Oct 29, 2024

SHOCKtober: 44-21


We've got more than 700 horror movies in our rear window (including #624, Rear Window), but today's the day we stop being polite and start getting real--by which I mean the I'll be adding the number of votes each film received in bold.

44. Sleepaway Camp -- 1983, Robert Hiltzik -- 13
43. Possession -- 1981, Andrzej Zulawski -- 13
42. Noroi: The Curse -- 2005, Kôji Shiraishi -- 13
41. Invasion of the Body Snatchers -- 1978, Philip Kaufman -- 13
40. Dawn of the Dead -- 1978, George A. Romero -- 13
39. Us -- 2019, Jordan Peele -- 14 
38. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me -- 1992, David Lynch -- 14
37. Poltergeist -- 1982, Tobe Hooper -- 14
36. Let the Right One In -- 2008, Tomas Alfredson -- 14
35. The Return of the Living Dead -- 1985, Dan O'Bannon -- 15
34. Hellraiser -- 1987, Clive Barker -- 15
33. Get Out -- 2017, Jordan Peele -- 16
32. Friday the 13th -- 1980, Sean S. Cunningham -- 16
31. Evil Dead II -- 1987, Sam Raimi -- 17
30. Carnival of Souls -- 1962, Herk Harvey -- 18
29. An American Werewolf in London -- 1981, John Landis -- 18
28. A Nightmare on Elm Street -- 1984, Wes Craven -- 20
27. Psycho -- 1960, Alfred Hitchcock -- 21
26. The Fog -- 1980, John Carpenter -- 22
25. Midsommar -- 2019, Ari Aster -- 22
24. Jaws -- 1975, Steven Spielberg -- 22
23. Candyman -- 1992, Bernard Rose -- 22
22. Night of the Living Dead -- 1968, George A. Romero -- 23
21. Carrie -- 1976, Brian De Palma -- 23

  • Noroi, another movie that is pretty easily accessible at long last. I love the way it's structured--it really takes its time laying out all sorts of disparate threads and plotlines, only for them all to come together satisfyingly (and terrifyingly). One of the greatest found footage films.
  • A reader on Jaws: "I love Ellen Brody screaming at her kids to listen to their father and get out of the boat only after seeing a picture of a shark obliterating a similar boat."
  • Herk Harvey had such an interesting career, directing a shitton of educational/PSA shorts and then oh, fucking all-time classic Carnival of Souls (wherein he also starred as the head ghoul guy).
  • A reader on Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, WHICH PLEASE NOTE I HAVE NOT SEEN YET AND I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT AND I AM DYING TO SEE BUT WE WILL NOT COVER IT UNTIL, LIKE, FEBRUARY ON THE PODCAST AND THE WAIT IS EXCRUCIATING I CAN'T WAIT: "I feel more awe than affection for this one. I watched and liked the series (I was 19 when it first ran) but disliked Wild at Heart because it seemed loud and empty - like Lynch was trying too hard to solidify his brand as Mr. Weird.  This film’s opening section with the FBI agents seemed like more of the same, but once the setting changed to Twin Peaks it turned into the most disturbing experience I’ve ever had watching a film. Only a few other individual scenes from other movies have matched it – Club Silencio in Mulholland Dr., for example, or the moment in Martyrs when we discover who has been pursuing Lucie through the early part of the film. 32 years later, I still haven't given this a second viewing."
  • I figured that all the votes for Psycho were about the eeeelite song from K-pop's own Red Velvet, but I guess the votes were actually for some movie...? Huh.

  • Tomorrow, le Top 20 begins! Try to get some sleep tonight, it'll be a big day!

6 comments:

  1. The high placement of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me really caught me by surprise -- not that the movie doesn't deserve it, mind you. I was curious, so I went back to check how it placed during previous SHOCKtobers and it has made quite the journey: TP:FWWM went from four votes in 2010 to two in both '13 and '17 and then up to a whopping six in '20 -- but that's still less than half of what the film garnered this time around. Pretty impressive.

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    1. That's really interesting! I wonder what caused such a big leap? Maybe The Return + its 30th have had it more in the consciousness?

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    2. Probably. I'm sure Twin Peaks' third season and the renewed interest in the show had a hand in Fire Walk With Me's meteoric rise, although I feel there are other factors at play here. After all, The Return came out back in 2017, so one would assume the movie would've ranked higher that SHOCKtober too.

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    3. New voters from the podcast?

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  2. I'm doing pretty well here. As long as there are no surprises in the Top 20, I've seen all of the Top 150, having now just watched Incantation (79), The Lords Of Salem (148), and Orphan: First Kill (121).

    I don't quite have the Top 200. I watched Dead & Buried (159) this week. I'm missing House Of Wax (167), The Haunting Of Julia (182), Alligator (197), and The Tenant (182). I tried to watch The Tenant a couple of years ago. I was prepared to watch a Polanski-directed movie, but I decided I didn't want to look at him for a whole movie once I realized he starred in it as well.

    I must have seen at least parts of Alligator but it's not on my list.

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    1. I am so excited for you that you get to see The Haunting of Julia for the first time!!!

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