Hooptober is a Letterboxd movie challenge created by Cinemonster. The goal is to watch 31 horror films in October, but the catch is that they have to fit the criteria Cinemonster posts. This year that means things like 2 Indian films, 1 film by Wes Craven, 1 film from 1984 and so on.

I was hesitant to take part because I only discovered the challenge on the 8th so I’d already lost over a week of viewing time. But… I love a good list, and over the last week or so, my wife and I have been hammering through horror films, and we’re slowly catching up. We’re only 5 films behind, with a couple of weekends to catch up.

Here’s where we are at the halfway mark, having watched 11 films:

6 countries – US, France, Australia, Switzerland, UK,
8 decades – 70s, 80s, 2010s, 2020s
ALL of the films from a horror franchise with at least 4 entries
1 film by Wes Craven – A Nightmare on Elm Street
1 film caused by/worsened by weather – Frozen (not the Disney one)
1 film starring a Black woman
1 Donald Sutherland film
3 films from New World Pictures – A Nightmare on Elm Street, Piranha
2 Indian films.
4 Italian films
2 Horror comedies – Totally Killer, Zombeavers
2 films made primarily or entirely in Texas – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Piranha
1 film that exists in at least 2 available cuts (you just have to watch one. Bonus if you watch them all.)
1 Robert Wiene film
1 Michele Soavi film
1 film from 2011
1 film from 1984 – A Nightmare on Elm Street
And 1 Tobe Hooper Film – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

So, 6 out of 18 categories completed after 11 movies. Movies can hit multiple categories, so there’s plenty of room to catch up, but I’m starting to think about spreadsheets to build a strategy.

If you want to see what I’m watching, my Hooptober 11 list is here https://letterboxd.com/solitarymindset/list/hooptober11/

---

[Hooptober 11 – The Story So Far by Philip Harris first appeared on Solitary Mindset on 16th October 2024]