Wow! What a year, what a year.
I confess, I lost some steam on the horror train a while back. Over the past couple years, however, I feel like I’m getting my mojo risin’ again, and I gotta say, it feels pretty good.
Starting up the H101 YouTube channel was equal parts blessing and curse, because it has forced me to stay in the game and literally be part of the conversation. We’re coming up on two full years of programming, which has kept me hopping, continually pushing myself to improve the tech side of things as well as managing the breakneck weekly schedule. So far, we’ve managed to keep things steady in terms of output and enthusiasm, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the new year has in store.
But, before we do that, let’s take a quick glance in the rear view mirror and reflect on what 2024) brought and wrought.
For my rookie season of 2023), I was pretty much making things up as I went along in terms of topics and guests. For 2024), I decided to plan out the entire schedule ahead of time, including panelists, based on films that were celebrating significant anniversaries and people’s desire to chat about them. An organizational nightmare to be sure, but it helped keep things on track. 52 weeks of FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS later, we’ve come out the other side and I’m incredibly proud of the thoughtful and intelligent exchanges that transpired therein. H101wDrAC may not be the most popular show on YouTube, but it is EXACTLY the kind of show that I want to be part of. Thanks to all the guests and viewers who make staring down that Friday 7:30pm deadline every week worth it.
I also added an audio-only component this year, in the form of a legit podcast which can be found on Spotify, iTunes, and wherever you get your listens. However folks enjoy the show, I’m just glad they’re turning out for it (and apparently sharing it with friends, which is very cool).
With focus on “older” films celebrating anniversaries, I wanted to somehow build in an opportunity to discuss newer fare. Enter my puppet pals Chad the Bird and Lucy Ba’al, who had previously guested on other panels (and the woefully underviewed 2022) Halloween special). I floated the idea of doing a new show called STREAMING AND SCREAMING, where we would talk about online offerings, and to their poor judgment, they took me up on it, and hilarity has been ensuing ever since.
I also began a weekly review segment called THE STACK, where I discussed new releases on physical media. This ran from Jan-June (before I went on vacation and lost the groove) and then picked back up for the October Scare-a-Thon (raising $5K in the process) where we knocked out a movie every day and also managed to cover five, count ‘em FIVE BOX SETS. Of course, that promptly wiped me out and the show went on pause again, with only a couple sporadic releases in December. We’ll see where things go from here. Stay tuned! (Special thanks to Gert and Vanessa for the pair of “Special Stack” episodes we did about possessed cars and Greydon Clark. And extra special thanks to Gert for another year of YouTube Thumbnail Excellence.)
While the YouTube output (and the various promo reels and trailers that accompanied each episode) kept me busy, I managed to get out of the house on occasion to connect with other fans in the flesh, whether it be testing our acumen at Deep Cuts Horror Trivia, taking in the Godzilla Marathon and the 3D festival at the Music Box Theater, enjoying double or triple bills of Eco-Horror and Massive Melt (or solo offerings like Ice Cream Man) courtesy of Super Horror-Rama, wallowing in Turkey Day bliss out at Kitley’s Krypt, or partnering with the man himself for a summer lecture on horror soundtracks and our now-regular October appearances at the Sulzer (discussing Women in Horror to an ever-growing crowd). We also expanded our turf to include Niles Public Library, which has already invited us back for another round this year! Will these people never learn?
Discover the Horror’s Aaron AuBuchon, in addition to appearing on several H101 episodes, was kind enough to open the doors for his third annual Monster Mash-up in St. Louis, and Ian Simmons of Kicking the Seat allowed me to sit co-pilot for another 12 months of discussing Hammer and Giallo flicks. And then there was that out east which saw the wife and I hanging out at the Stephen King House and visiting the University of Maine’s official SK library. I also hung out with the after-hours summer crowd at Flashback Weekend, although work obligations nixed plans to return to G-Fest. Kaiju Klaws crossed for better luck this June.
If it sounds like a lot, it was, a veritable whirlwind of joyous overload. I’m so thankful to be able to share this wild ride with an ever-growing cadre of fellow creeps. With over 900 YouTube subscribers, 300 videos, and 100,000 views over the past two years, it’s a very exciting time, and I’m planning on leaning heavy on y’all to keep me distracted until 2029. SIGH. I’ll take reel-life horror over real-life horror, and it looks like we’re in for a big dose of the latter, so I’m loading up on the former. Hope to see you on the other side.
Okay, enough of my yakking. Let’s get to the task at hand, summing up the Year in Screams on Screen. In time-honored fashion, the titles listed below were encountered by your humble scribe for the FIRST TIME during the past year. (We also revisited a LOT of movies this year for the podcast, so please stop by the YouTube channel to see what you might have missed.)
Love to hear your thoughts about this year’s bundle of freaks, shrieks, and antiques! You can leave a comment below or reach out to me directly at drach101@gmail.com!
Enjoy!!!
BEST OF THE NEW
Abigail (2024)
The Coffee Table (2022)
Destroy All Neighbors (2024)
Exhuma (2024)
Heretic (2024)
Immaculate (2024)
In A Violent Nature (2024)
Longlegs (2024)
Oddity (2024)
Prey (2022)
The Substance (2024)
HONORABLE MENTION
Alien: Romulus (2024)
Azrael (2024)
Baghead (2023)
Crumb Catcher (2023)
Cuckoo (2024)
Fall (2022)
Hell House, LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor (2023)
Incantation (2022)
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Nosferatu (2024)
Trap (2024)
IT'S... FINE
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
The First Omen (2024)
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)
Glorious (2022)
Hell Hole (2024)
It’s a Wonderful Knife (2023)
The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
MIXED BAG
Blackout (2023)
Cocaine Bear (2023)
Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)
Frankie Freako (2024)
Last Straw (2023)
MaXXXine (2024)
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
To Fire You Come At Last (2023)
NONE FOR ME, THANKS
Cocaine Werewolf (2024)
TOP DISCOVERIES (First Time Views released 2021 or later)
Down (aka The Shaft) (2001)
Plaga Zombie (1997)
Killers (1997)
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Leprechaun 3 (1995)
Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996)
Leprechaun Returns (2018)
Like Me (2017)
LUZ (2018)
I Am Not a Serial Killer (2016)
Hell House, LLC (2015)
The Jar (1984)
Trick or Treats (1982)
Creature with the Blue Hand (1967)
The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre (1964)
The Man Who Finally Died (1963)
The Devil’s Partner (1960)
The Catman of Paris (1946)
Alison’s Birthday (1981)
Hollywood 90028 (1973)
To Fear the Devil (aka The Legend of Hillbilly John) (1972)
Robin Redbreast (1970)
Impulse (1974)
Slapface (2021)
WHAT THE @%^$#$%&^#% DID I JUST WATCH???
Santet (1988)
Night of Horror (1981)
Oily Maniac, The (1976)
The Rare Blue Apes of Cannibal Isle (1975)
Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980)
Tender Dracula (1974)
Be back in a bit with the Civilian Views, final tallies, and stats! Stay Tuned!
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