Look, the world is horrific enough without me trying to ratchet this intro up a notch in an effort to psych you up for what is blood soaked return of the seventh – that’s right: SEVENTH – round of horror saturation that is Blood Red, back again and under the gun to review as many horror films as possible for you the discerning and macabre audience…
For the seventh – that’s right, SEVENTH – year total and fourth over here at Nine Circles, I’m taking up the gauntlet thrown down over at Letterboxd.com by the Grand Conjuror of the Guignol Cinemonster and participating in the annual Hoop-Tober marathon. The marathon officially kicks off Wednesday, September 15th and runs through Halloween, so there’s still time if you want to join in the bloody ruckus.
As always, you can find my complete list here, where you can laugh, cry, recommend films or simply mock my choices. The rules for this year are listed below, along with screenshots of my target films for the marathon. Wear your mask of choice, grab some hand sanitizer and make sure you’re six feet away before jumping in the waters and find something to scare you out of your wits…
RULES: 31 films watched and reviewed. Film selection must include:
- 6 countries
- 6 decades
- 7 second entry in a franchise
- 4 body horror films
- 2 films from this year (2020)
- 3 disease-based films
- The highest rated horror film from the 1950s you haven’t seen and can access (use this list)
- 1 film set entirely in one location
- 1 invisible person film
- 1 non-Dracula Hammer film
- 2 films with a black director or predominantly black cast/lead
- 1 film with a movie theater in it
- And 1 Tobe Hooper Film (There must ALWAYS be a Hooper film)
***FOR THOSE THAT LIKE TO DO EXTRA WORK: watch The Witch Who Came From the Sea and Cube 2: Hypercube***
My tentative list, which hits all the rules above:
Like last year, check back every Sunday for recaps, thoughts, and more as we dive into some classics, pulpy b-grade fun, and more than likely a few clunkers. And again like last year, if there’s anything you’d like to see covered, let me know: as long as I can adhere to the rules, the films themselves are flexible.
Until then, keep it Blood Red.
– Chris