It's that time of the year, and the redoubtable Cinemonster has once again graced us with a spookifying new Hooptober challenge! This year's rules give perhaps a little bit of extra leeway for genre exploration, while still challenging us to pick the Halloween watchlist of our dreams...or NIGHTMARES?

This will be my third year participating, and just like last year I will be combining this challenge with the weekly 2020 Cult Movie Challenge, which once again has October themes that mesh beautifully with Hooptober.

On top of the films that fulfill the base requirements of the challenge, I've got a bunch of other movies here that I'm excited to see, like Richard Stanley's modern-day Lovecraft adaptation, Color Out of Space, as well as Charlie Kaufman's latest, I'm Thinking of Ending Things.

I've also sprinkled in some picks inspired by some of my favorite movies from this past year, like The Babysitter and Southbound, respectively featuring the star (Samara Weaving) and writer/directors (Radio Silence) of 2019's cult hit Ready or Not. I'm finally getting around to seeing the original Universal The Invisible Man after greatly enjoying the 2020 remake starring Elisabeth Moss, which was also one of the last theatrical experiences I had pre-quarantine.

Speaking of which, this time out I won't be adding a weekly trip to my movie theater because (Christopher Nolan's opinion on the matter notwithstanding) I'm not going to be spending upwards of 90 minutes of my time in any enclosed spaces with freely circulating HVAC (other than the grocery store) until this whole world-spanning pandemic thing is sorted out.

I'm leaving the option open to go to a drive-in, but I have no idea what my local establishments will have scheduled more than a week or two in advance. So I'll play it by ear and might flip some things around if I get a solid lead on some outdoor/socially-distanced horror movies I can add to the list.

So with no further ado:
-- THE 13 RULES OF HOOPTOBER SE7EN --

1) 6 countries 🗺️✅
This year, I've got movies from:
🥧🦅US
🍁🏒Canada
👑💷UK
🍻🥨Germany
💃🥘Spain
🗼🐌France
🍣🗻Japan

2) 6 decades 📅✅
This one was a cinch, I have nearly every decade from the 1930s to the present represented this year. 😁

3) 7 2nd films of franchises ✌️✅
🎃🔪 Halloween II (1981)
👿🙅‍♂️ The Devil's Rejects (2005)
😱🧛🏿😱 Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
🎹🥼 Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)
💀🍿 Creepshow 2 (1987)
🎎🎎 Puppet Master II (1990)
👰👨‍⚕️ Bride of Re-Animator (1990)

4) 4 body horror films 🤮☣️🤮✅
🩰🦢 Black Swan (2010)
🍱⚙️ Meatball Machine (2005)
🧠🤯 Brain Damage (1988)
🏚️🌡️ Cabin Fever (2002)
...and several others!

5) 2 films from this year 📆✅
💬💻 Host (2020)
🤔🔚 I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

6) 3 disease based films 😷✅
😡🧟🏻 28 Days Later (2002)
⏺📹 [REC] (2007)
🏚️🌡️ Cabin Fever (2002)

7) The highest rated horror film from the 50s 👍🎞️👍✅
(that you haven't seen and can access)
🏫🛀 Diabolique (1955)

8) 1 film that is set entirely inside one location 🛑⚓✅
🧱🤕 Haze (2005)

9) 1 Invisible Person film 🙈🧍✅
🕵️🕶️ The Invisible Man (1933)

10) 1 Non Dracula Hammer Film 🚫🧛‍♂️🔨🎞️✅
🤪🔪 Fanatic (AKA Die! Die! My Darling!) (1965)

11) 2 films with a black director or predominantly black cast or lead. 👍🏾✅
😱🧛🏿😱 Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
😈🕵🏾🦯 Petey Wheatstraw, The Devil's Son-in-Law (1977)

12) 1 film with a movie theater in it. 📽️🍿✅
🦠🏙️ The Blob (1988)

13) And 1 Tobe Hooper Film 🧔🎥🎬✅
(There must ALWAYS be a Hooper film)
👻👧🏼📺 Poltergeist (1982)

*BONUS (FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO DO MORE WORK):✅
🧙‍♀️🌊 The Witch Who Came From the Sea (1976)
📦🚀 Cube 2: Hypercube (2002)

And for the 2020 Cult Movie Challenge:
Week 40: Gothic Horror Week 🥀🦇🏰 (source list)
🧛‍♀️🍻🥨 Vampyr (1932)
Week 41: Zombie Week 🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♂️ (source list)
🧟🤘 Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Week 42: Shock Theater Week 📺🌙 (source list)
🕵️🕶️ The Invisible Man (1933)
Week 43: Slasher Week 🎭🔪😱 (source list)
🎃🔪 Halloween II (1981)