It’s all over!

June 2012 is nothing but a memory, as we celebrate our country’s independence on this, July 4th. Though most people are outside lighting fireworks and grilling burgers, I’m inside, tallying scores and figuring out prizes (all by choice; it’s much too hot to be outside without a pool). I want to thank every single participant in this year’s inaugural challenge, as it has been an absolute blast. I honestly didn’t know how many people would join, and didn’t really expect anyone (myself included) to be so involved in the challenge during the final days. The inaugural Cinefessions Summer Screams Challenge has been an absolute success, and I couldn’t have done it without all of your participation, so thank you again.

Twitter proved the best way to interact with other followers during the challenge, but we also had a couple of non-twitter users join in the action, which was great to see. Be sure to check out their final lists – as well as all the other participant’s final lists – by using the links on the original challenge announcement post.

Personally, this has been an incredibly fulfilling month for me when it comes to cinema. I was able to fit in some recent new favorites, as well as some classic monster tales. I didn’t like every movie, but this challenge just reaffirmed my love and affection for the art of filmmaking. It’s a unique art that takes a minor miracle to pull off, and when everything falls into place, the results can be magical. I was able to write mini-reviews (some longer than others) of all 52 films I watched during the challenge, and these can all be found here. That said, for anyone who may not have been following my Tumblr list, I am planning to post all of the reviews (some with edits to extend their length and/or legitimacy) on my blog, so look for those in the coming weeks.

On to the reason everyone is here: the results of the inaugural Cinefessions Summer Screams Challenge!

It wasn’t until about the halfway point when I realized that I had no chance of winning this year. Ashe had things pretty locked up by the time I was able to post the first standings table (on June 11, 2012) thanks to his 64 total points, and 15 completed checklist items. I was in 2nd at that point, but knew that my viewing rate would be dropping thanks to a vacation, and other family obligations. Since marc_nadeau was 42 points behind, and going away for the second half of the challenge, I figured that Ashe would be the winner at the end of the challenge.

Not only did Ashe win, he friggin’ dominated! Here are the final stats:

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Here are some random statistics from the month of June:

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Needless to say, the nine of us consumed a great deal of entertainment in June, and I wouldn’t want it any other way! Here is another stat that wasn’t listed in the table: between the nine of us, we watched an average of 9.63 films and/or TV shows every day during June!

Wow. We kick ass.

It’s clear that Ashe has won the top prize, but the winner of the second prize is still up in the air. As it states in the rules, the participants finishing 2nd, 3rd, and 4th will all be entered into a drawing for the second prize. This year, that means that myself (2nd), robertjgannon (3rd), and Xander_Kane (4th) are all up for the second place prize. To determine the winner, I have used Random.org as the unbiased judge. I have entered “2” into the minimum box and “4” into the maximum box. That number represents our final standing (I am 2, robertjgannon is 3, Xander_Kane is 4). I will hit the “Generate” button ONE (1) time, and whichever number is randomly generated will win the second prize.

The winner of the second place prize is…

Xander_Kane (4)! Congratulations!

Xander_Kane kicking ass.

So what does everyone win? Since both are obviously horror and sci-fi fans, what better place to buy bad, cheap genre films than on Amazon.com? Because I am currently seeking employment, though, prizes will be relatively small. Here are the prizes:

• Ashe wins a $20 Amazon Gift Card (delivered by email, so please DM me your email address)
• Xander_Kane wins a $10 Amazon Gift Card (delivered by email, so please DM me your email address)

Congratulations to both of the prize winners, and thanks again to all who participated. Hopefully participating was prize enough for everyone.

Looking ahead to next year – the Second Annual Cinefessions Summer Screams Challenge, currently slated to begin June 1, 2013 – I hope to find sponsors to help support the project, and therefore have more participants, and even bigger prizes. This is something I will be working on from now until June, 2013, so hopefully everyone involved this year will participate again next year.

One last thank you goes out to all of this year’s participants. The inaugural Cinefessions Summer Screams Challenge has been a roaring success, and I can’t wait to do it again next year. In the meantime, watch for some random weekly movie challenges that may (or may not) also have prizes associated with them.

Thanks for reading, and Happy 4th of July!

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Branden Chowen

Branden has been a film fan since he was young, roaming the halls of Blockbuster Video, trying to find the grossest, scariest looking VHS covers to rent and watch alone in the basement. It wasn’t until recently, though, that Branden started seeking out the classics of cinema, and began to develop his true passion for the art form. Branden approaches each film with the unique perspective of having studied the art from the inside, having both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in acting. He has been a film critic since 2010, and has previously written for Inside Pulse Movies, We Love Cult, and Diehard Gamefan. His biggest achievement as a film critic, to date, has been founding Cinefessions and turning it from a personal blog to a true film website, housing hundreds of film and television reviews, and dozens of podcasts.