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Arts & Culture

30 Day Horror Movie Challenge

Terrence Stamp in "The Collector." (1965)
Columbia
Terrence Stamp in "The Collector." (1965)

Are You Game?

I've been letting you folks off too easy so now it's time for a test. Prepare for the 30 Day Horror Movie Challenge.

The 30 Day Horror Movie Challenge was something I found on FaceBook and I thought it would be fun to put out there to Cinema Junkie fans. So on the Cinema Junkie FaceBook page I will be posting a challenge a day about your favorite horror movies. It would also be great if you "Liked" the Cinema Junkie FaceBook page and checked out some of the fun things I have going on there. Last month the challenge was to find a film a day that challenged gender stereotypes.

I hope some of you will join the conversation on FaceBook. So, Day 1. The first question to kick off June and a month of horrors is: "What was your first horror movie?"

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I can't remember specifically what the first horror film I saw was. It might have been "King Kong" or "The Creature From the Black Lagoon." But I distinctly and clearly remember the first film that gave me nightmares: "The Collector." In it, Terrence Stamp plays a man who kidnaps women and keeps them locked up. Samantha Eggar is his latest victim. I was 5 or 6 when I saw the film and it gave me nightmares. It's not really a horror film but it scared me!

Here's a sampling of some of the responses that were posted:

From Baltimore filmmaker Kevin Perkins: The first one I remember with any great clarity is "Angry Red Planet." If you don't consider that a horror movie, I'd say "Attack of the Killer Shrews."

From Tijuana filmmaker Aaron Soto: Maybe was an El Santo film. Yeah I know that is a complete cliche because I born in Mexico but back then El Santo films used to be a regular thing on TV.

Vincent Price in "The House on Haunted Hill."
Allied Artists
Vincent Price in "The House on Haunted Hill."

From Celia Ingersoll Vasquez: The original "House on Haunted Hill." I had night terrors over that movie for years. and my older brother and cousins got into BIG trouble for watching it while I was in the room. i had no idea that it was that particular movie until i saw it again when I was 13. It seems that a Vincent Price movie was a lot of people's first horror movie.

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From Federico Zamora: "Halloween" (1978). My cousins strapped me down ("Clockwork Orange"-style) and forced me to watch it when I was about 8. I was scarred for life. I STILL have nightmares with Myers chasing me through the empty, silent streets of my childhood in the middle of the night.

From Brian O'Rourke: When I was a child, my brother and I would watch "Dr. Shock's Mad Theater" on one of Philadelphia's UHF channels. One of the earliest memories I have of horror movies is that of being completely freaked out by "Attack of the Giant Leeches." I still hate and fear leeches. Sad to hear the co-star of that cheapie flick, Yvette Vickers, died alone in her LA home, undiscovered for a year.

So I hope you will join in the fun and games. Plus, get ready for some more Cinema Junkie quizzes to come... some will even have prizes!