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The After Dark Top 40 is our free guide for Club members: forty horror films, starting in the 1920s, counted down like a chart, with a short write-up for each. Join the Club on the site and receive the complete guide as a download. All forty entries come together, so you can read from number forty to number one or skip straight to the ranking you want to argue with.
I know a “top 40” sounds like the sort of thing your dad's radio does on a Sunday, but that's rather the point. The chart is the format of the guide. You don't have to wait for another email to see the next film.
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A countdown you can read at your own pace
A ranked list gives you somewhere to start, which is useful when choosing a film has somehow taken longer than watching one would have. Each entry has a few words about the film, giving you more to go on than a title and a number.
You can work through the guide in order, dip into a period you like, or use it when you need something for a dark evening. There's no monthly edition to keep up with and no daily instalment to collect. Keep the complete download and come back to it when the question of what to watch starts another sofa debate.
The argument is part of the fun
This isn't an official measure of the forty best horror films. There isn't one. What frightens one person leaves somebody else wondering when anything is going to happen, and an old favourite can mean more than the film with the most impressive reputation.
That's why a horror ranking is an invitation to disagree. You might favour a quiet ghost story over a slasher, or a creature you can barely see over an ending that explains everything. The numbers give the guide its shape; they don't tell you what you're allowed to enjoy.
What you'll find inside
The guide spans horror films from the 1920s onwards, with a short write-up for each of its forty choices. The complete ranking belongs in the members' download, so this introduction won't give away the list.
If you're also browsing films for your shelf, the Halloween Blu-ray collection on Amazon is an optional affiliate link. You don't need to buy anything to join the Club or receive the guide.
How to get the complete guide
Join the Club through the signup form on the site. The welcome email contains the link to your free After Dark Top 40 download, with all forty entries included. It isn't a sequence of emails revealing one film at a time.
Forty films. One complete guide. Put the kettle on, find your next watch, and decide where you'd have ranked it.
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