Week 1: 1st - 7th

• 1. Alien (1979)

• I know, I haven't watched Alien until now. Embarrassing. Its a great film which impresses with the most gruesome creature designs that still look real (except maybe the baby xenomorph speeding through the canteen). Everything after that devolves into nerve-wracking escapes. Thank god Jones lives and doesnt go on the next adventure in Aliens (1986), please let the cat stay home. Its as legendary as promised, I don't have much else to contribute to the conversation outside, damn, so cool.

• 2. Psycho (1960)

• The thing is, I think I saw Psycho before, when I was ten or something. But back then I thought it was a boring old movie, black and white, yucky fake clunky blood. However, it honestly always shocks me how good some old films still are. It really shouldn't, people have been creative and interesting since Pythagoras made a math and vegetarianism cult. As murderous as Norman was, he's such a weird little guy I kind of get why no one suspected him of much until the end.

• 3. The Thing (1982)

• This was the movie I was most excited for on my list and it did not disappoint. This may be the best film of the month. Its always been too late for everyone in the movie, from the moment those Norwegians landed at their base. I learnt a little about some literary devices this week because of work, in particular, about irony. Situational irony, when the audience knows something the characters dont. Well, you'd likely say, we dont actually know more than them by much as the film goes on. Yeah, its kind of worse. Like, situational flashback irony or something. As the film wraps up, you recall all those times The Thing was just pretending to be a friend, a colleague, among them all, totally unnoticed.

• 4. Let The Right One In (2008)

• I was a bit of a "sweeb" back in the day. However, I did not venture very far into Swedish film. Now is the time. Like many say, its not a scary film, but its very deeply, horribly, depressing. The worst layer of fear.

• 5. Dawn Of The Dead (1978)

• Like the regular idiot that I am, I watched everything out of order and also did literally no research about anything Romero. Hardcore fans might say this is the blasphemous way, the incorrect way. Also, it doesn't really matter. Because I like being pleasantly surprised by how much things do not go according to my expectations. Dawn of the Dead is a capitalist nightmare, in that capitalism is the nightmare. And also the zombies. I think this might be one of the most liminal films I have seen, uncanny landscapes, landlocked to the dusty, crusty mall.

• 6. The Innocents (1961)

• The Innocents is a little long and tedious. It also has some of the strangest 19th century children, talking cryptically and freaking everyone out. We never do find out who the culprit is, an actual evil-doing phantom or something much, much worse that isnt there at all? This film has some amazing shots.

• 7. An American Werewolf In London (1981)

• An American Werewolf In London was a total disappointment for me. Outside the gore, the transformations, and some funny lines, there was almost nothing going on at all. Sorry to those who love the film.

Week 2: 8th - 14th

• 8. Bride Of Frankentstein (1935)

• Dr. Pretorius is hilariously evil and the Bride, though she appears for a minimum of 5 or 6 minutes, is awesome. She mostly darts around and screeches. Every time Pretorius says a new thing is his "only" weakness is also peak comedy to me.

• "Woman. Friend. Wife!"

• "I love dead...hate living"

• Me too, Monster of Frankenstein, me too.

• 9. Kwaidan (1964)

• Coming soon...

• 10. Eraserhead (1977)

• Lynch, innit.

• 11. The Return Of The Living Dead (1985)

• Coming soon...

• 12. Poltergeist (1982)

• I can see why this is a cult classic to many but I just couldn't get into it. As a child I'm sure I would have wept and peed myself.

• 13. Nosferatu (1922)

• A movie that turned a 100 this year! That is insane! Obviously its easy to say that its not scary anymore or impressive. But I do have to argue that Count Orlok is still a very creepy figure, especially when he approaches from the distance. The added plague subplot does not improve the situation.

• 14. Re-Animator (1985)

• Hilarious, a masterpiece. I liked pretty much everything about this movie even though it had a dead cat in it (it looks like a puppet, worry not). While I did like it a lot, the scene where Barbara Crampton's character is strapped down and naked, and literally assaulted by a disembodied head was kind of unwatchable. Its made worse by the fact that through In Search of Darkness (2019) I learnt that although Crampton does not outright state it, the scene was very exploitative and made her uncomfortable. A substantial amount of female nudity in film was not as consensual as may be first assumed, so theres that.

Week 3: 15th - 21st

• 15. Rosemary's Baby (1968)

• Marriage is always a bad idea, and so is an acting career. I wonder how much Polanski actually understood the horror of Rosemary's situation, people can be capable of imitating empathy and understanding when they are actually complete scum.

• 16. Day Of The Dead (1985)

• When Bub salutes Captain Rhodes? You go Bub. Yeah, fuck that other guy.

• 17. Peeping Tom (1960)

• Its kind of hard to believe that some characters are capable of acts that you watch happen anyway. Maybe it was so in Peeping Tom, because the protagonist almost seeks help. Still, the pretense of normalcy is a spooky thing in its own.

• 18. The Haunting (1963)

• I watched Haunting of Hill House a couple of years ago, and had neutral feelings about it. Not memorable at all. Maybe its another example of the superior original material. Well, thats kind of a lie because the book came first. Still, The Haunting makes room for the characters to completely unravel and fall apart amidst both supernatural and human horror.

• 19. Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers (1978)

• Such a bizarre film with a funky little score. Nancy is the best girlfriend to have during a alien invader epidemic. Also, the thing Brooke Adams does with her eyes is so crazy I thought it was some kind of wild special effect.

• 20. Suspiria (1977)

• A whole city feels imprisoning and dangerous. There are both gruesome and more lowkey deaths in this one, but every time, the chase is especially sinister. Though the story and performances are very good in Suspiria, the visual components were the highlight for me.

• 21. The Changeling (1980)

• A sad horror film. The revelation the Senator faces is especially haunting.

Week 4: 22nd - 28th

• 22. The Wicker Man (1973)

• I'm gonna be honest, everyone in this movie sucks. Yes, even the bohemian villagers. I cannot listen to how the penis and other phallic symbols are central to civilization anymore. Maybe they are, maybe theyre not. Organized religion is slowly killing me.

• 23. Hellraiser (1987)

• Annoyed, because I really wanted to like this film. Julia goes to extremes to save her husband's brother, who she had an affair with, because she's obsessed with him, I guess. But he sucks so bad...Julia, you were so evil for such a mediocre person...why.

• 24. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

• Its blasphemy time, because I expected more from A Nightmare on Elm Street. I no longer understand why I like certain 80s films and not others. I thought there may have been a formula, or details or something. I now realize its just that my brain is randomized and incoherent.

• 25. The Devil's Backbone (2001)

• Coming soon...

• 26. The Sixth Sense (1999)

• I'm sorry but I do not think that Shyamalan is the shit, and this is not even about what he did to Avatar. Even worse, I never liked Bruce Willis and this one did not change that. The dialogue was tedious and wooden.

• 27. The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1920)

• Coming soon...

• 28. Night Of The Living Dead (1968)

• Coming soon...

Week 5: 29th - 31st

• 29. The Witch (2015)

• Every time I forget that witches can be scary. Frequently, I am reminded. The general idea of witchcraft was ruined for me by The Crucible in high school. However, in this one, both the witch and the family are equally terrifying. Some of the best child-actor performances to date.

• 30. Demons (1985)

• Man, I'm kind of mixed on this one. Its hilarious because: theres a pimp who doesnt take shit, the demon transformations, and the vent-sneaking. But its also just trash, the story is barely existent, the characters are little but fodder, and most of the action is of average enjoyment. I'm leaning towards not that great.

• 31. Halloween (1978)

• Jamie Lee Curtis is such a good babysitter but she really needs to learn about double-tapping.

Final Ranking

Sources & References