Help Dr. AC fight AIDS with SCARE-A-THON 2010

If the calendar is to be believed, tomorrow is October 1. For the past few years, I have engaged in an annual tradition called the October Horror Movie Challenge. The rules of the Challenge are fairly simple: Watch at least 31 horror films during October, 16 of which must be first time views. (Last year was my highest mark yet, with 78 films.)

However, this October, while celebrating silver screen screams, I also hope to strike a blow against real-life horrors. In the spirit of a read-a-thon or a walk-a-thon, I plan to embark on SCARE-A-THON 2010 and I am asking for your help.

Fool's Views Haikus (9/13 - 9/30)

Howdy folks,

Okay, here we sit on the edge! Ready to tip over into the abyss of the October Horror Movie Challenge. (more on that in a second) And it's a good thing too, since the last few weeks have been pretty tame in the flickage department. While I did rack up a respectable number of movies watched, they all happened over the course of several jam-packed days. As I mentioned in the previous FVH post, gotta grab 'em when you can.

The horror flicks all took place during one full-on Share the Scare over at Kitley's (with fellow H101 contributor Nile Arena on hand as well), followed by the Burt Reynolds Festival the following day. Fulfilling the Paul Naschy Kryptic Army assignment and my ongoing Robert Aldrich tribute rounded out the rest of the program. All in all, I gotta say, it made for some fine, if high-concentrated, viewing.

As always, feel free to throw in your two cents worth - we'll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!

October Horror Movie Challenge Results 2009

It's time again for an annual tradition - The October Horror Movie Challenge!

Simply stated, the challenge is: Watch 31 films in October, 16 of which must be 1st time views. Of course, the secondary challenge is simply to watch as many movies as possible during those 31 days.

Last year, as I was out of town (Lewisburg, WV) doing a play (Macbeth), with fewer distractions around than usual, I was shooting for around 60 flickers, with planned stops at Hammer Horror, William Castle, the Classic FLY trilogy, Tod Browning, Val Lewton, the AZTEC MUMMY trilogy, some unviddied kaiju and a few surprises along the way. (A lot of those were films that I'd only seen once and had been wanting to revisit, so while I knew I'd get in my required 16 FTV's, for the most part I planned to wallow in repeats...)

As you can see, that's just what happened:

1st Time Views: 19
Repeat views: 59
Total Films: 78

Fool's Views Haikus (8/30 – 9/12)

Hey there, you cool cats,

Slowly starting to get the hang of this pattern. Pretty much, it’s watch a flick whenever you have a chance (preferably two or three) because you never know when you’re going to get to watch the next one. That goes double (as in double feature) when you head to the cinema, which I was actually able to do on three separate occasions these last couple weeks. Overall, I’d say I batted about .500 for the theatrical ventures, with even the less-thans still managing to deliver a quantum of memorable moments (yes, I’m looking at you, EXPENDABLES).

Also got in a dandy little Share the Scare session with amigos Brian, Dan and Coye on Labor Day – was “on call” for the job, so couldn’t go to the theater because that would have necessitated turning off the phone (You hear that, you horrible, horrible people? YOU TURN OFF YOUR PHONE WHEN THE MOVIE STARTS. Ahem, where was I? Oh, yes…) So, thanks for coming over and sharing the avocado burritos and alien bloodbaths, guys.

Again, we’re going with my completely subjective, frustratingly reductive number ratings: first # is for “quality”, second is for “entertainment.” As always, feel free to offer up your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!

Fool's Views Haikus (8/9 – 8/29)

Felicidades, amigos,

To be honest, I was surprised when I tallied up the totals for this three week period. In spite of occupational obligations both in office and on the road, I was still able to bang out 14 flicks, as well as a hefty number of TZ eps (dee-dee-dee-dee, dee-dee-dee-dee). Once again, the Kryptic Army assignment (slashers this month) provided a much needed boot to the pants, topped off with a little Share the Scare action with the man himself. Hats also go off to Chicago’s third annual summer Terror in the Aisles, even though I only was able to sit in for one of the flicks this year. Some decent civilian viewings this time around, as well as dipping into the wild well of old-time horror radio whilst flying around the country. Work is still a drag, but life could be worse, and I’d rather light a candle than curse the darkness.

Seems there’s been a bit of confusion, what with the haiku format, as to my personal sentiments towards the films in question. Some folks have suggested that I do a “star rating” or some sort of quantitative ranking (such-and-such out of 10), and while I’ve never been a big fan of those, it may be a short-term solution for the time being since my writing time has become so limited lately. That said, films are complex beasts, and while I will give the ranking thing a whirl in the interest of clarification and sparking discussion, it’s not really my style and I look forward to having a little more blather time so that we can avoid the reductive shackles. Sound like a deal?

Said rankings will be as follows: The first out-of-10 number will represent the film’s “quality” level in my estimation, the second my overall enjoyment level. We’ll see if that works and bear with me as I try to navigate the minefields. And with that…

On with the Views! As always feel free to throw in your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!

Fool's Views Haikus (7/26 – 8/8)

Hey troops,

Well, all I gotta say is thank almighty Foot for Kitley’s Kryptic Army, since if it hadn’t been for his “alien invasion” monthly mission, I might not have forced myself to sit down in front of the telly during this period of “gainfully employed” acclimation. In spite of overwhelming learning curves at work and diminishing windows of spare time, you can’t let the team down, right? So, we also have my obsessive/compulsive nature to thank for getting us through these dark times.

Of these, I gotta give big props to Eduardo Sanchez’s Altered, a low budget creature feature that never overextends its hand, and delivers up some mighty fine effects and solid performances from a cast of relative unknowns. Check it out. And, of course, the double feature of Best Worst Movie and Troll 2 in a packed house at the Music Box Theatre is the kind of medicine you can’t find at the corner drugstore…

As always feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!