Horror Movie a Day 2020

[SJP]

What am I doing here? Haven't I vanished for months at a time?

Yes, yes I have. Life in 2020 has been insane, the pandemic one of the least crazy things about it.  The main reasons are twofold:

1. Three children, all 3 or younger. Very difficult to record in that environment, so OMB is still on hiatus for a little bit.

2. I've also been a contributing writer to Chilling Tales for Dark Nights, and should be selling a book of some of my collected stories soon, which may (or may not) be of interest to anyone who is taking part in this (if there is interest, I'll give a link when available).

But wow, time for the 11th one of these, and hoo boy, I am honestly not sure if I'll be completing it this year. It's going to be tough, because even though it seems like a good time to be indoors, I'm still busy. But for those interested, and haven't done it before (or need a refresher on the rules), here goes:

1. 31 days, 31 movies or TV specials. Begins midnight, your local time, ends 11:59 your local time. Movies can run over the end time if it is begun before then.
2. If you miss a day, you can make it up before the 31st is over. However, you cannot "front load," watching several days ahead.
3. Horror is very widely defined, so even if it's a horror comedy or a Hannibal Lecter thriller, it counts. However, "so bad it's scary" does not count on its own. The Happening qualifies, but After Earth does not, regardless of how bad they both may be.
4. Watching riffed versions are not only allowable, but encouraged.
5. Reviews are also encouraged!

That's all I can think of at the moment. Enjoy!

1. The Strangeness (1985/1980)
2. Demon Wind (1989)
3. Skinless (aka The Ballad of Skinless Pete) (2013)
4. Don't Look in the Basement (aka The Forgotten) (1972)
5. Rifftrax (Non-Live, Three Riffer) House on Haunted Hill (1959/Forgot Riffing Date)
6. Asylum (1973)
7. The Bat People (aka It Lives By Night) (1975)
8. Funeral Home (1980)
9. The Carpenter (1988)
10. Rifftrax: The Curse of Bigfoot (Date?)
11. Hubie Halloween (2020)
12. After Dusk, They Come (2012)
13. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
14. Mr. Boogedy (1986)
15. Bride of Boogedy (1987)

[ScottotD]

Seeing a Prince of Darkness/Escape from NY double feature tonight!

[RoninFox]

I always want to do this, but I always end up falling behind. Might try and start tonight though. Been trying to catch up on Last Drive-In episodes, and this might be the excuse to knock those out.

Then again, the next episode I have is Cannibal Holocaust, so that's rough.

[Compound]

Am not dead.  And I did not forget.

1) Santa Jaws (2018) (Mystic Shark imbued with the spirit of Christmas) *
2) The Babysitter (2017) (Demonic cult)*
3) Witchboard (1986) (Ouija boards)*
4) Inseminoid (1981) (Thinly disguised Alien ripoff)*
5) Gutterballs (2008) (Psycho)*

[ScottotD]

the next episode I have is Cannibal Holocaust, so that's rough.

Recommendation to avoid

[RoninFox]

the next episode I have is Cannibal Holocaust, so that's rough.

Recommendation to avoid

It does give me pause that this is the only episode of the series that has a trigger warning and they made the commentary/cutaway segments viewable separately so you can hear about the movie without watching it.

[stansimpson]

I saw GhostWatch (1992) last night. It's a made-for-tv BBC horror movie shot in faux-documentary style. It came very highly recommended, so I decided to check it out knowing only those details and very hesitant about something that doesn't sound like it would age well.

My spoiler-free thoughts:

The first hour or so was fine. Sometimes a little hokey, but enjoyable enough. The opening footage was maybe the strongest segment (aside from the host who just nails his role). I'll admit I considered turning it off a couple times but knew that was me just being impatient. But, oh man, the last 20+mins was so much scarier than I thought it was ever going to be! I was also using a receiver that decodes audio into surround, so I was constantly hearing things all around me. I can't remember the last movie where I hid my eyes from watching, but this was one of those times.

Maybe it was because I was watching alone in my house late at night with all the lights off, but I was really spooked for the rest of the evening. My bedroom is on the opposite side of the house from the entertainment room. I wasn't alone technically, because my 2 year old son was asleep in his room, so that meant I couldn't just throw on all the lights and play music.

It seems very ahead of its time. Wouldn't be surprised if Paranormal Activity was a direct inspiration for it. I would put it up there with REC, which is a solid compliment. Glad I watched it. I was 10 years old at the time this would've first aired on TV. I was trying to imagine watching it at that age. There's no question it would've absolutely scarred me in that special way that sticks with you for a lifetime.

It's available to watch on Archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/Ghostwatch

Very highly recommended! Way more terrifying than it has a right to be imo. Not sure if I can keep up but figured it's worth sharing.

[ScottotD]

1. Prince of Darkness
2. The Descent
3. Happy Death Day 2 U
4. Quiet Place

[Compound]

Yeah, Ghostwatch was very well done. And in the repeated viewings you can play "Spot the Pipes"

[ScottotD]

5. Oculus
6. The Woman in Black
7. The Orphanage
8. The Others
9. It Follows
10. Evil Dead Remake
11. Zombeavers

Pretty much all repeats except Quiet Place and Happy Death Day 2 U, my anxiety has been pretty high lately so not in the mood for intensity