The Wonder Years of Horror Tournament
 

So, it's been awhile since one of these came along...

But, truth be said, I look around the sections of HDC - the top 100/200 compilations, the tournaments which stretched through months, the Battle Royales - whew, so much time and effort went into all of those.

I remember sitting through 5-6 hours at a stretch in front of the computer punching the top 100s or the BR Hunting Zone outings continuously, forgetting to even eat or drink, or deliberately skipping breakfast/lunch/dinner even, not to mention the endless hours poring through sites for posters/trailers, etc. Just check the times on the posts of the compilations, or the BRs, to have an idea...

Also, getting up at insane local hours to announce the HDC Awards in conjunction with Neverending's Halloween night broadcast on NEW Radio. (since I live on the other side of the world)

Wow...you must think I was pretty mad to have put real life on hold (or on notice), while I ensured that all my work on here was updated and complete.

But now, with server downtimes stretching out and no updates to the lease updation which will expire sometime in 2018, I wonder... when they finally pull HDC's plug for good - all the compilations, tournaments, BRs would be gone, forever - vanished into the cyberspace, and apparently the stored database of HDC on some remote Japanese/Russian server would be obliterated to make way for something else, something new.

Which made me think - can we have one final run of one of these tournaments which made our HDC forums unique on the Internet? They were so popular back in their days that we used to have over 4,500 posts in a single tournament which stretched to 6-7, sometimes 8 months!

I have an idea brewing in my mind since yesterday, after talking to Hammerfan. Hopefully it might come to fruition by tomorrow, and we might get to complete it before HDC is gone for good.

We shall be pitting the most popular years of the horror genre against each other. For example, 1975 is well-known for Jaws, Deep Red & Trilogy of Terror, while 2000 saw the induction of American Psycho, Battle Royale & Final Destination into the genre. We pit these years against each other in a 3-way contest, and the winner moves ahead. So on until we find our Champion of Horror Year, and crown it as the winner of the tournament.

I will need the co-operation of all active and lurking members, both new and old, to make this a success, hence I humbly request all of you for maximum participation in this small effort of mine.

So...what say, guys? One last hurrah before we ride into the sunset in a blaze of glory?

First match will be up soon.

Sounds awesome!!! I'm ready!

I won't be online tomorrow, it's my uncle's funeral. But, I WILL be online on Thursday.

Once more into the fray!

Count me in.

I shall do my best for any year in the 80's!!!

Love it! I can't wait!

Thanks, guys.

Framework and shortlisting till the mid-50s is now complete.


The 80s will need your support, considering the competition.

1931 looks the toughest to beat so far, followed by 1954.

I might hit the 1930's or the 1970's
Not quite sure yet.

Reached 1975, and calling it a night. (past 1 AM here)

Hoo-boy! If you are thinking that this tournament will be easy, wait till you see the choices for each year. ::shocked::

If I were to vote in this, pretty damn sure that I'll be losing my sleep debating over a possible winner in each and every match.

Bring it on V! I've spent decades in front of a wavering television screen preparing for this moment!

OMG! That's the ultimate great idea for a HDC tourney, V! Though I guess 70s (particularly 1979 ;) going to lead all through the final but I'll fight for 60s...my favorite decade of horror!

DIE 60's! DIE!

Legends never die!

They do when I get a hold of 'em.::devil::

Ref: 1962!
 

Baby Jane going to tear your soul apart at the Carnival!

I'll cheat.

HAMMERFAN, GO TO CONDITION YELLOW! WE'VE GOT TO STOP HER!

Whatta ya mean? If cheating isn't ok, who will participate?

GO TO CONDITION RED! REPO'D IS IN ON IT TOO!

Roshiq makes a very good point about the 70s though.

I think several decades are strong contenders. We have a of giant monster fans here, so the 50's could be a real sleeper.

Thanks.

Wait till you see the 80s lineup, some of the 90s, and the 00s too!


Shh. You will make the Hammer Horror fans mad, specially...you know who.


::big grin::


Indeed.

Although we won't be seeing any of Godzilla's versus films in this. I took Jurassic Park in for 1993, though.


So, I have just entered 2005. The final list should be ready in about an hour. Expect the first match to roll out then.

Lick your lips and shiver in anticipation! ::cool::

LIVE 60's! LIVE!

And so, we tee off. Possibly for the final time, ever...






First Horror Year to 5 votes wins.

1972. I remember watching Horror Express in AMT.

1972

Two questions, if I may.

Are we to consider films NOT included in your highlighted films, but released in the appropriate year? I'm basically asking if movies you haven't highlighted should be a consideration for voters?

How long do we have to cast votes for each pairing?

One other thing:Thanks for putting this together, V!

You have to consider all/most films released in the horror year which is currently up in the ongoing match.

Due to image and data constraints, I am sticking to 5 films for the Qualifying Round, and 3 films in subsequent rounds.

If I have to list all horror movies in a particular year, it might go beyond 3,000-4,000 names (specially for the years after 2000). So I am sticking to just those big/popular/highlight films which made that particular horror year notable.

But, to give everyone a better idea, I shall list some more notable horror films from each year specified in the matches, henceforth.

As long as it takes for you to make a valid decision. But once a particular horror year racks up 5 votes in it's favour, the match is over and we move on to the next match.

So, be fast. Or you might miss out on voting in that particular match!

You are most welcome.


HY1972 - 3 (anglewitch, MichaelMyers, roshiq)
HY1936 - 0

Keep them coming...

I really would hate to see 1936 get shutout, and I know for a fact if Neverending was still posting here this tourny would get his blood boiling ;-]

But Last House made such a big impression on 14 year old newb when I saw it at the drive-in.

1972 is my pick

The Other was also great but obscure film.

Thanks for the clarification, V.

My vote goes to 1936. Invisible Ray is brilliant, and Dracula's Daughter is one of Horror's under appreciated noir-ish classics. It's hard to vote against Horror Express and Last House, but the competition is as stiff as a cadaver!

1972

I have to go with 1972

1972

HY1972 - 7 (anglewitch, MichaelMyers, roshiq, newb, Bloof, hammerfan, X¤MurderDoll¤X)
HY1936 - 1 (Repo'd)

HY1972 steamrolls over HY1936 with it's sheer star-power!!

Next Qualifier up in a minute...

First Horror Year to 5 votes wins.

Not only for Lewton-Karloff collaborations or House of Dracula but I'd love to vote 1945 mainly for DEAD OF NIGHT...the pioneer in Horror anthologies with a great collection of different sort of twisted stories that inspired many films later in the genre and needless to say...the framing story was a real shocker to me considering the time period, something that was ahead of its time.

But damn, V! Didn't expect 2016 this early in the tournament. Unexpectedly it turned out quite a great year for the genre. Voting 2016 mainly for Jane Doe, Under the Shadow and Train to Busan!

https://s1.postimg.org/ibv13w08v/JD_UTS.jpg

Shit. This is far from easy. Train To Busan and The Boy are very entertaining films, and The Neon Demon is my favorite movie from last year, but Lewton and Karloff twice? Add House of Dracula to the mix along with Lon Chaney JR in Pillow of Death and I'm giving the nod to 45.

train to busan is too great

2016

The wonders of a random draw.

We had finally ended up with 86 contestant Horror Years.

Since the tournament format can fit 81, we are having this Qualifier Round for 10 of them, out of which 5 winners will cement their spots in the Final 81.

I chose 10 Horror Years with films with the least impact/viewership. Needless to say, 2016 was the default choice since it's the latest completed year.

10 paper chits inside a bowl, and my little Princess is picking out 2 at random.



HY2016 - 2 (roshiq, X¤MurderDoll¤X)
HY1945 - 1 (Repo'd)

Waiting for more...