31 Days of Horror

There is only holiday that can support a full month of film viewing dedicated to it.  Of course I am referring to Arbor Day.  Oh yeah, also Halloween (as you may have figured out from the graphic above.)  Every year I intend to watch numerous horror films in the days leading to Halloween, but for some reason as Halloween grows closer the dozen or so film I plan to watch drops to one or two selections.  Once the season passes my brain switches to holiday/Oscar mode and the idea of watching the entire Friday the 13^th series is just not as appealing.  For that reason I have chosen to start a new annual event known as FilmSnork's 31 Days of Horror (can you believe I found a way to sneak in the name FilmSnork into the title?)

The schedule for this month of viewing terror was painstakingly determined sorting through dozens of site user submissions, my personal film library and the world wide web of information - all while chewing on glass.  This was not just about picking 31 horror movies, it was about picking the right 31 horror movies.  I really wrestled with which films would work best and how to categorize them. 

You may notice that avoided horror films predating 1960, because, although they are novel, it was Hitchcock's “Psycho” that I feel serves as the beginning of horror as we know it.  Sure, there are films from the 40s and 50s that would be fun to watch, but with this inaugural 31 DoH I wanted to focus on films that would play best to the majority of the FilmSnork audience.

In the end I came up with the following seven themes, one for each day:

The Devil Made Me Do It Sundays - Ghosts, Possessions and the The Devil Herself

Remake Mondays - Remakes, pretty obvious.

Great 80's Tuesdays - 5 films from perhaps the greatest decade of horror

Scream Queen Wednesdays - 5 nights, five leading ladies

Tongue-In-Cheek Thursdays - Nothing compliments horror like a little humor

Foreign Fridays - Horror from across the globe

Pot Luck Classic Saturdays - Groundbreaking horror from all different eras and genres

As I type this, even as satisfied as I am with the offering I am providing you, there are still a handful of films that I really wanted to include that did not make the final cut – maybe next year.  I am sure some of you will take issue with a few of the films on (or not on the list.)  Take a look at the schedule and send me some feedback.   I would love to hear it and if necessary defend my choices.

October 1 -  Let Me In

October 2 -  The Fly (1986)

October 3 - Psycho (1960)

October 4 - Shaun of the Dead

October 5 - Stake Land

October 6 - Jaws

October 7 - The Omen (1976)

October 8 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

October 9 - The Shining

October 10 - The Ring

October 11 - Bride of Chucky

October 12 - The Descent

October 13 - The Blair Witch Project

October 14 - Amityville Horror (1979)

October 15 - Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

October 16 - Poltergeist

October 17 - I Know What You Did LastSummer

October 18 - The Evil Dead 2

October 19 - Audition

October 20 - Alien

October 21 - The Exorcist 3

October 22 - House of Wax (2005)

October 23 - The Thing (1982)

October 24 - Scream

October 25 - Drag Me to Hell

October 26 - Pontypool

October 27 - The Silence of the Lambs

October 28 - Paranormal Activity 4

October 29 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

October 30 - Friday the 13^th (1980)

October 31 - Halloween (1977)

(The schedule is subject to change due to accessibility issues.)

Happy viewing.   I hope many of you join me.   If you do, leave some comments and let me know (please register in the comment section if you do.)   

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