Psychotronic:
-adjective
Denoting or relating to a genre of films that typically have a science fiction, horror, or fantasy theme and were made on a low budget.
-Oxford English Dictionary
Now, we—the Scarecrow Video staff—don’t necessarily subscribe to the ‘low budget’ part of that definition in our store, since movies like Aliens and Pan’s Labyrinth are not low budget affairs—but are well within the above mentioned sub-genres. That being said, we do like to go underdog more often than not and when you’re doing a challenge you might as well have a lot fun pushing yourself to new lows.
The basic guidelines are:
1. Watch at least 1 movie per day during the month of October in whatever order suits you.
3. Must be within the psychotronic definition.
2. Have fun and get weird.
That’s it!
Now for the watch list (here’s a link to a printable PDF file):
[ ]1. Family day (aka easin’ in to it). Something rated PG or less.
[ ]2. Mad(e) for TV day. Any feature length that was made for TV.
[ ]3. Director day. Something from a well known auteur.
[ ]4. Part IV day. Any 4th part of a film series.
[ ]5. Gamers in Daylight day. Something based on a video or board game.
[ ]6. Bookworm day. Something based on a book. Bonus points to you Giallo fans.
[ ]7. Disaster day. You know, earthquakes, floods, viral outbreaks etc.
[ ]8. Post-Apocalypse Day. Something with a future we can all look forward to.
[ ]9. Back To Nature day. No, not a nudist colony film, sheesh. One where nature is the true terror aka a plant/animal protagonist.
[ ]10. Some Kind of Satan day. Go pure evil with this pick. If only there were 666 days in October…
[ ]11. Space is Cold and Unforgiving day. Something that takes place in outer space.
[ ]12. Time is Not What it Seems day. Anything with time travel or that takes place in a alternate timeline.
[ ]13. Dragons Ate My Blacksmith day. A stone cold fantasy. Or a regular fantasy if you’re a softy.
[ ]14. Pseudotronic day. Just about anything with a Troma logo on it will suffice. Practical effects are a must, no CGI!
[ ]15. Video Store Day. This is a big one. Watch something physically rented or bought from an actual video store. If you live in a place that is unfortunate enough not to have one of these archival treasures then watch a movie with a video store scene in it at least. #vivaphysicalmedia
[ ]16. Classics Are Classics For a Reason day. Watch a Hammer film or something made before 1970 preferably in black and white.
[ ]17. VHS day. Something on the greatest physical format known to psychotronica. If you don’t have a VCR or access to one then watch a movie with a VCR/VHS theme or scene in it.
[ ]18. Host With the Most day. Watch something with a host /hostess in it.
[ ]19. Good Neighbor day. Watch a Canadian horror movie that is not made by David Cronenberg.
[ ]20. UnAmerican Activities day. Watch a non N. American made flick.
[ ]21. More Bang for Your Buck day. Any horror anthology.
[ ]22. Atkins Diet day. Cannibals save a lot of money on groceries, see how they do it.
[ ]23. Possession is 9/10 of the Law day. Watch a demon film then exorcise vigorously.
[ ]24. Specters and Apparitions day. Put on a sheet and try to scare your TV as much a ghost movie scares you.
[ ]25. Pitter-patter of Little Feet day. Since pregnancy is not scary enough, watch a pregnancy horror film.
[ ]26. Doctoral Candidates day. Not sure where some of these mad scientists and doctors get their degrees but it will take some looking into. Please help.
[ ]27. Right Tool for the Job day. Power tools aren’t always used for their intended purposes. This day is not OSHA approved.
[ ]28. As If This Could Suck More day. A terrible vampire film.
[ ]29. Moonful of Puppies day. A werewolfer.
[ ]30. Black Sunday. Witches, warlocks, voodoo priests etc. See if you can conjure the strength to make it one more day. And don’t watch Black Sunday you cheater.
[ ]31. Dead Tired From This Challenge day. I bet you stayed up all night watching movies trying to make up for wasted time earlier in the month. Therefore, you have to watch a zombie movie since you probably feel like one anyway.
