I've been doing this for 10 years now. And yet, every single time the spooky season begins, and the nights begin to grow darker, and the air start to have a new chill, and the shadows begin to stay out longer, and creatures of the dark start coming out to play, I feel the same giddiness, excitement & anticipation that I did when I first took part in the inaugural season of Cinemonster's annual festivity: The Hoop-Tober Challenge.

Over the years, this 1½ months long descent into the world of horror has become the single most-awaited & sought-after event on this site, and it has continued to bring this community together year after year while also giving the new members a snapshot of what Letterboxd used to be like back in its heydays. It's the one grand, inclusive event where all of you is invited & encouraged to widen your horror palette, and have fun doing it.

The whole point of Hoop-Tober is to celebrate & savour the vast & versatile genre of horror and find your poison coz there is a horror subgenre for everyone. And if you think you don't have one, it's only coz you haven't found it yet. And you won't until you continue looking, exploring & experimenting. That's what the rules & criteria are for: to push you further out of what you are used to so you give those horror films a chance you never would otherwise.

Heading into my 10th year, I already knew what I was gonna aim for this time: the films, the filmmakers & the franchises that have had an influence on the genre throughout history. And if I can do it with the choices that abide by the rules & criteria for this year then it is even better. The rules are more like guidelines anyway. So I've got everything from old classics to new gems, foreign treasures to Hollywood offerings, all-time fav revisits to new surprises, and mainstream blockbusters to arthouse endeavours.

To those taking part for the first time ever: Welcome to the madhouse! You've no idea how much fun you're about to have and it wouldn't be a surprise if this thing becomes a yearly pilgrimage for you the way it has for the rest of us. And to those returning again: Welcome back and lets have a spookier month & a half, shall we? As before but surely for the last time, I'll be going for 31 horrors in 31 nights, starting from 1st Oct and the following are the horror films I've chosen for my contribution to Cinemonster's HoopTober X.

Thank you again Cine for hosting this extraordinary event. And also my heartiest congratulations for making it to 10 long years. Who would've thought back in 2014? Always grateful to be part of this. Also, a special shoutout to all those who have been here from the start and are now returning for their 10th Hoop-Tober in a row. All the best to everyone taking part this year. And don't forget to have fun, for that's what this festivity is and always has been about. Some films in my list may get replaced over the course of the month, depending on either my mood or their availability. Anyway, let the madness begin!

You Are Remembered For The Rules You Break :–

– There Must Be 31 Horror Films
– 6 Countries
– 8 Decades
– 2 Post-Apocalyptic or Natural Disaster Films
– 1 Robert Englund Film
– 1 "Something is Underground" Film
– 3 Satan/Devil Films
– 1 Amicus Film
– 1 Worst Dracula Film
– 1 LGBTQ+ Film
– 5 Films from De Palma, Craven, Russell, Hitchcock and/or Moorhead & Benson.
– 2 Peter Cushing Films
– 1 Bram Stoker Film
– 1 Clive Barker Story
– 1 Film from the Year You Turned 10
– 1 Mario Bava Film.
– 1 Film with X in the Title
– 1 Tobe Hooper Film
– Review Them All