What is this?
Ten years ago, I launched the website Media Life Crisis as a home for my "movie challenge" of watching at least 31 horror movies every October. That site quickly evolved from random thoughts about pop culture to a dedicated "movie challenge" diary, as I attempted to fill in the gaps in my cinematic repertoire through a series of thematic projects with names such as "PopGap," “The Movie Slot Machine," "Ron Howard: Eat My Dust!," and "The Silver Screen Streak Movie Challenge," the latter of which is ongoing and seemingly has no end.
As you can tell, I like to mix up my movie-watching habits and try out different angles whenever possible. The mainstay of the overall Media Life Crisis project, however, has been The Octoblur Horror Movie Marathon, which has grown in scope every year until I somehow managed to watch and review 71 horror movies during October of 2022. In the past, I’ve shared the reviews and my looping movie GIFs daily on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. This year, I'm bringing Octoblur to Substack and Notes, just to see how it all works.
Why do I do this stupid project?
I love movies, but especially horror movies. They are my comfort food, which probably makes me a weird person. But we are what we are. I'm always on the lookout for new horror discoveries. I listen to podcasts like Colors of the Dark and Pure Cinema; I read books like Horror Galore and Men, Women & Chainsaws. I search Letterboxd for themed lists and Flickchart for overlooked classics. I also scour disreputable websites that best go unnamed and collect lurid titles like a packrat.
What will happen during Octoblur 2023?
I will watch a lot of movies, write brief reactions to them, and post images that I like.
This year's (loose) theme is "Incredibly Strange Creatures," which started out focusing on animals and animal-esque monsters, but has grown to encompass pretty much anything, including children and rock'n'rollers, both equally barbaric. I'm not strictly faithful to my themes, but they do provide a sort of motif for the month as I seek out a variety of scary things that I’ve missed as well as classics that I share with my friends and kids.
What about past Octoblurs?
Great question! Let’s take a look at the Octoblurs of yore:
Hell, here's a complete list of all 450 movies that have featured in past Octoblurs, ranked from best to worst. The preceding percentage is where each movie ranked on my Flickchart, 100% being at the very top. (I like lists and data about movies almost as much as I like movies.)
99.67%: Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
99.51%: Poltergeist (1982)
99.36%: The Thing (1982)
99.28%: Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
98.09%: Halloween (1978)
97.88%: The Wailing (2016)
97.41%: From Beyond (1986)
95.85%: Young Frankenstein (1974)
95.84%: Freaks (1932)
95.00%: The Evil Dead (1981)
94.60%: The House of the Devil (2009)
94.13%: The Wicker Man (1973)
93.88%: The Village (2004)
93.33%: A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
93.13%: Possession (1981)
91.34%: The Sixth Sense (1999)
91.17%: Onibaba (1964)
90.23%: I Married a Witch (1942)
89.83%: The Brood (1979)
89.80%: Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1968)
89.76%: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
89.31%: Hausu (1977)
89.30%: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
89.28%: Eye of the Devil (1966)
89.13%: Village of the Damned (1960)
88.79%: Frankenstein (1931)
87.86%: King Kong (1933)
87.36%: Dead End Drive-In (1986)
87.02%: The Funhouse (1981)
87.00%: Carrie (1976)
86.64%: Kaidan (1964)
86.37%: Absentia (2011)
86.35%: Shura (1971)
85.83%: A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
84.55%: Phenomena (1985)
84.35%: Race with the Devil (1975)
84.14%: Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)
83.66%: Twins of Evil (1971)
83.59%: Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
83.16%: Road Games (1981)
82.94%: Ugetsu (1953)
82.42%: The Loved Ones (2009)
82.32%: Horror of Dracula (1958)
82.12%: The Devil's Backbone (2001)
82.00%: Greatful Dead (2013)
81.99%: The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
81.85%: Island of Lost Souls (1932)
81.54%: Night of the Creeps (1986)
81.52%: The Lighthouse (2019)
81.42%: May (2002)
81.02%: Messiah of Evil (1973)
80.82%: Der Fan (1982)
80.72%: Duel (1971)
80.68%: Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees (1975)
80.52%: Fright Night (1985)
80.45%: Drag Me to Hell (2009)
80.41%: The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)
80.26%: The Day of the Beast (1995)
80.13%: Freddy Vs. Jason (2003)
79.83%: Bliss (2019)
79.61%: The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
79.44%: Bedevilled (2010)
78.64%: Tourist Trap (1979)
78.36%: Mo: The Boxer's Omen (1983)
78.32%: The Bad Seed (1956)
77.96%: Motel Hell (1980)
77.74%: I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
77.72%: Mother Joan of the Angels (1961)
77.71%: Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
77.67%: The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
77.59%: We Are What We Are (2013)
77.47%: Viy (1967)
76.85%: Ringu (1998)
76.82%: Humanoids from the Deep (1980)
76.74%: Better Watch Out (2016)
76.57%: Don't Deliver Us from Evil (1971)
76.50%: All the Colors of the Dark (1972)
76.35%: The Battery (2012)
75.87%: A Dark Song (2016)
75.45%: Anguish (1987)
75.20%: Don't Look Now (1973)
75.15%: The Night Stalker (1972)
75.11%: Goodnight Mommy (2014)
75.06%: Kuroneko (1968)
74.93%: Phantasm (1979)
74.34%: Child's Play (2019)
74.33%: Theater of Blood (1973)
73.69%: Basket Case (1982)
73.51%: The Conjuring (2013)
73.49%: Mad Love (1935)
73.47%: The Pit (1981)
73.34%: The Black Cat (1934)
73.29%: Scream for Help (1984)
73.11%: Piercing (2018)
72.74%: Evil Dead Trap (1988)
72.67%: The Ninth Gate (1999)
72.19%: Trick 'r Treat (2008)
72.15%: At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul (1964)
72.12%: The Devils (1971)
72.02%: The City of the Dead (1961)
71.83%: Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
71.67%: The Last House On Dead End Street (1977)
71.47%: The Good Son (1993)
71.42%: Paranoiac (1963)
71.30%: Let the Right One In (2008)
71.17%: Rituals (1977)
70.66%: The Johnsons (1992)
70.41%: Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)
70.11%: Gerald's Game (2017)
70.03%: Suddenly in Dark Night (1981)
69.89%: Bad Ronald (1974)
69.88%: Relic (2020)
69.81%: Little Monsters (2019)
69.68%: Phase IV (1974)
69.64%: Innocent Blood (1992)
69.06%: TerrorVision (1986)
68.69%: I'm Not Scared (2003)
68.56%: Pin (1988)
67.95%: Cub (2014)
67.90%: Death Valley (1982)
67.67%: Xtro (1983)
67.00%: The Body Snatcher (1945)
66.85%: Alison's Birthday (1981)
66.70%: Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
66.65%: Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1972)
66.47%: Night Warning (1982)
66.42%: Satan's Slave (1976)
66.25%: Burn, Witch, Burn (1962)
65.91%: The Witch (1952)
65.75%: Someone's Watching Me! (1978)
65.31%: Dolls (1987)
65.23%: The Children (1980)
65.21%: Mikey (1992)
65.19%: The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020)
65.13%: You'll Like My Mother (1972)
65.09%: Witchcraft (1964)
65.08%: Dream Home (2010)
65.06%: Nightmare (1964)
64.98%: American Mary (2012)
64.91%: The Midnight Hour (1985)
64.84%: Night of the Scarecrow (1995)
64.63%: Summer of 84 (2018)
64.44%: Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)
64.36%: The Isle (2000)
64.26%: Shanks (1974)
64.06%: House of Usher (1960)
63.91%: The Innocents (2021)
62.77%: Baskın (2015)
62.75%: Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
62.74%: A Bucket of Blood (1959)
62.55%: Trick or Treat (1986)
62.54%: Evil of Dracula (1974)
62.47%: You Might Be the Killer (2018)
62.45%: All My Friends Are Dead (2020)
62.37%: Curtains (1983)
62.35%: We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2018)
62.18%: I Saw What You Did (1965)
62.17%: Alucarda (1977)
61.85%: Don't Go To Sleep (1982)
61.45%: Oculus (2014)
61.36%: It Comes at Night (2017)
61.11%: Fade to Black (1980)
61.06%: Witchfinder General (1968)
61.03%: Society (1989)
61.00%: Satan's Little Helper (2004)
60.98%: Hour of the Wolf (1968)
60.93%: Detention (2011)
60.88%: Feast (2005)
60.68%: The Prowler (1981)
60.29%: Sisters (1973)
60.08%: Don't Go in the House (1980)
59.66%: Hell Fest (2018)
59.64%: The Devil Rides Out (1968)
59.34%: Mr. Vampire (1985)
59.24%: A Cure for Wellness (2017)
59.09%: Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)
59.04%: Nightmare City (1980)
59.02%: Prince of Darkness (1987)
58.67%: The Gate (1987)
58.57%: Just Before Dawn (1981)
58.34%: Demons (1985)
58.14%: Weird Woman (1944)
57.92%: The Old Dark House (1932)
57.90%: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
57.74%: The House on Sorority Row (1983)
57.35%: Strange Behavior (1981)
57.25%: The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
56.90%: The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)
56.11%: Body Parts (1991)
56.06%: The Seventh Victim (1943)
55.34%: Angst (1983)
55.31%: The Unknown (1927)
54.93%: Who Can Kill a Child? (1976)
54.83%: The House That Screamed (1969)
54.52%: Don’t Hang Up (1974)
54.31%: Mandy (2018)
54.29%: Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980)
54.27%: Maniac (1980)
53.77%: Night Child (1975)
53.74%: Tone-Deaf (2019)
53.57%: All My Friends Hate Me (2021)
53.52%: The Devil's Candy (2015)
53.32%: We Are Still Here (2015)
53.00%: Housewife (2017)
52.95%: Cathy's Curse (1977)
52.87%: Robin Redbreast (1970)
52.83%: The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971)
52.77%: The Leopard Man (1943)
52.75%: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
52.73%: Don't Go Near the Park (1979)
52.68%: House of Whipcord (1974)
52.42%: The Seventh Curse (1986)
52.30%: Emelie (2015)
52.22%: Nightbeast (1982)
52.05%: Uzumaki (2000)
51.48%: Halloween (2007)
51.43%: Torso (1973)
51.28%: Satan's Rhapsody (1917)
51.16%: Wrong Turn (2003)
50.56%: Turkey Shoot (Escape 2000) (1982)
50.53%: Cry of the Banshee (1970)
50.49%: The Mummy (1932)
50.24%: Aenigma (1987)
50.06%: House at the End of the Street (2012)
49.89%: Angel Heart (1987)
49.79%: Here Comes Hell (2019)
49.67%: The Sentinel (1977)
49.64%: The Believers (1987)
49.44%: Films to Keep You Awake: The Baby's Room (2006)
49.37%: The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971)
49.31%: Lake of Dracula (1971)
49.29%: Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong! (2008)
49.14%: Häxan (1922)
49.00%: The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972)
48.72%: The Visitor (1979)
48.70%: Satan's Slave (1982)
48.08%: Strange Circus (2005)
48.07%: Black Moon (1934)
47.88%: Pumpkinhead (1988)
47.82%: House (1986)
47.62%: Hell House LLC (2015)
47.50%: Slumber Party Massacre III (1990)
47.42%: Don't Panic (1988)
47.27%: Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)
47.18%: The Devil (1972)
46.85%: The Mind's Eye (2015)
46.80%: Sheitan (2006)
46.76%: Satan's Children (1975)
46.70%: The Babysitter (1980)
46.65%: Lucifer's Women (1974)
46.63%: Glorious (2022)
46.56%: Bay Coven (1987)
46.45%: Sinister (2012)
46.40%: Devil Fetus (1983)
46.36%: Inferno (1980)
46.14%: Sole Survivor (1983)
45.68%: City of the Living Dead (1980)
45.63%: The Devil's Hand (1962)
45.51%: Die Weibchen (1970)
45.31%: Apostle (2018)
44.09%: The Innocents (1961)
44.07%: Don't Look Up (1996)
43.99%: The Manitou (1978)
43.89%: Audition (1999)
43.60%: The Scary of Sixty-First (2021)
43.54%: Idle Hands (1999)
43.52%: The Initiation (1984)
43.23%: Cure (1997)
43.20%: Without Warning (1980)
43.12%: StageFright (1987)
43.05%: Ticks (1993)
43.02%: The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
42.90%: Brain Damage (1988)
42.70%: The Rental (2020)
41.98%: Darlin' (2019)
41.76%: Invitation to Hell (1984)
41.73%: This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse (1967)
41.41%: Scanners (1981)
41.39%: Cold Fish (2010)
41.38%: The Borderlands (2013)
41.14%: Black Magic (1975)
41.11%: Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror (1981)
40.89%: Bereavement (2010)
40.88%: Tragic Ceremony (1972)
40.84%: Daimajin (1966)
40.66%: The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015)
40.49%: Deliver Us from Evil (2014)
40.14%: Before I Wake (2016)
39.87%: Friday the 13th (2009)
39.67%: The Child (1977)
39.37%: Cat's Eye (1985)
39.20%: Fear No Evil (1981)
38.75%: The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
38.69%: The Boy (2016)
38.03%: Insidious (2010)
37.92%: The House by the Cemetery (1981)
37.58%: Satan's School for Girls (1973)
37.16%: Eyes of My Mother (2016)
37.15%: Audrey Rose (1977)
37.10%: Satan's Cheerleaders (1977)
36.85%: Maniac Cop (1988)
36.76%: Seeding of a Ghost (1983)
35.93%: Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)
35.61%: Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
35.41%: Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (2012)
35.37%: Halloween Ends (2022)
35.21%: Satan's Slaves (2017)
35.19%: The Burning (1981)
34.91%: The House at the End of Time (2013)
34.17%: Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
33.99%: All Hallows' Eve (2013)
33.97%: Bloody Sect (1982)
33.65%: J.D.'s Revenge (1976)
33.03%: Raw (2017)
32.70%: The Vampire Doll (1970)
32.56%: Zombie (1979)
32.31%: Monster in the Closet (1986)
32.25%: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
31.63%: The Gate II: Trespassers (1990)
31.39%: Creep (2014)
31.38%: The Living and the Dead (2006)
31.36%: Terrifier (2016)
31.34%: Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)
31.29%: Murder Rock (1984)
31.26%: I Drink Your Blood (1970)
31.23%: The Legacy (1978)
31.13%: The Mummy (1959)
31.08%: The Video Dead (1987)
30.71%: Satan's Blood (1978)
30.56%: Happy Death Day (2017)
30.44%: The Night of a Thousand Cats (1972)
30.39%: Unfriended (2014)
29.24%: The Redeemer: Son of Satan! ()
29.05%: The Wolf Man (1941)
29.00%: Trick or Treats (1982)
28.92%: Dog Soldiers (2002)
28.57%: The Ogre (1988)
27.85%: Cementerio del terror (1985)
27.78%: Dead of Night (1945)
27.55%: White Zombie (1932)
27.48%: Deep Red (1975)
27.08%: Mausoleum (1983)
26.93%: Spookies (1986)
26.83%: Malevolence (2004)
26.78%: Neverknock (2017)
26.34%: Malevolence 3: Killer (2018)
26.33%: Ghosthouse (1988)
26.29%: The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)
26.21%: Edge of the Axe (1988)
26.19%: Mill of the Stone Women (1960)
26.06%: Dark Water (2002)
25.92%: Eyes of Fire (1983)
25.32%: Scars of Dracula (1970)
25.31%: Christine (1983)
25.26%: Axe (1977)
25.20%: Centipede Horror (1982)
24.75%: The Conjuring 2 (2016)
24.70%: Mystics in Bali (1981)
24.69%: Nightbreed ()
24.42%: The Brides of Dracula (1960)
24.07%: Marrowbone (2017)
23.93%: The House with Laughing Windows (1976)
23.88%: Annabelle (2014)
23.87%: Hex (1980)
23.85%: Lights Out (2016)
23.78%: Night of the Demons 2 (1994)
23.68%: Blood and Black Lace (1964)
23.65%: Mortuary (1983)
23.38%: The Murder Secret (1988)
23.37%: Ring of Darkness (1979)
22.81%: Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
22.76%: WNUF Halloween Special (2013)
22.70%: Vampires (1998)
22.66%: Beyond the Darkness (1979)
22.55%: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
22.51%: The Strangeness (1985)
22.29%: The House on the Edge of the Park (1980)
22.28%: Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968)
21.99%: Cemetery Man (1994)
21.71%: Kill, Baby... Kill! (1966)
21.69%: Stonehearst Asylum (2014)
21.59%: Wilczyca (1983)
21.26%: When Michael Calls (1972)
21.24%: The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
20.56%: Shutter (2004)
20.51%: Don't Look in the Basement (1973)
20.49%: The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
20.40%: The Sweet House of Horrors (1989)
20.07%: Halloween (2018)
19.82%: The Hunger (1983)
19.64%: Fright Night Part 2 (1988)
19.62%: Night Killer (1990)
19.40%: Halloween: H20 (1998)
19.27%: Terror Train (1980)
19.25%: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
18.75%: Jason X (2001)
18.53%: Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992)
17.83%: Demons of the Mind (1972)
17.80%: Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
17.44%: Tenebre (1982)
17.28%: Howard's Mill (2021)
17.09%: Night of the Demons (1988)
16.96%: Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
16.69%: Eaten Alive (1977)
16.61%: Satanic Panic (2019)
16.19%: Hellions (2015)
16.17%: The Wretched (2019)
16.12%: The Nun (2018)
16.11%: Halloween Kills (2021)
15.96%: House on Haunted Hill (1999)
15.94%: Gozu (2003)
15.45%: Keep Watching (2017)
15.37%: The Other (1972)
14.94%: Slumber Party Massacre II (1987)
14.90%: The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)
14.79%: Halloween II (1981)
14.63%: Itsy Bitsy (2019)
13.70%: The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976)
12.84%: The Final Girls (2015)
12.39%: The Willies (1990)
12.14%: Don't Click (2012)
11.99%: Lake Mungo (2008)
11.94%: Superstition (1982)
11.91%: Black Candles (1982)
11.84%: A Bay of Blood (1971)
11.67%: Grave Robbers (1989)
11.62%: The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
11.36%: Rapture (1979)
11.32%: Needful Things (1993)
10.49%: Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)
10.35%: Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)
9.58%: The Doll of Satan (1969)
9.38%: Dead Snow (2009)
8.96%: Mark of the Vampire (1935)
8.93%: The Grudge (2004)
8.76%: Sexy Killer: You'll Die for Her (2008)
8.68%: Beyond Darkness (1990)
7.39%: Satan's Baby Doll (1982)
6.37%: Historia de lo Oculto (2020)
5.94%: The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2008)
5.92%: Lisa and the Devil (1973)
5.13%: Don't Go in the Woods (1981)
5.03%: The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982)
4.05%: Romina (2018)
3.91%: Horror House on Highway Five (1985)
3.23%: Burke and Hare (2010)
2.93%: Don't Answer the Phone (1980)
2.71%: Enter the Devil (1972)
0.64%: Invitation Only (2009)
0.33%: Halloween II (2009)
If you’re still reading at this point, you’re as hopeless as I am, but maybe you’ve found the right place. Stay tuned for regular updates during the month.