Have you ever seen, or bought, or maybe even read a copy of the film reference book “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die”? If you haven’t or have no idea what I’m talking about it’s a book that spans the entire history of film with 1001 “Must See’s” as suggested by editor Steven Jay Schneider and over 70 film critics.
When I was eighteen and a young film geek in the making I vowed I would see all 1001 movies in that book. The plan made no sense considering there are constant updates and rereleases of the book every year. Still, I went for it. How did I fare?
Bad. In fact, I found a “How Many Have You Watched?” list on the website List Challenges (last updated in 2016) and decided to see how well I’ve done as of April 2019. I’ve seen roughly 41% and with every year’s passing edition I don’t think I’ll ever catch up unless I clamp my eyes open a la A Clockwork Orange and do nothing but watch movies for the next couple of decades.
I’ll probably never see every “Must See” ever made but I’ve always wondered can I see every “Must See HORROR” movie ever made? The answer to that is “No”. But I can get a hell of a lot closer. Which leads to my latest pursuit. I want to watch every horror movie on Fangoria’s 300 Greatest Horror Movies list.
I write about horror movies a lot on this blog. We have a whole month dedicated to it in October aka “Shocktober” yet there are so many that fall through the cracks. To fix that I’ve turned to Fangoria Magazine, the unofficial bible of horror, and decided to work from their 2011 list of the “300 Best Horror Film’s Ever Made”. As an added bonus, Fangoria made their triumphant return to newsstands last year, so they’re as relevant as ever.
My plan isn’t perfect. Eight years have passed since the publication of the original list. Who’s to say how many of those original selections would be subbed out for more recent classics like It Follows, The Witch, or Get Out? There’s also the fact that I have probably written reviews for over one-hundred of these—which is only a guess.
I have answers to both of these dilemmas. First, this blog has been around since 2008. So chances are high that I’ve already reviewed or seen the best post-2011 horror films. I also plan on the theme for Shocktober 2019 to be the “Best Horror Movies of the 2010s” so those are going to get love no matter what. Second, though many of these films have been written about on the blog, few have been written about well. I can’t even guarantee the quality of my new reviews (I’ve only improved so much). But anything written pre-2013 is without a doubt worth revisiting. If the previous review is, in my opinion acceptable, I will watch the film again, give a quick blurb and link to the original post.
I will also go in alphabetical order, so sorry to all you Witchfinder General fans, be patient. What day(s) will these posts go up? How frequently? I’ve yet to decide. I’ve noticed when I set a specific day of the week for any kind of themed post I always miss it, so this way there’s no pressure. Every post will be a happy surprise…. or nightmare? Eh? Cuz scary movies!