Halloween Hot Wheels 2026 - Rockin Railer

 Typically, I've done Halloween Hot Wheels Wednesday because I like alteration. But with only four Wednesdays this year and five Hot Wheels, I've changed it up. Yes, I could double up on one post but then that's a whole other post I need to come up with. 

 

I'd forgotten to order these in advance. Distribution is always seems spotty and I never know if they're going to turn up in a local store. One weekend, they were in my local supermarket and I grabbed the whole wave. There was no sign of them the following weekend! I have seen a couple popping up in Target but never the whole wave. 

 

Anyway, let's wave that green flag and start things off with the card art.

 

 

I'm really loving this year's design! You kind of got a Halloween Smokey and the Bandit chase going on leaving a trail of candy, a giant neon pumpkin, and a spooky...house? castle? with trick or treaters out front and a witch flying in front of a full moon.

 

 

 First in the 2026 lineup is Rockin' Railer. Every time I've had to type that name, my fingers automatically type Roller instead of Railer. This dragster was first introduced in 2023 and this is the sixth iteration. I can't imagine this would be easy to drive with the huge engine right in front of the windshield. But I guess if you're drag racing you're probably going in a straight line.

 

  

From the original card back: "Inspired by rail dragsters of the 60's, this speedster is always rockin' as it goes from 0–100 in 0.8 seconds. It will leave the competition in its dust while the exposed front engine rocks from side to side." And it does indeed, rock! When the car rolls along, the giant chrome engine rocks side to side.

 

I've seen a lot of collectors online grousing that this year's Halloween offerings aren't great but I disagree and think we got a really strong line up! Tune in every Friday for more Halloween Hot Wheels!

 

Swing by and see all the Countdown to Halloween blogs!

 

Countdown to Halloween 2026

 Welcome to the 2026 Countdown to Halloween!

 

 For the next 30 days, this blog is going into full on spooky mode!

 

Every day this month, I'll have a new post celebrating the most wonderful time of the year. There's a whole gang of us that celebrate this way. Head on over to the Countdown to Halloween blog to see the list of this year's crypt keepers.

 

For now, sit back, relax, and let Zacherle usher you into this most haunted of holidays. And if you have time, give the whole album a listen, it's great! This is one of those "change your life" albums for me. It's what really got me to dive into horror themed music. Of course, I was familiar with Rob Zombie, but I just had no idea there was so much more monstrous music out there.

 

It also introduced me to artists like The Bomboras, The Ghastly Ones, and The Dead Elvi. 

 

 

Be sure to check out all the Countdown bloggers by clicking the link below. 

 

Monthly Media Recap - September 2026

 Happy October Eve!

This month's Media Recap is going up a day early because tomorrow starts the post-a-day Countdown to Halloween! Every year, many bloggers and I Countdown the most wonderful time of the year with daily posts about all things Halloween, horror, spooky, kooky, you name it!

 

Not a lot of movies this month as I spent around 5 movies worth of time catching up on American Horror Story. Title links will take you to a trailer. 

Roll it!

 

Series

 

Spider-Noir (2026, Prime)
Why can't Sony deliver Spider-adjacent movies that are this good?! Cage is at his Cage-iest and that's exactly what the role needs. You can watch it even if you barely know anything about Spider-Man but fans will catch a lot more. Highly recommend watching the B&W version for maximum noir pulpiness. The camera angles and shot compositions are a love letter to classic Hollywood.

American Horror Story Season 10 (Hulu)
Usually my biggest issue with any season of AHS is that it falls off the path somewhere after the mid way point. Here, you get two mini seasons of 6 and 4 episodes. I think they both really shine due to their shorter runs time making their stories tighter. Who knew aliens were behind Marilyn Monroe's death?

 

Gatchaman Progress

Only 3 this month, but there's only 13 more to go! Currently up to 93.

 

Movies

 

Strange Darling (2023, Shudder)
At first I didn't like this one. It has 6 chapters and they're shown out of order. But as I stuck with it, I really began to enjoy the non-linear story telling and putting the pieces together of what was going on. They definitely made the right choice for how to spoon out the story and keep it interesting. Strongly recommend going in cold on this one and enjoy the ride. The trailer is well done in that it doesn't give anything away.

Rating: 7/10

 

Penny Lane is Dead (2025, Shudder)
A modern day Ozploitation revenge thriller that takes place in 1986. It's an odd blend of home invasion, great practical gore effects, and punk vibes. The bad guys have a wicked mean streak which makes it all the more satisfying when they get what's coming to them. Still debating if I like the ending or not.

Rating: 7/10

Enola Holmes 3 (2026, Netflix)
As much as I've enjoyed the series so far, I think this is the low point for me. The mystery didn't quite grab me and while Cavill is back (still needing a spinoff!) he spends a lot of the movie being the MacGuffin and not having as much to do. MBB is still a delight to watch even as her character continues to mature.

Rating: 6.5/10

Borderlands (2024, Apple TV)
How do you turn a beloved video game franchise into a movie that sucks the soul out of what makes the game so much fun? Easy, blend Temu Mad Max and wannabe Guardians of the Galaxy. If I didn't know anything about the game, this would be an ok sci-fi action flick that would get me to check out the game. The characters just felt kind of flat compared to their digital counterparts. Cate Blanchett is as good as you'd expect her to be. A lot of the supporting characters and stuff about the world, they nailed...just not the important stuff. And I don't care what you do, you can't make me believe Kevin Hart is any kind of action hero. 

Rating: 5/10

 

 

Backrooms (2026, HBO Max)

This was so good! The pervasive feeling of dread while navigating a liminal space that feels like it was filmed from a bad dream is fantastic. I can't say enough about how perfect the set design is. It just captures the wrongness of a familiar nightmare. Be sure to stick around after the credits.

 

Rating: 8/10

 

This Month

New: 5  Rewatch: 0

 

Year to Date

New: 61  Rewatch: 2