Here it is, 31 days of horror for October 2024! It is particularly 80’s heavy and slasher-heavy, but does have a mix of modern horror as well as some classics mixed in for fun. All of the movies are freely available to stream and have a link to them in the notes. Most are on Tubi, but some are on YouTube and Roku and Plex and Pluto. But all are free (with commercials on most platforms).
Humongous (1982)
1 October 2024
When a woman is raped at a cocktail party, she is left with a misbegotten child, and since that child was the product of rape, it stands to reason that he would be hideously deformed and a massive mountain of man-like flesh. As such logic goes, a group will become stranded on the island and be picked off by the poor murderous creature. Humongous would not win any awards for its creative story, but as a kid, I absolutely loved it, and some of the scenes still hit pretty hard today. Sure, it is often too dark and it’s hard to tell what is going on in some scenes, but I remember watching this every time it came on cable, and since it was probably picked up for a song, it seemed to play a lot.
The Collector (2009)
2 October 2024
Desperate to steal a precious gem, odd-job day worker sneaks into the house of a guy who paid him extra for a job well done that day. Only once inside, he discovers that there is a masked Collector in there and he has setup deadly booby traps all over the house. As people stumble into them and the impetuous thief tries to escape, the Collector closes in to collect a person for his ultimate collection. In the tradition of You’re Next and Saw, this and the sequel really hit on all cylinders. It is a fun watch, and the sequel is well worth it as well.
Mortuary (1982)
3 October 2024
Mortuary is the tale of a son who is forced to be an embalmer, his suicidal mother, an overbearing father, and the girl he is obsessed with marrying. There are others as well, including a young man who learns of strange rituals when stealing tires for a mortuary warehouse for not receiving a paycheck…. who happens to be the boyfriend of the girl young Paul is obsessed with. and from those simple descriptions, a very strange slasher was born. Mortuary doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it also doesn’t really need to since it is so fun to watch.
Attack of the Beast Creatures (1985)
4 October 2024
If you thought that the Tiki Doll in Trilogy of Terror was scary, then an island full of them will be even more frightening…right? Well, unfortunately not, but Attack of the Beast Creatures is a fun ultra-low budget romp once it gets going. And I mean low-low-low budget. The “beasts” are often taped or sewn onto the costumes so the actors can fling about as if they’re being attacked by them. And there is screaming, so much screaming. And flailing. I thought this film was a fever dream of mine as a kid, so when I found it on YouTube by accident, I was overjoyed because it is truly so bad that it’s good.
The Mutilator (1984)
5 October 2024
Childhood trauma, murdering your mom while cleaning your dad’s guns, your dad going crazy and years later after being an insane survivalist wanting to spend time with his kid, and friends inviting themselves along for the ride sound like a straight-forward good time? Add in an ax and a body count, and you have the very linear plot of The Mutilator. While there are no surprises hidden in the flick, it is a fun and gory romp through a by-the-numbers 1980s slasher. The poster really made this film seem so much bigger and better than it was. But it is still a fun ride. Just a by-the-numbers fun ride.
Maniac (1980)
7 October 2024
If Frodo scalped…wait, no that’s the new one. That’s cool too. Elijah Wood love all around. Let me start over. If Willi Cicci started scalping women and causing a major panic…would you want to see it unfold? The answer, of course, is a solid YES! This was one of the films that I had trouble renting as a kid because it was brutal and the video store clerks knew it. So I had to find the new guy and rent it from them when no one else was around. Because it was that awesome. Also, includes the famed guerilla-style shotgun kill by Tom Savini where they blew the hell out of a mannequin and ran for the hills before the cops came because they didn’t have a permit. And that head explosion is horror gold!
Basket Case (1982)
8 October 2024
When it comes to movies about carrying your parasitic twin in a box and chastising it when it eats your neighbors, Basket Case is top-tier for me. I haven’t seen a lot of other movies like it to compare it to, so that may not be the best rating scale. But damn is this movie a ton of fun. From the ultra-low budget stop-motion Belial murdering and eating everyone in sight to the twin back-and-forth, it’s a damn fun watch. There should be a Valentine’s Day card about Duane and Belial’s relationship. It’s so sweet in a murderous parasitic twin type of way.
Brain Damage (1988)
9 October 2024
What if doing drugs made a parasitic drug-induced worm murder people who you coerced into sucking your d…wait, is that what this film is about. Oh, yes. It is. It’s like a Nancy Reagan “Just Say No” fever dream with fellatio-murdering drug parasites. Which is totally what she was going for, I’m sure. Where was I? Oh yeah. If any of that seemed even mildly interesting, then you should totally check this out. It has super cool special effects and it is one wild-assed 80s trip of a drug horror flick.
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
19 October 2024
Silent Night, Deadly Night wasn’t the only killer Santa Clause movie that came out in 1984, but from the public backlash, you sure would have thought it was! Parents were calling for it to be banned. Interestingly enough, the kids who swore they would never be like their parents are also unhappy about Terrifier 3 with Art the Clown dressed as Santa. The more things change, the more they stay the same. But this has a great sledding scene, and a topless Linnea Quigley getting killed with a deer’s antlers. I swear, if Linnea Quigley didn’t take her top off in movies, she wouldn’t get murdered in such creative ways all the time. Of course, that’s one of the reasons she’s been one of my favorites throughout the years. That and she rescues puppies. What’s not to love? Anyway, killer Santa chanting “naughty” while hacking people. Three thumbs up.
Back Road (2021)
20 October 2024
Sometimes movies come along that push the envelope. August Underground, The Angel’s Melancholie, or A Serbian Film, but few of them have the absolute camp and fun factor of Back Road. It is a bloodbath of a film that is a love letter to hillbilly cannibal slasher flicks and it is a fun ride. It is very brutal, though, so you might need to turn your head during some of the scenes.
Night of the Demons (1988)
21 October 2024
Nothing says cheese and sleaze like Linnea Quigley pushing a lipstick tube into her breast. When a bunch of teens decide to party in haunted mansion, demonic shenanigans ensue. It also includes the single smartest horror character of all time: Roger. When confronted with truly freaky things, Roger runs and tries to get away. If he can’t get away, he hides. The rest, as usual, are like, “let’s investigate the super spooky thing that wants to eat us.” Such a fun little flick! Plus, Linnea Quigley!
Click the poster to check out the Night of the Demons page on Nostalgia Drop.
