Horror Challenge (Official, October 2020)

[psychotronicbeatnik]

I crashed almost right at midnight...I even had a third Master of Horror TV movie (Tobe Hooper's The Apartment Complex) queued up to watch if I could've kept going but I'm just getting too old to do all-nighters nowadays...

I hear you - I intended to watch Mad Monster Party as my grand finale but I could barely keep my eyes open through the last two Chaneys - no reflection on the films themselves.

I mean--I didn't want Flavo to get a knife to the back from Mighty but I was rooting for 300 just to make Max happy. I have to live with the guy and all the curses that come out when it get that close.

I also intended to stay up and start a movie at midnight that would count for both October Horror and November Noir but I fell asleep. All-nighters are on my Murtaugh List too.

I've really enjoyed your inside dope on Max this month. Who knew he could be such a monster?

[psychotronicbeatnik]

Uh oh. Two modes now into November. Horror Momentum and Horror Detox. Horror Momentum is when you've watched so much damn horror for the October challenge that you've jacked up your dopamine system and can't stop watching movies even though the challenge has ended. The only path forward is Horror Detox... you got to go cold turkey until Thanksgiving (when you can get some hot turkey). Then you've officially beaten the addiction.

I returned all my unwatched DVDs to the library. The time for murder and insanity has ended. It's a new season. Different feel. Gotta watch something autumnal.

I almost always have a pile of remainders that I never got around to in a challenge and they usually form the seed of the list for the next time i do that challenge. like you, I rarely want to keep watching the same thing. I'm not doing a challenge this month so i could easily continue with more horror but I will probably wait a week or two before i really consider watching one. But to me, murder, the macabre and mayhem feel very autumnal - my favorite season!

[hurluberlu]

9. The X-Files S5E19: Folie a Deux (Kim Manners, 1998) 7-
10. Cat People (Paul Schrader, 1982) 5
11. Happy Death Day (Christopher Landon, 2017) 5+
12. Dead Calm (Phillip Noyce, 1989) 7-
13. Alien: Covenant (Ridley Scott, 2017) [Rewatch] 5+ (=)

[flavo5000]

Uh oh. Two modes now into November. Horror Momentum and Horror Detox. Horror Momentum is when you've watched so much damn horror for the October challenge that you've jacked up your dopamine system and can't stop watching movies even though the challenge has ended. The only path forward is Horror Detox... you got to go cold turkey until Thanksgiving (when you can get some hot turkey). Then you've officially beaten the addiction.

I returned all my unwatched DVDs to the library. The time for murder and insanity has ended. It's a new season. Different feel. Gotta watch something autumnal.

I almost always have a pile of remainders that I never got around to in a challenge and they usually form the seed of the list for the next time i do that challenge. like you, I rarely want to keep watching the same thing. I'm not doing a challenge this month so i could easily continue with more horror but I will probably wait a week or two before i really consider watching one. But to me, murder, the macabre and mayhem feel very autumnal - my favorite season!

See, I just find horror that fits whatever challenge is going on

With the unofficial challenge this month, it's pretty much "anything that isn't on TSZDT". Or you could throw on some horror noir or Mexican horror.

[maxwelldeux]

Uh oh. Two modes now into November. Horror Momentum and Horror Detox. Horror Momentum is when you've watched so much damn horror for the October challenge that you've jacked up your dopamine system and can't stop watching movies even though the challenge has ended. The only path forward is Horror Detox... you got to go cold turkey until Thanksgiving (when you can get some hot turkey). Then you've officially beaten the addiction.

I returned all my unwatched DVDs to the library. The time for murder and insanity has ended. It's a new season. Different feel. Gotta watch something autumnal.

I almost always have a pile of remainders that I never got around to in a challenge and they usually form the seed of the list for the next time i do that challenge. like you, I rarely want to keep watching the same thing. I'm not doing a challenge this month so i could easily continue with more horror but I will probably wait a week or two before i really consider watching one. But to me, murder, the macabre and mayhem feel very autumnal - my favorite season!

See, I just find horror that fits whatever challenge is going on

With the unofficial challenge this month, it's pretty much "anything that isn't on TSZDT". Or you could throw on some horror noir or Mexican horror.

I sometimes do that with documentaries... I'm just planning on flavo5000-ing the Documentary challenge, and I don't want to burn out too quickly so I'm not doing that for Unofficial.

[maxwelldeux]

And with that... let's make this final call. OP is updated - challenge standings accurate as of this writing, Bonus Challenges accurate as of earlier this morning. If you have any corrections or final viewings, let's get them in.

Until when do I have to submit my last few watches?
It’s late here and want to go to sleep. But if you’re closing the call soon I will just post there titles for now and write reviews another time.

I'm assuming you've posted them already...

[maxwelldeux]

67. Tales from the Crypt: The Switch (1990 / Arnold Schwarzenegger) 6/10
68. Underwater (2020 / William Eubank) 3/10
69. Messe noire (1928 / unknown) 2/10 Decades of Death 1920s
A Visit from the Incubus (2001 / Anna Biller) 3/10
Le nécrophile (2004 / Philippe Barassat)
68. Possessor (2020 / Brandon Cronenberg) 7/10
69. Doctor Sleep (2019 / Mike Flanagan) 8/10

FYI, it looks like you misnumbered there at the end so I have you at 71.

[maxwelldeux]

OP Updated with these most recent viewings. I'll close out the challenge and post final standings in 24 hours.

[Lonewolf2003]

And with that... let's make this final call. OP is updated - challenge standings accurate as of this writing, Bonus Challenges accurate as of earlier this morning. If you have any corrections or final viewings, let's get them in.

Until when do I have to submit my last few watches?
It’s late here and want to go to sleep. But if you’re closing the call soon I will just post there titles for now and write reviews another time.

I'm assuming you've posted them already...

I did yes.

[psychotronicbeatnik]

Uh oh. Two modes now into November. Horror Momentum and Horror Detox. Horror Momentum is when you've watched so much damn horror for the October challenge that you've jacked up your dopamine system and can't stop watching movies even though the challenge has ended. The only path forward is Horror Detox... you got to go cold turkey until Thanksgiving (when you can get some hot turkey). Then you've officially beaten the addiction.

I returned all my unwatched DVDs to the library. The time for murder and insanity has ended. It's a new season. Different feel. Gotta watch something autumnal.

I almost always have a pile of remainders that I never got around to in a challenge and they usually form the seed of the list for the next time i do that challenge. like you, I rarely want to keep watching the same thing. I'm not doing a challenge this month so i could easily continue with more horror but I will probably wait a week or two before i really consider watching one. But to me, murder, the macabre and mayhem feel very autumnal - my favorite season!

See, I just find horror that fits whatever challenge is going on

With the unofficial challenge this month, it's pretty much "anything that isn't on TSZDT". Or you could throw on some horror noir or Mexican horror.

I do a lot of that too. It's why I don't mind the decade challenges at all - they are easy to reshape into whatever challenge I want them to be and they still leave room to explore other sub-genres. I was tempted by the Mexican challenge this month - the 50s-70s Phillippino horrors I watched last month put me in the mood for some Mexican horror, but I also need a break from challenges, since I tend to max out my free time based on whatever challenge I'm in (I do the same with running and races, but I haven't been running any races for the past couple of years). I've been neglecting my reading so I'm going to concentrate on that for the next couple of months. I just finished a best of collection of Joe Lansdale and next up is Bubba and the Cosmic Blood Suckers. Don't worry, I'll be back to keep you on your toes for the sci/fi challenge (although it's almost you pushing me to challenge myself harder).

[maxwelldeux]

And thus we declare the official end of the 2020 Horror Challenge. Thanks to all who participated and made this one HELL of a busy challenge! And congrats to flavo5000 for doing what flavo5000 does. But first and foremost, there's an open bonus challenge...

Bonus Challenge Five: Your Personal Halloween Film Festival

Thanks to everyone who played in this! It was fun seeing the themes chosen and what films people watched. From zombies to monsters to movies for kids to a film franchise, there was great variety in what people chose. A specific shout-out to flavo5000 for running mini-festivals all month that were awesome to track. A specific demerit to adwest and I for somehow choosing 3 of the worst films I saw in October to be part of our festival. But two entries really stood out for awesomeness - congrats to Leopardi for the Death Puns theme, watching some of the best-titled films I've ever seen. And congrats also to OldAle1 for a rocking Rocktober theme, which not only seemed fun, but included a pretty awesome rating scale.

And since I'm sure a few of you are curious, a quick few final stats:

Total points: 3276 (350 above the next-busiest challenge)
Avg. points: 63
Median: 47
Zombies slain: 588
Points from Zombies: 1011

[Good_Will_Harding]

Thanks for hosting! I felt my competitive side coming out a bit so I was happy to make it into the upper triers of the finalists. Maybe I'll get past 100 views sometime, but this clearly wasn't the year. Maybe in 2021!

[outdoorcats]

Amazing work max!

[AssonFire]

67. Tales from the Crypt: The Switch (1990 / Arnold Schwarzenegger) 6/10
68. Underwater (2020 / William Eubank) 3/10
69. Messe noire (1928 / unknown) 2/10 Decades of Death 1920s
A Visit from the Incubus (2001 / Anna Biller) 3/10
Le nécrophile (2004 / Philippe Barassat)
68. Possessor (2020 / Brandon Cronenberg) 7/10
69. Doctor Sleep (2019 / Mike Flanagan) 8/10

FYI, it looks like you misnumbered there at the end so I have you at 71.

Oh yeah, should be 71.