October Challenge 2016: Recap

It was yet another exciting year for Horror Habit's October Challenge! Record breaking views this year, thank you so much!!

Also exciting is that this year's challenge was paired with my Roku Channel's 31 days of movies lineup! I was very happy to see nearly 8,000 viewers got to experience that weekly adventure. If you enjoyed the programming please let me know. If you didn't enjoy the programming then you can let me know that too but I probably won't do anything about it. I'm kidding, I *might* do something about it. No really, in all seriousness, the Horror Habit Roku channel is always in development and looking to be the best it can be. November marks Horror Habit's 1 year anniversary on the Roku, and oh the places we'll go....

If you've been following my Challenge posts this month you may have detected a sad tone from time to time regarding my mother. She left this world too soon, fairly recently, I'm afraid. It's also her birthday month, and although she wasn't passionate about horror films, she directly and with great purpose influenced my horror movie love by introducing me the classics (silent era through the 1950's). She also inadvertently introduced me to the accidental horror/straight up terrifying for children films (Gremlins, that time Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs film caught on fire at the theater). She also encouraged my writing, always, from day one. I'm forever grateful for that, among so many other things. 

She wasn't a devoted fan of Horror Habit per se, I suspect her editing eye couldn't take but more than one or two posts, but she loved that I had this blog and was proud and fascinated at my dedication to it.  In all, this was my first October Challenge without Mom and it made sad.

What made me happy, however, is that I still had a really great October - not just watching and writing about films - but also of time spent with friends, family, and cozy me time. 

Moving forward, I've decided to dedicate a few special days in October to particular events/films:

• October 1st: 50 Films You May Have Missed
• October 16th: Celebrate Independent Horror Movies
• October 26th: Horror Films To Raise The Kids (influential horror films for the young - these could be bad or good ideas, either way, they're all based on personal experience)
• October 31st: 18 Short Horror Films - a Horror Habit film festival

Thank you. Thank you for checking out my blog and thank you for watching my Roku channel (November's content to be updated on 11/3). And although I'm going to take a little bit of a break, stay tuned for updates on several new independent features. 

Take care, be safe, play nice, give hugs, say I love yous, chill out, and eat pizza. XO

Jolie

Happy Halloween! Here's 18 Short Horror Films You Need To See!

October Challenge Day 31:

In light of last year's success, I've decided to dedicate every Halloween's October Challenge post to 18 brilliant short horror films.

Why 18 you ask? Because this is the 8th month of the old Roman calendar and the 10th month of the current calendar. BRAINS!

So without further ado, below is my pick of some of the best out there. With a review of 18 words or less, and in no particular order, please enjoy Horror Habit's 2016 Short Horror Film Festival. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Vicious: A whole bunch of EEEEEGAAAADS is happening here. Fantastic. Hugs recommended afterwards.

VICIOUS - Award Winning Short Horror Film from Falling Shadows Productions on Vimeo.

Dog Food: A simply remarkable moral tale of revenge and twisted humans:

Dog Food from Brian Crano on Vimeo.

Downstairs: Devilishly humorous, but also very intense and twisted. Here a security guard has a very, very bad evening.

DOWNSTAIRS from Lee Boxleitner on Vimeo.

Attic Panic: I always thought storage units were pretty creepy, but this one takes it to a whole new level!

Attic Panic - Short horror film from David F. Sandberg on Vimeo.

The Facts in the Case of Mr. Hollow: Spooky but not scary. Creepy but not frightening. Beautiful and remarkable.

The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow from Walter Pacifico on Vimeo.

Rake: Urban legend meets camping trip meets ugly demise for just about everyone.

RAKE - [Horror] Short Film from gearmark.tv on Vimeo.

The Smiling Man: Incredibly dark, menacing, and downright disturbing. Consider yourself warned, mediocre horror fans.

The Smiling Man (2015) from A.J. Briones on Vimeo.

Alexia: Scary internet is scary.

Alexia - Horror short film from Andrés Borghi on Vimeo.

He Took His Skin Off More Me: A remarkably gross love story. Prepare yourself for the cringe binge. 

He Took His Skin Off For Me from Ben Aston on Vimeo.

Danny and the Wild Bunch: Your mid-short horror film festival break. Here we have an author who's created more than she can handle....

DANNY AND THE WILD BUNCH - Short Film from robert rugan on Vimeo.

Invaders: A fiendishly hilarious gore fest that's been turned up to 11 - and just in time for Thanksgiving.

Invaders from Jason Kupfer on Vimeo.

Sister Hell: A striking and remarkably visual tale on religion and self identity.

SISTER HELL (short film, 15 min) from BLÆST on Vimeo.

Occupied: Scary bathroom is scary!

Occupied - Short Horror Film from Mitchell Kerby on Vimeo.

Vienna Waits For You: An absolutely chilling tale that will stick with you for years, guaranteed.

Vienna waits for you from Glaciar Films on Vimeo.

Knock: A Halloween tale sure to shiver your bones just right!

KNOCK | Short Horror Film from Joseph I. Martinez on Vimeo.

Violeta: A super alarming ick, ick, gross, gross down-right-wrong-on-all-levels claymation.

Violeta - Short Film from I+G Stop Motion on Vimeo.

The Captured Bird: A stunning, vibrant, and spooky fantasy.

The Captured Bird from Jovanka Vuckovic on Vimeo.

I Heard It Too: Pretty much everyone's childhood nighttime nightmare come to life. Nighty nighty, sleep tight!

I Heard It Too - Award Winning Short Horror from Matt Sears on Vimeo.

Memento Mori (1999)

October Challenge Day 30:

Memento Mori has been suggested to me several times for over 10 years. I rented it last week - didn't get to it so I had to re-rent it again - and here I am, at the 12th hour, with this one remaining film to see this month, and I STILL haven't seen it!!

Right now my time is completely absorbed in the Cubs vs Cleveland World Series baseball game. Mark this one down for the books! This the first time, and probably the only time that a baseball game will trump a horror movie in my October Challenge.

Never fear, I'll get to this film either later tonight or, quite likely, tomorrow. Stay tuned for this super creepy South Korean classic ...

*Update! Several days later ....*

Well, this turned out very differently than I was expecting, but the creepy water remained. What is it about Asian horror and WATER?

I would call this more of an art house ghost story. It's sad, it's complicated, it's a love story and it's not. It took me quite a bit of time to *get* this film. At first I just sat there, trying to piece the story together, gave up, and it was at that time I was finally able to appreciate (and understand) the story unfolding.

Chilling and sad, this is a film to watch with your best friend - maybe - unless you're fighting at the moment, then just watch it alone. Pairs with school lunches, water, and then some more water.

I rented this movie from my local video store (Rain City Video). Use the links under Find It. Watch It. on Horror Habit's sidebar to see where else you can find this cold and calculating art house feature.

Creature Feature Double Feature: Ghoulies (1984) and Ghoulies II (1988)

October Challenge Day 29:

When I saw this two movie disk sitting on the shelf at Rain City Video I just knew what had to happen. I had to have another Saturday night creature feature double feature.

This was the evening for the costume parties and late night out shenanigans, but we stayed home, took a bath, cooked up some chili and settled into a cozy evening of little demons crawling out of the toilet.

What can one say about Ghoulies or Ghoulies II ...

Well ...

I saw one IMBD post that stated if you've seen the cover image for this film then you can pretty much surmise what this film is about and it's quality. This is a true statement.

I saw most of the first film about ten years ago, and I can confidently say after seeing it again that I missed nothing and yet, and yet, everyone wins with a Saturday movie night at home with these devilish demons.

My husband, belly full of chili, promptly fell asleep on the couch about 20 minutes into the film. I managed to stay wake by sitting up in the recliner ... until the second film. I didn't make it through the second film this evening.

Folks, these films are kitchy and time "well spent". By this I mean: you'll not exactly kick yourself for spending a Saturday night in with these films, but you may question some life choices after the laughter stops. Maybe. I didn't, totally, but still you might.

In all seriousness - these films, all about accidentally conjuring up menacing little beings (isn't that how it always happens?), are probably best seen with a group of friends. Make it an evening full of laughter, cheekiness, cheep beers, and some great tasting chili. My Husband left me alone with these things and it wasn't as fun as when I can share the camp with company other than the cats.

Still glad I picked these films for this year's Creature Feature Double Feature, though. I'll resume Ghoulies II right after the Sunday football games. If anything amazing happens in the second film then I'll be sure to update this post. Otherwise, and in the mean time, know that these films are certainly something to experience at least once. They are ... special.

I rented this movie from my local video store (Rain City Video). Use the links under Find It. Watch It. on Horror Habit's sidebar to see where else you can find these silly, entertaining, not entertaining, but still entertaining features.

House of the Damned (1963)

October Challenge Day 28:

The movie store was hustling and bustling this Friday before Halloween! As I made my way to the horror movie section, nestled in a corner room that is both creepy and a little silly, I found three boys already hanging out there, musing over their movie options.

These three kids could have been plucked right from the Stranger Things series. It was super cute to see! As they were laughing at classic titles, oooohing and ahhhhing over gruesome DVD covers, I felt I had to intervene - just a little bit.

"You guys should totally check out the Hammer Horror collection over here", I said as I pointed to the store's impressive inventory. They immediately started laughing "Hammer Horror, hahahahaha!" Well, I tried. But apparently the words Hammer and Horror together was just too much for them. I'm sure they were picturing a movie series where a killer hammer is on the loose.

In any case, I pulled this film from the "If You Like Hammer Horror..." collection, and told myself that although they may not understand Hammer Horror now, just maybe I made some sort of impression they'll appreciate later.

On to House of the Damned....

Well, it started out creepy and strange, proceeded to wind it's finger around the curiouser and curiouser, but then the very end happened and I swear I heard a balloon deflate and sputter around the room with sad sounds.

This film is well-made, has great cinematography, and is chilling and strange - it's just the end, the "unveiling" is, ah, no. Frankly, the very end is odd and uncomfortable in an awkward way.

I can see this as a fun one with friends for a goofy late Saturday night, but I would warn against investing too much attention for fear of the sad disappointment feeling. I don't want you to experience the sad disappointment I did.

Pairs with scary looking jello dishes, bitter married couples, and martinis.

I rented this movie from my local video store (Rain City Video). Use the links under Find It. Watch It. on Horror Habit's sidebar to see where else you can find this lackluster feature.