2022 Halloween Challenge

October 29th
Dracula has Risen from the Grave (1970)
5. A film with the same Director/Actress

While the 60's films weren't that great the 70's are when the series takes a turn. A new director at the helm Freddie Francis This is a huge improvement from the earlier sequels as it has a stronger concept and Dracula is just sort of a feature. This installment tells the story of a pair of priests and a tavern where individuals become corrupted by Dracula. We get the central love story between the atheist Paul and the girl he's trying to woo Maria (Veronica Carlson).


This is honestly the best of the sequels by far. Dracula corrupting others is a better concept because the characters have stakes...you can kill them and they can do different things. Francis also does a great job setting scenes with more tension. Fisher just felt like he was going through the motions this film Francis feels like he has something to say.

It's not perfect though...Dracula is still a fairly silly killer he moves like a normal guy. You really can't trust reviews because to me this was a huge step up.

I agree, I just re-watched this recently and I thought the sets were fantastic.

I actually have this right at the top of my second tier of Hammer Horror. Like, I'd rather watch this than at least half of the Dracula films, most of the Frankenstein, films and all of the Mummy films except the first (and possibly including it). Not sure where Curse Of The Werewolf would fall, honestly, I have at times liked it a good bit and at others felt it was kinda lame. But BoD, I think is great except for the windmill-shadow cross. That was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. But then again, I don't really love the whole idea that anything forming a cross can threaten a vampire. Frankly, the two candlesticks in Horror of Dracula was a real stretch for me.

Wow. A lot of people consider this one the best.

Personally, I agree with you, this is the best of the sequels.

October 30th
The Satanic Rites of Dracula(1973)
28. Religious Horror

Could it be...Satan...Dracula moves into the modern age with an earlier installment....less said about that one the better. But in this one we get a damn good alter scene which then moves into some weird spy thriller which then Dracula shows up as a business man who is bringing about the Apocalypse because of a cabal of wealthy leaders. Honestly the film is a mess and it just felt cheap.

A number of scenes take place in this basement that just looks like a basement. Some of the chase scenes are decent but once again this is a Dracula film not The French Connection.

October 31st
Taste the Blood of Dracula(1970)
3. A Film in the same series

Once again this is supposed to be a "bad" Dracula film a group of oldmen find a young one who brings Dracula back to life. I think what I liked about this one is what people didn't like was that Lee was really a supporting character. But what I enjoyed about this one...and the other sequel was the sexual elements of the story. All the daughters become corrupted which is what makes a "good" Dracula film.

Dracula's blood is the major mcguffin in the film and like the mummy's hand it's a good idea that worked for me. The fun in these films is watching how the human characters deal with this monster moreso than the actual monster.

Linda Hayden and Ilsa Blanye play Alice and Lucy and they are fantastic in this. When I watch these films most of the women kinda blend together but in this and Rise from the Grave I remembered the characters and that elevated over the more shallow early sequels. Naturally they get to crazy at the end if I were to rank the Dracula series





1. House of Dracula (1958)
2. Dracula Has Risen From the Grave(1968)
3. Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
4. The Brides of Dracula (1960)
5. Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966)
6. The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)
7. Dracula AD (1972)

October 21st
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
6. A film with the same actor/actress

I forgot this one...the biggest take away I got from watching the Dracula series is that The Frankenstein are just so much better. What I love about these films is that they are very dark. Cushing might be at his worst in this one when normally he seems like he's doing it for science here he's raping and murdering and blackmailing and being just a terrible person.

Unlike the Dracula films where you have to take multiple sets to create a new sort of Dracula the Frankenstein films are actually about creating the monster and it's just better. This is one of those few cases where I think the studios insistence of adding horror really helped the film.

1. A Two Word Horror Film
Near Dark(1987)
2. A film in a series
Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966)
3. A Film in the same series
Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
4. A film with the same Director/Actor
The Legend of the Werewolf (1975) Freddie Francis/Peter Cushing
5. A film with the same Director/Actress
Dracula has Risen From the Grave(1970) Veronica Carlson/Freddie Francis
6. A film with the same Actor/Actress
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) Veronica Carlson/Peter Cushing
7. A film that shares a word with 8 and 10
The Legend of Hell House (1973) (House/Hell)
8. A film that shares the same word with 7 and 9
Hollywood Horror House (1970) (House/Horror)
9. A film that shares the same word with 8 and 10
Return to Horror High (1987) (Horror/High)
10. A film that shares the same word with 7 and 9
Hell High (1989) (Hell/High)
11. A Film with a Serial Killer The Fifth Cord (1971)
12. A Film with a Haunted House House (1977)
13. A Film on a College Campus Deadly Friend (1986)
14. A Film in a Dystopian Future The Omega Man (1971)
15. A Film with a Final Girl Barbarian (2022)
16. A film released in 2022 Halloween Ends (2002)
17. A film released in 2020 (Minus 2 years) Vivarium (2020)
18. A film released in 2002 (Minus 20 years) Below (2002)
19. A film released in 1982 (Minus 40 years) The Sender (1982)
20. A film released in 1960 (Minus 62 years) The Brides of Dracula (1960)
21. A film released in a double year (1922, 1933, 1944, etc.) Werewolf by Night (2022)
22. Anthology-Horror Dead of Night (1945)
23. Body Horror Terrifier 2(2022)
24.Creature Feature Hellraiser (2022)
25. Historical Horror The Mummy (1959)
26. Horror-Comedy Invasion of the Saucer Men(1957)
27. Psychological Thriller The Machinist (2004)
28. Religious Horror The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)
29. Science Fiction - Horror It Came from Outer Space (1953)
30. Sex Horror - Pearl (2022)
31. Supernatural Horror The Horror of Dracula (1959)

So now that it's all said and done...what does everyone think and what would you guys do next year.

• A directors checklist?
• An Actors/Actresses checklist?
• A country checklist?
• 31 consecutive years
• 31 films in one decade
• a one of each type thing (werewolf, vampire, serial killer)
• 31 films that connect into each other via actor/director/actress

I guess the most fun might be when the challenge has a healthy mix of making you watch things you normally wouldn't and that also allows for watching things you already know you want to watch. I'm not sure how to do that, but I think this year's challenge accomplished that very well. As an example, maybe "31 films that connect into each other via actor..." can feel overly restricting, while "31 films in one decade" might achieve balance between discovery and fun.

For the sake of variety, I'd prefer

• a one of each type thing (werewolf, vampire, serial killer)
• A country checklist?
• 31 consecutive years

31 films in one decade seems like it would end up redundant.

A director checklist similar to what you had a few years ago with Fisher/Hitchcock/Bava type category is always fun. Same thing with actor and actress. Variety between the options is what makes it fun, as not everyone chooses the same director/actor/actress.
I liked the subgenres you offered this year. Mix a few of them in here and there each year and add werewolf/vampire/zombie/ghost categories as you have in the past as well.
I like the idea of 31 films from a decade, and I don’t think redundancy should matter much here. But I also wouldn’t mind something like what Ash is suggesting: 31 films in 31 chronological order.

I wish I could have finished this. This past month was just brutal at work.

I think that what makes something like this fun is categories that have structure but some wiggle room.

You want to offer a range and not box people in too much. I'm lukewarm on the idea of 31 films from the same decade, because watching movies from the 50s to 2022 was part of the fun. I suppose watching 31 films from the 70s or 90s (shudder) poses it's own kind of thrill and challenge.

I appreciated that this year's challenge had categories that ranged in how restrictive they were. Two word horror movies are dime a dozen, so there were lots of choices there. Horror from 2002 (that I'd previously not seen and was watchable, lol) was more restrictive for me.

I enjoyed this but I'd only recommend it to people who are in the right headspace. Not being a particular fan of the music, some of the long composing scenes felt indulgent to me but the spooky haunted house sequences are about as good as they get.


Would recommend for anyone who liked I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House; go watch that first and then see The Strings if you liked it.