PopGap Diary: Octoblur 2023 has been put down

That does it. Another insane month of too many horror movies is in the past. This year we watched 61 movies, only seven of which were re-watches. It was a little more of a slog than year's past, as I picked a primary theme that is not one of my favorites — Animals attack! — but was full of titles that I had to confront. Still there were some unexpected treasures. Here's how they ranked, according to their percentile on my Flickchart...

THE BEST / Classic Re-watches

These top 4 are all-time favorites which I revisited with friends and family:

99.43%: An American Werewolf in London (1981) / Dir.: John Landis / Moved: 0.40%
97.24%: Bride of Frankenstein (1935) / Dir.: James Whale
95.71%: Evil Dead II (1987) / Dir.: Sam Raimi / Moved: -0.65%
88.74%: The Monster Squad (1987) / Dir.: Fred Dekker / Moved: 0.32%

THE BEST / NEW DISCOVERIES

Some new-to-me movies are destined to become the favorites of the future:

71.92%: Unwelcome (2022) / Dir.: Jon Wright
70.07%: Madhouse (1981) / Dir.: Ovidio G. Assonitis
69.35%: Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978) / Dir.: Curtis Harrington
66.68%: Nightmare Weekend (1986) / Dir.: Henri Sala
66.64%: Opera (1987) / Dir.: Dario Argento
65.86%: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) / Dir.: Terence Fisher
65.83%: Dark Angel: The Ascent (1994) / Dir.: Linda Hassani

GOOD ENOUGH!

The solid middle of this month's selections, mostly fun if troubled or not exceptional:

64.14%: The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) / Dir.: Freddie Francis
64.04%: No One Will Save You (2023) / Dir.: Brian Duffield
62.44%: The Driller Killer (1979) / Dir.: Abel Ferrara
60.01%: White God (2014) / Dir.: Kornél Mundruczó
56.94%: Black Sheep (2006) / Dir.: Jonathan King
56.43%: Grizzly (1976) / Dir.: William Girdler
55.41%: Day of the Animals (1977) / Dir.: William Girdler
52.55%: Man's Best Friend (1993) / Dir.: John Lafia
51.72%: Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (1989) / Dir.: Richard Friedman
51.50%: Exists (2014) / Dir.: Eduardo Sánchez
49.11%: Hell Night (1981) / Dir.: Tom DeSimone
47.82%: The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) / Dir.: Erle C. Kenton
45.54%: The Curse (1987) / Dir.: David Keith
43.91%: Backcountry (2014) / Dir.: Adam MacDonald
43.85%: Son of Frankenstein (1939) / Dir.: Rowland V. Lee
43.74%: Monkey Shines (1988) / Dir.: George A. Romero
43.33%: The Vineyard (1989) / Dir.: James Hong, William Rice
42.02%: Der Nachtmar (2015) / Dir.: Achim Bornhak
40.75%: Night of the Living Dead (1990) / Dir.: Tom Savini
38.99%: Red Spell Spells Red (1983) / Dir.: Titus Ho

TRY HARDER!

Maybe some promise, but ultimately squandered:

38.44%: Monsters Crash the Pajama Party (1965) / Dir.: David L. Hewitt
37.62%: Equinox (1970) / Dir.: Jack Woods
34.89%: Dracula's Dog (1977) / Dir.: Albert Band
34.28%: Ice Cream Man (1995) / Dir.: Paul Norman
32.44%: Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (2023) / Dir.: Lindsey Beer
32.23%: Friday the 13th Part III (1982) / Dir.: Steve Miner / Moved: 9.22%
32.20%: House of Frankenstein (1944) / Dir.: Erle C. Kenton
32.16%: Rawhead Rex (1986) / Dir.: George Pavlou
29.73%: Slotherhouse (2023) / Dir.: Matthew Goodhue
27.87%: Pigs (1972) / Dir.: Marc Lawrence (II)
25.54%: Pinocchio's Revenge (1996) / Dir.: Kevin Tenney
25.53%: Krysar (1986) / Dir.: Jirí Barta
24.92%: The Night of the Hunted (1980) / Dir.: Jean Rollin
22.67%: The Boneyard (1991) / Dir.: James Cummins
21.39%: Girls School Screamers (1985) / Dir.: John P. Finnegan
21.27%: The Black Cat (1981) / Dir.: Lucio Fulci
21.15%: Prophecy (1979) / Dir.: John Frankenheimer
17.76%: Evils of the Night (1985) / Dir.: Mardi Rustam

BETTER OFF DEAD

Let's pretend these never happened...

20.52%: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) / Dir.: Roy William Neill
18.90%: Boardinghouse (1982) / Dir.: John Wintergate
17.04%: The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) / Dir.: Terence Fisher
16.34%: Alien Prey (1978) / Dir.: Norman J. Warren
14.85%: The Frighteners (1996) / Dir.: Peter Jackson / Moved: -27.42%
14.36%: The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (1964) / Dir.: Ray Dennis Steckler / Moved: 1.30%
13.91%: The Exorcist: Believer (2023) / Dir.: David Gordon Green
10.80%: Wild Beasts (1984) / Dir.: Franco Prosperi
9.23%: Monster Dog (1984) / Dir.: Claudio Fragasso
7.04%: Manhattan Baby (1982) / Dir.: Lucio Fulci
6.58%: Curse of Bigfoot (1978) / Dir.: Dave Flocker
2.01%: Grizzly II: Revenge (2020) / Dir.: André Szöts

WHAT's NEXT

After some recuperation, I will resume my Silver Screen Streak Movie Challenge, which is near its halfway mark after three years. The next list topic in that challenge is  The Best Crime Thrillers I Haven't Seen, as ranked on Flickchart.