SHOCKtober: The Wrap-up-ening

I am positively riddled with election anxiety! So what better way to cope than to distract myself by reliving the glory of SHOCKtober 2020 for a brief moment. It seems to me, it lived its life like a series of blog posts in the wind. 

Anyway. It was great, though, wasn't it? That's because of all-a-y'all voters, who inundated my eyeballs with movie after movie. Almost 1000 movies! It wore my fingers down so much that I am now typing with bony nubs, which, believe me, is not as hot as it sounds. 

But you know what is as hot as it sounds? Comparing and contrasting! I've done this reader poll thang three times, so let's see hw it all stacks up.

Total movies on the list: 951 (2020) / 632 (2017) / 732 (2010)

In 2017, 78 post-2010 movies made the list. In 2020, 193 post-2010 movies made the list. As suspected, tastes are skewing towards the new more than they used to...I think this is partially due to the way we consume movies now, some films of yore have been reassessed (and ultimately have risen or fallen in the hearts and minds of viewers), and also hey, horror movies have been in a pretty damn good place for the last 5 years or so. And audience and filmmaker demographics have shifted, too--or at least previously underrepresented demographics are being heard and seen now. There's great variety in the genre these days, and the canon ain't totally hogging the spotlight anymore. This is all very evident in the way the Top 20s have shifted over the years:

20. 2020: The Haunting 

      2017: Invasion of the Body Snatchers 

      2010: Carrie

19. 2020: Candyman 

      2017: Scream

      2010: Black Christmas

18. 2020: Carrie

      2017: The Fog

      2010: The Return of the Living Dead

17. 2020: The Exorcist

      2017: The Blair Witch Project

      2010: An American Werewolf in London

16. 2020: Midsommar

      2017: Psycho

      2010: Scream

15. 2020: A Nightmare on Elm Street

      2017: It Follows 

      2010: Evil Dead II

14. 2020: Suspiria (1977)

      2017: Rosemary's Baby

      2010: Jaws

13. 2020: Hereditary

      2017: Jaws

      2010: The Evil Dead

12. 2020: Rosemary's Baby

      2017: Suspiria (1977)

      2010: Alien

11. 2020: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

      2017: The Descent

      2010: Psycho

10. 2020: The Blair Witch Project

      2017: Carrie

      2010: The Descent

  9. 2020: Scream

      2017: Black Christmas

      2010: A Nightmare on Elm Street

  8. 2020: Black Christmas

      2017: Night of the Living Dead

      2010: Suspiria (1977)

  7. 2020: The Descent

      2017: Dawn of the Dead

      2010: Dawn of the Dead

  6. 2020: Alien

      2017: Alien

      2010: Night of the Living Dead

  5. 2020: The Shining

      2017: The Shining

      2010: The Shining

  4. 2020: Halloween

      2017: The Exorcist

      2010: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

  3. 2020: The Witch

      2017: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

      2010: The Exorcist

  2. 2020: The Thing

      2017: The Thing

      2010: The Thing

  1. 2020: Suspiria (2018)

      2017: Halloween

      2010: Halloween

I know Suspiria taking the top spot this year is the big shocker, but it's wild to see how different 2020 and 2010 are. Although I know my 2020 faves aren't all the same as my 2010 faves, so I shouldn't be that surprised, I guess. Also the fact that The Shining always takes the #5 spot and The Thing always takes #2 is freaking me out!

I'm definitely curious to see how the newer movies fare the next time I put out the call for lists. Will Suspiria still rank high, or is it merely a passing fad, like a pet rock or American democracy? Will Halloween reclaim its top spot, or drop even farther down the rankings? Will a movie starring Tracey Gold ever make it to the list? Will The Thing and The Shining be forever #2 and #5 in our hearts?

Ah, but those are questions to be answered another time. A question to be answered now, however, is: Would you like a free downloadable PDF of this year's mighty list that includes YOUR faves and all the special guest faves? If YES, head right over to the Gaylords of Darkness website and getcherself one! If NO, then FINE. Also! A kind and diligent reader compiled the madness into a list on Letterboxd! Go check it out if you're a Letterboxd aficionado. Or even if you're not! The point of all this is we should always remember to make every tober a SHOCKtober!