Thanks to everyone involved, the Second Annual Cinefessions Summer Screams Challenge (CSSC2) was a rip-roaring good time, and a huge success, if I may so myself. We had a dozen active participants that updated his or her lists practically daily, watched a TON more movies and television than last year, and just had a great time doing it. What better way to spend the hot summer months than in the comfort of your air-conditioned homes watching horror and sci-fi, right? Now that all the lists have been finalized, the numbers have been added (and re-added because I wanted to be sure), the results are finally in, and CSSC2 has a NEW champion!

Though Ashe dominated the inaugural Challenge last year, this year he lit a fire under one of the other guest writers here at Cinefessions, and it ultimately cost him the crown. Chris, my Film Swappers partner, made it his personal goal to “kick Ashe’s ass” this year, late in the Challenge, and he managed to do just that. Chris went from 7th place last year, to 1st place this year, and is now the current CSSC Champion!

Here is the final, official standings of CSSC2 (click to enlarge):

You can see a lot of familiar faces on the list, but two of the top five participants are brand new to the challenge this year: Julie of French Toast Sunday and Kate, who can be followed on Twitter @Whisperia. Both of these ladies were able to finish the checklist and are now entered in to win that second place prize, which is an Amazon Gift Card worth $20. Ashe, Julie, Kate, and Robert will all be entered into that drawing, and the results will be posted below.

As the champion of CSSC2, Chris receives a $40 Amazon Gift Card. Congratulations, Chris! If we are able to get more participants next year, the prizes will continue to go up and up, making this challenge even more exciting for all involved.

As the announcement post states, all 12 active participants will be entered into a drawing (which I will do in just a minute, meaning the results will be posted below) to win a selection of randomly selected digital movies. Though most will be horror or sci-fi related, some may come from other genres as well. It is a mixed bag to say the least. This prize pack includes twelve (12) films for digital download (note: the winner will receive an email with these codes and the instructions, so a valid email address is required).

Before we move to the giveaway part of this article, let’s take a quick look at some of the statistics from this year compared to last year. In 2012, we had 9 participants, a total of 260 films, and 29 TV episodes viewed; 3 participants completed the checklist. In 2013, we had 12 participants, a total of 574 films, and 295 TV episodes viewed; 5 participants completed the checklist. 2012 saw 630 total points, or an average of 70 points per participant. 2013 had a total of 1,426 total points earned, or an average of 118.83 points per participant. Each participant, on average, viewed 28.89 films and 3.22 TV episodes in 2012. In 2013, each participant, on average, viewed 47.83 films and 24.58 TV episodes.

Those numbers really speak for themselves. This year was on a whole other level compared to 2012, and hopefully that trend continues to rise in the coming years. The biggest and most notable jump has to be in the amount of TV episodes viewed. This was helped by the fact that TV episodes counted toward the theme weeks, and next year, I have even more in store for the TV viewers out there. Due to the sheer quantity of entertainment viewed, I couldn’t possible keep track of what the most viewed film and TV show was this year, nor will I be able to make a Letterboxd list of all the movies watched during the month. We kicked too much butt for that to be a plausible stat to track.

Let’s get on to the drawings and the prize giveaways. Note that I will be using Random.org for all of these drawings. I will enter numbers from 1-12, depending on the drawing, and each participant is represented by whatever place they have finished in. I am eligible for all prizes, but seeing as I already own all of the digital films I am giving away, and am not in the top five, I will re-draw if I win this year.

First up for grabs is the 12-film Digital Prize Pack, which is open to all 12 participants. The winner for this prize pack is…

Kate, better known as Whisperia on Twitter! Congratulations, Kate! You should DM me your email address as soon as possible to redeem your prize pack.

Next up, and the final drawing of CSSC2 is for the $20 Amazon Gift Card. I am entering the second place to fifth place participants into this drawing, and the winner is…

Julie of French Toast Sunday! Congratulations, Julie! Please DM me your email address so I can email you your prize as soon as possible.

So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The Second Annual Cinefessions Summer Screams Challenge is officially complete. I want to take a minute and thank every single participant this year one more time. Without you, this Challenge would be nothing more than me sitting on my butt all day watching movies. You guys give it a purpose, and make my laziness feel justified, which is all I could ask for. Hopefully you all found a couple new favorite films or television programs throughout the month of June, because that is what the Challenge is really all about. Sure, winning is nice, and prizes are better, but the Challenge stems from my desire to catch up on a lot of classics that I had missed previously. That said, anyone who is interested in writing a top 5 list for the movies they watched during the Challenge is more than welcome. I’d be happy to publish it on Cinefessions.

Once again, thank you to all the participants, everyone who retweeted a link to this Challenge, and anyone who considered being a part. I hope that next year we are able to get even more participants, and make the Challenge even better.

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.