Hooked On Horror's 31 Days of Horror 2021

So the most wonderful time of the year is upon us again, and like we did last year I have compiled a list of 31 horror film recommendations for each day of October. Tried to include a wide range of horrors and avoid any films we included on our list last year. Had a lot of fun with this one last year so join us again for this years 31 Days of Horror.

Day 1: Frankenweenie (2012)

Art by Mainger Germain

When young Victor's pet dog Sparky (who stars in Victor's home-made monster movies) is hit by a car, Victor decides to bring him back to life the only way he knows how. But when the bolt-necked "monster" wreaks havoc and terror in the hearts of Victor's neighbors, he has to convince them (and his parents) that despite his appearance, Sparky's still the good loyal friend he's always been.

Day 2: The Invisible Man (1933)

Art by Francesco Francavilla.

While researching a new drug, Dr. Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) stumbles on a potion that can make him invisible. When he reveals his new ability to his old mentor (Henry Travers) and his fiancée (Gloria Stuart), it's clear that a side effect of the potion is insanity. Jack goes on a violent rampage, and the police struggle to hunt him down, unable to see their target, while his mentor and his former partner (William Harrigan) desperately try to devise a plan to capture him.

Day 3: Ghostbusters (1984)

Art by Paul Butcher.

After being kicked out of their university, parapsychology professors Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz and Peter Venkman decide to go into business for themselves by trapping and removing ghosts from haunted houses. After some initial skepticism, business is soon booming as The Ghostbusters rid New York of its paranormal residents. When a downtown skyscraper becomes the focal point of spirit activity linked to the ancient god Gozer, however, the problem may be more than the team can handle.

Day 4: Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Art by Mark Welser.

Following the events of Night of the Living Dead, we follow the exploits of four survivors of the expanding zombie apocalypse as they take refuge in an abandoned shopping mall following a horrific SWAT evacuation of an apartment complex. Taking stock of their surroundings, they arm themselves, lock down the mall, and destroy the zombies inside so they can eke out a living--at least for a while. Tensions begin to build as months go on, soon they have even bigger problems to worry about. A large gang of bikers discover the mall and invade it, ruining the survivors' best-laid plans and forcing them to fight off both lethal bandits and flesh-eating zombies.

Day 5: The Mummy (1999)

Art by Adam Mathison-Sward.

Doomed to suffer unimaginable torture for all eternity, the traitorous high priest of Pharaoh Seti I, Imhotep, is mummified alive. Nearly three millenniums later, in 1926, the intrepid American adventurer Rick O'Connell, the bookish British Egyptologist Evelyn and her brother Jonathan unwisely embark on a dangerous treasure hunt in the lost city of Hamunaptra, only to inadvertently resurrect Imhotep. Now, the slowly regenerating creature plans his revenge, hell-bent on unleashing ten devastating plagues upon Egypt, and, above all, reunite with his eternal lover, Anck-Su-Namun. Do Rick, Evelyn, and Jonathan have what it takes to thwart the ancient entity's evil plans?

Day 6: The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

Art by Benedict Woodhead.

Five teenagers head off for a weekend at a secluded cabin in the woods. They arrive to find they are quite isolated with no means of communicating with the outside world. When the cellar door flings itself open, they of course go down to investigate. They find an odd assortment of relics and curios, but when one of the women, Dana, reads from a book, she awakens a family of deadly zombie killers. However, there's far more going on than meets the eye.

Day 7: Addams Family Values (1993)

Art by Nate Gonzales.

Members of the Addams Family try to rescue their dear Uncle Fester from his gold-digging, serial killer wife whose speciality is killing rich men to collect their inheritance.

Day 8: Van Helsing (2004)

Art by Irina Sumanenkova.

The notorious monster hunter Van Helsing is sent to Transylvania to stop Count Dracula who is using Dr. Frankenstein's research and a werewolf for a much more sinister purpose.

Day 9: The Howling (1981)

Art by Devon Whitehead.

In Los Angeles, television journalist Karen White (Dee Wallace) is traumatised in the course of aiding the police in their arrest of a serial murderer. Her doctor recommends that she attend an isolated psychiatric retreat led by Dr. George Waggner (Patrick Macnee). But while Karen is undergoing therapy, her colleague Chris (Dennis Dugan), investigates the bizarre circumstances surrounding her shock. When his work leads him to suspect the supernatural, he begins to fear for Karen's life.

Day 10: Paranormal Activity (2007)

Soon after moving into a suburban tract home, Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) become increasingly disturbed by what appears to be a supernatural presence. Hoping to capture evidence of it on film, they set up video cameras in the house but are not prepared for the terrifying events that follow.

Day 11: Psycho (1960)

Art by David Robinson.

Stressed and under pressure because of stealing a large amount of money from her employer and running away, a partly poor office worker who's committed theft in order to be able to marry the man she loves, gets lost and decides to stay at a motel for the night, regretting what she's done. But on her single night at the motel, she finds out it was a mistake to choose this motel, as she finds its young depressed manager's mother an unrelenting psycho.

Day 12: Saw (2004)

Art by Luke Headland.

Two strangers, freelance photographer Adam Stanheight and Dr. Lawrence Gordon, awaken in a dilapidated bathroom with no memory of how they ended up there. Both men find a tape recording each in their pockets, and not long after listening to them, they realise they've been trapped in a "game" perpetrated by the infamous Jigsaw Killer. Escape seems unlikely at first, but Adam and Lawrence soon realise they may have a chance. But at what cost? And are they alone?

Day 13: Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

Art by Devon Whitehead.

After Jason Vorhees was chained to the Bottom of Camp Crystal Lake by Tommy Jarvis. A Young Telekinetic Girl known as Tina Shepherd accidentally killed her Father with her Powers at Crystal Lake. Years Later, Tina and Her Mother return to Camp Crystal Lake, Where Tina's Doctor trys to manipulate her powers for his own evil plans. Tina then trys to ressurect Her Father but Accidentally Awakens Jason Instead. It's now up to Tina to use her Powers to Stop Jason and Her Evil Doctor.

Day 14: Insidious (2010)

Art by Victor Moreno.

Just settling down in their new home, parents Josh and Renée Lambert, their two sons Dalton and Foster, experience terror when their eldest son falls off of a ladder, hits his head and slips into a coma. After reviewing with the doctors and finding out their son has no head trauma, the two parents have absolutely no idea what has happened to their son. After horrible, indecipherable events start to take place, the two take the help of Elise Rainer, a paranormal investigator, who brings the family sinister and horrifying news about their boy that makes a coma the least of their worries...

Day 15: Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Art by Adam Rabalais.

Life isn't too good for Shaun (Simon Pegg). He lives with his best friend Ed (Nick Frost), neglects his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) and despises his stepdad Philip (Bill Nighy). When Liz dumps Shaun, he vows to get his life back on track. Unfortunately, this is the day that the dead has decided to come back to life. With a cricket bat and Ed by his side, Shaun sets out to rescue those he loves and those he doesn't love, and heads to the Winchester.

Day 16: Final Destination (2000)

Alex and his senior french class are going on a trip to France in the spring. Alex is very nervous, and has a deadly premonition that the plane he is on will explode after take off. Alex and six others, including his teacher, get off the plane. Soon after, the plane explodes. Now his teacher and friends are starting to avoid him. Shortly after school ends, Alex and his friends are being hunted down by Death, angry that they cheated the "design". It doesn't take long for Alex to realise that you can't cheat death.

Day 17: Dog Soldiers (2002)

Art by Yvan Quinet.

A British Squad is sent on a training mission in the Highlands of Scotland against Special Operations squad. Ignoring the childish "campfire" stories heard about the area, they continue with their mission and come across the bloody remains of the Special Ops Squad, and a fierce howling is pitching the night sky... With two mortally wounded men, they make an escape, running into a zoologist by the name of Megan - who knows exactly what hunts them. What began as what they thought was a training mission turns into a battle for their lives against the most unlikely enemies they would have expected - werewolves.

Day 18: Goosebumps (2015)

After moving to a new small town, teenage Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) meets the beautiful girl next door, Hannah (Odeya Rush). But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach's comes when he learns that Hannah has a mysterious dad who is revealed to be R. L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series. It turns out that there is a reason why Stine is so strange - he is a prisoner of his own imagination - the monsters that his books made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books. Zach unintentionally unleashes the monsters from their manuscripts and they begin to terrorise the town. It's up to Stine, Zach, Hannah, and Zach's friend Champ (Ryan Lee) to put all the monsters back in their books.

Day 19: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

Art by Steven Luros Holliday.

Picking up where the original Nightmare left off, Nancy has grown up and become a psychiatrist specialising in dream therapy. She meets a group of children at a local hospital facing Freddy Krueger, the same demon she once encountered in her sleep. One of them is Kristen, who has the power to draw other people into her dreams. Working with a male doctor assigned to the case, Nancy helps the kids realise their special abilities within the dream world. When Freddy captures one of her charges, she leads a rescue attempt into Krueger's domain, in hopes of putting his spirit to rest once and for all.

Day 20: Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2010)

Art by Justin Osbourn.

Two lovable hillbillies are headed to their "fixer-upper" vacation cabin to drink some beer, do some fishin', and have a good time. But when they run into a group of preppy college kids who assume from their looks that they must be in-bred, chainsaw-wielding killers, Tucker & Dale's vacation takes a bloody and hilarious turn for the worse.

Day 21: The Haunted Mansion (2003)

Realtor workaholic Jim Evers and his wife and business partner Sara gets a call late one night from mansion owner Edward Gracey, who is looking to sell his property. Smelling the biggest deal of their career, Jim, Sara and their two children pay a visit to the mansion, located on a remote bayou. A torrential thunderstorm of mysterious origin strands the Evers family in the old mansion with the brooding, eccentric Gracey, his mysterious butler, Ramsley, and a variety of residents both seen and unseen. At first Jim scoffs at Gracey's stories about ghosts and hauntings, until he unearths the mystery of the mansion and finds that his wife Sara has unexpected connections to its haunted past!

Day 22: The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)

Art by Nicolas Delort.

After Dr. Carl Maia finds unique skeletal remains, a group of scientists led by David Reed head down the Amazon to see if other remains can be found. They have little luck at first until hearing that further downriver lies the Black Lagoon where other fossils might be found. They get more than they bargained for when they discover a living prehistoric creature - a half-man, half amphibious reptile - that doesn't take kindly to their attempts to capture him. The creature takes a liking to Kay Lawrence and kidnaps her but goes to war against the scientists and won't let them leave the lagoon.

Day 23: Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Art by Eddie Holly.

Seymour Krelborn is a nerdy orphan working at Mushnik's, a flower shop in urban Skid Row. He harbours a crush on fellow co-worker Audrey Fulquard, and is berated by Mr. Mushnik daily. One day as Seymour is seeking a new plant to help the business thrive, he finds a very mysterious unidentified plant which he calls Audrey II. The plant seems to have a craving for blood and soon begins to sing for his supper. Soon enough, Seymour feeds Audrey's sadistic dentist boyfriend to the plant and later, Mushnik for witnessing the death of Audrey's ex. Will Audrey II take over the world or will Seymour and Audrey defeat it?

Day 24: The Lost Boys (1987)

Art by Colm Geoghegan.

Financial troubles force a recent divorcée and her teenage sons Mike and Sam to settle down with her father in the California town of Santa Carla. The town is plagued by bikers and some mysterious deaths. At first, Sam laughs off rumours he hears about vampires who inhabit the small town, until he makes friends with two other boys who claim to be vampire hunters. But after Mike meets a beautiful girl at the local amusement park, he begins to exhibit the classic signs of vampirism, sleeping days and staying out all night, and is drawn into the gang of bikers by the beautiful girl. The younger boy starts getting into trouble because of his friends' obsession. Fearing for his own safety, Sam recruits the two young vampire hunters to save his brother by finding and destroying the head vampire.

Day 25: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Art by HardenedInk.

Driving through the backwoods of Texas, five youths pick up a traumatised hitchhiker, who shoots herself in their van. Shaken by the suicide, the group seeks help from the locals, but their situation becomes even more surreal when they knock on the door of a remote homestead. It's quickly apparent the residents are a family of inbred psychopaths, and the unlucky youths suddenly find themselves running for their lives. In hot pursuit is a disfigured, chainsaw-wielding cannibal known as Leatherface.

Day 26: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Art by Jacek Rudzki.

In the Victorian London, the barber Benjamin Barker is married to the gorgeous Lucy and they have a lovely child, Johanna. The beauty of Lucy attracts the attention of the corrupt Judge Turpin, who falsely accuses the barber of a crime that he did not commit and abuses Lucy later after gaining custody of her. After fifteen years in exile, Benjamin returns to London under the new identity of Sweeney Todd, seeking revenge against Turpin. He meets the widow Mrs. Lovett who is the owner of a meat pie shop who tells him that Lucy swallowed arsenic many years ago, and Turpin assigned himself tutor of Johanna. He opens a barber shop above her store, initiating a crime rampage against those who made him suffer and lose his beloved family.

Day 27: Freddy vs Jason (2003)

Art by Anthony Petrie.

Two of the most remembered eighties slasher film icons finally clash together on the big screen in a film fans have long been awaiting. Trapped in Hell when the authorities of Springwood manage to erase all evidence of his existence (and thus the fear that gives him his power), nightmare spirit Freddy Krueger comes across the soul of the equally infamous Camp Crystal Lake mad slasher, Jason Voorhees. Taking the guise of Jason's mother, Freddy resurrects him and commands him to start terrorising Springwood, hoping to in-still enough fear that the name Freddy Krueger gets out again so that the ensuing panic makes Freddy strong enough to return a seventh time. The plan works, but Freddy soon discovers that Jason, true to his nature in the past, will not stop killing, and is taking each of his victims. Determined to retake his position as the most feared killer in Springwood, Freddy devises a plan to sedate Jason into unconsciousness in order to battle him to the death. In the meantime, a small band of survivors who learn what's happening make their own efforts to not only ensure Jason's victory, but to return him to Camp Crystal Lake.

Day 28: The Exorcist (1973)

Art by David Seidman.

Accompanied by her 12 year-old daughter Regan, actress Chris McNeil relocates to Washington D.C. where she is filming a movie. Mother and daughter have a good relationship but after a time Regan begins to act strangely. She undergoes various neurological tests but doctors can find nothing to explain her behaviour. As Regan's situation reaches crisis proportions - she has to be tied to her bed, swears like a sailor and speaks in tongues - Chris turns to Father Karras, a Roman Catholic priest and psychiatrist to see if an exorcism might be the solution to their problem. Karras is incredulous but the church eventually agrees calling in Father Merrin, who has previously conducted an exorcism and come face to face with the devil.

Day 29: Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Art by Juan Esteban Rodriguez.

In 1799, young Police Detective Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is sent from New York City to a small town called Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of murders. Approached by the town's council, Crane discovers that three of the murders were some of the most notable men in town. The council also says that the murders are the work of a deadly Hessian Horseman (Christopher Walken), whose head has been mysteriously chopped off. With the help from a young sidekick and the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Ricci), Crane's investigation takes him further through the dark woods where more murders have been occurring. What Crane does not realise is that the mysterious Horseman is being controlled by someone in a sinister plot to kill the most suitable men in the village.

Day 30: The Monster Squad (1987)

Art by Vance Kelly.

Young kids form a club that is devoted to monsters, but soon get more than they bargained for when Count Dracula adjourns to Earth, accompanied by Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, the Mummy, and the Gillman. The uglies are in search of a powerful amulet that will grant them power to rule the world. Our heroes - the Monster Squad are the only ones daring to stand in their way.

Day 31: Halloween II (1981)

Art by Jason Edmiston.

After Doctor Samuel Loomis shoots Michael Myers six times, Michael escapes and is now on the loose in Haddonfield. Survivor Laurie Strode is taken to the hospital whilst Loomis continues to hunt down Michael with the help of the police. Michael continues his killing spree, slashing his way through town heading to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital to kill Laurie. It's now up to an injured Laurie and Doctor Loomis to stop Michael and his murderous rampage.

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I hope you give these ones a watch this Halloween season and enjoy them. Keep a look out on our social media channels as I'll be sharing stuff about each film on the day it falls. Enjoy horror fans!