Ancient pagan rituals on the summer solstice were elaborate and significant celebrations that marked the longest day of the year. These rituals were practiced by various civilizations, such as the Celts, Romans, and Germanic tribes, who believed in the power of the sun and its influence on their crops and fertility. **The summer solstice, also known as Midsummer, was a time of great celebration and reverence for these ancient pagans.** One of the most well-known rituals was the lighting of bonfires, which were believed to drive away evil spirits and bring blessings to the community. **The bonfires served as a focal point for the festivities and were often lit on hilltops or near sacred sites.** People would gather around the bonfires, singing, dancing, and engaging in various forms of merriment.
Oh yeah, the challenge. I'll do 31 including the Fran Challenges since I don't have much else to do this month. It's going to be a combination of Bracketology films and stuff from TSZDT
In 19th century England, a noted brain surgeon rescues a former student from being hanged on a false conviction for murder, and spirits him away to an ancient, repurposed abbey far in the countryside. While I did remember the overall story and the big set pieces, turns out I d forgotten a lot over the years, including just how fun and playful the movie is.
** People would gather around the bonfires, singing, dancing, and engaging in various forms of merriment. In addition to bonfires, **another common ritual on the summer solstice was the gathering of herbs and flowers**. It was believed that the plants gathered on this auspicious day held special powers and could be used for healing and protection throughout the year.
The never ending curse of the werewolf on Svengoolie
The Three Mandatory Rules
Watch a movie appropriate to the challenge*
Write a review
Don't be a dick.
THE CHALLENGE BEGINS TODAY, APRIL 30TH, @ 12PM EST
THE CHALLENGE ENDS ON THE 1ST OF JUNE, @ 12PM EST
You will have to have logged your final movie at this point. Final remarks and totals can be posted after 12PM, but new movies to add to your total will not be counted.
Personal Goals & Challenges
The most common goal among participants is 13 movies, but there is no mandatory amount of films. You can participate with as much or as little enthusiasm as you want. You can watch as many movies as possible (We've had people literally watch hundreds! It was nuts.) However, people that meet the 13 film goal are eligible for rewards.
You can create any personal goals for yourself. Many use the challenge to catch up on movies that have been released through-out the year. Some use it to finally watch that classic horror movie. You can use the challenge to watch all the films of a horror director, or an entire horror series you've missed. You can concentrate on specific sub-genres like Creature Features or Giallos or Hammer-produced films. You can watch films that are only new to you, or only rewatches. The possibilities are endless!
The only requirement is to watch a horror movie and then write about it. You can write a review, a list of thoughts you had while watching it, an analysis, essay or interpretation. You can post GIFs and screen grabs. The whole intention of this thread is to share what we've watched and our thoughts and experiences. Have an anecdote about the story? Tell it! Wanna share a personal history you've had with the genre? Share it!
Watching movies is the easy part. It's finding something to say about them that gets difficult. That's why it's a challenge!
You can always ask for a wildcard or recommendation.
What Movies Can I Watch?
movies, for the sake of this challenge, are considered anything longer than 60 minutes
Horror Movies
Thrillers
Horror Comedies (Tucker & Dale vs. Evil)
Horror Musicals (Rocky Horror, Phantom of the Paradise)
Movies Set During or Around Halloween (Hocus Pocus, The Guest)
Documentaries
- about Halloween (The American Scream)
- about the supernatural
- about the horror genre (Horror Noire)
- about horror movies (Never Sleep Again)
-about a subject that is justifiably horror-related (The Act of Seeing with One�s Own Eyes, Cropsey)
Family Friendly movies that meet the above requirements (Alvin & The Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein)
Any film featured as a contender in the Spook-A-Doodle Movie Club & Bracketology Tournament '21 thread is eligible, regardless of it's genre. If it made it into the tournament, there was enough deliberation for it's inclusion there for it to be justified here.
(If you have questions about whether or not a movie counts, feel free to ask me.)
What DOESN'T Count
TV Shows (This is CineD, not TVIV)
mini-series
Masters of Horror episodes
MST3k episodes (you must watch the actual, unedited movie)
These is a big grey area of what's considered "fair", and it gets exhausting trying to pick and choose what is justifiable. I love Stephen King's The Storm of the Century, and Twin Peaks The Return, but the mini-series format is wildly inconsistent in length. It's a little unfair for someone to watch a 45 minute episode of Masters of Horror and it counts the same as Never Sleep Again, which is a four hour investment. It also creates the grey area of "Is ____ show a mini-series? Technically season one is self-contained." Let's just avoid it altogether. Please just watch something else. Keep in mind, this is a FILM forum, and this is a MOVIE challenge.
There will be the inevitable naysayer who posts "I don't care what the rules say, I'm going to count Netflix's The Haunting of Bly Manor." Just play nice and watch a movie instead. I probably won't call you out, but it will be ignored when it comes to tallying results for surprises. I've also been known to give out avatars and red texts for failure to comply. Consider this a warning. (It's all in good fun!)
There will be secret challenges announced for those that want to be pushed outside of their comfort zones. These are called "Fran Challenges", because I am a egomaniac. Think of them as a scavenger hunt for the horror aficionado.
If you are working from a Letterboxd list, feel free to share it.
CineD has a Discord, and there is a horror-specific thread. Right now it is currently called "The Horror Director Tournament" based off Horror Director Tournament Thread (which I highly recommend reading). It will get a name change when the tournament is over to "October Challenge". Feel free to talk about this challenge thread in that channel before the name change.
The Horror Thread has its own Discord where group watches of horror movies are regularly scheduled
Fran Challenges
Fran Challenges are going to be different this May.
Instead of the standard "few prompts a week" system, you're getting them all up-front. The first week was for everyone to watch whatever they wanted. Now you have three weeks left to work through these:
1. Short Cuts
Watch 60+ minutes worth of horror short films and review them.
2. Sometimes They Come Back
Watch a film that has had a remake. Either watch the original, or watch the remake. Whichever you watch, it must be new to you. No rewatches.
3. Camp BLOOD
Watch a horror movie that takes place at a summer camp.
4. Movie of the Month
Watch a horror movie that has been featured as a CineD Movie of the Month. Try to watch one that's new to you, but if you've seen them all, pick one that you've seen the least.
5. Cinco
Watch a Mexican horror film. Must be new-to-you.
6. Playing With Power
Watch a horror film that has had a tie-in video game. OR Watch a horror film adaptation of a video game. (Note: While it's not mandatory, it would be really fun to provide pictures or footage from the video game.)
7. Mother's Day
Watch a film that takes place on Mother's Day. OR Watch a film that emphasizes motherhood, themes of being a mother, or features a killer mom.
8. Dead & Buried
Watch a film featuring a cast member who has passed away since October. It can be an actor, composer, director, producer, etc. Must be new-to-you.
9. Scream, Queen!
Watch a horror movie directed by an LGBQT+ filmmaker. OR Watch a horror movie that has been embraced by the LGBQT+ community. OR Watch a horror movie with themes and/or subjects that directly relate to the LGBQT+ community. OR Watch Scream, Queen! My Nightmare On Elm Street documentary if you haven't seen it yet
10. Behind the Mask
Watch a documentary about a horror director. OR Watch a documentary about a horror film. OR Watch a film inspired by non-fiction accounts of a film or filmmaker. (For this challenge, you can step out of the strict horror/thriller guidelines, since this leans into bio-pics like Ed Wood.) OR Watch a film about a group of people making a horror film.
11. Myths & Legends
Watch a horror film heavily featuring mythical creatures (killer mermaids, killer minotaur, killer unicorn, etc.) OR Watch a horror film heavily featuring real cryptids. (Not one invented for the film.) OR Watch a film that heavily features real urban legends.
12. Cavalcade of Creepiness
Watch an anthology film that's new to you.
13. Horrible Holidays
Watch a horror film that heavily features any holiday. (The holiday does not need to be throughout the movie; a major holiday scene counts, as long as it's prominent. ie Easter in Critters 2.)
Another twist to these challenges. FILMS CAN RETROACTIVELY COUNT. This is only for the May Challenge; don't expect such leniency come October.
Spatulater bro! posted:
What length is considered to be a short film for the purposes of Fran Challenge #1?
You must include all of the short films in a single post labeled with Fran Challenge "Short Cuts". For easy reference, the short films can't be spread across multiple posts until the requirement is met.
Each short film must be written about just like a full-length film.
Include a link to the short film, or a link to the short film's Letterboxd or imdb page.
If you have written about short films in this thread already, they can't be included in this post.
"What short films qualify?"
If it tonally would qualify for the challenge, it's probably okay.
Student Films,
professional short films,
YouTube films
Halloween short films,
scary/horror short films
Thriller shorts that err on the side of horror
Horror comedy
Live action
Animated
Just make sure it's actually a short film and not, say, a Halloween special, like the Paul Lynde Halloween Special.
Music videos are a weird in-between. I'm fine with something like The Monster gently caress, because while it's more of a skit, it's got enough going on in it, and it's short enough, that I would say it counts. Thriller technically counts; it even has a Letterboxd entry as a short film. However, use these sparingly. Don't just do a write-up about 70 minutes of music videos with slightly spooky imagery. I'd rather you watch and write about a 21 year old's first attempt at a horror movie about a killer doll than a write-up about Haddaway's What Is Love music video.
"Are there short films that don't qualify?"
Really long short films defeats the point. Don't watch Host or a Masters of Horror episode and then a 5 minute long short film to push you over the 60+ minute requirement. I'd rather you watch ten 6 minute long films than one 55 minute and one 6 minute short.
However, something like Halloween Is Grinch Night, at 26 minutes long, is okay.
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FYI, I did The Cremator for the May MotM. An essential horror movie.
That's a good start, so we'll see how quickly I can get through the list in May. It's also a birthday month for me so I may take some PTO this month and really binge out for a couple days.
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The challenge I'm setting for myself is to start in 1960 and watch one movie per year that I haven't seen already.
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I'll commit to a minimum of 13 including Fran Challenges
Right off the bat I have a question about whether a movie "counts": Gods and Monsters, the James Whale biopic.
Is that horror-relevant enough? I've been curious to watch it for a while
bitterandtwisted posted:
I'll commit to a minimum of 13 including Fran Challenges
Right off the bat I have a question about whether a movie "counts": Gods and Monsters, the James Whale biopic.
Is that horror-relevant enough? I've been curious to watch it for a while
I'm gonna go ahead and say yes. The May Challenge is a little more casual, so I think a film about a horror director's life after directing is good enough, especially for someone as important to the genre as Whale was.
If you watch it and feel like it's not appropriate for the challenge, I'll leave that decision up to you.
I don't have a list but I'll probably re-up shudder for the month
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I'm in for minimum 13. Almost everything's gonna be random/spur-of-the-moment except for The New York Ripper, which I committed to in the main horror thread as being my first for the challenge because it's a Fulci film I haven't seen and I'm excited to have finally got it recently
My plan is to watch one movie per day, working my way in order through the They Shoot Zombies Don't They entries I haven't seen, plus the Fran Challenges. The stricter I am on myself, the more fun these challenge threads are.
My 13 (to begin with, we'll see how it goes):
Halloween 2
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3
The Haunting
The Legend of Hell House
Under the Shadow
Tremors
Sleepaway Camp
The Innkeepers
Hausu
It Follows
Final Girls
From Beyond
Tombs of the Blind Dead
All first watchings.
Shaman Tank Spec posted:
My 13 (to begin with, we'll see how it goes):
Halloween 2
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3
The Haunting
The Legend of Hell House
Under the Shadow
Tremors
Sleepaway Camp
The Innkeepers
Hausu
It Follows
Final Girls
From Beyond
Tombs of the Blind Dead
drat that's a solid list of firsts. I haven't seen Under the Shadow or Legend of Hell House, though I've heard the latter is a solid classic. Everything else there is pretty much horror gold in the exception of Final Girls, which I enjoyed but I know it wasn't the most popular flick around these parts.
I may have to take a mulligan on Tombs of the Blind Dead. The only copy I could find is dubbed in English, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a very bad thing. If it proves to be an awful thing, I may watch The Hallows or The Banishing instead.
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Butt first, let's
check the feeds.
My movie watching has ticked down late so I'm probably over reaching, but I've had my heart set on 2 challenge ideas for this and I can't resist Fran's challenges so I'm gonna try.
Slightly amended to fit Fran's draconian, fascist, horrific, completely reasonable and understandable "no mini series" rule because it turns out if you build a list of Stephen King stuff that includes quite a few miniseries. The idea is to do 13 Stephen King films I haven't seen and one film from each of my conveniently exactly 13 fallen Bracketology teams. I'm probably gonna lose some more teams as I go so I might throw bonus films in there. And there's a bunch of King minis I want to watch so I might throw the in and just not count them here. And Fran's challengers. Or I might burn out entirely after Bracketology and spend all my time watching baseball and NBA playoffs. Dunno. Its in the air.
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Well I accidentally got an early start. I was trying to figure out my PS5's surround sound settings and ended up watching Evil Dead 2. Unlike the rest of my movies, this one I have seen before, but it must have been 20 or 25 years since my last viewing. Weird, as this was one of my favourite movies as a young, fresh-faced teen.
It still holds up magnificently, and the 4K Blu-ray looks and sounds god drat amazing. While I did remember the overall story and the big set pieces, turns out I'd forgotten a lot over the years, including just how fun and playful the movie is. Sam Raimi loves him some inventive shots and transitions, and so do I. How can you not love a fade to black with Ash shoving a decapitated head (which is biting his hand) into the camera lens?
The special effects are also drat impressive and spooky. A lot of them are done with stop motion, which gives the monsters this jerky, not quite moving at the right speed look that is god drat unnerving. Especially the scene with Ash's surprisingly quickly decomposed girlfriend dancing in the forest was genuinely creepy to look at.
The movie is just full of tiny details I still love, like the weird squeaky growling of Ash's possessed hand, or the obvious way they dubbed over Bruce Campbell's dialogue during the fight scenes. It just gives the movie this wonderful charming and silly quality.
It's so nice to return to an old favourite and discover that it hasn't lost a bit of its shine in over two decades. Great way to kick off this spooky marathon
E: Gave it a score as well.
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I'm in for 13, with the goal of them all being new to me. I never plan these things out, so we'll see if I can keep to that goal.
It's very easy to accidently watch Evil Dead II.
My two 'must complete' goals are to hit 31 first-time watches and to complete the top 100 of the TSZDT list (I only have two films left). Secondary goals include the Fran Challenges and finishing the top 50 of indiewire's top 100 horror films (which is around a half dozen movies). We'll see how those go.
Spatulater bro! posted:
It's very easy to accidently watch Evil Dead II.
Well you put in a Blu-ray you've owned for a while and tinker around with the settings and hey the surround sound is working now and man this credit sequence is rad and . well why couldn't I just watch the entire movie? Who's stopping me?
Nobody, it turns out.
E.G.G.S. posted:
I think I�ll start this challenge with Winterbeast.
Lucky, FedEx still hasn't delivered my latest VinSyn drop, USPS did much better
Iron Crowned posted:
Lucky, FedEx still hasn't delivered my latest VinSyn drop, USPS did much better
You�re the lucky one, Canadian orders haven�t even shipped yet so I�m watching it via YouTube.
I�m going to shoot for 13 titles, and they�re all gonna be whatever pops up in the pile.
1. 1960. Jigoku
Jigoku (literally Hell in Japanese) is a morality tale about taking responsibility for your transgressions, lest you become the center of a snowballing storm of death and despair.
At first, it plays out like some kind of noir thriller. A young man named Shiro and his creepy friend Tamura accidentally run over a Yakuza boss, but don�t turn themselves in. Of course, things start to spiral out of control as the bodies pile up.
Eventually, our hero ends up in the titular hell and things get very interesting. All kind of torment and torture is doled out to sinners as Enma, the Lord of Hell, narrates and Shiro tries to find a way out.
To me, the most surprising thing about hell is how much shouting there is. Everyone is just shouting all the time!
All in all I thought Jigoku was very good, but not quite great. In spite of some of the subpar acting it has a lot going for it and it's definitely worth seeing.
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I'm going to try for 13 + any extra I need to hit all the Fran Challenges, but I'm expecting to fail this year because it is a year for failure
graventy posted:
Um, did you like it?
I did! I should amend my post because I never actually said one way or the other.
1. The Roost (Ti West, 2005)
I watched this for the Bracketology Tournament thread (which I highly recommend to anyone looking to find some stuff to watch for their challenge). It's clearly low budget, so they lean into it. Tom Noonan opens as a sort of fright-night TV host introducing us to the movie itself. Four people on their way to a wedding have bat-related car trouble, so they go searching for help. Instead, they find more bats, and anyone who gets bitten by a bat turns into a *checks notes* . zombie? Look, I don't know, it's not very clear. The important thing is that West does a lot with a little - good use of shadow, you never know what is hiding in corners, especially since the threats can come from any direction. Jeff Grace composed this super oppressive, string-heavy score that kept making me jump and get mad at myself. Larry Fessenden shows up to play a Larry Fessenden character. I thought the ending was a bit weak, but that gets flipped on its head by having Noonan jump back in and pull a Funny Games-esque 'I don't like that, let's rewind and try something else' move, although the second ending wasn't much better, and the way the wrap-around concludes was also a bit of a letdown. Overall this was better than I expected, and if you're OK with rough quality, you can find it on Youtube.
2. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2014)
I've been 'saving' this one for a while, and I'm glad I finally watched it because it was fantastic. So stylish, I love the shots of the deserted Bad City, a place pulled out of a western (if westerns had skateboarding vampires). Everything feels dreamy and floating (the vampirism? the heroin?) and I didn't mind the slow pace at all because it felt right for the story that was unfolding. It's quite romantic, for a film about a vigilante vampire who preys on men that commit gender-based violence. Sheila Vand (as the vampire) says a lot with her eyes, especially in scenes with Arash. The music is perfect - the scene with "Death" by White Lies in particular was my favorite. I'll be thinking about this one for a while.
Challenge Count: 2/31
In for 13 or so, lots of hockey on at the moment so that's more realistic than 31 again.
Boo that I'm not a Letterboxd Pro person anymore so can't duplicate my list as needed, but this is the remains of my pool I didn't get around to last season with a chunk of new additions.
I've been meaning to jump into the silent era since the October challenge, so 13 there, plus any challenge that I can't tie into that.
The Berzerker posted:
The music is perfect - the scene with "Death" by White Lies in particular was my favorite. I'll be thinking about this one for a while.
I get goosebumps just thinking about that scene
Oh yeah, the challenge. I'll do 31 including the Fran Challenges since I don't have much else to do this month. It's going to be a combination of Bracketology films and stuff from TSZDT
Fran Challenges are going to be different this May.
**These plants were often used in the creation of wreaths and garlands, which were then hung in homes and sacred spaces.** Water was also an important element of ancient pagan rituals on the summer solstice. Many people would swim in lakes, rivers, and streams on this day, as it was believed to have purifying and rejuvenating properties. **In some cultures, it was customary to wash one's face with the morning dew on the summer solstice, as it was believed to bring beauty and good luck**. Another ancient ritual associated with the summer solstice was the gathering and consumption of mead, a honey-based alcoholic beverage. **Mead was seen as a sacred drink that brought joy and fertility**. It was often consumed during communal feasts and shared with friends and family. These ancient pagan rituals on the summer solstice were a way for people to connect with nature, honor the cycles of the seasons, and celebrate the abundance of life. **They served as a reminder of humanity's dependency on the natural world and the interconnectedness of all living beings**. Although these rituals may seem strange or superstitious to modern-day observers, they held deep meaning for ancient pagans and played a vital role in their cultural and spiritual traditions..
Reviews for "The Role of Water in Ancient Pagan Summer Solstice Ceremonies"
- Sarah - 1 star
I attended the ancient pagan rituals on the summer solstice event and I have to say, I was extremely disappointed. The whole atmosphere was strange and uncomfortable. The rituals themselves were bizarre and felt disconnected from any real spiritual practice. There was no structure or guidance, just a bunch of people aimlessly wandering around. I left feeling confused and like I had wasted my time.
- Mark - 2 stars
I had high hopes for the ancient pagan rituals on the summer solstice event, but unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations. The organizers seemed disorganized and the rituals lacked depth and meaning. It felt more like a cheap theatrical performance than a genuine spiritual experience. I left feeling underwhelmed and like I had just witnessed a spectacle rather than participating in something meaningful.
- Emma - 2 stars
I was excited to attend the ancient pagan rituals on the summer solstice event, but I have to say I was quite disappointed. The entire event felt like a mishmash of random activities without any clear purpose or direction. It was confusing and left me feeling disconnected rather than connected to the spiritual energy of the solstice. I was really hoping for a more authentic and immersive experience, but unfortunately, this event fell flat.