HOOPTOBER XII: Creepier By The Dozen, or: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Zwölf?

35/35 COMPLETE!

Returning for my 8th year in a row with HOOPTOBER TWELVE!

(Original source list by <a href="https://letterboxd.com/cinemonster/">Cinemonster</a> with all the rules and criteria for this year's challenge: <a href="https://boxd.it/EsPD6">The Twelfth of Hooptober: Diary of a Madman</a>)

This year's gonna be a little different!

In an effort to bring my amazing SO (a horror novice who has enjoyed zombie-themed films/shows like 28 DAYS LATER, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, and THE WALKING DEAD) in on the annual spooky shenanigans, I've designed this list with some shared watches of things that I think just might be up her alley.

In previous years, I've focused almost exclusively on first-time watches, but this time I've curated a set of 10 "returning champion" films for us to watch together, many of them favorites of mine from Hooptobers past.

The centerpiece of these is the group of 5 zombie films, chosen for fun and variety within the subgenre; I've also chosen a mix of pre-1970 classics, "gateway" horror, and horror comedies that should supply some seasonally-appropriate atmosphere without being too extreme.

In addition, I've also cleared some room for several new movies that will be opening IN THEATERS this year, as well as other recent ones on streaming that I've been meaning to catch up on.

(Copy-pasted from Cinemonster's list for E-Z reference, with my film picks and usual visual blandishments 👀 added for fun!)

<em>QUICK EASY RULES:</em>

<em>There must be 31 horror films</em> I have 31 + the 3 bonus films

<em>6 countries (other than Italy or US)</em> I have Japan, South Korea, Guatemala, Canada, Estonia, United Kingdom and New Zealand

<em>9 decades</em> I have every decade from the 1920s through the 2020s, missing only the 1950s. That's 10!

<em>5 Zombie Films</em> 🧟‍🏚 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968, George Romero) 🧟🎸 WILD ZERO (1999, Tetsuro Takeuchi) 🧟🚆‍ TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016, Yeon Sang-ho) 🧟📹 ONE CUT OF THE DEAD (2017, Shinichiro Ueda) 🧟‍🖐 THE DEAD DON'T DIE (2019, Jim Jarmusch)

<em>3 cult or conspiracy horror films</em> 👩🏾👨‍🎤 OPUS (2025, Mark Anthony Green) 🕵️‍⛪ APOSTLE (2018, Gareth Evans) 🏈🤕 HIM (2025, Justin Tipping)

<em>1 film from a Black director with a Black lead</em> 👩🏾👨‍🎤 OPUS (2025, dir. Mark Anthony Green, starring Ayo Edebiri)

<em>1 film from a Mexican or Central American director</em> 👧🏻🕊 RITA (2024, Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala)

<em>1 Canadian film</em> 👨🏻‍🦳⚰ THE SHROUDS (2024, David Cronenberg)

<em>1 former Soviet state film</em> 👨🏻‍🌾🐐 NOVEMBER (2017, Rainer Sarnet, Estonia)

<em>The most popular film from the 1940s that you haven't seen and can access</em> 🔁☝🏻 THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE (1946, Robert Siodmak)

<em>2 Post Apocalyptic horror films</em> 🛣🛒 THE ROAD (2009, John Hillcoat) 🧛🏽‍🥩 STAKE LAND (2010, Jim Mickle)

<em>1 Film with dreams or a dream as part of the plot</em> 👱🏻‍♀️🎡 CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962, Herk Harvey)

<em>1 The animals are pissed at us film</em> 🐊🌊 CROCODILE (2000, Tobe Hooper)

<em>1 Silent film</em> 🤣😱 THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928, Paul Leni)

<em>4 based on Novels</em> Oh, I've got a bunch of these: 🔁☝🏻 THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE (1946, Robert Siodmak) 🛣🛒 THE ROAD (2009, John Hillcoat) 🤣😱 THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928, Paul Leni) 👱🏻‍♀️👱🏻‍♂️ VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960, Wolf Rilla) 🌈🧙🏻‍♀️ THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939, Victor Fleming) 👻🏚 THE HAUNTING (1963, Robert Wise) 🧟‍♂️👨‍⚕️ FRANKENSTEIN (2025, Guillermo del Toro) 🎩🎠 SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (1983, Jack Clayton) 🚶‍♂️🛣 THE LONG WALK (2025, Francis Lawrence)

<em>Any film from <a href="https://boxd.it/dQWe">THIS</a> list </em>[Cinemonster's favorites]<em> that you haven't seen.</em> ⛩😱 THE WAILING (2016, Na Hong-jin)

<em>1 Ernesto Gastaldi written film</em> 🍝💀 TORSO (1973, Sergio Martino)

<em>1 film from 1932</em> 🔫🌴 THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932, Ernest B. Schoedsack & Irving Pichel)

<em>I have never made a specific film a part of this before, but:</em> 🌈🧙🏻‍♀️ THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939, Victor Fleming)

<em>And 1 Tobe Hooper Film (There must ALWAYS be a Hooper film)</em> 🐊🌊 CROCODILE (2000, Tobe Hooper)

<em>***FOR THOSE THAT LIKE TO DO EXTRA WORK:</em> 🔥🧙‍♀️🔥 BURN WITCH BURN (aka NIGHT OF THE EAGLE, 1962, Sidney Hayers) 🔪🌭 GERMAN CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1990, Christoph Schlingensief) 🎃🍬 TRICK OR TREAT (1986, Charles Martin Smith)

...

MY PREVIOUS HOOPTOBERS: ☠<a href="https://boxd.it/24sxY">Hooptober V: Dead Monkey Brains in the Hellbound Pumpkin Bowl</a>

👺<a href="https://boxd.it/3SOm8">Hooptober 6.66: The Bloody Pit of Hooptober</a>

🧟‍<a href="https://boxd.it/8dzgW">Hooptober Se7en: Die! Die! My Hooptober!</a>

💀<a href="https://boxd.it/dgTDW">Hooptober OCHO: The Hooptober That EIGHTS</a>

👿<a href="https://boxd.it/i1B3c">Hooptober Neun!undneunzig Luftballons 🎈🎈🎈 (we’ll all float on down here, alright)</a>

🎃<a href="https://boxd.it/oPbu6">Hooptober X: Feverish Brains, Meat-Filled Trains, and Triple XXXorcisms</a>

👽<a href="https://boxd.it/ygxTW">Hooptober 11: “It’s one spookier, innit?” or: KEEP HOOPTOBER WEIRD</a>

HOOPTOBER ORIGINS: (completing Hooptobers from before I jumped on) 🦇<a href="https://boxd.it/fw0AS">Hooptober Origins: Spring Training</a>

👻<a href="https://boxd.it/lLUiO">Hooptober Origins 2: Beware the Ides of March</a>

🧛‍<a href="https://boxd.it/tIKrC">Hooptober Origins 3: Triple Threats, Cold Sweats, and Rabid Pets</a>

🤷<a href="https://boxd.it/tSjM4">Hooptober Origins 4: The Completioning</a>