#Hooptober Film Challenge: Week 1

Well, technically more than one week, but whatever. 9 days in, and 14 films watched. It’s quite a diverse list, featuring killer plants, a killer doll, a mythological creature on a rampage in New York City, demonic possession, sex-crazed lunatics infected with parasites, and more.

Here’s an overview of what I liked, what I didn’t, and what I had to turn off.

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Hooptober is an annual horror film challenge on Letterboxd. See my previous post about it here. Since it began on September 15th, I’ve been cramming my weekends with movie marathons, and trying to catch a film before bed on a few weeknights. I’ve managed to watch 14 films so far. I actually kicked things off a few hours before midnight on the 14th by watching Night of the Wererooster as one of my “flying things that kill you film.” Unfortunately, I found the movie to be incredibly boring and it didn’t even show the wererooster; because of those factors, I decided not to count it toward the challenge. 

There have been some other duds as well. I won’t bother to keep watching a movie if I have a real problem with it; luckily, this doesn’t happen that often. However, I found myself in a real conundrum with Monkey Shines. I got through about 30 minutes before I turned it off. It actually wasn’t a bad movie (acting and photography wise) based on what I saw, but I was greatly uncomfortable with the use of monkeys in the film. As an ethical vegan I was at odds with the premise of the film in the first place – monkeys being used in vivisection – and was so bothered by what I was seeing  (which was rather tame) that I knew when the film became more distressing I would end up hating it, and also probably myself for watching. So, I gave up on that one.

So. Here’s what I have watched so far, with links to my Letterbox reviews.

Robert the Doll

More family drama than horror. My official first film of the challenge left me disappointed. So much potential wasted. Letterboxed review here.

The Redeemer: Son of Satan!

I had never even heard of this slasher before the challenge. I liked it because it had this kind of surreal, odd quality to it. The murders were creatively done. But… I wish the film had shown more sympathy for the victims. That it didn’t left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth considering at least one of the victims was LGBT. Letterboxd review here.

Q

Another one that I had never heard of before watching it. All the scenes involving the actual monster were freaking hilarious and awesome. I couldn’t stand the main character, although I will say that the actor did a great job. Letterboxd review here.

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Spider Baby

I’m mad that it took me this long to watch. Spider Baby is absolutely bonkers with some real charm to it. Letterboxd review here.

Alien Zone (The House of the Dead)

No idea why there are two titles for this. But it’s one of my favorites from the challenge. It’s an early anthology directed by a woman. Definitely recommend. Letterboxd review here.

Waxwork

Another one that I think I waited too long to watch. I remember seeing it at the video stores while growing up but for some reason I never picked it up. This is a great horror comedy – if you’re not too fond of straight horror, but want to watch something fun for Halloween, then I definitely recommend! Letterboxd review here.

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The Day of the Triffids

Plants killing humans and animals. You can guess at how ridiculous the movie is just based on that sentence alone. I guess it was fun. It was definitely funny. Letterboxd review here.

The Most Dangerous Game

I’m a fan of the short story that the movie is based on, so I’m a bit biased. Some of the shots in this film were absolutely stunning. For a movie that was made almost 100 years ago, it holds up impressively well. The villain verges on the corny, but still thrilling to watch. Letterboxd review here.

The Devil’s Doorway

I’ve been looking forward to this film ever since I first heard about it, as it ticks off a few of my likes: Woman director; found footage; demonic possession. I tried not to over hype The Devil’s Doorway so that I wouldn’t be disappointed. In the end I found the film to be very, very good – especially considering it’s her directorial debut – and also thought it was a unique entry in the found footage subgenre. Highly recommend. Full letterboxd review here.

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Shivers

Shivers made me completely uncomfortable. It’s about a parasite that makes people horny and violent, which means there are a lot of sexual assault scenes and sexually taboo situations. The body horror aspect of the film was cool and gory, which I liked, but it was hard for me to get past the constant female nudity and violence against women. Letterboxd review here.

Sick Nurses

Not really a fan of Sick Nurses, either. It’s a stylishly done horror for sure, but the plot was weak (and the twist is offensive). The gore, set design, and framing were the highlights. Letterboxd review here.

Night of the Demons

Definitely one of my favorite films so far. When I was younger, I was terrified of this film because of the VHS box. I’m glad I finally watched it! It’s not really scary, but it is a good time. Perfect Halloween movie. Letterboxd review here.

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Burnt Offerings

I was looking forward to Burnt Offerings; in fact, I had just finished the book hours before watching the film. I do think the book is better, although overall it’s a faithful adaptation. However, the most significant change is the ending, and I prefer the novel’s approach. The performances in the film are top-notch and it stars horror icon Karen Black! Letterboxd review here.

Stir of Echoes

I’ve seen Stir of Echoes a bunch of times already, but since it was recently added to Prime I decided to give it a re-watch. Stir of Echoes is an underrated classic in my opinion. Kevin Bacon is excellent in the film and the mysterious, spooky plot holds up well. It’s too bad that The Sixth Sense overshadowed this one when it was released. Full letterboxd review.

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Since I decided to try not to overlap the Hooptober tasks as much as I can, I have over 31 films to watch. I feel like I’ve gotten a good start on the challenge, but we’ll see what happens. Here’s my full list.

Please feel free to add me on Letterboxd! I’m also tweeting my movies at my personal twitter, @VeganRachel.