The Pick Your Poison Challenge is simple. Each day for the month of October, there is a horror theme, and each day there is a choice of 20 movies to watch based on the day’s theme.
Simply pick the movie that interests you the most out of the 20 each day, watch, and review. That’s it!
October 31st actually has 40 choices because I just couldn’t narrow it down. Watch one, watch two, however the spirit moves ya. This certainly goes for other days too - you can watch more than one film if you’ve got the time and motivation.
We’ve got some new daily themes this year, along with a repeat of some of the classics that made an appearance last year. Similarly, many of the film options this year are new, with a few repeating staples and gems that also graced last year’s list. Like last year, film options are chosen from films I think are amazing, films others think are amazing based on lists/reviews (even if I didn’t love them, or have not seen them yet), films that are maybe not the best in the world but most horror fans are going to want to see, recent releases, genre staples, hidden gems, etc. Each day has a range of decades, film styles, and tones to choose from, so if you want to do a month of international horror, a month of low budget horror, a month of bleak horror, etc., there are lots of options. Or you can mix and match. You can watch something you haven’t seen each day (my aim was to get a good number of underseen films for folks who have seen EVERYTHING), or you can rewatch old favorites. That’s why it’s called Pick Your Poison - there is a finite number of films to chose from, so it functions a bit like a book club in that we’re all watching the same general sort of thing, but it’s highly customizable based on preferences. There are plenty of classics to choose from most days as well, for folks who only do horror in October or who aren’t super familiar with what the genre has to offer and want to load up on some modern classics or classic classics. If you’d like suggestions for any of the days, just give me a shout.
This challenge is great if you want to watch a variety of films in October but don’t know where to start, don’t feel like combing through a bunch of lists/reddit posts, etc. It’s also great if you just want an increased sense of community as you go through spooky season.
The rules are simple (and also flexible - do what works for you, even if it’s just doing weekends, starting early, etc). You can also combine this with other challenges that you might be partaking in, like Hooptober, if you’re so inclined. Definitely doesn’t have to be an either or situation, and I know many of us relish the chance to load up on horror, especially in October!
To play:
1. Day 1 starts on October 1st, 2025. There are 31 days total for the challenge.
2. Pick your movie for the day from the listed options (or create a list for the month so you’re ready to go for all 31 days - to make a list, just create a new list and add a film from every five rows/group of 20, or used the linked lists that only include the 20 films for that day). You can also watch a different version or entry in a franchise of any of the films listed, if you prefer.
3. Watch and review, include the day’s theme so we know you’re playing along. You’re also welcome to tag lists and reviews with the PYP2025 tag, though Letterboxd’s tag search system is pretty glitchy. If you don’t usually review, that’s ok, but I think it’s more fun to see what everyone thinks 👀 Nobody’s going to come after you if you don’t, though!
4. You can leave a comment on this post so we all know who to follow and I so can add you to the list of participants. I’ll just add participants from comments, not likes, because maybe some people want to save the list but not participate. If you want to link to your list in the comments, that’s the link I’ll use in the participants section, otherwise I’ll just link to your profile.
Most films can be found in the usual places - streamers, YouTube, Internet Archive. A handful might require a bit deeper of a dive, but they’re out there, and they’re worth the hunt, in my opinion. If you can’t find something, just shoot me a comment somewhere and I’ll try my best to help.
There are also 3 BONUS THEMES. This is in case you hate the theme for a particular day - you can switch it out for one of the extras - or if you just want to go above and beyond and watch some additional stuff.
The full film list is below, but under each theme is a link to a list that includes only the films for that day, because the big list gets a little overwhelming.
That’s it, have fun!! 🎃 👻 🧟
Daily Themes:
Day 1: Something Old 👵🏽
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To kick things off, dive into some oldies but goodies. Enjoy a film that had its theatrical release before I was born!
Phantasm - The Beyond - The Howling - Picnic at Hanging Rock - The Sentinel - House of Wax - Deadly Blessing - The Seventh Victim - Calling Dr. Death - The Body Snatcher - Strait Jacket - The House That Screamed - Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice? - The Ninth Configuration - Fade to Black - Deep Red - Horror Express - The House with the Laughing Windows - Queen of Spades - Pieces
Day 2: Ladies’ Night 👠
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Show some love to the ladies of the genre and watch a woman-directed horror film.
The Slumber Party Massacre - Raw - Ghostwatch - American Psycho - Saint Maud - Near Dark - Blood Diner - Ravenous - Piggy - Grafted - Tiger Stripes - Raquel 1:1 - Night Siren - Dearest Sister - Wishing Stairs - The Blue Hour - In My Skin - Cannibal Mukbang - Clock - The Surrender
Day 3: When You’re Evil 😈
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Today, go to hell - watch a film featuring hell, devils, demons, fallen angels, the antichrist, or satanists.
Hellraiser - Tales from the Crypt - Rosemary’s Baby - The Omen - Angel Heart - Baskin - The Prophecy - The House of the Devil - Let Us Prey - The Day of the Beast - Premutos - Night Visitor - Dark Angel: The Ascent - The Devil Rides Out - Race with the Devil - Letters to Satan Claus - Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies - Succubus - Empire of the Dark - Rawhead Rex
Day 4: All You Need is Love 💋
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Today, we sample from films in which love conquers all. sort of. maybe. Okay, maybe not. But it’s the thought that counts.
Fresh - Companion - Audition - Mother! - Don’t Worry Darling - Bones and All - The Gorge - Heart Eyes - Else - Good Boy - Meatball Machine - Spring - The Final Rose - Be My Cat: A Film for Anne - Straight on Till Morning - See You in Hell, My Darling - - La Llamada - Demon - Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees - Tammy and the T-Rex
Day 5: Dream a Little Dream 🛌
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Grab your favorite blanket and a stack of pillows - today we watch films that feature sleep, dreams, or nightmares.
A Nightmare on Elm Street - The Harbinger - Sleep (2023) - Come True - Don’t Panic - Nightmare Detective - Bad Dreams - The Mask - Dream Demon - The Sender - Beyond Dream’s Door - Paperhouse - Sleep (2020) - They - Long Dream - Nightwish - Even the Wind is Afraid - In the Cold of the Night - The Appointment - Nightmare
Day 6: Sliced and Diced 🔪
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Check your closets, and don’t forget to look under the bed. Today, we’re visiting slasher territory! I’ll be right back!
Scream - I Know What You Did Last Summer - In a Violent Nature - Freaky - High Tension - Maniac - Torso - The Driller Killer - Satan’s Little Helper - Fat Tuesday - Headless - Blood Rage - Valentine - I, Madman - Kolobos - Mischief Night - Dude Bro Party Massacre III - Night of the Demon - Amsterdamned - Blood Harvest
Day 7: Wake me up Inside 🧟
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Zombies, people mysteriously coming back from the dead, havok being wreaked by folks that may or may not have a pulse. Check to make sure both of your ears are still firmly attached and get ready for a day of reanimated corpses and returning from the grave.
Dawn of the Dead - The Return of the Living Dead - Train to Busan - 28 Days Later - Pet Sematary - Re-Animator - The Sadness - Lisa Frankenstein - Cemetery Man - Night of the Creeps - Flatliners - Sole Survivor - Overlord - Sometimes They Come Back - Boltneck - Zombi Child - Zombie for Sale - The Battery - Dead Heat - It Stains the Sands Red
Day 8: Hidden Gems 💎
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Please return your tray tables to their upright positions and deploy the secret handshake as we visit some lesser watched hidden gems - films with fewer than 25k views on Letterboxd that deserve your attention and will make you feel like you’re part of a secret cool horror club.
Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare - 7 Days - Chompy & the Girls - CarousHELL - Double Walker - Coming Soon - 13 Beloved - Impossible Horror - In Flames - Murder Death Koreatown - The Housemaid - Rapture - In the Dark - Stitches - Deadbeat at Dawn - Wild Zero - Teenage Ghost Punk - Why Hans Wagner Hates the Starry Sky - Virupaksha - Dead Talents Society
Day 9: Snakes, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails 🐌
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What’s your favorite nursery rhyme? Your favorite fairytale? Your favorite fantasy creature? We’ve got everything from lab constructed men, to Peter Pan, to werewolves, to Cinderella, to mermaids, to mysterious places in Mexico, India, Japan, Ireland, and China, and then some as we explore some dark fantasy horror.
Edward Scissorhands - Pan’s Labyrinth - Valerie and Her Week of Wonders - Ginger Snaps - The Ugly Stepsister - All You Need is Death - Hatching - In My Mother’s Skin - Moon Garden - Black Moon - Penda’s Fen - Beauty and the Beast (1978) - The Lure - The Soul Collector - Bramayugam - Inugami - Legend of the Mountain - Frewaka - Alice - The Death of Snow White
Day 10: Central and South American Horror 🗺️
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Pack your bags, grab your sunscreen, and get ready for fun as we jet set down South to sample horror films directed by folks from Central or South American countries.
Santa Sangre - Cronos - Terrified - Poison for the Fairies - At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul - We Are the Flesh - Huesera: The Bone Woman - Alucarda - The Last Matinee - Luz: The Flower of Evil - Friendly Beast - Phantom Summer - Piety- Blood Red Ox - PussyCake - El Conde - Cemetery of Terror - Pure Blood - Good Manners - The Witch’s Mirror
Day 11: Glitz and Glamour 🎆
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Prepare to have your eyeballs and brains wowed as we explore the world of visually-striking horror. This is one of my favorite days of the challenge!
I Saw the TV Glow - Dracula - Kwaidan - Inferno - House - Mandy - Enter the Void - La Casa Lobo - Tumbbad - Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes - Bulbbul - Playdurizm - The Loneliest Boy in the World - Hellmouth - The Cell - The Fare - Medusa - The Blue Rose - The Blazing World - Color Out of Space
Day 12: The End of the World as we Know it 💣
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You bunker or mine? Today we venture out into the wasteland with films centered on apocalypse horror.
Prince of Darkness - Knock at the Cabin - A Quiet Place - Bird Box - The Road - End of Days - I Am Legend - Y2K - Azrael - Everyone will Burn - Stake Land - Virus - Cadaver - Silent Night - The Crazies - Day the World Ended - Dead End Drive-In - New Life - Ghost Machine - Starfish
Day 13: Trapped like a Rat 🐀
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Get fenced in, boxed in, locked in, and sharked in with some single location horror.
Saw - The Descent - The Autopsy of Jane Doe - Chopping Mall - Bodies Bodies Bodies - Buried - The Collector - We Need to do Something - Cube - The Belko Experiment - Circle - Cube - Maléfique - Crush the Skull - The Shallows - P2 - Redd Inc - Haze - Tin Can - Beyond the Seventh Door - Harpoon
Day 14: Family Ties 🧑🧑🧒🧒
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Prepare to reevaluate your life decisions as we watch horror focused on children and families! It’s not just a phase, mom!
Hereditary - The Babadook - Coraline - Insidious - Frailty - The Bad Seed - Inside - Bring Her Back - Cuckoo - The Seventh Continent - The Happiness of the Katakuris - The Reflecting Skin - The Eyes of My Mother - What Josiah Saw - M.O.M. - Exhibit A - Seire - Mumsy, Nancy, Sonny, & Girly - Baby Blood - Bloody Hell
Day 15: Hello, Dolly! 🪆
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Children’s toys, mannequins, wooden creatures and more shock and scandalize as we select a movie focused on doll horror. Beware the stare of Mary Shaw, kids.
Child’s Play - Magic - M3GAN - Oddity - The Monkey - Dead Silence - Annabelle - The Boy - Puppet Master - The Guardian - Flight 7500 - Little Otik - Tourist Trap - Dolls - Pin - The Psychopath - Love Object - Mister Designer - The Doll Master - Dolly Deadly
Day 16: Disability Horror 🩼
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Characters facing physical challenges rise to the occasion to take on all sorts of foe as we sample from films with disability representation.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? - Silver Bullet - Hush - Your Monster - Monkey Shines - Mute Witness - Eyes of a Stranger - Eli - Run - The Advent Calendar - Late Phases - Sound of Violence - Free Fall - Taste of Fear - Attachment - The Spiral Staircase - Masking Threshold - Sun Choke - Afflicted - Bone Sickness
Day 17: On the Road Again 🚘
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Snacks? Check. Playlist? Check. Full tank? Check. Maniac with implements of torture? Double check. Get ready to play passenger princess as we hit the dusty trail with some road trip horror.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - From Dusk Till Dawn - Spoorloos - The Hills Have Eyes - Jeepers Creepers - House of 1000 Corpses - The Hitcher - Wolf Creek - Wrong Turn - A Classic Horror Story - Lowlifes - House of Wax - Rest Stop - Road Games - Macabre - Alone - Downrange - Coming Home in the Dark - Squeal - Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural
Day 18: Let’s Get It On 🍆
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A friend once told me that he thought all human behavior stemmed from a drive toward sex or survival. Today, we ask ‘why not both?’ Horny horror incoming.
It Follows - Knife+Heart - Frankenhooker - Teeth - Guilty of Romance - Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key - Visitor - Nekromantic - Tromeo and Juliet - Def by Temptation - Singapore Sling - Lace Crater - Bordello of Blood - Cherry Falls - Code Blue - The Life and Death of a Porno Gang - Piercing - Cat People - Vampyros Lesbos - Flesh for Frankenstein
Day 19: Candyman, Candyman, Candyman 🐝
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Strap in and stare down your favorite region-specific lore as we become our own worst enemy by chasing after some urban legend horror. Hold onto your heads!
Ring - Sleepy Hollow - The Mothman Prophecies - Urban Legend - Candyman - When a Stranger Calls - Butterfly Kisses - The Empty Man - The Last Broadcast - Operation Capture the Slit Mouthed Woman - Chest - The Tag-Along - La Llorona - Willow Creek - Elevator Game - Frogman - Head Count - Kandisha - Marebito - Gags the Clown
Day 20: Stay Out of the Woods 🌲
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Witches, killers, creatures, cults, oh my. Probably best to just stay home, based on today’s selection of forest and wilderness horror. We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore.
The Blair Witch Project - The Cabin in the Woods - The Burning - The VVitch - The Company of Wolves - Hatchet - Impetigore - Don’t Move - Hunter Hunter - Mama - All Eyes - There’s Something in the Barn - Winterskin - Hansel & Gretel - Loop Track - The Head Hunter - Pater Noster and the Mission of Light - Churuli - The Moor - Attack of the Beast Creatures
Day 21: She Blinded me with Science (Fiction) 🧬
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If you like body transformations, and stan giant brains. If you’re not into yoga but want to see reality change. If you like hiding out from creatures, from some distant place. This is the day that you’re looking for - watch sci-fi horror and escape.
The Mist - Event Horizon - Signs - Nope - The Substance - eXistenZ - Possessor - The Invisible Man - The Passing - The Brain - 964 Pinocchio - Beyond the Black Rainbow - There’s Nothing Out There - The Similars - T Blockers - Phase IV - The Incredible Shrinking Man - Hostile Dimensions - Repo the Genetic Opera - The Hyperborean
Day 22: Tentacle Tales 🐙
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Cosmic and Lovecraftian horror are on the menu for today friends! Tuck in your bib, and get your fork and knife ready to cut into all the weirdness this theme has to offer. Literal tentacles may or may not be included!
The Thing - Possession - Cloverfield - The Endless - From Beyond - Dark Waters - Glorious - The Void - The Curse - The Last Winter - Black Mountain Side - Cold Skin - Housewife - The Resurrected - Call Girl of Cthulhu - Occult - The Yellow Night - A Whisper in the Darkness - Minore - The Beach House
Day 23: Do you Hear the Lambs Screaming? 🐑
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Today we’re on the prowl to view some serial killer horror, with dastardly individuals from different countries and decades. Choose wisely, and don’t get caught in their traps. Dun dun dunnn.
The Silence of the Lambs - Se7en - Angst - Longlegs - The Last Horror Movie - Nightwatch - Summer of 84 - A Record of Sweet Murder - Confessions of a Serial Killer - Surveillance - Murder by Numbers - Who’s Watching Oliver - Blue Vengeance - Copycat - Antibodies - White of the Eye - Flowers - House of Him - Cat Sick Blues - Angel Dust
Day 24: Story Time 📖
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Kick back and prepare for the best kind of tales - those of the spooky variety - as we dive into today’s theme of anthology horror.
Tale of Tales - Trick ‘r Treat - Creepshow - Three Extremes - Tales from the Crypt - V/H/S - Cat’s Eye - The Monster Club - Black Sabbath - Juju Stories - Petshop of Horrors - Body Bags - Tales from the Hood - The Mortuary Collection - A Christmas Horror Story - All the Creatures Were Stirring - Horror Noire - Destiny - Southbound -Campfire Tales
Day 25: Fangs for the Memories 🧛🏻♀️
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These guys and gals really suck - they’ll keep you up all night, try to nibble, and may even want you to join their club. Prepare your necks for some vampire horror.
Sinners - The Lost Boys - Interview with the Vampire - Nosferatu - Martin - Thirst - Habit - The Addiction - The Vourdalak - Norway - Lips of Blood - The Vampire Doll - The Transfiguration - Red Snow - Blood & Donuts - Love Bites - The Brotherhood - Livid - What We Do in the Shadows - Bloodsucking Bastards
Day 26: I See Dead People 💥
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Open your hearts, minds, and your third eye as we check out films films featuring psychics, clairvoyants, mediums, or telepathy.
Final Destination: Bloodlines - The Sixth Sense - Doctor Sleep - Firestarter - Scanners - Phenomena - The Dead Zone - Stir of Echoes - Hideaway - Cameron’s Closet - The Nightshifter - The Kirlian Witness - Patrick - The Psychic - The Medusa Touch - Eyes of Laura Mars - Departing Seniors - Extra Ordinary - Parasomnia - The Atticus Institute
Day 27: An Unquiet Mind 🧠
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The insides of our heads can be quite the uncertain place. Take a few slow, deep breaths and prepare to experience some psychological horror.
Psycho - Martyrs - In the Mouth of Madness - Identity - Dead Ringers - Les Chambres Rouges - Heretic - Excision - Daniel Isn’t Real - The Voices - The Caller - Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla - Nevrland - The Nightmare - Creepy - Sorgoi Prakov: My European Dream - The Call - Deadline - Kotoko - A Field in England
Day 28: Now Screening 🖥️
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Click like and subscribe and log in for today’s theme - screen-life, computer, streaming, vlogging, and influencer horror.
Deadstream - Host - Unfriended: Dark Web - Deadware - The Collingswood Story - Horror in the High Desert - Cam - Visher - Invited - Dear David - The Den - Fresh Hell - Followed - The Andy Baker Tape - Countdown - #ChadGetsTheAxe - Missing: The Life of Belle - Exploited - Resurrected - Freelance
Day 29: When You’re Strange 🫠
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The goal of today is to keep it strange. Embrace your inner oddball and dive head first into some weird horror.
Army of Darkness - Little Shop of Horrors - Inland Empire - Society - Leprechaun - Troll 2 - Mad God - Mads - Butt Boy - Project Wolf Hunting - Street Trash - The Visitor - Hiruko the Goblin - Moon Ghost - The Horror of Party Beach - Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh - Don’t Let the Riverbeast Get You - Winterbeast - Born of Fire - Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-a-rama
Day 30: Filled With the Spirit 👹
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Say a little prayer and get that holy water ready - today, we’re watching possession horror!
The Exorcist - Talk to Me - Ouija: Origin of Evil - Late Night with the Devil - The Cleansing Hour - The Taking of Deborah Logan - When Evil Lurks - The Medium - The Last Exorcism - Sister Death - Blood and Roses - Luz - Belzebuth - The Possession of Michael King - The Possession - Abby - Legacy of Evil - Mother Joan of the Angels - Ghost Nursing - The Convent
Day 31: A Haunting We Will Go 🏚️
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Creaky floorboards, spooky specters, and strange sightings abound as we go on today’s field trip to haunted and/or spiritually infested houses and buildings.
Sinister - The Changeling - The Conjuring - The Haunting - Paranormal Activity - The Others - Crimson Peak - Hell House LLC - Grave Encounters - Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum - The Legend of Hell House - The Woman in Black - House on Haunted Hill - Thir13en Ghosts - 1408 - The Uninvited - Session 9 - Poltergeist - The Amityville Horror - House - The Presence - Cobweb - Last Radio Call - House of Voices - The Awakening - The House at the End of Time - Malpertuis - The Canal - Winchester - 13B - Sweet Home - Bezeel - I’m Haunted - Ghosthouse - The Invisible Mother - I Am a Ghost - A Ghost Waits - Dark and Stormy Night - WNUF Halloween Special - Waxwork
Bonus Round 1: Spooky Substances 💊
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Prepare for a unique sort of trip as we hone in on horror featuring drugs and chemicals.
Brain Damage - Wild Beasts - Do Not Disturb - Toxic Zombies - Capsules - Death Walks at Midnight - Flashback - A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin - Banshee Chapter - Toad Road - John Dies at the End - Altered States - The Alchemist Cookbook - Corridors of Blood - Synchronic - Blue Sunshine - Bliss - All Jacked Up and Full of Worms - Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde - The Stuff
Bonus Round 2: The Deep Dark 🧗🏻♀️
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Pray for daylight as we descend to explore horror set underground, in caves, in tunnels, or in basements.
Barbarian - Death Line - As Above So Below - The Tunnel - Superdeep - The Boogens - Beneath - The Cave - The Pyramid - Der Bunker - C.H.U.D. - The Midnight Meat Train - The Divide - Stay Out Stay Alive - Pod - White Doomsday - The Church - I Trapped the Devil - Hidden - End of the Line
Bonus Round 3: Behind the Screams 🎥
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Learn yourself something with one of these 20 captivating horror documentaries, based on your favorite flicks, folks, facts, abd/or folklore.
Häxan - Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched - Scream, Queen! - Masters of Horror - Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini - Wolfman’s Got Nards - Horror Noire - Hail to the Deadites - Scary Stories - The Making of Psycho - Living with Chucky - Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown - Scream: The Inside Story - Memory: The Origins of Alien - Monsterland - Birth of the Living Dead - Nightmares in Red, White and Blue - Fear of the Flesh: Making of the Fly - The J-Horror Virus - Room 237
