Falloween 2013 Horror Movie Challenge

by Erin Darling 1 October 2013 128 views No Comment E-mail Erin Darling

October is here, and along with the seasonal turning of the leaves, and the return of the Starbucks Pumpkin Latte, also comes the build up toward everybody’s favorite costumed holiday, Halloween.

Real talk. Although fall is my favorite time of the year, Halloween became my least favorite holiday on the calendar after I aged out of trick-or-treating at age seventeen. Ever since that fateful day, you could find me spending October 31st sulking in my room, questioning why it was no longer socially-acceptable to ask neighbors for candy, and searching for the true meaning of this holiday…outside of free Twizzlers and Tootsie Rolls.

Almost a whole decade later, I still haven’t found it. But I have found a glimmer of hope…

In my profession as a movie critic, pundit, and reviewer, the only film genre I don’t consistently cover is horror. Truth be told, I haven’t been a huge fan of the genre stemming back my first exposure to Freddy Krueger at age 7. I guess you could say I wasn’t exactly prepared for the experience, and spent the following month sleeping on the floor of my brother’s room, if I was able to sleep at all. Since then, I’ve approached the genre with caution, rarely choosing to watch horror movies for work, or for fun.

But this year, all that changed.

Thanks to the release of big-buzz movies like “The Conjuring” and “Evil Dead” I’ve ended up watching, screening, and covering more horror movie in the past 10 months than I have in the past 10 years. And guess what? Not only was I able to sit through the suspense, screams, and scares, but to my surprise, I actually liked it.

This newfound appreciation of the genre has inspired me to spend the next month searching for the spirit of the season where all things spooky are celebrated, and to rekindle my interest in Halloween by embarking on an ambitious mission, challenge, and educational journey through the world of horror films.

Per your Twitter suggestions, THEPOPFIX compiled a list of the best, most interesting, or straight up scary horror movies released over the past 13 years, and I’m hell-bent on seeing them all over the next 31 days.

Agree? Disagree? Can you stand up to the Falloween Horror Movie Challenge? Tweet us @THEPOPFIX and let us know.