Saturday, October 31, 2015

Happy Halloween! (Weekend Open Thread)

Boo!

It is the end of #ScaryMovieMonth. We made it. I love you all.

Thank you to everyone who made this month so much fun, and to those have helped make it special for six consecutive Octobers now. Your enthusiasm, your passion for horror, your wit and humor in your 7 word reviews and the discussions in all of the comments are what make this truly truly my favorite month of the year. You know how people say "This is my Christmas!" Well, fuck that. Christmas is my Christmas. This is better. This is #ScaryMovieMonth.

What were your highs? Your lows? Did you watch as much as you hoped? Anything you wanted to watch but didn't get to?

As long as we're closing the books on our most successful #SMM ever, how about everyone (who wants to) list his or her Top 10 horror movies? All lists are subject to change. A year from now they might look different.

Once again, thank you for making this my favorite community on the internet. We say that a lot, but the last 31 days have proven why by the thousands.

Have a wonderful, scary Halloween.

And always check your candy.

74 comments:

  1. Happy Halloween everyone!


    I'll have a think over the weekend about my top ten
    My lows were certainly Wishmaster 3 and 4

    I am going to keep this thing going and watch all The Texas Chainsaw movies this week. Its the only franchise I did not get too in time

    I have one question for any other geeks out there but this really Really bothered me, while watching Halloween movies something bugged me I could not get past, we all know "He has the darkest eyes", the white face and the dark shadows where the eyes should be, in H20 all the way through you could see the actors eyes behind the mask and it really bugged me, Does this seem wrong to anyone else or is it just me being pedantic?

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    1. That sounds like a fair criticism. Other than H20 is a masterpiece right?

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    2. It's better than resurrection! I can go that far, I was expecting more comments but maybe it is just me? I couldn't enjoy the film because I was constantly distracted by seeing the actors eyes, Rob Zombie got that part right, Michael looks good in his movies

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    3. It is definitely better than Resurrection, but weirdly if I had to watch one of those two right now, I'd choose Resurrection. (Mind you, I'd rather watch neither.)

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    4. LLCool J or Busta Rhymes is the question?

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  2. One of the first things I thought of today was how much I appreciate Fthismovie. Funny you should mention Christmas because when I woke up this morning I felt like a kid at Christmas and beleve me, I am NO kid! This holiday gets me excited, always has, but now I have a NEW THING that adds to my excitement throughout the season. I know I know- you have been doing this for 6 years and I have been listening for 3 but in the vast sum of my years it is a new thing -this podcast/blog phenomenon and the community that has built around it. It is amazing that Patrick has pulled together a team of such brilliant writers and passionate film buffs and every day we get to enjoy their content! How freakin cool is that?! So anyway just wanted to say thank you Patrick, Adam, JB and everyone else for adding to my fantastic Halloween season!

    Oh yeah and in no particular order I love The Shining, The Thing (Carpenter), Halloween, Psycho, Dawn of the Dead,Texas Chainsaw Massacre, American Werewolf in London, Phantasm, Creature from The Black Lagoon, Targets, Exorcist, Nightmare on Elm, Curse of the Demon, Invasion of Body Sn- shit did you say 10 movies?

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    1. Well put. Fthismovie makes October great and all other months better as well.

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  3. I'm at 48 scary movies at the moment and will have time for two more today, so by my math that'll be an even 50. Pretty happy with that (only got to 16 last year). And since everyone cares, here's a list of everything I saw (I like making lists).

    Best new-to-me movies: Re-Animator, It Follows & Housebound
    Best movies I'd seen before: The Cabin in the Woods & From Dusk Till Dawn

    Worst new-to-me movie: Decoys 2: Alien Seduction
    Worst movie I'd seen before: Omen III: The Final Conflict

    Best actor: Jeffrey Combs in Re-Animator
    Best actress: Jessica Chastain in Crimson Peak
    Best actor portraying basically himself: Quentin Tarantino in From Dusk Till Dawn
    Best casting: Peter Stormare as Lucifer in Constantine
    Hottest girl: Mirja Mane in Noita Palaa Elämään (The Witch)
    Hottest guy: Tom Atkins in Halloween III

    Creepiest scene: The one in Honeymoon (you know the one)
    Best old school effects: Hellraiser
    Biggest positive surprise: Unfriended
    Most fun I had all month: Halloween III with FTM commentary & Re-Animator

    I still consider myself a bit of a horror noobie (although these past couple of years following F This Movie have certainly helped with that), but I'll take a stab at a top 10.

    Top 3:
    Alien
    The Cabin in the Woods
    The Exorcist

    The rest in no particular order:
    The Shining
    Angel Heart
    Possession (1981)
    Halloween (1978)
    Eraserhead
    The Invisible Man (1933)
    Re-Animator

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    1. So it's officially November at my end now and I finished my 50th movie about 20 minutes ago. Whew!

      Been a really fun month, not just watching the movies but also reading the articles, listening to the podcasts and reading all the great and fun 7-word reviews. My thanks go to Patrick, the FTM gang and all the F-heads. I love you guys!

      Now I'm looking forward to taking a little distance to horror and watching something else for a change. (Although I do have a four-movie horror marathon lined up next weekend at a festival, so it's not like I'm taking that much distance.)

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  4. I'm attending a midnight movie marathon at Nitehawk Cinema tonight (35mm screenings of Poltergeist and Bay of Blood, a mystery 2000's horror movie, Scream and a William Castle joint), so I won't have my final 7-word reviews and total tally of films watched until Sunday morning. I know it's my most-watched SMM to date, primarily from all the free time I've had when not looking for work. :-(

    Overall this SMM tested my patience because, in trying to expand my horror choices beyond what I normally watch or rewatch, I hit a streak of really, really shitty new-to-me horror flicks that almost sapped my will to continue: Eternal Evil, The Chill Factor, Virgin Among the Living Dead, Wes Craven's Cursed & Chiller, Breeders, Alone in the Dark, etc. It's no accident that I'm ending the month going back to my well of Scream Factory Blu-rays and known properties; better stick with the devil you know than risk getting saddled with another Blair Witch 2, ParaNorman, Zombie High, Survival of the Dead and/or Creature.

    And yet, for all the pain these bad horror films inflict on my fragile little mind, the highs when you come across a little-known or new-to-you horror flick that moves you can't be beat, especially when they're concentrated into a full month. I'll never forget my first time seeing Superstition, Starry Eyes, The Haunted Strangler, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Interview with the Vampire, WolfCop, Fiend/Eyes Without a Face, Trollhunter, World War Z: Unrated, The Slumber Party Massacre, etc. In a month in which Netflix really screwed the pooch with below-average offerings and Amazon Prime showed the bottomless depth of its shitty horror offerings, it was Hulu's Criterion Channel to the rescue with a handful of horror offerings that ranged from the sublime (Boris Karloff in Corridors of Blood) to the ridiculous (the Troma-esque I Was a Teenage Zombie). And for better or for worse, this was the SMM in which my streaming viewing outnumbered by physical media viewing... by a considerable margin. I don't know how to feel about that.

    Overall, another great SMM is in the books. So what if we fell short from last year's total number of 7-word reviews? It's the journey to Halloween that matters, not how many reviews are left once we reach our destination. HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYBODY! :-)

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  6. The current total (not counting today's reviews) is 2728. With a nice last day rally we might break 2900, 3000 might be a stretch. Still, quite a lot better than last year.

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    1. The best single day was the first one with 170 reviews. Break that and we're at 2900.

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    2. I thought 3,000+ reviews was the record last year. As long as the final tally isn't calculated until after I put my five reviews from the Nitehawk marathon on Sunday morning, we have a long shot at tying. But if we don't, who the hell cares? We had fun, weee! :-P

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    3. I believe last year's total was something like 2200.

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    4. Holy crap, You're right, 2,200. So we're way over already! WOO-HOO!!! Silly me, I thought we were trying to beat 3,000 and wouldn't come close to beating that. :-P

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    5. I started completely blowing off doing 7 word reviews about halfway through the month, but kept watching scary movies anyway. If it helps you guys get closer to 3000 posts, I'll unload reviews for all of them on today's SMM page.

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    6. Go for it. Make it harder to beat the record next year. ;-)

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  7. Happy Halloween everybody! In between football IFC is having A Nightmare On Elm Street Marathon all day! 1-5 uncut. So everyone have a safe and happy Halloween!!

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    1. Uncut, but with commercials. At least they were kind enough to not soil the marathon by stopping right before "Freddy's Dead." ;-)

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  8. First off, thanks again for breaking up the comments this year. I hope it proved to be beneficial even though I know it was a pain in the ass for you. I had a great time as always (this is my 3rd SMM) and I love that all the F-Heads get into this!

    On a previous open weekend thread I wrote about my love for shot on video films and my experience so I'll discuss other films.

    My favorite experience this month- Watching "Things" (1989). It's one of those movies I have just been putting off forever so I'm glad I finally got it. It's so f-ing crazy and strange and really lives up to "has to be seen to be believed". Everyone should witness (endure) Things before they die.

    My favorite overall this month - "Hellions" (2015). It's one of my favorite movies of the year as well. I know the criticism and understand that people do not like where it goes, but for me, I love where it goes. I love all of the playfulness of Halloween and Horror movie themes that McDonald is throwing at you and I believe it's intentional to the point of being a statement. He's a very smart filmmaker so I believe there is more to it than it is.

    Favorite "finally got to it" - Beyond the Door II (Schock) (1977) by Bava. I have now finished the Beyond the Door Trilogy, which is odd in itself because it's only a trilogy because producers were trying to capitalize on the name. None of them are related. BTD was 1974, BTD II was Bava's last film (and still really good) and - BTD III - Amok Train was 1989 and is freaking awesome fun about a possessed train. I watched it for either SMM last year or Junesploitation, can't remember.

    Favorite throwback - "Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972)" was pure 70's greatness with grainy, beautiful film shown on a dilapidated VHS copy. Loved it.

    Most surprising - this is a tough one because there were a few that really surprised me in varying degrees. "Bone Tomahawk" (2015) was probably the best. I generally don't like Westerns and I managed to go in not knowing anything about the film except that Russell was in it and seeing that amazing poster so it was on my radar from a while ago. It's really freaking good, even though I think it's too long, but it might even make my top 10 this year. For a western to do that for me makes it my most surprising.

    Other surprises of note - Bastard (2015) - One of the best 8 Films to Die For ever. I know that's not saying much, cause most of them aren't very good, but that's probably a reason I really liked it - way low expectations.

    Last Shift (2015) - same thing. Zero expectations and really enjoyed it, mostly.

    The Final Girls (2015) - Besides being too jokey and not funny, everything else worked for me in this. I thought it was beautifully crafted. It was surprising to me because it lived up to the hype.

    As I pretty much watch Horror non-stop throughout the year, only two of the 2015 films I watched this month are in contention for my top 10 at the end of the year. Unless Nov. and Dec. give me a beast, I think I already have the top 10 for the year.

    Holy crap, I just realized how long this is. Sorry guys. A top 10 all time Horror list would be impossible for me to do. I would have to break it down by sub-genre and then I might get somewhere.

    Happy Sppoktacular to all!

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  9. Btw - I keep track of every movie I've seen on a site equivalent to Letterboxd and this SMM will forever be remembered by me as a milestone as I hit my 5,000th film a couple of weeks ago. Although no one cares but me, my 5,000th was "It Came!" (1993).

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    1. Wow! That a lotta movie. I have about half that scored on IMDb.

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    2. It's kind of pathetic :) Yeah, working at video stores in High School and then at Tower Records for 10 years where you could rent whatever you wanted for free helped a lot. 2,500 is still very impressive, Mikko!

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    3. I was addicted to watching movies when I was young. I'm not much different now, I watch more movies than anyone else I actually know, friends at work all think I am mad when I tried to explain why I wanted to watch all the Friday the 13ths and why I was excited to watch all the Halloween movies on the Scream factory bluray boxset, and don't even try to explain SMM and 7 word reviews, my favourite question was " But if you know Wishmaster 3 and 4 is bad so why watch them?" I know you guys understand,

      I have no idea how many I have seen though? It reminds me of the joke in T2 "The cops are here, how many? All of them"
      That's your answer to "How many movies have you seen?"

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    4. I know how you feel Dennis. My closest friends all love movies, but even they just have a quizzical expression when I say I watched 50 horror movies in October or that I just saw my 365th movie this year. I'm a curiosity to them. I won't even try to talk about it with coworkers. My dad would have a stroke if he knew how much time I devote to not just watching movies but reading and talking about them.

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    5. No doubt, my buddy got me on this site a couple years ago where I started checking off everything I've seen. I never thought about it till that moment and I realized, holy shit, I've seen a lot of movies. Now I'm actually happy that I keep track although I find it interesting seeing how many I've seen but barely remember.

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    6. I've definitely seen at least twice as many as I remember, :)

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    7. Some people will just never understand that for people like us, movies are much more than just "entertainment."

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    8. YES, movies are a type of Art, I enjoy a movie like some people enjoy a good painting in a gallery, its just the same as im sure you guys will agree

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  10. Thanks for the awesome SMM, guys! I just wish I could've had more time (only managed to squeeze in 19 so far, but there's still a few hours). This annual event has not only opened me up to a lot of horror, but helped me find some new genuine favorite movies.

    I haven't really thought about a Top Ten, but here are a few off the top of my head.

    #1 is Psycho.

    The rest in no particular order:

    Carrie (still the most disturbing horror movie I've seen)
    Scream
    The Thing
    The Blair Witch Project
    The Cabin in the Woods
    The Babadook (I know it's really new, but who cares?)
    The Descent
    The Shining
    The Howling (new from this month!)

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  11. 1. The Shining
    2. Rosemary's Baby
    3. Nightmare on Elm St
    4. Halloween
    5. Psycho
    6. Bride of Frankenstein
    7. Hostel
    8. Cabin in the Woods
    9. It Follows
    10. Dawn of the Dead (either)

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  12. What did you all think of Ash Vs. Evil Dead. I know it's just one episode but I was pretty meh about it.

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    1. Ooh dear. Not seen it yet, and Rob G mentioned there is a drop off in quality from episode 1 to 2, I was hoping you would be blown away

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    2. Watching it later on. I wasn't a big fan of the idea to begin with (sorry Dennis, I wanted a movie, not a show). I already had low expectations but we shall see.

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    3. Hmmm...I sort of liked it. After the awful intro with Campbell setting the tone for the show, I thought it was somewhat fun. Raimi's direction was pretty on point though. I think "meh" is right, Riske. That being said, I'm really starting to hate TV shows so I don't know if I'll stick with it. I don't feel like getting invested cause they either meander or get cancelled when their good. Hannibal was a masterpiece, especially given the tone of that show in primetime on network TV and Fargo is the only show I can think of that is the best thing on TV right now. Twin Peaks will change all that and is the most excited I've ever been for a show. Mr. Show is up there too.

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    4. I think my issue was with the CGI. It kept taking me out of the experience.

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    5. You was right about the CGI Adam, its the one thing Evil Dead is famous for not using! I understand Chaybee wanting a movie, That's cool, I did enjoy it though, Try to not focus on the CGI and just enjoy Bruce being a Goofball, Im watching them all for sure, hopefully the drop off after Sam's episode will not be to rough

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  13. I have been really annoyed at The Walking Dead because I'm invested, but since Season 1 I have pretty much been bored with the show and it's repetitiveness. How good has this season been so far though?! I know it's only 3 eps in, but I'm really impressed.

    What I'm not impressed with is AHS. Asylum was fantastic, Season 1 was also for the most part but now, I'm totally out. I slugged through Coven and Freakshow and now I'm bailing on Hotel cause I just think it's plain dull.

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  14. Man, it's been a great Scary Movie Month. I got a slow start, but things really clicked once I hit my stride. This year I stuck pretty much exclusively to traditional horror, meaning no cannibals, diseases, or human horrors, and it made a big difference for me. I've learned through trial and error that I really, really love a certain kind of horror movie, and I tried to fill my month with them. I'm very much turning into Dana Gould's character in Tales of Halloween. I spent it with Jason, Freddy, Michael Myers, ghosts, monsters made by science, werewolves, and gothic murderers, not to mention actors like Cushing, Price, and Lee. My biggest discovery was an Amicus anthology from the '70s called The House that Dripped Blood, which is absolutely ridiculous, but awesome because it embraces the intrinsic camp of its stories. Also, I've never seen so many neckerchiefs. It's been so much fun to come here everyday and see what the community is talking about and watching. Thanks for rocking, everyone.

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    1. Werewolves -- like only a few werewolves? Or whole flocks of werewolves?

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    2. More than a few, less than flocks. Perhaps a family? Yes, a family of furries.

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    3. What I was laughing at with all the movies I watched I must of had at least 10 cats thrown at the camera in 10 different movies. I was getting sick of weak ass Cat Scares!

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    4. I actually had a conversation last night with the missus wondering how they get cats to hiss on command. But yeah, I've seen so many cats thrown in the last 31 days that I've been throwing ours around the house, just for fun. They like the ride.

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  15. Thank you so much F This Movie! for a great scary movie month! Unfortunately I didn't get to join in much towards the end of the month because of school (bleurgh), but as someone just getting into horror this month really gave me the push to go from 'occasional horror viewer' to 'absolute horror lover' (I'm pretty sure that's an official scale).

    I think my favorite two horrors of the month were 'Carrie' (which has also just become one of my favorite movies of all time hands down. That movie worked on me on so many different levels), and 'The House of the Devil,' which really scared the shit out of me. Also, 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' and 'Frankenstein' were awesome. After Dracula and Frankenstein I'm starting to understand what JB means about Universal Monster land.

    Oh, also 'The Thing.' I am going to love that movie. I promise. Next time I will not start it at ten o'clock at night and struggle deliriously through it. As a positive though, I think this is the only movie ever that has given me nightmares. Or maybe that was just the movie. I COULDN'T TELL.

    With school and all cock-blocking my horror consumption, it's not going to stop here. By next October I hope to be a 'competent horror fan' (it's a thing). In fact, I think I'm going to celebrate the end of exams with The Exorcist...

    Thanks for turning me onto so much great stuff guys! It's been fun.

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  16. Happy Halloween to all!

    Although I have been listening to the podcast for 2 years now, this was my first real Scary movie month and I have really enjoyed it. Here is the list of movies I have seen this month http://www.imdb.com/list/ls079509202/ . Thanks a lot for all the great recommendations! Thanks to the podcast I’ve seen “Let the right one in” (which was my favorite), “The Woman in Black” and “I Am a Ghost” (thanks to Chaybee for that one). I already can’t wait for next year…

    My Top 10:
    1 The Thing
    2 Evil Dead II
    3 Shaun of the Dead
    4 The Shining
    5 Halloween
    6 Psycho
    7 Dawn of the Dead
    8 An American Werewolf in London
    9 Jaws
    10 It Follows

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    1. Dragpad, much respect, thanks! Hope you dug it. I forgot to mention to all F Heads that my favorite Horror movie of last year (or was it the year before?) and what I consider as the modern day Horror indie masterpiece, "Pieces Of Talent" is being streamed for free on their website only today, Halloween.

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    2. Yeah "I Am a Ghost" is really good. It's great to see such a different take on a classic kind of story. Thanks for the recommendation! I think I've missed the free stream but I'll try to check it out anyway.

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    3. Absolutely! If you're a Horror film fan, POT is a must and I only wish I got paid to spread the word about this film.

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  17. This was a really fun Scary Movie Month. Thanks to everyone for making it even more fun with your comments and 7 word reviews. Happy Halloween! I'm sad it's almost over but I get to see Burnt tomorrow so yay for me???

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  18. This was my first Scary Movie Month and I really had a great time. Started rather slow with some mediocre titles but had a strong end run.
    Tried to watch as much new (first viewing) titles as possible. The one that got to me the most was 'The Babadook'. Other films that I really loved were 'In the Mouth of Madness', 'Return of the Living Dead', 'Thirst', '[Rec]' and 'Horror of Dracula.

    I also got a chance to see the original King Kong on the big screen, this has always been one of my favorite films and seeing it in a theater always enhances the experience.

    Finally watched the Shining for SMM and really liked it, but it was impossible to live up to expecations build up over the past years. Will most likely rewatch it very soon.

    For this final night I'm just watching some classics, Halloween, Evil Dead II and Scream (maybe something else if I'm up for it).

    Favorite Scary Movies
    1 Alien
    2 The Terminator
    3 The Descent
    4 Evil Dead II
    5 Shaun of the Dead
    6 Dawn of the Dead
    7 Halloween
    8 A Nightmare on Elm Street
    9 King Kong
    10 Pitch Black

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  19. My picks for the last week of #ScaryMovieMonth:

    Best new-to-me movie: Halloween (1978)
    Worst new-to-me movie: Cam2cam (2014)

    Best movie I’d seen before: Phantom of the Opera (1925)
    Worst movie I’d seen before: Sleepwalkers (1992) (Even though I do kinda like it)

    New horror icon: The lizard man from Thinner (1996)

    The so-bad-it’s-good award: Head of the Family (1996)

    Most over-the-top performance: Sammi Curr from Trick or Treat (1986)

    Best final girl: Kimberly Crossman from Deathgasm (2015)

    As for the month as a whole, the big “winner” was Housebound. I absolutely loved it, and I can totally see it becoming a Halloween favorite. But, yeah, thanks to everybody for making this month a lot of fun. Also thanks to the FTM crew for the multiple shout-outs on the podcast this month. I was most flattered.

    My top five personal faves (in no particular order):

    Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
    Bride of Frankenstein
    Christine
    Army of Darkness
    Tremors

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    1. Hahaha, look how sleepy I was when I posted this last night. OF COURSE I've seen Halloween before. What I was trying (and failing) to do was cross out Phantom and replace it with Halloween, like the girl in Unfriended who keeps typing one thing and then changing it. I suppose the "best" new-to-me movie of the week would be Proxy, even though it's less horror and more a total depression-fest.

      Happy stuff-your-face-with-candy day, everyone!

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  20. Mine:

    1-The Thing
    2-The Exorcist
    3-Halloween
    4-Jaws
    5-The Shining
    6-Dawn of the Dead
    7-Poltergeist
    8-Deliverance
    9-Night of the Living Dead
    10-The Descent

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  21. I saw Razorback and Road Games projected in 35mm last night as part of an all night movie marathon. I tapped out at three o'clock just after the Loved Ones started as my companion was getting tired and I didn't want to stay on alone. A great end to a great month.

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  22. Great job everybody - a blast as usual - to echo what Patrick said in an earlier podcast, I remember the first couple times I was kinda relieved for it to be over, now I'm always a little sad to see it go! I only watched 24 movies this month which was a bit of a letdown - my plan was to really hit my un-watched horror blu-rays and I got 14 of them in. A lot of ones I was hoping to watch hit the wayside though - Psycho II and III, Nightbreed, House of Wax 3D, The Final Destination franchise - ah well, better luck next year!

    My Horror Top 10 in partially particular order:

    Jaws
    The Fly
    The Thing
    Let the Right One In
    Don't Look Now
    Under the Skin
    Alien
    Rosemary's Baby
    A Nightmare on Elm Street
    Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

    Ah, who am I kidding - a lot of that list could change on any given Sunday and I'm sure I'm forgetting something!

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  23. This SSM has been amazing. I had a blast watching 68 horror movies this month. My wife is glad its over, she isn't what you would call a "fan" of horror. Haha But, even still, we watched a large amount of films together. Frequently, I would be watching something on the laptop with headphones, on one end of the couch, while she watched Seventh Heaven reruns on the TV.

    Highlights for this year: Deathgasm, Tales of Halloween, Bone Tomahawk, Black Death,

    Lowest Points: Reel Horror, ABCs of Death 2, Paranormal Diaries: Clophill, Amityville Death House, Ants, A Crack in the Floor, The Vatican Tapes, Deathbed: The Bed That Eats, Black Waters of Echo's Pond.

    This year I didn't make it out to any special cinema events, I don't think that there was much to get out for around here, though I do regret missing Goodnight Mommy when it rolled through.
    This year I experimented with VOD for the first time, I've never rented anything digitally before, and that was an interesting experience. I prefer physical media by FAR, but it was nice to see Tales of Halloween with a group of people who had never seen it (we watched it the day after it was released on VOD as part of our marathon.)

    My top ten will be different by lunchtime, but here's my up to the moment top 10 horror films:

    1: Re-Animator
    2: Dawn of the Dead
    3: Alien
    4: Halloween
    5: The Thing
    6: Hellraiser
    7: Phantom of the Opera
    8: The Exorcist
    9: The Babadook
    10: Insidious (No shame, I freaking love Insidious, it's what I want in a "haunted house" movie)

    I love Scary Movie Month, I cannot wait to do it all again next year!

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    1. You should never feel ashamed for loving Insidious.

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  24. Sad to see #SMM come to a close. But I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm a bit exhausted by it. But I'm glad I got to revisit some favorites and catch a few classics for the first time (Rosemary's Baby...my god.). But, as long as we're listing our favorites, here I go (as far as my definition of horror goes, I'd love to put American Psycho and The Guest in here, but I don't see them as horror):

    1. Alien
    2. The Shining
    3. The Thing
    4. The Exorcist
    5. It Follows
    6. Halloween
    7. Scream
    8. We Are Still Here
    9. You're Next
    10. Jaws

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  25. Just woke up after attending last night's/this morning's 'A Nite To Dismember' Nitehawk Cinema Halloween marathon. Great food (free beer and breakfast), great costumes, great flicks, great treats (won TWO FREE SCREAM FACTORY BLU-RAYS! :-)). The highlight of the night was the secret showing of director Joe Bego's follow-up to "Almost Human," 2015's The Mind's Eye, currently hitting the festival circuit. Check out this clip (warning: NSFW violent conclusion). After 10 min. the movie had to be stopped because Begos' personal request to play the movie as loudly as possible crashed Nitehawk's audio system, forcing a delay and eventual replay with the sound lowered (though Steve Moore's wall-to-wall electronic soundtrack sounded plenty loud to me). What "Turbo Kid" is to 80's post-apocalyptic movies "The Mind's Eye" is to David Cronenberg's "Scanners": an homage that looks/sounds like the genuine article, right down to the ugly-looking logo of the institute at the center of the intrigue. Per Begos' representative (who bought everyone in attendance a beer), the director wanted to make the sequel/follow-up to "Scanners" that he feels the actual "Scanners" sequels didn't live up to. Personally I feel "The Mind's Eye" has some shortcomings in the casting of its leads and that the mental powers are too much trouble when a simple ax or gun seems to do the trick better. For a low-budget film that sets its story in the early 90's (which makes it feel closer to Cronenberg's decade of body horror exploits) the action is decent and the deaths/gore off-the-charts groovy, which "Scanners 2 & 3" skimped on. Another unannounced highlight: 2015's The Chickening, a five minute short in which "The Shining" is retold as a five minute CG-enhanced chicken tale. Maybe it was the 7AM starting time, but "The Chickening" really killed with the 80% of the sold out crowd that hung out until the very end to watch "Scream" afterward.

    Speaking of Scream and the rest of the movies, Wes' movie didn't rock my boat (I hate the loud music and obnoxious stingers, plus the convoluted story and dopey characters haven't aged well). Considering everyone knows how it ends I'm amazed how easy it is to buy Ulrich and Lillard (who overacts like a motherfucker) as nice boys. It's like how we all still refer to the lead character of "Sleepaway Camp" as Angela instead of... you know. Poltergeist's first act is a lot looser, funnier and Spielbergian than I remembered, especially when Jerry Goldsmith shamelessly apes John Williams. You really get to know and like the Freeling family, although the other kids not trapped in the TV are conveniently sent away for large swaths. Having just watched "Lifeforce" the day before I'm now convinced Hooper didn't direct "Poltergeist" and/or was relegated to beard for Spielberg, whose style and directorial mise-en-scene are all over "Poltergeist." Mario Bava's Bay of Blood is nuts, a slasher-on-steroids kill fest in which truly nobody is safe from the wrath of the story (and the wholly inappropriate music) taking unlikable characters to all sorts of places. Last and certainly least, William Castle's House on Haunted Hill won over the crowd with its sublime cheesiness and Vincent Price being a conniving and fun bastard.

    It's my second time attending 'A Nite to Dismember (and last unless I find a job soon), and once again Nitehawk Cinema proves itself worthy of NYC cinephile admiration and what's left of my money. ;-) :'(

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  26. Had a great month! Thanks everybody!

    Best of the month: Sorority House Massacre II.
    Runners-up: Hard to Die, Dagon, The Tenant.
    Worst: Black Eyed Children: Let Me In
    Really stuck with me for some reason: All the live-action Scooby-Doo movies.

    My top ten horror movies:
    10. The WNUF Halloween Special
    09. From Dusk Till Dawn
    08. Angst
    07. The Birds
    06. Cemetary Man
    05. Humanoids from the Deep
    04. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1 & 2
    03. Hausu
    02. Friday the 13th Part III
    01. The Return of the Living Dead

    Runners-up: Suicide Club, Antichrist, The Long Island Cannibal Massacre, Bad Ronald, Maniac (1934), The Hand, Rats: Night of Terror, Zombies: The Beginning.
    Best ever made, though not my favorite: The Shining.

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    1. Sadly I fell asleep last night trying to finish off the month with Return of the Living Dead (for the first time) but I was really loving it - it's rare that I laugh out loud watching something alone but I was giggling to myself like crazy - in the running to be my favourite horror-comedy for sure.

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    2. You should really finish it sooner rather than later Sol. While I don't love the first half of Return of the Living Dead, I think the last 15 minutes are something special, and the final moments put a perfect stamp on the rest of the film.

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    3. Thanks Brian - on your advice I finished it last night and though it sounds like I might've liked the first half a bit more than you (the comedy just hits my sweet spot for some reason - Clu and James Karen are brilliant and Thom Mathews actually keeps up with them nicely) you're right that the last bit and the ending are amazing. So glad I finally discovered this - are the sequels any good?

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  27. What a great month of horror this has been! People often talk about how much garbage there is in horror. That is true, but let it never be forgotten what an incredible amount of great films there. I saw tons of wonderful new discoveries this month! Here's my top 10 new discoveries for me this scary movie month!

    1) Psycho 2
    2) The Funhouse
    3) Under the Skin
    4) Spider Baby
    5) The House by the Cemetery
    6) Dracula Has Risen From the Grave
    7) Theater of Blood
    8) The Pit and the Pendulum
    9) Tales of Halloween
    10) The Beyond

    And now, my top 10 Horror films of all time! Other than the first two… subject to change in 30 seconds.

    1) Fright Night (1985)
    2) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
    3) The Wolfman (1941)
    4) Halloween (1978)
    5) Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
    6) Frankenstein (1931)
    7) Dawn of the Dead (1978)
    8) The Fly (1986)
    9) Army of Darkness (1993)
    10) Psycho 2 (1983)

    Thanks to FThisMovie for an awesome scary movie month

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    1. I have to watch Psycho 2. It's been on my list forever, but I keep forgetting to watch it. Probably because I'm dumb.

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    2. I had the DVD from Netflix almost the whole month before I finally got around to it at the end of the month. I just never felt like it. But once I did I completely fell in love with it. Its terrific.

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  28. I have to admit, I woke up this morning and felt a tinge of sadness. No more scary movies. I mean, it's not like I can't watch scary movies during the other 11 months of the year. I will. But it's not the same. It lacks ... I don't know ... purpose. It was all over far too soon. Thanks, FThisMovie for an awesome October. I had so much fun.

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  29. Fun little addendum: My mother-in-law participated in Scary Movie Month this year (although she only posted her seven word reviews on my FB page, not here, but still). It was fun having a family member along for the ride.

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  30. This was my first SMM and it was great fun. I made it to 41 movies and cheated with including one TV series, which was kind of difficult, because my husband isn´t very interested in movies (the only real bummer in our relationship), let alone horror movies. So I had to defend my seat in front of our big TV, because I hate to watch movies on our smaller TV or on my Laptop.
    Writing 7 word reviews sometimes was frustrating because I had great ones in german in my head that sadly didn´t translated well into 7 english words, so I´m not that happy with every one of those that made it to the comments, but who cares.

    My actual all time Top Ten in no particular order:
    Carrie (1976)
    The Howling
    The Thing (1982)
    The Descent
    Halloween (1978)
    The Exorcist
    Exorcist III
    Dressed to kill
    Dawn of the dead (2004)
    Poltergeist (1982)

    All in all it was great fun to watch all those movies, to read all those comments and 7 word reviews and feeling as a part of this community.

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  31. I had a blast during my first SMM this year! My only regret was not being able to carve out more time for watching movies. I seriously don't know how some of you watch so much in one day.

    Here is my top 10 scary movie list:
    1. Psycho
    2. The Shining
    3. Jaws
    4. Scream
    5. The Cabin in the Woods
    6. Halloween
    7. Army of Darkness
    8. Se7en
    9. The Evil Dead
    10. The Funhouse

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  32. 1. The House of the Devil
    2. Re-animator
    3. Dawn of the Dead (original)
    4. The Inkeepers
    5. Trick r Treat
    6. Dagon
    7. You're Next
    8. A Nightmare on Elm Street
    9. Starry Eyes
    10. Blue Velvet

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  33. 1. The House of the Devil
    2. Re-animator
    3. Dawn of the Dead (original)
    4. The Inkeepers
    5. Trick r Treat
    6. Dagon
    7. You're Next
    8. A Nightmare on Elm Street
    9. Starry Eyes
    10. Blue Velvet

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