It’s that time of year! Halloween is only a few brief weeks away. For the time being, for most horror fans, in October it’s as if the rest of the world is finally on our spooky wavelength. Fright flicks flood the multiplexes and our VOD services. Creepy decor of cut-out witches and stringy spider webs adorn every store we frequent. Pumpkin manages to find its way into EVERYTHING, and all is well in the world. Halloween season is also the perfect opportunity to take our favorite pastime of watching horror films and crank it up to 11. A lot of people do variations on 31 films for the 31 days of October, but I like to mix things up a bit. Or, you know…more specifically, make shit difficult for myself.

What do I mean by that? Last year for my “31 for 31,” I assigned a theme for each day of the week that I had to adhere to. For example, Witch Wednesdays meant the film I watched had to be – Yeah, you get it. This year I wanted to branch out a bit. I realized that most of the films I watch are generally from the 80s (with a sprinkling of late 70s). To push myself outside my norm, I’m donning this year’s adventure “31 for 31: Through the Decades Challenge”. Simply put, each day will correlate to a specific decade, and I must watch at least one film a day. No exceptions! Of course, I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I had to make a further set of rules for myself to ensure I’m getting lots of variety. Those rules as follows:

1. One film must be watched from each decade (50s – 10’s)
2. One film must be watched from a major horror franchise.
3. One film must be watched from one of our late-great masters (Craven, Romero, or Hooper).
4. One film must be watched that deals with witches or witchcraft.
5. One film must be watched that deals with the undead.
6. One film must be watched that stars either Christopher Lee or Vincent Price.
7. One film must be watched that contains sci-fi/horror elements.
8. One film must be watched that is a remake.
9. One film must be watched that is from Italy.
10. One film must be watched that takes place during Halloween.

There you have it! That’s my unnecessarily complicated guideline for October viewing! If any of you guys want to accept the challenge, feel free to start from today, stick to the rules, and get to watching some scary movies! Let me know what you come up with in the comments below.

October 1st – The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

Rules Met: 1, 7

“Three astronauts are launched into space aboard a rocket designed by Professor Quatermass, but the spacecraft returns to earth with only one occupant, Victor Carroon (Richard Wordsworth). Something has infected him during the spaceflight, and he begins mutating into an alien organism which, if it spores, will engulf the Earth and destroy humanity.”

The Quatermass Xperiment (released in the US as The Creeping Unknown) is an early Hammer Films production, before they’d hit gold with revamped updates of the Universal monsters. Hammer is a HUGE blind spot on my genre history watchlist, and I’m aiming to squeeze a few of their films into this year’s challenge. Quatermass was a great way to start. I knew next to nothing about this film going into it other than it was an adaptation of a hit BBC serial from 1953 (Note: as an adaptation of a TV show, I did not consider this a remake to meet the requirements of Rule #9). The film has wonderful atmosphere as panic and mystery surround the landing of the spacecraft and the one surviving astronaut. The plot slowly builds and morphs in unexpected directions, and an eerie “found footage” sequence is sure to crawl under your skin. This is high on the list of recommendations for fans of B&W horror.

October 2nd – Witchfinder General (1968)

Rules Met: 1, 4, 6

“A disturbing tale of evil set during the English Civil War. When Matthew Hopkins is appointed Witchfinder General by the Puritans under Cromwell, he is empowered to travel the countryside with his henchmen and collect a fee for each witch from whom he extracts a confession – a policy which is exploited to the full.”

Vincent Price in an uncharacteristically nasty role is a highlight for those fascinated by witch trials of the 1600s. The film is loosely based on the real life historical figure, Matthew Hopkins, and feature various scenes of intense torture and persecution of “witches”. Witchfinder General (aka The Conqueror Worm) feels very much in spirit with a lot of the Corman pictures of the time but with a sharper edged mean streak and a total downer ending.

October 3rd – Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972)

Rules Met: 1, 9

“A reporter and a promiscuous young woman try to solve a series of child killings in a remote southern Italian town that’s rife with superstition and distrust of outsiders.”

I was so excited to receive in the mail Arrow’s gorgeous new release of Lucio Fulci’s lesser known giallo, Don’t Torture a Duckling, that it almost immediately got flung into my bluray player. It’s a beautiful transfer of a film that has not been treated that well in the past. While this is far removed from the director’s later intestine-munching efforts, it’s clear here that he is beginning to experiment with effects and extreme violence. The mystery is fairly obvious but even having seen the film before, it’s remarkable how effective the story remains. The paranoid villagers afraid of the things they don’t understand and the subtext of the murders/murderer still carries with it substantial meaning all these years later.

October 4th – Pet Sematary (1989)

Rules Met: 1, 5

“Behind a young family’s home in Maine is a terrible secret that holds the power of life after death. When tragedy strikes, the threat of that power soon becomes undeniable.”

In recent years I’ve seen much ado about how terrifying this adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary is, especially the kinder-trauma that was Zelda. I remember catching this when I was younger on MonsterVision with Joe Bob Briggs. It played as a double feature with the sequel. I also happen to remember not caring for the film but thinking the much-maligned sequel was far more entertaining. Considering my recollection must have been clouded by the ignorance of youth, I decided to revisit Mary Lambert’s adaptation. Well, all I can say is Zelda is pretty creepy. Everything else just felt like a huge mess to me with some of the worst acting I’ve seen in a major Hollywood production. Maybe I’ll give the sequel another chance? Of course, some memories are better left buried.

October 5th – Jason Goes to Hell (1993)

Rules Met: 1, 2

“The secret of Jason’s evil is revealed. It is up to the last remaining descendant of the Voorhees family to stop Jason before he becomes immortal and unstoppable. This is the final (?) battle to end Jason’s reign of terror forever. “

I’ve been a staunch defender of Jason Goes to Hell for some time. I get that it’s not really a Friday the 13th film, but much like the similarly despised A New Beginning, I’ve always felt it functions as a fun, gory slasher flick. Voorhees be damned! That said, this viewing didn’t tickle my fancy as much as I remember in the past. Part of the problem was the version I had available was the R rated theatrical cut. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to seek out the unrated version. For a slasher film, gore is as integral to the entertainment value as the punchline to a joke in comedy. Cut out the punchline and what are you left with?

October 6th – The Toolbox Murders (2004)

Rules Met: 1, 3, 8

“A historic Hollywood hotel houses a supernatural evil. It’s been subdued for decades, but when renovations start, a series of murders take place.”

Tobe Hooper’s The Toolbox Murders is the type of film that we don’t get enough of. Upon its initial release, I recall thinking it was a perfectly entertaining slasher movie with heaps of style and a strong final girl performance from the always reliable Angela Bettis. Upon rewatching the film the other night I realized several things. One, this is truly Hooper’s last great film, and it’s basically Hooper doing a cover of Argento with his own fetishistic flourishes on display. Two, this is exactly the type of film that will be looked back on fondly years from now. Just like us horror fans get excited today about the re-release of some random 80s slasher on bluray, The Toolbox Murders remake will eventually be re-discovered and cherished. It won’t be because it’s revolutionary or wholly unique but, instead, because it takes simple genre conventions and does what it sets out to accomplish perfectly. This is a roller-coaster ride of gory kills, suspenseful chases, and tongue in cheek black humor.

October 7th – Tales of Halloween (2015)

Rules Met: 1, 10

“Ten short stories revolve around ghosts, ghouls, monsters, the devil, aliens, and ax murderers who terrorize a suburb on Halloween night.”

Tales of Halloween is the type of anthology film that will leave some fans ecstatic and others cold. It’s the definition of a mixed bag. Ultimately, there’s something for everyone, from comedy to slow burn horror, Tales has it all. It’s certainly worth a watch, and Neil Marshall’s segment begs for a feature rendition for itself.  For me, I found Tales to be a load of fun worth the tradition of an annual Halloween screening.

BONUS WATCH: The Bad Seed (1956)

This was my first viewing of this killer tot thriller. It manages to oscillate between uncomfortable tension, wrenching drama, and high camp. Simply put, I loved it (minus the mega cringe-worthy credits sequence).

There you have it! Week one and done! Are you doing 31 for 31? Do you want to take the “Through the Decades Challenge?” Sound off below, fiends, and Happy Early Halloween!