At the time of making this, the temperature has not dropped (yet), it still doesn't get dark until 9, and don't come up here yet because I haven't even started cleaning my place up before we kick off the month we waste all year waiting for.

Cinemonster has put this year's criteria for entry earlier than I think we did last year so here is my list, plus a couple of bonuses weaved in:

31 + 4 films

6 countries: Hong Kong - Dumplings - 2004
Japan - Cure - 1997
Mexico - Tigers Are Not Afraid - 2017
Turkey - Baskin - 2015
South Korea - Train to Busan - 2016
India - Tumbbad - 2018

8 decades: The Phantom Carriage - 1921
Freaks - 1932
Cat People - 1942
Dementia - 1955
The Birds - 1963
All the Colors of the Dark - 1972
From Beyond - 1986
Frankenhooker - 1990

2 insect-centered films: Mimic - 1997
Arachnophobia - 1990

1 horror film set in space or the future (relative to when it was released): High Life - 2018

2 animated movies: Coraline - 2009
Wicked City - 1987
NOTE: Coraline might seem out of place but I remember families making it out to be a horror movie back when it came out, even though I remember nothing about it that scared me. I've been curious to go back to it for a while and am just gonna use this challenge as an opportunity to revisit more than a decade after, plus it will be a pleasant change of pace after all the gore.

1 bloodthirsty old person/people film: Phantasm - 1979

2 1970s regional US films: The Wizard of Gore - 1970
The Crazies - 1973

The worst horror sequel from the 1990s that I haven't seen and can access: Howling: New Moon Rising - 1995

1 German Silent: The Golem: How He Came into the World - 1920

5 Films from David Cronenberg, Ti West, Bill Rebane, Charles B. Pierce, William Grefe and/or Joy N. Houck Jr.: The Brood - 1979
The House of the Devil - 2009
Monster A Go-Go - 1965
The Town that Dreaded Sundown -1976
Mako: The Jaws of Death - 1976

2 Christopher Lee films - The Curse of Frankenstein - 1957
Horror of Dracula - 1958

1 film with a musician or band in it (A real-life musician or band) - The Hunger - 1983

1 Stephen King adaptation that is not the first go around: Pet Semetary - 1989
NOTE: This did say "no first go around," but I've never seen Pet Semetary and I try to use these challenges to stretch my pallette and see stuff I've never seen before. It should bear mentioning that a special screening of The Shining is coming to the closest local theater in my area this October and I might either log that again or log these both as doubles.

1 mandatory Tobe Hooper: Lifeforce - 1985

BONUS CHALLENGE: Pennywise: The Story of IT - 2022

Review at least 1 movie per night. Some of the extras might get crammed together in the final week of October, especially since I'll be juggling this alongside my ongoing Criterion Challenge. We actually got a couple this year that I've been avoiding for quite some time so it should be all the word-that-my-username-doesn't-allow-me-to-say. Did my damnedest to not let this list get dominated by Japanese Ghost stories since they swept all my horror awards last year. I will hit shuffle on this come October 1st and watch in w/e order the almighty algorithm decides in order to give stuff that may bleed into each other, visually and thematically, a fighting chance for the coveted 5-star rating, if there are any contenders this year🥊

Actually, screw it, I'm already cheating w/ Lifeforce just because I wanted an excuse to rewatch (and hopefully show to some unsuspecting friends), so I'm just gonna open w/ that, then shuffle.