100 Horror Movies in 92 Days - Week 1
Every year for the past few years I've attempted the '100 Horror Movies in 92 Days' challenge. This was created by Spooky Sarah Says and has become one of my favourite parts of the year. The challenge is to watch 100 new-to-you horror films between the 1st of August and Halloween. Despite failing every time I've attempted it so far, it's still a lot of fun.
Sarah has just posted a blog of her week 1 highlights and so I thought it would be fun to do the same. As of writing this post I've watched 10 films out of the 100 (you can find my Letterboxd list for the challenge here). My loose plan this year is to watch as many Video Nasties as I can, and also to dig into some non-English-language horror.
I'm going to follow Sarah's lead here and pick 3 to 5 films each week from what I've watched that I think you should check out if you haven't already.
King Kong (1933) - This is one of those films that I've been aware of for a long time but never got around to seeing. I finally saw it this week at the Celluloid Screams Mystery 25mm Marathon, projected from 35mm, and what a treat that was. I was surprised by how well this held up considering it's nearly a century old. The stop motion still looks great, and some of the monster fights rival anything that's come since - especially that T-Rex fight, which is genuinely brutal. I loved this.
Train To Busan (2016) - From a classic to a modern classic. Zombie films are a bit of a hard sell for me so I've put off seeing this despite constantly hearing how great it is. I absolutely wasn't expecting to be emotionally devastated by it.
Santa Sangre (1989) - Another one from the Celluloid Screams marathon. Jodorowsky is an acquired taste, and I think he's at his best when he leans fully into his surrealist, dreamlike bullshit, which is exactly what happens in the first hour of this film - and what a first hour it is. There aren't many films that I'd describe as genuinely nightmarish, and that was very much enhanced by seeing it on the big screen. I wasn't quite as in love with the final act where he attempts to somehow tie everything together, but I respect the effort. The first half of this is unlike anything I've ever seen and I adored it.
Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979) - I will never, ever stop thinking about the shark scene in this film for as long as I live. What a ridiculous, incredible scene. I have no idea how you achieve that. There's so much to love in this film, and I was hugely surprised by how much I enjoyed it given my normal reaction to zombies as a genre.
This first week was a bit ropey and there wasn't a huge amount beyond these three that I genuinely loved, so I'm hoping for a better week 2!