Another 31 Days of Halloween: Part 1

Halloween is here again, and it's time to settle in for another month-long marathon of spooky movies. For the third year in a row, I will be documenting all the horror movies I watch to celebrate my favorite time of year. I will cover a wide variety of subgenres, decades, and countries as I dig up old favorites and new gems.

A collection of posters for the films featured in Another 31 Days of Halloween: Part 1

The Wolf Man (1941) dir. George Waggner

Despite my love for horror films and classic cinema, I actually haven't made my way through all of the original Universal Monster movies. I've checked a few off my list but every year I try to whittle it down further. Part of me wants to watch them all within the month, but the other part wants to savor these classic gems. The Wolf Man had less horror than I was expecting. The majority of the film actually follows him as a perfectly normal man until he meets a camp of Romani travelers, which includes Bela Lugosi as a character literally named Bela. Very creative, huh? Overall, it was a delightful but short film and I look forward to catching some of the sequels. — ★★★★

Punishment Park (1971) dir. Peter Watkins

When I look for something new and interesting to watch, I usually try to find a documentary on horror films. Watching one at the beginning of a challenge like this usually gives me some ideas for what to watch for the rest of the month. Instead, I ended up with what is called a mockumentary, and the subject matter was more horrific than any simple slasher. The film follows a group of protesters and radicalists who choose a new type of punishment for their "crimes": Punishment Park. Instead of a prison sentence, this group is hunted by the police and military personnel in the desert until they either reach an American Flag 50 miles away or are arrested again. Although produced as a commentary on Vietnam, this film stands the test of time and remains highly relevant and frightening in the modern day. — ★★★★

Fade To Black (1980) dir. Vernon Zimmerman

For our October Film Freaks this year I decided to screen one of my all-time favorite movies. Fade To Black follows Eric Binford as his mother and coworkers bully him until he finally cracks and starts killing people in the style of classic films. It blends some of my favorite horror tropes and becomes a character study that discusses the influence media can have on youth culture. It follows in the footsteps of films like Psycho (1960) and Peeping Tom (1960) and attempts to give us a sympathetic look at a slasher movie.  — ★★★★★

Beyond The Darkness (1979) dir. Joe D'Amato

People love to ask me about where I went to school whenever they hear that I'm from Chicago. I love telling them I went to Illinois State University, which is in a town named "Normal." If I get to go further, I explain that I had a focus on Italian film and that usually leads into a discussion about Spaghetti Westerns and the films of Clint Eastwood. Another side of that research was Giallos, or Italian horror movies. While this is certainly a horror film made in Italy, it is very different from the ones I have seen in the past. It lacks the vibrant colors and gloved killer, but it does have a brilliant score done by Giallo icons Goblin. It's not a film for the faint of heart and not something I would recommend even to most horror movie lovers unless they really enjoy serious gore. — ★★★

The Kiss of The Vampire (1963) dir. Don Sharp

Hammer Film Productions started in the 1930s but began their rise to prominence during the late 50s with their string of gothic horror adaptations. They had their own more risky spin on Dracula and Frankenstein and would later create more original concepts while sticking to the gothic horror style. The Kiss of The Vampire was one of these original ideas, and it was the first of a collection of films directed by Don Sharp. I saw it mentioned in a few Tiktok's about costume design, and the masquerade scene did not disappoint! — ★★★1/2

Versus (2000) dir. Ryûhei Kitamura

I hadn't had much experience with Japanese horror films until watching Ring (1998) for a class in college, but I have since found a taste for its unique style of ultra-violence. I have been seeking the high of Takashi Miike's Ichi The Killer (2001) and Audition (1999) that I watched last year so I was excited to dive into this film. While much lower budget, the gore, comedy, and overall aesthetics of this J-Horror zombie movie made it an amazing find. — ★★★★ 1/2

Anatomia Extinction (1995) dir. Yoshihiro Nishimura

I gravitated towards another J-Horror the following day and settled on a film that would become the inspiration for Tokyo Gore Police (2008). Clocking in at just under an hour, the incredible atmosphere, pacing, and practical effects left me stunned. The film doesn't rely on much dialogue, and what there is is so unnerving that it makes the silence so much more potent. Sadly, the quality of the YouTube upload was terrible and made many pivotal scenes so hard to see. I loved every second and plan to invest in the Error 4444 Blu-Ray release. The quality improvement may just push this to be a five-star film. — ★★★★ 1/2

Want to keep up to date on what the Lincoln Theatre's film curator is watching? Check out her Letterboxd or stop into Lola's At The Lincoln for a chat!