Humongous -- 1982, Paul Lynch

769. I Am Not a Serial Killer -- 2016, Billy O'Brien

768. I Am Not a Witch -- 2017, Rungano Nyoni

767. I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House -- 2016, Oz Perkins

766. I Saw the Devil -- 2010, Jee-woon Kim

765. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer -- 1998, Danny Cannon

764. Images -- 1972, Robert Altman

763. Impetigore -- 2019, Joko Anwar

762. In Dreams -- 1999, Neil Jordan

761. In My Skin (aka Dans ma Peau) -- 2002, Marina de Van

760. Inland Empire -- 2006, David Lynch

759. Invaders from Mars -- 1986, Tobe Hooper

758. Invasion of the Body Snatchers -- 1956, Don Siegel

757. Irréversible -- 2002, Gaspar Noé

756. Island of Lost Souls -- 1932, Erle C. Kenton

755. Isle of the Dead -- 1945, Mark Robson

754. It's Alive -- 1974, Larry Cohen

753. Jaws: The Revenge -- 1987, Joseph Sargent

• Impetigore! I really dug that one a lot except for the Clarissa Explains It All-esque narrative dump towards the end. But it's got some nailbitingly intense sequences (that opening!), I love the friendship between the two women endlessly, and as anyone who has listened to my blathering on Gaylords of Darkness knows, lawd I love a town with a secret.
• Humongous! I will forever root for that terrific movie. I would lurve to see a nice restored Blu-ray from Arrow or Scream Factory or Severin or Vinegar Syndrome or ANYONE DAMMIT.
• I know it was her first film and I know she's a beloved actress often considered one of the best, but Heavenly Creatures is the only Kate Winslet performance that has truly blown me away. There, I said it.
• I am not this, I am that, I saw this, I still know that. Me me me.
• I introduced a friend to In My Skin at the beginning of the year and let me tell you, it remains super gnarly. I love it. If you are into the New French Extremity but you've missed it somehow, you won't regret tracking it down. Or maybe you will? It's sometimes a tough watch!
• The ellipses in Howling II:...Your Sister Is a Werewolf are what REALLY make that title for me.

FAVE 20: Ben Raphael Sher

Welcome one and all (okay, welcome all except that one person--they know what they did) to the first special guest list of the month! Yes, all throughout SHOCKtober I'll be sprinkling in the fave 20s of various folks you either know or you should know and by the end of the month you will know, so no more excuses! Also just as an FYI: I did not include the films in any of the guest lists in the final tally. This is because I have not finished making my list yet. That's right. And if you're like "WHAT why do YOU get to wait so long?" well, my friends, that is called the power of having a BLOG. 

Also it just means that I have spent longer in list-making agony than any of you, so be warned: sometimes power comes with a price.

ANYWAY. About Ben! He is a writer and TV and podcast producer whose most recent project is AMC's Visionaries: Eli Roth's History of Horror. (Season Two launches on AMC on October 10th!) Ben is very much on my strange 70s/80s wavelength, by which I mean that Ben probably knows of the pleasures of a conversation about Marsha Mason whilst enjoying a cup of Nescafé whilst seated beneath a plant with giant fronds. Here's his list!

SUSPIRIA (1977, Dario Argento)

This movie is actually my memoir of my childhood but I’m not going to go into it. Kathy Acker feels the same way.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984, Wes Craven)

A movie underrated for its formal beauty, but also a necessary guide to life. Nancy is the leader, follow her. More than ever we need to know how to turn our back on evil forces and take away the power that we’ve given them. Vote.

CARRIE (1976, Brian De Palma)

What more can be said? In seventh grade I watched this movie every single day. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Now I can barely watch it because it actually feels like it contains all of the memories and feelings from that time.

THE FOG (1980, John Carpenter)

John Carpenter’s Magnolia. My cat is named after Stevie Wayne.

HALLOWEEN (1978, John Carpenter)

I really appreciate this film’s documentary-like depiction of suburban teenage life. The TV version is excellent because it has more discussion of blouse borrowing and reveals Annie’s messy bedroom. More character insight.

MESSIAH OF EVIL (1973, Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz)

A movie about the Los Angeles of my dreams. Woody Allen shows this movie on a marquee in Annie Hall, arguing that it’s emblematic of Los Angeles’s lack of culture. He obviously hasn’t seen it. I’m embarrassed for him. What it does exemplify is Los Angeles’s quality of weird wonder, and the feeling you get here that the past hovers over everything.

LISA AND THE DEVIL (1973, Mario Bava)

The second half of the Annie Hall bill (in its butchered U.S. version, House of Exorcism). Nothing can compare. I feel like Lisa lately—traveling in an endless circle of nightmare-ish lost-ness. But everything is less beautiful and strangely, grossly erotic. I love beautiful decay—and no movie is more beautifully decayed than Lisa.

CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980, Lucio Fulci)

PURE POETRY. Gore is my least favorite element in any Fulci film, and City of the Living Dead exemplifies why. The movie is so dripping with atmosphere that you can feel the cold mist emanating from the screen and smell the inside of the tomb. Like many Fulci movies, it feels like a Val Lewton film but presents a crazy nightmare world that is purely Fulci’s own. I also love an Upper West Side psychic and her apartment is bomb.

BURNT OFFERINGS (1976, Dan Curtis)

My mom once got very Karen Black-y about an Air BnB that my family stayed in on Cape Cod. But I love this movie for a million other reasons. It just makes me feel like it’s the ‘70s and I’m watching TV in the afternoon.

CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962, Herk Harvey)

I once took a date to see this film in the theater in New York. At one point, the main character Mary (Candace Hilligoss, in a brilliant performance) acted so weird and I identified with her SO much that I laughed. I don’t remember if it was the scene where she’s shopping and everything around her goes silent, or if it was the one where she throws herself at the creepy guy who lives in her boarding house and then is like “Get away!” Anyway, after the movie my date said he didn’t like it because it was “campy and dated.” I never saw him again and I don’t remember his name and I hope I never do. This movie has lots of things that I love. Driving at night listening to the radio, organs, beautiful abandoned places, a carnival, souls, loneliness, department stores...

THE VELVET VAMPIRE (1971, Stephanie Rothman)

My Los Angeles ‘70s AM radio swingers vampire desert dream. Stephanie Rothman is brilliant, always.

THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS (1980, John Hough and Vincent McEveety)

Please see my review at the flawless KinderTrauma!

THE POLTERGEIST TRILOGY (1982-1988)

I can’t choose just one. Anyway they are one cohesive vision! Each is perfect in its own way. I have written about Poltergeist II: The Other Side on my blog. It was the first horror movie I ever saw, and I still think it’s the scariest in the series. The original makes me cry, especially when I miss my parents on the opposite coast!  Poltergeist III is a visionary avant-garde masterpiece that reminds me of “mythopoeic” experimental films like Maya Deren’s brilliant Meshes of the Afternoon, where people wander around having existential visual journeys that meld the interior and the exterior (“Outside in!” as Tangina randomly screams!). I’ve also written about it at KinderTrauma.

FRIDAY THE 13th (1980, Sean S. Cunningham)

Another movie whose visual panache, delightful character development, and overwhelming atmosphere get overlooked. Unlike a lot of my favorite slasher films that I’ve seen two million times it still scares me when I watch it alone at night. Pamela Voorhees is the Miss Hannigan of horror movies. I fear her and I am her. Young people drive me insane.

DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (1971, Harry Kümel)

In the mid-‘90s I plucked this off the video shelf (the Continental big box!) in suburban upstate New York. It blew my mind and I couldn’t find out anything about it. For years I looked for an IMDB user review. Nothing. I couldn’t meet a soul who had seen it. It felt like a mysterious projection from a haunted world. It’s crazy to me how DISCUSSED it is now, and that it has always been regarded as a classic. In the very early days of the internet you just couldn’t know. Delphine Seyrig might give the best performance in a horror movie ever? I guess that’s impossible to say.

THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW (1982, Mark Rosman)

I love a lush slasher film.

THE SHINING (1980, Stanley Kubrick)

I never guessed that my life would one day feel like the love child of The Shining and Flowers in the Attic, but here we are in 2020, watching Summer of ’42 on TV endlessly and going crazy. My husband and I watch this movie all the time. The other day he was talking to a salesperson on the phone about buying a pan or something, and he was so overly conversational that I realized he was like Shelley Duvall talking to the guy on the other end of the C.B. radio. Shelley Duvall is the main reason that this movie is terrifying and immersive—don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! But then, it has like 8 million awe inspiring elements.

PROM NIGHT (1980, Paul Lynch)

I LOVE a slasher movie where nobody gets killed for an hour while people deal with life problems. The parts of Prom Night that people call “boring” are my favorite parts—Jamie Lee and her boyfriend walking by the ocean and talking about their problems! Riveting! When I was a little boy I took a bunch of flashlights and covered them with cellophane to try and replicate the glamour of the prom in this film and engage my sister in a rousing game of Prom Night. She wasn’t interested at all.

CURTAINS (1983, Richard Ciupka)

I want to watch this movie forever and also live in it. I want Audra to be a real film that I can own on VHS. Every time I write or talk about movies I have to reveal something sexually embarrassing about myself, and today’s revelation is that I find John Vernon really sexy in this film. I love this movie because it’s kind of like A Chorus Line in a snowy house with murders. Everyone singles out the skating scene (rightfully), but I am here to praise the costume shop stalking scene which is terrifying and expressionist. I am choosing this as my Samantha Eggar movie—but The Brood! The Brood! It makes me feel so validated in my anger. My kitty Stevie is my brood.

LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH (1971, John D. Hancock)

Upstate New York is creepy and magical, and Let’s Scare Jessica to Death understands. Anyone who talks to themselves and isn’t sure whether they’re paranoid or the world is out to get them understands this movie (Jessica reminds me of another favorite character, Holly, played by Dianne Wiest in Hannah and Her Sisters. It’s an East coast type!). I wish that Zohra Lampert had done many more movies—but her performances in this and Opening Night are worth 100,000 normal performances. I’m realizing as I write this that I’ve left Rosemary’s Baby--the seminal “am I paranoid or is everyone around me evil” movie AND the seminal 1960s New York movie--off my list, which is impossible. But does Rosemary’s Baby really need to be on another list?

If I can have runners up, they are: Horror Hotel (1960); Basket Case (1982); Creepshow (1982); The Hearse (1980); Black Christmas (1974); Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972); Home for the Holidays (1972); The 7th Victim (1943); Curse of the Cat People (1944); When a Stranger Calls (1979, especially the Colleen Dewhurst parts).

SHOCKtober: 817-785

Well, well, well. We meet again. And dare I say, I hope we meet again every day for the rest of the month as we count down SHOCKtober's greatest hits. I'm Casey Kasem. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. Oh, and enjoy this next chunk o' list!

Each of the following films received one vote.

817. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan -- 1989, Rob Hedden

816. House of Usher -- 1960, Roger Corman

815. Fascination -- 1979, Jean Rollin

814. Fear -- 1990, Rockne S. O'Bannon

813. Final Destination 2 -- 2003, David R. Ellis

812. FleshEater -- 1988, S. William Hinzman

811. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man -- 1943, Roy William Neill

810. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed -- 1969, Terence Fisher

809. From Beyond the Grave -- 1974, Kevin Connor

808. Ganja and Hess -- 1973, Bill Gunn

807. Gerald's Game -- 2017, Mike Flanagan

806. Ghost Stories -- 2017, Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman

805. Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed -- 2004, Brett Sullivan

804. Girl's Nite Out -- 1982, Robert Deubel

803. Godzilla vs. Hedorah -- 1971, Yoshimitsu Banno & Ishirô Honda

802. Gojira (aka Godzilla) -- 1954, Ishirô Honda

801. Gothika -- 2003, Mathieu Kassovitz

800. The Greasy Strangler -- 2016, Jim Hosking

799. Green Room -- 2015, Jeremy Saulnier

798. Gremlins 2: The New Batch -- 1990, Joe Dante & Chuck Jones

797. Gretel & Hansel -- 2020, Oz Perkins

796. Grindhouse -- 2007, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth, Edgar Wright, & Rob Zombie

795. Guilty of Romance (aka Koi no tsumi) -- 2011, Sion Sono

794. Hagazussa -- 2017, Lukas Feigelfeld

793. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers -- 1995, Joe Chappelle

792. Halloweentown -- 1998, Duwayne Dunham

791. Hands of the Ripper -- 1971, Peter Sasdy

790. Hardware -- 1990, Richard Stanley

789. Hatchet -- 2006, Adam Green

788. Hatchet II -- 2010, Adam Green

787. Haunt -- 2019, Scott Beck & Bryan Woods

786. Haunted -- 1995, Lewis Gilbert

785. Haunted Honeymoon -- 1986, Gene Wilder

• As a youth I saw plenty of the later Godzilla movies--the campy, color ones--thanks to Creature Double Feature on Saturday afternoons. It wasn't until a few months ago, right around the beginning of the pandemic, that I saw the one that started it all, Gojira. Excuse me for being obvious, perhaps, but I was absolutely blown away. It is dark, it is serious, it is an incredible sociopolitical allegory, and at times it was actually damn scary. It's intense and atmospheric and the effects are unbelievable. Big monsters don't really do anything for me, but Gojira...wowzee wow, I'm a fan.
• Of Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, a reader says: "Literally everything one could want in a Universal monster movie including a song and dance number."
• Kinda shocked to only see one vote for Green Room, considering that I see it mentioned quite often in various lists and recommendations. 
• Please note, that is not the Marky Mark Fear, it is a made for TV movie starring Ally SHeedy and Lauren Hutton, aka something I need to see ASAP.
• One thing I've learned over the SHOCKtobers is that pretty much every Friday the 13th film is someone's favorite. I love that! Also, I would be remiss not to link to my Friday the 13th book, should anyone be interested.

SHOCKtober: 852-818

I have been thinking about little beyond Dark Angel: The Ascent since I posted yesterday's list. I will not rest until I have seen it! SHOCKtober has already proved worth it a hundredfold. Let's see if this chuck o' list adds to the blessings! 

Each of the following movies received one vote. 

852. Dead Ringers -- 1988, David Cronenberg

851. Dead Wood -- 2007, David Bryant, Sebastian Smith, & Richard Stiles

850. The Deadly Spawn -- 1983, Douglas McKeown

849. Dear Dead Delilah -- 1972, John Farris

848. Death Spa -- 1989, Michael Fischa

847. Deep Rising -- 1998, Stephen Sommers

846. Deliverance -- 1972, John Boorman

845. Demon -- 2015, Marcin Wrona

844. Demons 2 -- 1986, Lamberto Bava

843. Der Todesking (aka The Death King) -- 1990, Jürg Buttgereit

842. Detention -- 2011, Joseph Kahn

841. Diary of the Dead -- 2007, George A. Romero

840. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark -- 1973, John Newland

839. Don't Breathe -- 2016, Fede Alvarez

838. Don't Go in the House -- 1979, Joseph Ellison

837. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde -- 1931, Rouben Mamoulian

836. Dracula 2000 -- 2000, Patrick Lussier

835. Dracula: Dead and Loving It -- 1995, Mel Brooks

834. Dracula: Prince of Darkness -- 1966, Terence Fisher

833. Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary -- 2002, Guy Maddin

832. Dracula's Daughter -- 1936, Lambert Hillyer

831. Dread -- 2009, Anthony DiBlasi

830. Dust Devil: The Final Cut -- 1992, Richard Stanley

829. Eaten Alive -- 1976, Tobe Hooper

828. Ed Wood -- 1994, Tim Burton

827. Eden Lake -- 2008, James Watkins

826. Edge of the Axe -- 1988, José Ramón Larraz

825. Edward Scissorhands -- 1990, Tim Burton

824. Eight Legged Freaks -- 2002, Ellory Elkayem

823. Elizabeth Harvest -- 2018, Sebastien Guttierez

822. Equinox -- 1970, Jack Woods, Dennis Muren, & Mark Thomas McGee

821. Eve's Bayou -- 1997, Kasi Lemmons

820. Evilspeak -- 1981, Eric Weston

819. Extra Ordinary -- 2019, Mike Ahern & Edna Loughman

818. Eyes of Fire -- 1983, Avery Crounse

• To my great shame I have never seen Dear Dead Delilah (Agnes Moorhead FTW) so I can't vouch to the film itself, but I absolutely can vouch for a poster that features eye nipples and a baller tagline.
• So many Draculas! (Draculae?)
• Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a reader said: "Fredric March's Hyde is unabashedly excessively cruel and his gradual departure from humanity with every transformation is legitimately frightening (and for 1931 their portrayal of sex workers is very progressive)."
• Is this a good time to admit that I've never seen Dead Ringers? I think I will hold out for the remake starring Rachel Weisz as the sexy sex pervert twins (as is my understanding of Dead Ringers), if it ever actually happens. 
• It's too bad we'll all be dead (presumably) before we get a Dracula 3000.

SHOCKtober: 885-853

It's day three already, can you believe it? Time indeed does keep on slippin' slippin' slippin' into whatever. But! You are not here to read my incredible philosophical musings, you're here for today's wee chunk o' list, so let's get to it! 

Each of the following films received one vote.

885. Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things -- 1972, Bob Clark

884. Child's Play 3 -- 1991, Jack Bender

883. Christine -- 1983, John Carpenter

882. A Christmas Horror Story -- 2015, Grant Harvey, Steven Hoban, & Brett Sullivan

881. Chronicle -- 2012, Josh Trank

880. Close Encounters of the Third Kind -- 1977, Steven Spielberg

879. Clown -- 2014, Jon Watts

878. Cobra -- 1986, George P. Cosmatos

877. Coherence -- 2013, James Ward Byrkit

876. Cold Prey -- 2006, Roar Uthaug

875. Cold Prey 2 -- 2008, Mats Stenberg

874. Color Me Blood Red -- 1965, Herschell Gordon Lewis

873. Color Out of Space -- 2019, Richard Stanley

872. Come to Daddy -- 2019, Ant Timpson

871. Kokuhaku (aka Confessions) -- 2010, Tetsuya Nakashima

870. Constantine -- 2005, Francis Lawrence

869. Coraline -- 2009, Henry Selick

868. Countess Dracula -- 1971, Peter Sasdy

867. Creep 2 -- 2017, Patrick Brice

866. Creep -- 2004, Christopher Smith

865. Creepshow 2 -- 1987, Michael Gornick

864. Critters -- 1986, Stephen Herek

863. Cronos -- 1993, Guillermo del Toro

862. Cthulhu -- 2007, Dan Gildark

861. Cub -- 2014, Jonas Govaerts

860. Cult of Chucky -- 2017, Don Mancini

859. Cure -- 1997, Kiyoshi Kurosawa

858. The Curse of Frankenstein -- 1957, Terence Fisher

857. The Curse of the Cat People -- 1944, Gunther von Fritsch & Robert Wise

856. Curtains -- 1983, Richard Ciupka

855. Dark Angel: The Ascent -- 1994, Linda Hassani

854. Darling -- 2015, Mickey Keating

853. Dead of Night -- 1945, Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, & Robert Hamer

• While "Countess Dracula" should indeed be "Countess Bathory," what's in a name when you have Ingrid Pitt in a Hammer flick imbibing the blood of virgins to maintain a youthful pallor? If nothing else, it's a good reminder to women everywhere: don't grow old!
• Aw yeah, Cold Prey 2! Imagine, if you will, that Halloween II (1981) was a better film than Halloween (1978). Sure, you could argue that Jamie Lee Curtis's wig in Halloween II automatically makes it a better film than its predecessor, but still. Cold Prey 2 sends our Final Girl to the hospital and then shit gets real. I like Cold Prey a lot, but I like Cold Prey 2 a lot more.
• Cobra is definitely the "Wha huh?" entry this time, but it's a fairly nasty film. 
• I find myself SUPER intrigued by Dark Angel: The Ascent, which I'd never heard of previous to its inclusion here. But that title combined with the release year means it's going to have a certain Vampire: The Masquerade aesthetic, if you know what I mean, especially when one peeps a cast list full of Romanian names. Upon further investigation, I came across a review by the inimitable and always terrific Erich Kuersten at Acidemic, wherein he calls it "Guy Maddin meets Silk Stalkings." I need to see Dark Angel: The Ascent!

SHOCKtober: 918-886

 

Wow! Here we are on what is merely "day" "two" and already there have been cries of outrage, gasps of disbelief, and the rending of garments over some of the films that have received but one vote. SHOCKtober plays by its own rules! SHOCKtober takes no prisoners! SHOCKtober is a stone cold ice vixen! SHOCKtober is a good reminder of the power of voting! (Please vote on November 3rd.) 

Anyway, I will tell you now, this year's list is full of surprises when compared to the lists of yesteryear. Is this a sign of a changing "horror fan" demographic? Has the last five years changed the horror canon? It is (mildly) fascinating from a sort of sociological standpoint. What would the list look like if I courted votes from, say, the demographic that reads mainstream horror websites? Does it matter? Oh well, perhaps if there is still a world/internet in 2025 and there is still a me in 2025 (you never know!) there will be a SHOCKtober 2025 and we'll see how it shakes out. For now, here's the next chunk o' list! 

Each of the following films received one vote.

918. Baby Blues -- 2008, Lars Jacobson & Amardeep Kaleka

917. Bad Dreams -- 1988, Andrew Fleming

916. Basket Case -- 1982, Frank Henenlotter

915. Begotten -- 1989, E. Elias Merhige

914. Berberian Sound Studio -- 2012, Peter Strickland

913. Better Watch Out -- 2016, Chris Peckover

912. Beyond the Black Rainbow -- 2010, Panos Cosmatos

911. Beyond the Darkness (aka Buio Omega) -- 1979, Joe D'Amato

910. The Black Cat -- 1981, Lucio Fulci

909. Black Christmas -- 2006, Glen Morgan

908. Black Zoo -- 1963, Robert Gordon

907. Blood & Donuts -- 1995, Holly Dale

906. Blood and Roses -- 1960, Roger Vadim

905. Blood for Dracula -- 1974, Paul Morrissey

904. Blood Lake -- 1987, Tim Boggs

903. The Blood on Satan's Claw -- 1971, Piers Haggard

902. Bloodsucking Freaks -- 1976, Joel M. Reed

901. Bloody Murder 2: Closing Camp -- 2003, Rob Spera

900. Body Count -- 1986, Ruggero Deodato

899. Body Parts -- 1991, Eric Red

898. Body Snatchers -- 1993, Abel Ferrara

897. Bones -- 2001, Ernest R. Dickerson

896. Border -- 2018, Ali Abbasi

895. Botched -- 2007, Kit Ryan

894. Bride of Boogedy -- 1987, Oz Scott

893. Buried Alive -- 1990, Frank Darabont

892. Burn, Witch, Burn (aka Night of the Eagle) -- 1962, Sidney Hayers

891. Cabin Fever -- 2002, Eli Roth

890. Caché -- 2005, Michael Haneke

889. Calvaire (aka The Ordeal) -- 2004, Fabrice du Welz

888. Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter -- 1974, Brian Clemens

887. Cast a Deadly Spell -- 1991, Martin Campbell

886. Cheerleader Camp -- 1988, John Quinn

• Blood and Roses! Ugh, gorgeous. Please oh please won't someone give it a nice, fancy, cleaned up release? I cry, for I have only seen it on VHS which is better than nothing but also the picture looks like it was made out of mud. 
• Forgive me if I lose all "horror" "fan" "cred" with what I'm about to say: I've never seen Buio Omega. But I have the soundtrack and it's really great! But I feel that the movie is super duper gross and EXTREME? While I do enjoy other extreme things regularly, such as snowboarding whilst drinking a Mountain Dew or paragliding in my squirrel suit whilst drinking a Red Bull, I am afraid of Buio Omega. Well, not "afraid," you know, but afraid. 
• In a comment on yesterday's post, a reader mentioned that they're doing their SHOCKtober thang, wherein each evening's entertainment will be one of the movies posted in that day's chunk o'list. That's a great idea! I should have done that. Oh well, maybe in 2025.
• I love Berberian Sound Studio! It is a feast for the eyeballs and earholes. Peter Strickland is rad.
• As soon as I read "Body Parts" in someone's list my mind conjured the box art, thanks to seeing it on shelves over the countless hours spent browsing at various video stores. Yet I've never seen the movie itself! Hmm.

It's SHOCKtoberin' time!

 

Well y'alls, the time is nigh and we are holding on. Thanks to those of you who submitted lists of your Top 20 favorite horror films, this promises to be a SHOCKtober to end all SHOCKtobers for this year we're counting down a total of... 

951 films. 

NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ONE.

That is so many! In 2017 the list was 630 movies long. In 2010, which I thought would never be surpassed, we counted down 732 movies. This year we left those sucker SHOCKtobers in the dust, so thank you--although I do admit, compiling all of this has left me feeling like Sam Neill towards the end of Event Horizon, you know, where he's like "Where we're going we don't need eyes to see!" or whatever and lo, as if to prove his point he no longer has eyes and his face is all cut up and stuff. Also SPOILER Event Horizon is on the list! Somewhere! *evil laugh*

As always, though I hate to admit it, there is the chance of a mistake somewhere in this madness. Like maybe I didn't catch the fact that, I don't know, Face of the Werewolf is an alternate title for Breath of the Beast or something. Know what I mean? SPOILER those movies are not on the list because as far as I know they are not real movies. I wish they were! The point is, please forgive any errors you may find over the course of the month. And be sure to keep your eyes peeled, as some days I'll be posting more than once--I've got some special guest lists lined up, which should be fun...or at least something to read, which we could all use. 

Also, big thanks to folks who included notes and the such with their lists! I love a good anecdote or a kind word. Some of you mentioned submitting a list the first time I did this back in 2010 and ya done blown my mind. I am shocked and flattered and very very thankful that you've stuck around these parts for so long. Truly.

You may notice that the spirit of this thing plays fast and loose with the notion of what constitutes a "horror movie," so some of these films might not fit within your definition of one. Some of these films do not fit within mine! But to the people who sent in lists they qualify as horror, so here they are. I'm not gatekeeping this shit.

Everything will be ranked according to the number of votes received, but when multiple movies earned an equal number, the ranking is mostly just alphabetical. So if they each got one vote, there's no difference, really, between film #857 and film #100. I am sure you could have figured that out, but I am just saying.

I guess that's it, so let's start the countdown! Will John Carpenter's Halloween hold onto the top spot it earned in 2010 and 2017? We'll find out soon enough. But for now...

Each of the following films received one vote.

951. 13 Ghosts -- 1960, William Castle

950. 28 Weeks Later -- 2007, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

949. Three O'Clock High -- 1987, Phil Joanou

948. 3 Women -- 1977, Robert Altman

947. 47 Meters Down -- 2017, Johannes Roberts

946. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged -- 2019, Johannes Roberts

945. A Bay of Blood -- 1971, Mario Bava

944. A Cold Night's Death -- 1973, Jerrold Freedman

943. A Field in England -- 2013, Ben Wheatley

942. A Night to Dismember -- 1989, Doris Wishman

941. A Quiet Place -- 2018, John Krasinski

940. A Reflection of Fear -- 1972, William A. Fraker

939. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein -- 1948, Charles Barton & Walter Lantz

938. After Midnight -- 2019, Jeremy Gardner & Christian Stella

937. Alligator -- 1980, Lewis Teague

936. Amer -- 2009, Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani

935. American Nightmare -- 1983, Don McBrearty

934. Amityville II: The Possession -- 1982, Damiano Damiani

933. Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes -- 1989, Sandor Stern

932. Angel Heart -- 1987, Alan Parker

931. Angst -- 1983, Gerald Kargl

930. Annabelle Comes Home -- 2019, Gary Dauberman

929. Anthropophagus -- 1980, Joe D'Amato

928. Antichrist -- 2009, Lars von Trier

927. Apocalypse Now -- 1979, Francis Ford Coppola

926. Arsenic and Old Lace -- 1944, Frank Capra

925. Assassination Nation -- 2018, Sam Levinson

924. Atlantics -- 2019, Mati Diop

923. Attack of the Beast Creatures -- 1985, Michael Stanley

922. Attack the Block -- 2011, Joe Cornish

921. Audrey Rose -- 1977, Robert Wise

920. Ava's Possessions -- 2015, Jordan Galland

919. Await Further Instructions -- 2018, Johnny Kevorkian

• ATTACK OF THE BEST CREATURES!! That film is truly a beautiful thing, as evidenced by the gif. I really need to give it a rewatch ASAP. See? SHOCKtober already proves worth it!
• I put on Await Further Instructions randomly late one night and I really enjoyed it; it hasn't gotten much attention (not that I'd really know, I guess?) but it's a nice little paranoia horror/thriller, so check it out if you're into that sort of thing!