31 Days of Horror Film Challenge Ranked
Technically, the “official” month of horror has passed, but we horror fans know better! I thought I would do a quick rundown with a rank of the 31 horror films I watched during the goriest month of the year!
31. 13 Demons (Netflix) A group of friends play a D&D style game that holds a deadly and murderous plan. If you think it looks bad from the cover art, you’re wrong, it was way worse than that.
30. Jeepers Creepers 3 (SyFy Channel) The Jeeper Creeper is back again to wreak havoc on a small town. This movie came with a lot of controversy due to the director, which overshadows the fact that this is a timeline jumping, cheesy acting and even worse special effects hot mess of a nightmare.
29. Fear, Inc. (Hulu) – When a guy buys the services of Fear, Inc. to scare his friend he gets more than he bargained for. This could have been a really good movie if the lead actor had not been an irritation throughout the film.
28. Burning Bright (Shudder) After the death of her mother, Kelly (Briana Eviga) takes on the responsibility of caring for her autistic brother, Tom. But, when her step-father spends all the money set aside to care for Tom to buy a tiger for a safari retreat he is building, Kelly and Tom come face to face with his purchase when they become trapped in their house during a hurricane. It wasn’t devoid of action, just gore, which was what I wanted to see.
27. The Axe Murders of Villisca (Netflix) A group of friends decide to break into the murder house of Villisca and end up getting in touch with the home’s evil occupants. It had a great concept, but it was poorly acted and executed.
26. The Heirloom (Shudder) When a man and his fiance buy a house with a gruesome history, it’s deadly secrets come to light. I was hoping for more with this one, but it felt underwhelming in a lot of places.
25. JC: Vampires (SyFy Channel) A vampire slayer is on a journey to kill the vampire that killed his family, but when his team gets slaughtered he has to regroup with new members to bring down the vampire king. I know a lot of people really enjoyed it, but James Woods was such an eye sore of douchebaggery I couldn’t get into it.
24. The Eye (Hulu) When Sydney (Jessica Alba), who is blind is given the gift of sight, she believes her world will open up, but what she didn’t count on was inheriting the deadly visions of her donor. This was pretty standard fare for the time period, it was pretty middle of the road in terms of entertainment.
23. The Silenced (Netflix) When a ill girl arrives at a sanatorium to improve her health, she starts noticing that girls are turning up missing and her body is going through an unexplainable change. It’s a slow burn, light on the horror, but it’s still worth a watch.
22. Office (Netflix) When a seemingly lonely worker decides to kill his family, the police want answers, but his co-workers aren’t being as truthful as they should be. Although not completely horror it does have a supernatural slant on it and some nice twists and turns.
21. Pulse (Shudder) This is the original to the American remake, which centers around a website that can kill you. I know a lot of people rave about his film, it did have some nice creep parts, but overall it felt pretty standard to me.
20. Cult of Chucky (Blu Ray) Chucky is back in this billionth installment to the Child’s Play franchise. This time around Chucky finds himself in a mental institution back to terrorize Nica (Fiona Douriff), who he still has some unfinished business with. I loved they amped up the gore and it’s still a better entry than Seed of Chucky.
19. Sadako vs. Kayako (Shudder) The battle of the big baddies from Ringu and The Grudge square off for souls. This sounds really good in theory, it’s just a bummer that it didn’t pan out that way.
18. Open Water: Cage Dive (Firestick) A group of friends (isn’t it always) decide to make an audition tape for a reality show by using the adventure of a cage dive with great white sharks as their background, but of course things go aire. It was better than what I thought it would be, but the seas will make you sick and like most found footage you’ll be glad when it ends.
17. Seoul Station (Shudder) The prequel to the hit zombie flick Train to Busan, Seoul Station follows the story of Suk-gyu trying to locate his daughter and get her back home but, is thwarted by a zombie outbreak. This was much darker than I thought it would be in terms of storyline, but none the less it was a nice setup to Train to Busan.
16. Dark Song (Netflix) When a young woman loses her son she enlists the help of an occultist to make contact with him, which leads her on a journey she may not be ready for. There’s a lot of high praise for this one, it was a slow burn with some moments of creepiness, but overall it was standard.
15. Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman (Shudder) Based off the urban legend, this film tells the story of kids being kidnapped mysterious by the Slit-Mouthed Woman and 2 teachers who are trying to save them. It was interesting to see this adapted and it had some stumbling moments, but nothing really standing out other than the Slit Mouth Woman, which was the kind of the point.
14. The Void (Netflix) When a patrol officer comes across an injured man he rushes him to the hospital but soon becomes under siege by hooded individuals outside the hospital that don’t want them to leave. This is heavily influenced by H.P. Lovecraft, Cronenberg, and Carpenter and if you can get past that you could enjoy this film.
13. The Dark Tower (Fire Stick) The Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) enters the realm of reality and it’s up to Roland the Gunslinger (Idris Elba) to stop him. Granted, I’ve only read the graphic novel, not the actual novel of The Gunslinger, it had some flaws, but overall I didn’t find it that bad. I’m sure if I had read the source material I would take more issues with the film. (Bonus note – I loved all the Stephen King Easter Eggs, throughout the film).
12. Dead Awake (Netflix) When a young woman claims to being attacked by an entity while she sleeps, she is brushed off by her family, but when she mysteriously dies, her sister decides there maybe some truth into what she claimed. I had low expectations for this one and I was pleasantly surprised how it was paced and that it stayed on the subject matter.
11. Boys in Trees (Netflix) Two estranged teen friends reconnect during Halloween, but is there relationship to far gone to repair. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I sat down to watch this, what I got was a well crafted film about friendship enveloped in horror.
10. Gantz:0 (Netflix) When people die an unworthy death some are sent to a room with a sphere called Gantz that gives the individuals a chance to live again, but they must fight against some imposing foes. I honestly wasn’t sure what I was going to get and if you go into with just wanting some gore filled adventure you won’t be disappointed.
9. The Woman (Shudder) When a feral woman is captured by a sadistic man and his family things get gruesome for everyone involved. I had put off seeing this one for awhile, it was better than I thought it would be, the gore was great and it further solidified my girl-crush on Pollyanna McIntosh
8. 1922 (Netflix) Adapted from a Stephen King short story, 1922 is the story of a farmer who decides to murder his wife in order to keep his farm, but then realizes his decision has an overwhelming domino effect on everyone. Many have stated it’s a slow burn, which I didn’t find, I was entertained way more than I thought I would be.
7. Gerald’s Game (Netflix) When a couple goes to their secluded home to spice up their marriage, things get derailed when the husband dies while his wife is handcuffed to the bed. This was good even if it did take the train to WTF town a couple of times.
6. Battle Royale (Shudder) When the Japanese government gets tired of disrespecting youth they decide to choose a class to be sent to a remote island to kill each other until only one stands. What can you say about this film other than it’s a funny and bloody romp that should be required viewing in horror.
5. The Babysitter (Netflix) When a young boy decides to spy on his babysitter he gets more than he can handle when he witnesses her and her friends murdering someone. This was a fun movie, with witty dialogue and some nice gruesome moments.
4. Leatherface (On Demand) The origins (once again) of Leatherface are retold when a group of mental patients kidnap a nurse and go on a bloody and murderous journey. I didn’t expect much, but I really enjoyed this film from beginning to end and Lily Taylor was the shining gem throughout.
3. You’re So Cool Brewster: The Making of Fright Night (Shudder) A documentary on the making of Fright Night with interviews from the cast and crew. I love horror docs and this one was exceptionally good and well worth its running time of over 2 hours.
2. Big Bad Wolves (Shudder) When a rash of killings sends a cop and a victim’s father over the edge, they seek out a little private justice on the man who got away on a technicality, but do they have the right man? Much like The Woman I had put this one off and that was a mistake on my part, this is an all out brilliant and suspenseful film.
1. Stranger Things Season 2 (Netflix) Time to go back to the Upside Down in Hawkins. Yes, I’m aware this is technically not a horror film, but when you binge watch the entire season, it gets counted!
What did you watch in October? Did you do the 31 Days of Halloween challenge? Sound off in the comments section below. Check me out on Twitter @horrorevilqueen and follow my horror adventures on Instagram!
Stay Bloody!!!
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