THE WIZARD OF OZ

(1939, dir. Victor Fleming, 102 min.)

Starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, and Margaret Hamilton

The most eccentric pick of this year's Hooptober, and the first time that challenge creator Cinemonster has made a specific movie required viewing, let alone one that is not typically regarded as "horror." per se. As far as I can tell this was chosen in tribute to the late David Lynch, a filmmaker whose influence on the modern horror aesthetic is notable but who never necessarily set out to be a horror director.

Lynch could be extremely cagey about his inspirations and influences and talking about the meanings behind his films, but at the same time he also could not have made his admiration of Victor Fleming's THE WIZARD OF OZ any clearer, once famously saying that "there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about The Wizard of Oz."

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