October Horror Movie Challenge 2024

It is well documented that your perception of time changes as you get older. Each year represents a smaller and smaller fraction of your total lived experience. A period of time that might feel like eternity to a child barely registers once you’re middle-aged. Our frame of reference makes it feel like the years are whizzing past, blurring into kaleidoscopic chaos.

But I’ve come to suspect this is only part of the story. Death is a black hole — an impossibly dense singularity we are all drawn towards, faster and faster. We find ourselves moving through our remaining years at speeds we never dreamed imaginable, hurtling towards that event horizon from which none can return, finally plunging into eternal darkness. It is relentless. It is inescapable.

All of which means that October seems to have come around quickly again this year. Time to cheer myself up with some horror films!

What is the October Horror Movie Challenge?

Simply, the October Horror Movie Challenge asks us to watch a horror film every day throughout the month. People have developed all sorts of variations, as people are wont to do. You might want to try picking films from a variety of countries, subgenres and eras, or seek out those made by women, LGBT filmmakers, or other voices underrepresented in the industry. Some try to pack in as many films as their eyes will take, while others watch what they can, knowing they’ll never make it to 31. Any approach is valid.

The only hard rule I stick to is to select films I’ve not seen before. I also aim to post a full review of each one on this site, along with a post mortem at the end, in which I pick the best, worst and weirdest films of the month.

Once again, I’m watching most of my films via streaming services. While this is mainly for my own convenience, it may also help anyone playing along at home.

For personal reasons, I had to miss the October Horror Movie Challenge for several years. I did take part in 2013, 2014 , 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 however, and you can find my reviews from these years on this site. Maybe they’ll help you find some choice films for your own challenge.

An Open Challenge

As much fun as watching these films is, talking about them can be even better. If you fancy joining in, I would love to hear from you. And if you have any suggestions of films I should be watching, that would also be lovely.

The main hub of discussion is our Discord server, where we have a channel dedicated to the October Horror Movie Challenge. Alternatively, you can contact me on Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, or by writing your message on a rock and dropping it in that abandoned well everyone knows to avoid.

You’ll find my provisional selection for 2024 below, along with links to reviews as the month goes on. This list will almost certainly change as the month goes on. I am mercurial.

1. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (USA, 2021)
2. Tales That Witness Madness (UK, 1973)
3. When Evil Lurks (Argentina, 2023)
4. Under Paris (France, 2024)
5. In a Violent Nature (Canada, 2024)
6. Torso (Italy, 1973)
7. Titane (France, 2021)
8. Rorschach (USA, 2015)
9. The Coffee Table (Spain, 2024)
10. Dr Caligari (USA, 1989)
11. Bit (USA, 2020)
12. The Guard From Underground (Japan, 1992)
13. Oddity (Ireland, 2024)
14. Speak No Evil (Denmark/Netherlands, 2022)
15. Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (USA, 1982)
16. Grave Torture (Indonesia, 2024)
17. Bedlam (USA, 1946)
18. The Innsmouth School For Girls (USA, 2023)
19. Daddy’s Head (UK, 2024)
20. All You Need Is Death (Ireland, 2024)
21. Eight Eyes (USA/Serbia, 2021)
22. Poor Things (Ireland/UK/USA, 2023)
23. Seven Deaths in the Cat’s Eye (Italy, 1973)
24. Longlegs (USA, 2024)
25. Night of Fear (Australia, 1973)
26. Stopmotion (UK, 2024)
27. Terrifier (USA, 2016)
28. Azrael (USA, 2024)
29. Faust (Germany, 1926)
30. Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (Hong Kong, 1991)
31. I Saw the TV Glow (USA, 2024)

A Final Note

If you have been drawn here by these posts, please do look around at some of our other film reviews. We also have a podcast, called The Good Friends of Jackson Elias, which occasionally covers horror films. You might find the following episodes interesting.

• Late Night With the Devil
• Psycho
• Glorious
• Nightmare Alley
• Barbarian
• Kill, Baby… Kill!
• Censor
• The Night House
• Gozu
• The Changeling
• The Endless
• Cadaver
• Our favourite Cthulhu Mythos media
• The Fly
• Midsommar
• A Dark Song
• Martyrs
• The Thing
• The Ritual
• The Wicker Man
• The Stone Tape
• Hellraiser
• Event Horizon
• Pontypool
• The Witch
• INLAND EMPIRE
• Nightbreed and Lord of Illusions
• Maléfique and The Ninth Gate
• Re-Animator and From Beyond
• Repulsion and The Babdook
• Man Bites Dog, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon and S&man
• A selection of weird films
• David Cronenberg
• The films that scared us most

If you dig through the archives, you will also find episodes about a wide variety of horror stories and games. Happy nightmares!