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  WHERE THE DEAD WALK
         AND CHAOS REIGNS
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Happy Hooptober 12! 🧟‍♂️

Once upon a crisp fall morning in 2022, a little tradition called Hooptober crept into my life… and now it refuses to leave. May Hooptober never die!

This year, I’m diving in again, armed with spooky delights, cozy autumn air, and a pack of trusty Alani Witch’s Brew — my go-to elixir for staying awake and ready for scares.

Every title on this list is a first-time watch (except when fate says otherwise! cough Wizard of Oz), and I’ll do my best to leave my thoughts along the way. Expect zombies to rise from the grave (Messiah of Evil, Day of the Dead, One Cut of the Dead), cults and conspiracies to whisper in the shadows (The Invitation, Race with the Devil, Cronos, Stepford Wives), and a healthy dose of literary horror (Salem’s Lot, The Fog, Ring, Pet Sematary).

I’m finally checking off some long-overdue essentials like An American Werewolf in London, Halloween III, and The Conjuring 2, alongside other curiosities like Italian giallo The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh to new releases like The Monkey. And yes… I’m bracing myself for the nightmare fuel of Terrifier 2 mainly for the reason of being at HHN this year.

With Disney magic by day and Halloween Horror Nights by night in Florida at the end of October, I’m starting early this year — the marathon begins September 1st! Let the season of spooky cinema begin 🕯️.

Cinemonster’s Original List: boxd.it/EsPD6
My Previous Years: letterboxd.com/tdwig/tag/hooptober/lists/

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QUICK EASY RULES:

There must be 31 horror films
6 countries (other than Italy or US) (So . . . 8 countries)
9 decades
5 Zombie Films (I went traditional, not Romero style. Seemed to fit the political paranoia better)
3 cult or conspiracy horror films
1 film from a Black director with a Black lead
1 film from a Mexican or Central American director
1 Canadian film
1 former Soviet state film (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan)
The most popular film from the 1940s that you haven't seen and can access. (dropped down to the second row to find one. Not much I hadn't seen)
2 Post Apocalyptic horror films
1 Film with dreams or a dream as part of the plot
1 The animals are pissed at us film
1 Silent film
4 based on Novels
Any film from THIS list that you haven't seen
1 Ernesto Gastaldi written film
1 film from 1932
I have never made a specific film a part of this before, but WIZARD of OZ ('39) (love this swing)

Note: Categories are marked in list notes