🎃 Horrortober 2024 🎃

Horrotober ‘24 is here! I made it through 21 movies last year, hoping for the same or better this year.

1. Speak No Evil (2024)

10/1/23

Speak No Evil was a decent theater experience to kick off Horrortober. James McAvoy is amazing as always and was by far the best part of this movie. Mackenzie Davis was also great. Unfortunately, this one fell a bit flat for me. Without getting spoilery, the foreshadowing was pretty on-the-nose so by the time we got to the reveal it was pretty obvious what was going on. Still, McAvoy succeeds in making you feel uncomfortable the entire time.

2. It’s a Wonderful Knife (2023)

10/4/23

I’m a huge fan of Happy Death Day and idea of time jumps/loops in horror. It’s a Wonderful Knife came onto my radar as a similar type of movie and looked intriguing. I might’ve had too high of expectations but I didn’t love this one, it felt sort of all over the place (maybe that was the point?) and I felt my mind start to wander at times. It was fun though, and Justin Long is hilariously awful. The kills weren’t too crazy but some of the scenes were really cool, just with how they were shot. I’d probably check this one out again around Christmas time.

3. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

10/4/23

Scary Stories is another movie (and book) I hear about from time to time but never watched. I’m a sucker for these 80’s style movies and this was better than I expected, with some added humor. To me, this feels like a scarier version of Jumanji. I expect the “Red Room” scene is pretty iconic so I’ll need to make it a priority to read the book now. Overall, an enjoyable experience that kept me entertained.

4. Bride of Chucky (1998)

10/5/23

I’ve had a soft spot for Bride of Chucky for as long as I can remember. It might have been the first Chucky movie I ever saw? I know I’d seen bits and pieces of Child’s Play at an early age but never watched it from start to finish. I love the 90s soundtrack, and anytime I hear Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie I think of this movie. I think it’s a classic that still holds up, but does drag a bit in the middle.

5. Slugs (1988)

10/6/23

Slugs was new to me this year; I’d never heard of it. It got high praise on a random podcast (or maybe reddit?) and I decided to check it out for Horrotober this year. Deadly slugs invade a town, chaos ensues. It was a campy 80s movie and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t anything I’d go raving about.

6. Abigail (2024)

10/8/23

Another new movie for me here. I hadn’t heard much about Abigail but saw it on my temporarily-renewed Peacock subscription (and I’ve been a big fan of Dan Stevens since seeing The Guest). This might be the sleeper hit of the year. I absolutely loved this movie, it has it all: comedy, gore, suspense, you name it. Can’t wait to watch this one again.

7. The First Omen (2024)

10/9/23

I only vaguely remember the 2006 remake of The Omen (and have not seen the original) but know the general story and seeing The First Omen all over the front page of Hulu got me curious enough to check it out. I think I’m getting bored with religious horror but did enjoy the somewhat expected ending (since it’s a prequel).

8. Terrifier (2016)

10/10/23

I’ve seen Terrifier a couple times now, in chunks, but hadn’t yet sat through it start to finish. The shock-value wears off quick and this movie turns into a bore. I maybe just don’t “get” Art the Clown. The reviews of Terrifier 3 is what brought me back and I can’t quite say I like this movie. The soundtrack though, is top-notch and could have that on as background music all day.

9. Sting (2024)

10/11/23

Sting hooked me with the movie poster and the synopsis about a spider that grows to become a large monster had me excited. Then it got added to Hulu and jumped right to the front of my list. Unfortunately, it was somewhat of a disappointment and kind of lost me in the middle. I think it’d be worth revisiting in the future.

10. Terrifier 2 (2022)

10/12/23

Terrifier 2 is definitely better than the first. This time around there’s at least a story. You can tell they had a larger budget this time around with a much better cast. The soundtrack, as expected, is phenomenal. The gore is cranked up to 11 and the effects are impressive. Art the Clown and his new “sidekick” (?) are still so strange to me and I feel like I’m just not getting something about these movies.

11. Poltergeist (1982)

10/12/23

Another classic I’d not yet seen. I really enjoyed Poltergeist and it’s goofy special effects. I can see this one being added to the regular October rotation.

12. Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

10/14/23

I hadn’t seen Freddy vs Jason since it came out and it sort of held a special place in my heart, probably due to nostalgia reasons. I knew I didn’t love the movie, yet I was starting to miss it. Upon re-watch, this movie is really dumb. The premise is ridiculous and has tons of issues but it’s still fairly enjoyable and you’re a fan of either Nightmare or Friday.

13. Mr. Crocket (2024)

10/15/23

Mr. Crocket was a spontaneous decision after just hearing about it landing on Hulu. I didn’t know much going in, but it felt very original and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It almost plays out like a thriller but then the horror hits with the gore. This is another one I’d like to revisit again.

14. The Craft (1996)

10/18/23

I’ve seen The Craft a few times now and it always holds up. Witchcraft has always been my favorite sub-genre of horror so I always gravitate back to this classic. With a phenomenal cast and great effects, I’ll always recommend this one.

15. Late Night with the Devil (2023)

10/19/23

Late Night with the Devil could end up my favorite movie this month. I put this on as soon as it was available on Hulu. This one feels truly original and nothing in recent memory is even comparable (though I’m sure there are some obvious influences here I’m not thinking of). This is one of the few occassions where I could not peel my eyes from the screen; I was enthralled.

16. They Live (1988)

10/20/23

They Live was a strange movie that I didn’t really follow, or enjoy. I thought it was pretty boring, save for a few scenes. I mostly wanted to check it out because John Carpenter, but oh well.

17. Videodrome (1983)

10/22/23

I’ve wanted to see Videodrome for a while now and finally decided to pull the trigger. It’s Cronenberg so I knew there’d be body horror and that it’d be super weird. I was not let down on either account. This movie is wild and reading the Letterboxd reviews after made it even better. WTF. Pretty solid movie though.

18. The Fly (1986)

10/23/23

Keeping the Cronenberg train going, I saw The Fly was streaming and decided to check it out next. Another new movie for me, never seen it (or the original). This movie starts out tame enough and then goes right off the rails. Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis steal the show as you’d expect; it’s no wonder this is considered a classic. I loved this one.

19. The Ritual (2017)

10/26/23

The Ritual had been on my radar for a while. I love folk horror and have heard good things about Adam Nevill’s novel of the same name. I shouldn’t have slept on this one for so long, this movie is genuinely creepy. This movie is another winner.

20. Don’t Move (2024)

10/26/23

Don’t Move came out within the last coulple weeks and was a spontaneous decision. A woman hiking in the woods is trying to get away from a serial killer after he drugs her with a slow-acting paralyzing agent. I love the idea, but didn’t love the execution.

21. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)

10/29/23

I bought Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City as soon as it came out. It took me until now to finish it. For some reason I could not get past the first 30 minutes of this one without losing interest and scrolling on my phone. I made myself power through it this year and I’m glad I did. The reviews are mixed but I did really end up enjoying this one. I love the video-gamey feel and the soundtrack is great. Lots of great monsters and nostalgia from the games (i.e. the Spencer Mansion).

22. Hagazussa (2017)

10/30/23

While I do love folk horror - I’m not sure I have the patience for ultra-slow burn movies. Hagazussa is very slow and intentional in its story telling. Here we follow a woman descending into madness but we’re not given much detail or reason. I’m sure I missed a ton but this movie has some really creepy moments and is not for the faint of heart.

23. Time Cut (2024)

10/30/23

Time Cut was another spontaneous decision. I had planned to finish the month with the OG Halloween but saw this got released on 10/30, and knew it’d be a fun one like Happy Death Day. While not as good as HDD, this was a fun movie with a fantastic old-school soundtrack. It just felt a little too rushed for me, it could have been longer.

I got through 2 more movies this year than last year, but it feels like I had way less time. I think 20-25 is probably the max I can do but I really love doing this in October as it’s a great chance to make myself watch some movies I’d been wanting to see for so long. On to the next one!