31 Days of '81 Horror: Post-Script

I am sorry this post is so late, but generally life busyness, bad internet issues (fuck you, AT & T), good sports (go Niners!), and a semi-self imposed blog sabbatical post Halloween lead this to be pushed to the back burner.

So, even though we are a third of the way through November, let's take one last longing look back at the horror film celebration of the last month. I would like to thank everyone who came by to read and comment here during my 31 Days of '81 Horror celebration. I came up with the idea in the early part of the year, and was glad that it was greeted with the enthusiasm that it was. While I love all genres of cinema, horror was the first that really got me excited about film, and while generally dismissed by the middlebrow mainstream film press, it endures as it's one of the few types of film that uses all the elements of filmmaking (sound, composition, editing) for effectiveness.

1981 was such a treasure trove for horror cinema that there were far more than 31 titles to choose from, some of the films that didn't make the list include Just Before Dawn (which I did watch and recommend), Night School (which was just released on DVD via the Warner Archives), Final Exam, Evilspeak (which I own a gray market bootleg of), Scream (not the Wes Craven version), and Evil Dead (though I think that's the date of it's original Michigan screening, and not the completed version which I believe was released theatrically in 1983).

As a way to wrap this all up in a neat tiny, blood soaked, ribbon, I present to you the list of films that I covered for 31 Days of '81 Horror in order of my favorite to my least favorite (each title is a link to my reviews of said films).

These following titles, I give high recommends to:

1. An American Werewolf in Paris

2. Road Games

3. Possession

4. The Howling

5. Scanners

These I give solid recommendations to, especially if you're a horror genre fan:

6. Friday the 13th part II

7. Bloody Birthday

8. The Burning

9. My Bloody Valentine

10. Eyes of a Stranger

11. Dead and Buried

The following films I recommend but with medium to major reservations:

12. Happy Birthday to Me

13. The Prowler

14. Dark Night of the Scarecrow

15. Galaxy of Terror

16. Hell Night

17. The Funhouse

18. Looker

19. Strange Behavior

20. The Hand

21. Nightmare

22. The Final Conflict

23. Halloween II

And these, well, let's say I only would recommend them if you're trying to watch 31 horror films from the year 1981 (but why would you do that, you're not crazy, right?)

24. The Nesting

25. Wolfen

26. Tattoo

27. Ghost Story

28. Deadly Blessing

29. Blood Beach

30. Fear No Evil

31. Graduation Day