Welcome to the Critic’s Sanctum’s 5th Annual 31-Day Horror Marathon!
This year’s theme is: debut horror feature films. Every feature selected is it’s director’s debut film and the choices range are split nearly even between seminal classics of the genre and promising modern debuts.
The list is organized by release date to help anyone wanting to join along better appreciate the way the genre develops and builds upon itself.
However, this year’s October brings with it a Friday the 13th. To celebrate the spooky coinciding, I will be revealing a “bonus” film every Friday of this month (6th, 13th, 20th, 27th) that will be in line with the aforementioned theme. Feel free to check back on these dates to see what the respective bonus films are.
The List
DATE
FILM
DIRECTOR
YEAR
TIDBITS
10-1-2023
Black Sunday
Mario Bava
1960
The film would be worth watching for it’s opening sequence alone. This 230- second chunk is not only the most sustained, immaculate piece of film-making in the work proper but also one of the greatest introductions to a film in the history of the horror genre.
10-2-2023
Night of the Living Dead
George Romero
1968
Every time I watch this, I become increasingly astounded by how the limitations and obstacles encountered in the low-budget filmmaking ended up creating a mood and aesthetic and that established an entire-subgenre (zombie). And that’s not even talking about the brilliant social commentary angle introduced via the casting of the lead. Talk about the stars aligning.
10-3-2023
The Bird With the Crystal Plumage
Dario Argento
1970
Another entry that cemented a (sub)-genre (giallo) [1]Mario Bava technically established the sub-giallo with The Girl Who Knew Too Much and then further refined the formula with Blood and Black Lace, but it is Argento’s entry that took these … Continue reading,Argento’s debut is stylized and hypnotic. It’s no wonder everyone wanted to ape it after its release. Yet few entries have ever managed to touch the heights achieved here.
10-4-2023
The Last House on the Left
Wes Craven
1972
Using an early Bergman masterpiece as a starting point for any film, let alone a debut one, seems a foolhardy idea doomed to failure, but Craven’s re-interpretation of Bergman’s The Virgin Spring actually treads new ground and shockingly makes its Swedish progenitor look tame in comparison. There is no reprieve here and the cold-hearted nature of that decision rings is more than makes up for some technical flubs here and there.
Mario Bava technically established the sub-giallo with The Girl Who Knew Too Much and then further refined the formula with Blood and Black Lace, but it is Argento’s entry that took these elements and set the template for gialli to come.
