The power of something compels us to obsessively return to certain movies time and time again, but what is it? Tender nostalgia? Primordial connection? Easy accessibility? Catharsis through comedy, through fear? Debauched thirst? And how many times must a movie be watched to earn the coveted “obsessively” qualifier? While we don’t have a definitive answer for the first several questions, we can confidently confirm the last: five times. Anything fewer than five rewatches is not an obsession, but an infatuation. Let’s get serious, people.
When we crunched the numbers to calculate our most obsessively rewatched films of 2020, comfort watches with catchy soundtracks seemed to reign supreme, with Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and both Mamma Mia!s leading the pack (Looking at my own stats, I can admit to having contributed—I’ve watched those three movies a combined 24 times).
For Hallowe’en (or Hooptober, for those who practice), we thought we’d resurrect this idea—but with a twisted twist. Here are the narrative feature films with a ‘horror’ genre tag that have been logged five or more times by the most members, updated as of fall 2023. A closer look at the entries reveals a gravitation towards slashers, creatures, silliness and most damningly, psychological torture manifested from our most primal fears. Come and play with us!
