Previously on Hooptober: 2022, 2023, 2024

" I do believe in spooks, I do believe in spooks. I do, I do, I do, I do, I do!!!"

Welcome back, Fellow Hoop-ers! There's no place like home!

Looking forward to completing Hooptober for a fourth year in a row! The first 18 films on the list below (the "Hooptober 18") hit all of Cinemonster's criteria - everything from number 19 onward is gravy, and will be subject to (possibly significant) change throughout the Twelfth of Hooptober - I'll chop-and-change as I go, but rest assured that ALL criteria will be met (including reviews for every film watched).

The Rules, and how I'm meeting them (see also the notes for each film):
There must be 31 films
6 countries (other than Italy or US) (my initial "Hooptober 18" covers at least 7 additional countries - see notes for details)
9 decades (1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 10s, 20s)
5 Zombie films (28 Days Later, Mortuary, Land of the Dead, 28 Weeks Later, Terror-Creatures from the Grave, Zombie Flesh Eaters, Cemetery of Terror, The Return of the Living Dead, Lifeforce, 28 Years Later)
3 cult or conspiracy horror films (Heretic, The Lair of the White Worm, Azrael)
1 film from a Black director with a Black lead (The Piano Lesson)
1 film from a Mexican or Central American director (Cronos, Dead of Night, Cemetery of Terror)
1 Canadian film (Land of the Dead)
1 former Soviet state film (Sputnik)
The most popular film from the 1940s that you haven't seen and can access (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein)
2 Post Apocalyptic horror films (28 Days Later, Land of the Dead, Azrael, 28 Weeks Later, 28 Years Later)
1 film with dreams or a dream as part of the plot (The Lair of the White Worm, Vampyr, The Wizard of Oz, Dead of Night, Nightmare Castle, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge, Lifeforce)
1 the animals are pissed at us film (Squirm)
1 silent film (The Phantom of the Opera)
4 based on Novels (The Phantom of the Opera, The Wizard of Oz, The Lair of the White Worm, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Nanny, Salem's Lot, Fortress, Lifeforce (I know, this blows my mind every time I remember it!))
Any film from THIS list that you haven't seen (Heretic, The Lair of the White Worm, Wolf Creek)
1 Ernesto Gastaldi written film (Libido)
1 film from 1932 (Vampyr)
I have never made a specific film a part of this before, but The Wizard of Oz (1939)
And 1 Tobe Hooper Film (There must ALWAYS be a Hooper film) (TWO this year - Lifeforce and Mortuary)

And as always, a big thank you to Cinemonster!

Edit: Day of the Dead (85) removed from my original 'Hooptober 18'.