October Horror Challenge - Tales of Halloween (2015)

Synopsis

Like Trick'r'Treat (2007), this Halloween anthology includes multiple interwoven stories.

Review

I've posted about this flick a few times before too. My first review is here and my second is here. While it's not as good, I consider this one a spiritual sequel to Trick'r'Treat. I think a big different is the former is a horror flick with some humor, whereas I feel like this anthology focus more on comedy wrapped in horror.

My favorite story from this one is This Means War with Dana Gould. Gould is a comedic genius and it's a ridiculous story with a gory end. 

In Your Game

These stats are slightly revised from the ones I posted three years ago.

Killer Pumpkin (Plant Abomination)
Armor Class: 12
Hit Dice: 2
Move: 12
Actions: 1
Attack: Bite (d6)
Special: On a natural attack roll of 20, the target must make a Critical Saving throw of be decapitated as the Killer Pumpkin bites their head off.
Bonuses: +3 to Attack rolls, +2 to Damage

Alignment: Evil

Morale: 7

Madness: - 
Terror: 10

HDE: 1

October Horror Movie Challenge 2026

Viewed: 14
First Time Views: 10

Some Pretty Hipp Zombies

Not a phrase I expected to say, but check out this cute Marvel Zombies artwork by Dan Hipp. And remember if you want to add the Marvel Zombies virus to your DCC/Evolved game I got you. 

October Horror Challenge - Trick'r'Treat (2007)

 

Synopsis

This anthology includes four interwoven stories on Halloween and is set in the fictional town of Warren Valley, Ohio, that show why you should always follow the rules of Halloween. 

Review

Its probably not surprising but I watch Trick'r'Treat (2007) every year and have talked about it a few times. You can read my reviews here, here, and here. Not a lot new to say. I still think the "School Bus Massacre" segment is my favorite. It's genuinely creepy and shocking. 

In Your Game

Here are a few SURVIVE THIS!! spells for Dark Places & Demogorgons and We Die Young inspired by Trick'R'Treat.

Level 1

Always Check Your Candy

Duration: Instant                                     Range: Touch

A razor blade appears in a treat you touch. It is disguised and unless someone is actively checking the candy or sweet they will not notice it. If a creature eats the item they take 1d4 damage. Clever casters can also use this to make a makeshift blade. Treat this as a knife that breaks if the wielder rolls a natural 1. 

Jack-o-Lantern's Protection

Duration: Until candle goes out                Range: Touch LIGHT

The lit jack-o-lantern produces and protective aura for all creatures within 30 feat. Creatures gain Toughness: Evil +3 and Undead and Outsiders have disadvantage on all rolls while with the aura. 

This spell immediately ends if the the candle goes out. For purposes of targeting the jack-o-lantern to extinguish the candle treat it as have an AC of 10 and 1 HP.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2026

Viewed: 13
First Time Views: 10

October Horror Challenge - Ticks (1993)

     

Synopsis

A group of trouble teens head to the woods for a weekend with a couple of social workers, unaware that mutated ticks have infested the area. 

Review

I watched this one for the challenge back in 2019. You can read my review here. I don't really have much more to see. I think this is a charming and cheesy 90's creature feature. If you want to check it out, it's on Tubi.

In Your Game

Here are revised stats for the titular ticks.

Oversized Tick (Animal)

Armor Class: 13
Hit Dice: 1
Move: 12
Actions: 1
Attack: Bite (1+ bad trip)

Special: toughness +1 (fire ignores), attach,  bad trip
Bonuses: +5 to Stealth

Alignment: Unaligned

Morale: 10 (unless presented with fire)

Madness: -
Terror: 5

HDE: 1/2

Attach: If the tick makes a successful attack it automatically latches onto the target who must make a DC 12 Poison save. If the saving throw roll fails, the target suffers frightening delusions and must roll on the Failed Courage/Terror Effect Table. An attached tick automatically hits on its turn. The tick can be removed with a successful DC 12 Athletics: Basic check on by confronting the tick with fire.

Giant Tick (Animal)

Armor Class: 15
Hit Dice: 3
Move: 12
Actions: 1
Attack: Bite (d6 + bad trip)

Special: toughness +3 (fire ignores), attach,  bad trip
Bonuses: +3 to attacks, +2 to damage, +5 to Stealth

Alignment: Unaligned

Morale: 10 (unless presented with fire)

Madness: -
Terror: 10

HDE: 2

Attach: If the tick makes a successful attack it automatically latches onto the target who must make a DC 15 Poison save. If the saving throw roll fails, the target suffers frightening delusions and must roll on the Failed Courage/Terror Effect Table. An attached tick automatically hits on its turn. The tick can be removed with a successful DC 15 Athletics: Basic check on by confronting the tick with fire.  

October Horror Movie Challenge 2026

Viewed: 12
First Time Views: 10

Music Monday - F*ck The Pain Away

I love Peaches and her original version of Fuck The Pain Away is a classic. She recently teamed up with the makers of the new Hellraiser video game to do a new mix, featuring Doug Bradley.

I was already hyped for this game but now I’m next level excited.

October Horror Challenge - Onslaught (2026)

    

Synopsis

When three super-soldiers attack her trailer park, a discharged military sniper must protect her daughter and survive the night.

Review

Director Adam Wingard does it again. Onslaught is a tense and stylish action horror. It also has a delightful sense of weirdness. Wingard channels his best John Carpenter here. There are definite Assault on Precinct 13 vibes and even some of the music feels like it belongs in a Carpenter flick.  

The opening montage sets up the movie well, playing various war related news clips and mentioned Operation Paperclip. Dan Stevens plays a third generation (assumed) Nazi scientist, Dr. Kammler, connected to Paperclip. He's not in the movie long, but as usual Stevens gives an unforgettable performance. Adria Arjorna is badass and I really hope she returns in a sequel. She's a soldier that returned home damaged. She's a struggling parent, but very fierce. She's definitely the kind of protagonist you want to root for. Blake Kennedy, the actress that played her young daughter did an outstanding job as well. The trailer park has some great characters two. The two standouts are Josiah (played by Reginald VelJohnson) a Vietnam vet, and Kovacs, a police office played by Eric Wareheim (of Tim and Eric fame).Oh yeah, I also can't forget about Cyrus, played by Drew Starkey. He's a government cleaner and his scenes add to the odd visuals because the character is under the effects of drugs.

The action in this one is spectacular. The killers are brutal and remind me of a combination of the super-soldiers from Universal Soldier with a healthy dose of Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees. There's definitely some Terminator vibes too, which is fitting because Micheal Biehn has small role. This movie has some kink which I wasn't expecting (though I'm not complaining about). Dr. Kammler is submissive to his wife and we are introduced to Cyrus while he's enjoying some bondage. Rather than feeling out of place, this just kind of added to the odd vibes of the flick.

This movie rocks and though it wasn't expressly mentioned in the movie I can see the connections to The Guest. I'd love to see a sequel in which the survivors team team up with David to take on new super-soldiers. 

In Your Game

Operation Paperclip Super-Soldier (Humanoid)

Armor Class: 16
Hit Dice: 10+40 HP (89)
Move: 12

Actions: 3
Attack: Machete (1d6+1) or Semi-Auto Rifle (2d6+2)

Special: Str 20, Toughness +5,fearless,  +2 to all saves, immune to drugs/poisons, dark vision, feign death
Bonuses: +8 to attacks, +12 to kicks and punches, +4 to melee damage +10 to Athletics: Basic, Combat Training +3, +4 to Demolitions, Fighting: Brawling, +6 to Pilot: Basic,+7 to Spot and Listen, +8 to Stealth

Alignment: Evil

Morale: 10

Madness: 10 (12)
Terror: 13

HDE: 8

October Horror Movie Challenge 2026

Viewed: 11
First Time Views: 10

October Horror Challenge - Wizard of Gore (2007)

   

Synopsis

Montag the Magnificent is a shocking magician who seemingly kills audience members on stage. The trick is that the beautiful ladies survive. That is until the wind up dead days later with wounds resembling their on stage death...

Review

I grabbed this one on DVD a few months ago because I'd never seen it and heard it was a remake that held up. The fact I've always had a thing for alt chicks and the cover advertised the Suicide Girls, didn't hurt. As a millennial that's always been into alt-chicks, I'm quite familiar with them and used to be a big fan. Honestly the SG are probably the best part of this movie. There are a lot of hot naked goth girls. Unfortunately all the scenes with them involve sleaze and misogyny (though given the title and lineage of the film, that shouldn't be shocking). The flick references The Serpent and the Rainbow and shares some elements with that Wes Craven flick. Now on to the cast. 

Kip Pardue is our modern noir lead. He's a trust fund kid and pretentious as Hell. His performance is fine, I suppose. It's not memorable and you could probably replace him with any reasonably attractive pretentious white guy and the film would be the same. Bijou Philips plays his love interest, Maggie. She does the best with what she has and I appreciate that she calls out the films main issue, it's misogyny. Crispin Glover plays Montag and isn't on screen as much as you'd expect. His character is greasy and misogynistic and chews up scenery in the right way. Brad Dourif plays Dr. Chong which is problematic. While he definitely plays to Asian mystic stereotypes, the character is an American veteran with a shady past, rather than Dourif in straight up yellow face. The character is definitely memorable. Jeffrey Combs plays the Geek. Won't say too much about the character, but he's also quite memorable.

Despite everything wrong with it, I didn't hate this one and don't regret snagging a copy for my collection. There are some interesting visuals and I dig the noir vibes. Plus there are hot naked goth girls. Not that I recommend it, but if you want to watch it's on Tubi.

Your Game

Honestly not really sure how to add elements of this one to your game. You could definitely do some interesting stuff with tetrodotoxin, especially if you want something fantastic but are playing in a non-magical setting. Also, I think the social scene of the flick would fit right at home in a World of Darkness or dark urban fantasy game.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2026

Viewed: 10
First Time Views: 9

October Horror Challenge - The Guest (2014)

Synopsis

While grieving the loss of their son, the Peterson family are visited by one of his former squad mates, David. As David grows closer to the family, the family discovers he might not be what he seems.

Review

Going to start by saying while I added this to my October list because I saw it listed as an action-horror flick, it's more of an action-thriller set during Halloween. 

Dan Steven is outstanding in this movie. His portrayal as David is charming to the point of being disarming, but he also has an unmistakable aura of danger. I really can't speak highly enough. Maika Monroe and Brendan Meyer are great protagonists. Their interactions with David really drive the movie. The late, great Lance Reddick also has a smaller, but still important role in the film. This one is sleek and sexy. 

There are only a few action scenes, but they are spectacular. The mystery surrounding David's background will draw you in. There is a fun throwback vibe to this that reminds me of some of John Carpenter's action flicks.

I didn't see any obvious connections between this film and You're Next. After doing some research the connection is that the family in You're Next made their money from the organization tied to David's past.

Your Game

David Collins (Humanoid)

Armor Class: 14
Hit Dice: 8+24 HP (66)
Move: 12
Actions: 3
Attack: Knife (1d6) or Semi-Auto Pistol (2d6)

Special: Toughness +5, +1 to all saves, immune to drugs/poisons
Bonuses: +6 to attacks, +9 to kicks and punches, +10 to Athletics: Basic, Combat Training +3, +4 to Demolitions, Fighting: Brawling,  +5 to Intimidation, +5 to Persuasion, +6 to Pilot: Basic,+5 to Stealth,  +4 to Street Smart

Alignment: Neutral

Morale: 10

Madness: 0 (14)
Terror: -

HDE: 6

Items: burner phone, cash, knife, semi-auto pistol

October Horror Movie Challenge 2026

Viewed: 9
First Time Views: 8

October Horror Challenge - You’re Next (2011)

Synopsis

Erin and her boyfriend, Crispian, attend a dinner with his family when they find themselves under siege by a group of killers in animal masks.

Review

This one has been on my list for a bit, but I'm just now getting ready to watch it. You're Next is an entertaining and tense dysfunctional family drama meets home invasion meets slasher. Other than Erin, an Australian student, the characters are a group of arrogant rich assholes. The kills are pretty brutal. My favorite kill involves a garotte and my second involves a blender. This makes most of the deaths quite satisfying. There are multiple twists and I'll admit one caught me off guard. The film does a good job of explaining why the final girl, Erin, is as badass as she is.

If you're interested in watching this, it's currently on Tubi. The director has recently revealed the film is connected to his movie The Guest and Onslaught.

Your Game

Erin

Race:  Human

Class/Level: Final Girl 3

Alignment: Good

STR: 12 (+0)
INT: 14 (+1)
WIS: 13 (+1)
DEX: 16 (+2)
CON: 13 (+1)
CHA: 14 (+1)
SUR: 17

Courage: 14

Critical: 11
Death: 13

Magic: 9
Mental: 11
Poison: 10

AC: 13 (Dex, Class)

HP: 20

Toughness: +2

Initiative: +2

Move: 12

Attack Bonus

+1 to hit with punch and kicks

+3 to hit range

Damage

Unarmed 1

Axe d6+1

Skills:

Athletics: Basic 2 (+2)

Combat Training 1

Fighting: Brawling 1

First Aid 2 (+3)

Investigation 1 (+2)

Knowledge: General 1 (+2)

Stealth 3 (+5)

Wilderness Survival 3 (+4)

Traits:

Advantage on first SUR reroll of each day

Can use improvised weapons with no penalty

+2 to spot and listen

+1 to Intimidation

Toughness +1

Advantage on Madness checks

All allies within 60' may add or subtract 1 from any SUR reroll 

Gear: axe

October Horror Movie Challenge 2026

Viewed: 8
First Time Views: 7