Pick of the Week

Nu-Meri: Book of the New Spawn (2008)
When her friend, Nanako, dies covered in vicious fish bites and appears to be growing scales, marine bio-engineering student Mari realizes there’s more under the surface than she suspected in this shocking spine-chiller from Japan. Now, she must investigate to find out who — or what — at her school, the Pacific Institute, is involved in this new underwater threat determined to wipe out the human race.

Summer’s Moon (2009)
Visiting a rural town to find a father she’s never met, Summer (Ashley Greene) falls into a trap set by deranged serial killer Tom (Peter Mooney). Buried in an inescapable mound of dirt, Summer frantically tries to win her captor’s confidence and stay alive any way she can. Full of shocking twists and turns, this frightening horror movie also stars Barbara Niven, Stephen McHattie and Peter Michael Dillon.

The Echo (2008)
Echoes from the past plague ex-con Bobby (Jesse Bradford) when he moves into his dead mother’s apartment and begins to hear disturbing noises next door. His paranoia grows as he investigates and realizes that no one else notices the strange and sinister happenings. Director Yam Laranas favors creative lighting and suspenseful editing over special effects in this terrifying remake of his 2004 film of the same name.

Graveyard Disturbance (1987)
Accepting an easy bet from the creepy owner of the ramshackle inn where they’re laying low, five teenage shoplifters on the lam agree to spend a night in the twisting catacombs beneath a nearby church. But as soon as the young delinquents go underground, zombies and other evil creatures emerge to hunt them down. This Italian thriller from director Lamberto Bava stars Lea Martino, Gregory Lech Thaddeus, Karl Zinny, Gianmarco Tognazzi and Beatrice Ring.

Evil Face (1974)
Obsessed with repairing the damage done to his wife’s face in an accidental fire, mad Victorian scientist Nijinsky (Klaus Kinski) labors in his eerie underground lab to perfect a radical skin-grafting technique. But when he runs short on materials to conduct his experiments, he turns to unsuspecting local girls for some fresh flesh to work with. Yilmaz Duru and Sergio Garrone direct this Italian horror flick.

Intruder (2008)
When Andrew (Jack Reiling) and his troubled girlfriend, Lila (Christena Doggrell), travel to a peaceful country estate for a relaxing getaway, they unwittingly stumble into the clutches of a predatory killer who roams the dark woods near the house. Now the lovers are in for the fight of their lives as they try to elude the bloodthirsty intruder. This horror-thriller from director Gregory Caiafa also features Ryan Merrigan.

Pick of the Week

Dark Mirror (2007)
After moving into a strange old house with her husband and son, Deborah (Lisa Vidal) discovers a mysterious mirror that does more than just cast a reflection. A door to an alternate reality, the mirror awakens a dark side in Deborah that she can’t control. Co-starring David Chisum, Christine Lakin, Joshua Pelegrin and Lupe Ontiveros, this psychological thriller is directed and co-written by Pablo Proenza.

The Fugue (2009)
Tormented by the memories of a traumatic incident from her childhood, struggling artist Nora Dunn (Rosie Sowa) longs to put her past behind her. But when the specter of her deceased friend begins to visit her, Nora fears the worst is yet to come. Written, directed and produced by Paul Awad, this supernatural thriller also stars Tony Nam as Dan Tsang, the dogged detective determined to help Nora find some peace.

Night Watcher (2008)
Devastated by her mother’s suicide, teenage Angela (Allison Tyler) begins attending grief counseling, where she’s befriended by Brian (Zack Stewart). But Angela’s new beginning takes a dark turn when she receives a chilling videotape documenting her mother’s last days. Convinced that she’s being stalked, and suspicious of the rash of suicides plaguing her hometown, Angela learns that the truth is more horrible than she could have imagined.

The Stragglers (2004)
While investigating a string of supernatural occurrences in the mountains of Georgia, Dr. Elaine Krauss (Amy Holt) and a team of research scientists attempt to pinpoint the cause of several grisly murders and protect themselves from becoming the next victims. Co-starring Dave R. Watkins, Michael D. Friedman and Chris Burns, this unnerving horror film bounces back and forth between the past and present, leaving viewers constantly on edge.

Sand Serpents (2009)
While carrying out a combat mission overseas, an elite group of soldiers (led by Jason Gedrick) comes face to face with the Taliban — and a deadly underground network of giant serpents that make their home in the hot desert sand. The soldiers catch a break when the serpents cleanly devour their terrorist captors. But the minute they’re set free, they jump headfirst into a hard-fought battle for their lives.

Mutants (2008)
When a ruthless corporate-sponsored scientist develops an additive designed to make ordinary sugar wildly addictive, the chemical mutates his imprisoned test subjects into savage, bloodthirsty zombies. Now, the corporation’s crack security team must contain the threat before the mutants escape and the poisoned sugar gets into the mainstream food supply. Michael Ironside and Steven Bauer star in this horror thriller from director Amir Valinia.

Gravestoned (2009)
Eager to make a low-budget horror film, unemployed pot farmers Shark (Joe Glass) and Coltrane (Ivan Jones) saw off the arm of a cadaver to use as a prop, but their “half-baked” plan backfires when the zombie wants his arm back. Before long, our heroes are caught up in a trippy adventure with a gorgeous actress, a cadaver salesmen, cheerleaders with a secret, a cannibal redneck and a lusty dog in this stoner-centric horror comedy.

Deadlands 2: Trapped (2008)
A top-secret U.S. government agency stages a biological weapons exercise in a Maryland town with horrific results: The toxic gas that’s released turns all who breathe it into zombies, who then set about infecting the rest of the town. Finally, only six residents are left standing, holed up together in a movie theater preparing to make a last stand against the undead. Director Gary Ugarek follows up his earlier gore epic Deadlands: The Rising.

Contagio (2009)
In this low-budget thriller shot in just a week, a couple’s camping retreat turns into an emergency evacuation when a satellite rams into the earth not far from where they’ve pitched their tent, releasing a toxic cloud in the process. Cursing the government — which claimed to have destroyed the satellite — Calvin (Luc Bernier) and Iris (Isabelle Stephen) now find themselves fleeing for their lives.

Beast Within (2008)
Terror catapults onto the screen as a new form of avian flu turns its unsuspecting victims into voracious zombies. Pleasure-seeking 20-somethings partying in a remote mansion must then battle the flesh-eating monsters and the infected birds. Armed with flamethrowers, brawn and scientific know-how, the friends barricade themselves against the horrors of the night, but will any of them live to see the morning light?

Pick of the Week

The Butcher (2007)
Relentlessly gruesome, South Korean filmmaker Kim Jin-Won’s torture flick chronicles the making of a snuff film from two perspectives: that of the sadistic producers and that of the unfortunate “stars.” Their terror captured through vérité-style camera work, the victims are made to endure the agonizing screams of their fellow captives before meeting their own grim fate at the hands the titular butcher in his bloody abattoir.

Orphan (2009)
Picking up the pieces after their baby’s tragic death, the Colemans — Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) — adopt 9-year-old Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) from an orphanage, but it doesn’t take long for Kate to see through Esther’s angelic façade. When John brushes aside Kate’s paranoid suspicions, Esther wreaks havoc on the world around her in this chilling tale from director Jaume Collet-Serra.

Late Fee (2009)
After begging a DVD rental store owner (Rick Poli) to let them rent scary movies as he’s closing for a private Halloween party, a young couple (J.D. Brown and Stephanie Danielson) misses the midnight return time — and they soon learn they’ll have to pay the late fee with their own blood. When the owner arrives at their home with his ghastly guests, the frightening movie night turns into a real-life nightmare in this horror-filled spine chiller.

Until Death (1987)
After killing her husband, lakeside resort owner Linda (Gioia Scola) and her lover, Carlo (David Brandon), believe they’ve gotten away with murder — until the night they meet a mysterious stranger (Urbano Barberini) who seems to know all about their grisly crime. Beset by nightmares and paranoia, the lovers turn on each other to escape the justice that seems to be coming from beyond the grave. Lamberto Bava directs this chilling Italian thriller.

Sauna (2008)
While mapping the new border with Russia in 1595, Finnish soldier brothers Erik (Ville Virtanen) and Knut (Tommi Eronen) stumble upon a spooky, almost-childless undocumented town. There, they find a mysterious sauna that forces all who enter it to face their past sins. Finnish director Antti-Jussi Annila’s masterfully atmospheric horror film screened at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.

Night of Death! (1980)
When she takes up her new post at an eerie convalescent home deep in the French countryside, nurse Martine (Isabelle Goguey) soon discovers that several missing co-workers may have fallen prey to an unspeakable evil rumored to roam the hallways at night. But as Martine looks deeper into the mystery, she suspects the home’s aged residents know more about the menace than they let on. Raphaël Delpard directs this spooky cinematic treat.

Lucifera: Demon Lover (1972)
A visit to a 16th-century castle — said to belong to the devil and containing a portrait of a woman who looks just like young Helga (Rosalba Neri) — turns into a nightmare in this mesmerizing Italian horror classic directed by Paolo Lombardo. When Helga ends up spending the night in the ominous mansion, she dreams of a medieval past that includes rapists, brutal vampires and a mysterious hooded executioner.

Tales from the Darkside: Season 2 (1985)
Ranging from comedic to gory, the horror and sci-fi stories compiled in the second season of this popular 1980s anthology series include tales about a cursed family, vampires, monsters under the bed, a little girl possessed by demons and much more. Adapted from stories by Stephen King, Clive Barker, Harlan Ellison and other well-known writers, the episodes star Dominic Chianese, Marcia Cross, Seth Green, Jerry Stiller, Abe Vigoda and many others.

Night of the Creeps (1986)
When two fraternity brothers thaw out a corpse from their school clinic, evil slugs from outer space that had been frozen inside the body race across campus, infecting lusty coeds and turning them into flesh-hungry zombies. Now it’s up to a chain-smoking former cop (Tom Atkins) to save the whole town from the alien menace. Fred Dekker directs this gleefully campy cult classic that co-stars Jason Lively and Jill Whitlow.

I Can See You (2008)
With one bored girlfriend in tow, three Brooklyn ad men take a weekend camping trip to brainstorm pitches for a cleaning product called Claractix. But when the girlfriend goes missing, a strange series of events is set into motion. This twisty, psychedelic thriller co-stars Heather Robb as the vixen Summer Day, and producer and art-horror impresario Larry Fessenden plays long-lost pitchman Mickey Hauser.

Born of Fire (1983)
Troubled by disturbing hallucinations during a recital, flutist Paul Bergson (Peter Firth) later learns from an astronomer (Suzan Crowley) that the violent visions are connected to strange solar and volcanic activity, and the pair travels to Turkey to investigate. There, Paul encounters a Sufi mystic who prepares him to do battle with an evil entity. Jamil Dehlavi directs this supernatural horror film steeped in Islamic mythology.

Black Devil Doll (2007)
The blaxploitation genre gets a satiric reboot in this tale of the supernatural. Buxom Heather (Heather Murphy) experiments with a Ouija board, infusing a ventriloquist’s dummy with the soul of a militant black murderer just as he’s frying in the electric chair. Now, the doll is free to continue his rampage, raping and killing white women with abandon, as Heather and her airheaded girlfriends run for their lives.

Stan Helsing (2009)
When he makes a late-night movie delivery to a strange town on Halloween, video store counter jockey Stan Helsing (Steve Howey) finds himself hunted by a who’s who of slasher-film killers, including Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers and Leatherface. Now, Stan and his pals must use their knowledge of horror flicks to defeat the villains and hack their way to freedom. Bo Zenga directs this gleeful parody of classic horror movies.

Pick of the Week

Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story (2007)
This documentary celebrates the work of independent horror movie producer William Castle, who marketed his 1950s-era films with gimmicks such as giving audience members life insurance vouchers in case the movie frightened them to death. Featuring interviews with director Roger Corman and other colleagues of the gleefully shameless promoter, this tribute from filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz also examines Castle’s later mainstream career.

Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead (2009)
A group of friends heads for the woods, only to end up on the menu for a cannibalistic mutant known as Three Finger. Only Fonda (Janet Montgomery) manages to survive, and she’s soon joined by a truckload of escaped convicts also fleeing the ravenous freak. Throw in a cache of stolen money to distract the escapees and an unsuspecting search party, and it’s a virtual smorgasbord for Three Finger. Tom Frederic and Tamer Hassan co-star.

Hardware (1990)
A wandering soldier (Dylan McDermott) finds a robot head in the post-apocalyptic desert and brings it back to his girlfriend for use in one of her sculptures. When he investigates the origin of the head, he discovers it’s from the Mark 13 project, which was canceled because of unreliability. The couple (and everyone else) are in for a heap of trouble when the robot puts itself back together using spare sculpture parts!

Last of the Living (2008)
As the rest of humankind succumbs to a virus that turns them into flesh-eating zombies, three pals (Morgan Williams, Robert Faith and Ashleigh Southam) not only survive but thrive — enjoying the easy pickings of a deserted landscape. All of that changes, however, when they meet a pretty girl. Now, the guys’ inner heroes get a chance to emerge in this zombie comedy from New Zealand as they help the lovely young scientist in her race to find a cure.

Blood Ties (2009)
When a group of Hollow’s Pointe University graduate students writes a thesis posing a theory about the still-unsolved slayings that took place there decades prior, they suddenly find their own lives in danger. Twenty years after the original crimes, conspiracy is afoot and student sleuths are turning up dead in this Nathaniel Nose-directed thriller starring DJ Perry, Jason Carter and Anthony Hornus.

Blood: The Last Vampire (2009)
In post-World War II Japan, a top secret government agency sends the teenage katana-wielding half-vampire Saya (Gianna Jun) to an American military base with the assignment of routing out a demon who’s masquerading as a student. A series of violent swordfights leads our heroine to a confrontation with the formidably deadly vampire Onigen (Koyuki). Based on the anime film and TV series, this live-action horror thriller also stars Allison Miller.

Freaky Faron (2009)
After shooting and nearly killing a weatherman when she was 11 years old, Faron Hallowell (Courtney Halverson) claimed that alien beings ordered her to murder him. Now, fresh out of a five-year stay in a mental hospital, Faron finds herself beset by unexplained events. She’ll have to use her supernatural powers to protect herself and those around her — and to finally learn the truth about her identity — in this sci-fi spine chiller.

The Torturer (2008)
Rick (Andrew Walker), an American military interrogator working on contract during the Iraq war, resorts to extremes while questioning a Muslim female detainee (Mahsa Masoudi) in the high-stakes atmosphere of the war on terror. Now, he’s suffering the consequences. Returning to the United States with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, Rick must turn to a clinical psychiatrist (Nichelle Nichols) to get healthy enough to resume his grim work.

P (2004)
When a young witch from a remote village in northeastern Thailand travels to Bangkok in hopes of raising the money to care for her ailing grandmother, her breaking of the witch’s sacred code soon leads to disaster in this frightful tale of magic from director Paul Spurrier.

Ravage the Scream Queen (2009)
When two guys discover a DVD-R containing an amateur snuff film, one is inspired to become a murder movie auteur. Luring aspiring scream queens to his lair with the promise of appearing in a film that will launch them to super-stardom, he then proceeds to systematically torture and slaughter the would-be starlets.

Homicidal / Strait-Jacket (1961)
It’s kill and be killed in this deadly double feature: In Strait-Jacket, Lucy (Joan Crawford) tries to prove herself after spending 20 years in an asylum for murder; in Homicidal, heiress Miriam Webster (Patricia Breslin) fears for her life when a blond bombshell (Jean Arless) plots her demise. Both femme fatale flicks are from iconic horror maven William Castle, a director with a reputation for low-budget B movies and nifty marketing gimmicks.

Mr. Sardonicus / The Old Dark House (1961)
William Castle presents two classic screamers: Mr. Sardonicus, the tale of a man whose face is frozen into a horrifying grimace, and The Old Dark House, in which an auto salesman (Tom Poston) delivers a car to his client, only to find the man dead on arrival. The producer of Rosemary’s Baby, Castle began his career as an iconic director of gimmicky spine tinglers with notoriously low budgets, and this double dose of death delivers on his reputation.

13 Frightened Girls / 13 Ghosts (1960)
Several diplomats’ daughters are drawn into international intrigue and murder in 13 Frightened Girls. Then, in 13 Ghosts, a man (Charles Herbert) inherits his uncle’s mansion and stumbles upon spirits that are only visible to guests who wear special goggles. Horror maestro and iconic showman William Castle stirs a splash of comedy into his suspenseful concoctions in this pair of classic 1960s chillers.

The Tingler / Zotz! (1959)
This double feature pairs a classic horror flick — about a pathologist (Vincent Price) who experiments with a parasite that clings to the spinal cord of victims — with a classic comedy about a professor (Tom Poston) who discovers the zotz, a coin with magical properties. William Castle, who directs both films, initially introduced The Tingler in theaters with electrically “enhanced” seats that delivered a mild shock to audience members.

Pick of the Week

Drag Me to Hell (2009)
After denying a woman the extension she needs to keep her home, loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) sees her once-promising life take a startling turn for the worse. Christine is convinced she’s been cursed by a Gypsy, but her boyfriend (Justin Long) is skeptical. Now, her only hope seems to lie in a psychic (Dileep Rao) who claims he can help her lift the curse and keep her soul from being dragged straight to hell.

iMurders (2008)
When a cunning serial killer begins picking off the disparate users of a popular Internet chat room, it’s up to FBI agents Otis Washington (Tony Todd) and Lori Romano (Brooke Lewis) to bring him — or her — down. This suspenseful thriller also stars Gabrielle Anwar (”Burn Notice”) as reclusive former model Lindsay Jefferies, William Forsythe as the calculating professor Uberoth and Billy Dee Williams as the enigmatic Robert Delgado.

The Objective (2008)
Two months after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, CIA agent Ben Keynes (Jonas Ball) journeys to Afghanistan to lead an elite special forces team across the barren desert sands in search of a mysterious man named Mohammed Aban. But as the crew slowly divines the real purpose of the mission, they are drawn into a stranger, darker and deadlier world than they had expected in this wartime thriller from the director of The Blair Witch Project.

The Killing Room (2008)
Hoping to make some quick cash, four ordinary citizens volunteer for a run-of-the-mill paid research study only to discover that it’s actually a nightmarish government experiment that threatens their sanity — and their lives. As the subjects try to obtain the correct answers for a series of devious tests, they are forced to make unthinkable choices with terrible consequences. Jonathan Liebesman directs this dark psychological thriller.

Oral Fixation (2009)
Rachel Marks (Emily Parker) has developed an unhealthy obsession with the most unlikely of targets — her dentist (Kerry Aissa) — and like many a sexy stalker, she’ll stop at nothing to make the object of affection hers, and hers alone. As the blood flows and the body count mounts in this dark suspense thriller, you can bet that the dentist won’t be the only one doling out the pain. Writer-director Jake Cashill makes his feature debut.

The Stepfather (1986)
In this acclaimed horror classic, Jerry Blake (Terry O’Quinn) expects only one thing from his family — perfection — and when he doesn’t get it, he doesn’t just get angry, he goes mad: completely, psychopathically, homicidally mad. After brutally dispatching one clan, Jerry sets up shop with a single mom (Shelley Hack) and her brooding teen daughter (Jill Schoelen), who immediately suspects there’s something not quite right about her dear old stepdad.

Satanic Panic (2009)
Inspired by true events, this bloody chiller tells the story of young Toby and Cindy Richards, who are abducted by a satanic cult. Although Cindy escapes, Toby is never found, and Cindy remains haunted by the ordeal. Twenty-five years later, a group of friends reunites for a camping trip, which goes horribly awry when they’re stranded near the site of Cindy’s abduction and terrorized by fiendish satanists looking for sacrificial victims.

Infestation (2009)
Prepare for global swarming. The innocent slacker Cooper (Chris Marquette) begins a new job and shortly enters a mutant nightmare, waking up to find himself trapped inside a gooey cocoon spun by a gigantic mutant insect. After freeing himself, Cooper must find a way to rescue the other people trapped with him and team with them to battle flying, flesh-eating bugs and human hybrid mutants in order to save the planet.

Gnaw (2008)
Six friends head for a holiday in the English countryside. From outside, their remote cottage seems drawn from a picture book. But inside is another matter, as the vacationers find they’re on the menu for the dwelling’s resident family of cannibals. Sara Dylan, Oliver Lee Squires and Rachel Mitchem star in this tongue-in-cheek British chiller, an official selection at Portugal’s 2009 Fantasporto festival.

How to Be a Serial Killer (2008)
Meet Mike Wilson (Dameon Clarke). He’s charming. He’s smart. He’s a serial killer — and a very happy one, too. Determined to share the secrets of his satisfying career, Mike enlists sad-sack video store clerk Bart (Matthew Gray Gubler) as his star pupil. Mike enlightens Bart on the finer points of body disposal and other tricks of the trade, but it’s not long before Mike’s girlfriend catches on to his very odd job in this hilarious dark comedy.

I Spit Chew on Your Grave (2009)
A group of buxom prostitutes under the employ of a warlock pimp lands in big trouble when they accidentally rape the wrong man. And it isn’t long before our chesty heroines must suffer the consequences of their misdeeds. Director Chris Seaver puts the 1970s grindhouse experience through the grinder in this low-budget, over-the-top spoof, which takes aim at such exploitation gems as I Spit on Your Grave and Poon Academy.

Happy Birthday to Me (with restored score) (1981)
Certainly the low point in Glenn Ford’s acting career, this Canadian production is, nevertheless, one of the slickest-looking slasher films from that subgenre’s early-’80s heyday. The plot (what one can make of it) involves an unseen killer stalking a group of college students at the prestigious Crawford Academy. The well-staged murders are mysteriously linked to the slightly off-kilter Virginia (Melissa Sue Anderson, formerly of Little House on the Prairie), whose disturbing past holds the key to the killer’s identity.

Pick of the Week

Trick ‘r Treat (2008)
The usually boisterous traditions of Halloween turn baleful, and everyone in a small town tries to survive one night in pure hell in writer-director Michael Dougherty’s fright fest. Several stories weave together, such as a loner fending off a demented trick-or-treater’s attacks, kids uncovering a freaky secret, a school principal — who moonlights as a serial killer — poisoning his candy, and more. Dylan Baker, Anna Paquin and Brian Cox star.

Offspring (2009)
Dead River, Maine, sets the scene for a gruesome dinner party when a pack of feral, flesh-eating kids and a demented, bloodthirsty woman threaten to devour a local couple and their horrified houseguests. While hostess Amy (Amy Hargreaves) fights to stay alive and save her children, a retired sheriff (Art Hindle) mounts his own rescue in this finger-licking-good cannibal tale based on the novel by Jack Ketchum.

Seventh Moon (2008)
Blair Witch co-creator Eduardo Sanchez continues to strip away his characters’ sense of ease and confidence in his third film, which captures the horrors that befall a pair of newlyweds honeymooning in China. Melissa (Amy Smart) and Yul (Tim Chiou) are enjoying the Hungry Ghost Festival immensely, but their hosts think they’re enjoying it too much. Soon, the couple is abandoned in the middle of nowhere — but they’re far from being alone.

The Children (2008)
It’s a classic English Christmas in the countryside — snow on the ground, turkey in the oven, the laughter of frolicking children — until the fun and games take a dark and deadly turn. Is something in the woods spurring the kids to murder? And why are grown-ups always the last to notice when things go horribly awry? There are no easy answers in this nasty little horror flick, but you’ll never see Christmas the same way again.

The Thaw (2009)
When a team of ecology students assisting an environmentalist (Val Kilmer) in the Arctic uncovers the frozen body of a woolly mammoth, they unwittingly release a parasite in need of a new host — and, in the process, unleash a prehistoric terror. The ante is significantly upped when the parasite takes refuge inside the students’ warm-blooded bodies and leads the group to a heart-wrenching decision.

The Gate (Special Edition) (1987)
During a boring, routine weekend, young Glen (Stephen Dorff) and his best buddy Terry (Louis Tripp) decide to explore Glen’s backyard. Before long, the boys come across a strange hole in the ground which yields all manner of sinister prizes. Consulting one of his heavy-metal record albums, Glen comes to the correct conclusion that the hole is actually the Gate to Hell. Offering a sacrifice in the form of a dead dog, Glen further opens the portals of Hades, through which pass some of the most hideous demons imaginable.

Children of the Corn (2009)
In an effort to bring their marriage back from the dead, Burt (David Anders) and Vicki (Kandyse McClure) take a second honeymoon, but their road trip takes an unexpected detour when they get stuck in an empty farm town, where the tall rows of corn hide a horrifying secret. The Sci Fi Channel’s remake of Stephen King’s scary tale also stars Preston Bailey as child preacher Isaac and Daniel Newman as his brash sidekick, Malachai.

Deadly Little Christmas (2008)
Based on a true story, writer-director Novin Shakiba’s slasher flick introduces us to the charming 8-year-old Devin Merriman, who, after celebrating a homey Christmas with his family, brutally murders his dad along with the housekeeper. It’s an escaped lunatic free-for-all as, after a 15-year hiatus, the now-institutionalized Devin (Samuel Nathan Hoffmire) busts out of lockup to satisfy his bloody holiday cravings.

100 Feet (2008)
After killing her abusive cop husband, Mike (Michael Paré), Marnie (Famke Janssen) returns to New York to serve the remainder of her manslaughter sentence under house arrest. But Mike’s vengeful ghost isn’t done taunting her in this gripping supernatural thriller. Meanwhile, Mike’s ex-partner (Bobby Cannavale) keeps close tabs on Marnie, who must wear an ankle bracelet that doesn’t allow her to escape — let alone move past a 100-foot radius.

Feeding Grounds (2006)
Their collective sights are set on a fabulous weekend away in a remote desert cabin. But when eight friends take a detour en route to their destination, they unwittingly invite an otherworldly danger into their midst. Whatever it is, it’s hungry. And they’re unfortunate enough to look pretty delicious. Alex Ballar, Jamie Gannon and Kiralee Hayashi star in this independent horror-thriller with a sci-fi twist from director Junior Bonner.

It’s Alive (2008)
After participating in a series of seemingly safe drug testing experiments, grad student Lenore (Bijou Phillips) endures some horrifying side effects when her new baby turns out to be a natural born killer, leaving a trail of dead in its tiny wake. As the death toll mounts, the doting mom can stay in denial for only so long in this chilling remake of Larry Cohen’s 1974 cult horror hit, also starring James Murray as the proud papa.

It’s My Party and I’ll Die if I Want To (2007)
Some 70 years after Jacob Burkitt snapped and killed his entire family, thrill-seeking teens crash the allegedly haunted Burkitt Manor to give their friend Sara (Adrienne Fischer) a spooky surprise for her 18th birthday. But as the night drags on — and her friends start dying off, one by one — Sara begins to realize that an unspeakable evil is throwing her a killer party. Alicia Kenney and Oliver Lucach co-star.

Senseless (2008)
Ambitious young businessman Elliott Gast (Jason Behr) is violently knocked off the corporate ladder when he’s kidnapped by political terrorists, who torture him for crimes he unknowingly committed. What’s worse, his torment is being streamed live online. An unwilling contestant in a sadistic reality show, Elliott fights for survival, hoping that someone in the home audience will come to his aid in this tense, probing thriller.

Skull Heads (2009)
The eccentric Arkoff family shuns society to preserve the secrets of their castle home in Italy. Along with great treasures, they guard the “skull heads,” mysterious beings that have power over life and death. When the castle is raided by art thieves, violence erupts, endangering the Arkoffs as well as the criminals. Noted horror director Charles Band presents this creepy thriller, which features eerie marionettes along with a live cast.

Splatter Movie: The Director’s Cut (2008)
Armed with a killer script, an up-and-coming cast and a gung-ho crew, low-budget filmmaker Amy Lee Parker (Amy Lynn Best, who also directs) storms into Pittsburgh’s allegedly haunted Hundred Acres Manor ready to make horror movie magic. Unfortunately for Amy and company, the line between reality and fiction becomes terrifyingly blurred when a real killer starts taking out members of the production one by one.

Staunton Hill (2009)
When a group of hikers heads into the mountains of Virginia for some weekend R & R, their pleasant trek goes off the rails when they run into the Stauntons, a deranged family who will do anything to get the interlopers off their land. Now the friends are in a desperate fight for their lives in the isolated backcountry. Cameron Romero directs this horror film that stars Kathy Lamkin, David Rountree, Kiko Ellsworth and Cooper Huckabee.

The Seamstress (2008)
After vigilantes torture and kill a seamstress, she becomes a horrific spirit, hungry for vengeance — and when a group of young friends are trapped on the island where she died, she comes after them with her razor-sharp needles. But as one of the friends, Allie (Kailin See), searches for her missing father, she learns a terrible truth about him while her friends begin dying one by one. Lance Henriksen co-stars in this gory spine-chiller.

Dark Country (2009)
“Hung” star Thomas Jane directs and stars in this thriller that follows the hellish adventures of a newlywed couple who rescue a wounded stranger on the side of the road on their way back from their Las Vegas nuptials. When the almost-dead man goes berserk on them, the couple’s nightmare is just beginning. Ron Perlman (Hell Boy) and Lauren German also star in this chiller penned by Guerillas in the Mist writer Tab Murphy.

Audition (Collector’s Edition) (1999)
Controversial Japanese director Takashi Miike creates this unnerving horror film about a widowed TV producer auditioning prospective wives. In his search, one candidate particularly stands out, a lovely ex-ballerina dressed in white. The widower cannot believe his good fortune, until he starts looking more closely at his potential bride-to-be: her autobiographical details don’t quite check out, she has a number of ugly scars on her legs, and he learns that people in her life have a habit of disappearing. When he discovers a man trussed up in her living room with his tongue and feet lopped off, he concludes that she is perhaps not the woman of his dreams.

Possession (2007)
An adaptation of the 2002 Korean film Addicted, this thriller stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as a young woman whose husband and brother-in-law each fall into comas. When the brother-in-law comes back to consciousness first, he acts as if he is her husband, making her more and more uncomfortable. Soon she begins to suspect that unnatural forces are working against her.

Pick of the Week

The Hills Run Red (2009)
When they hear there’s a complete print of their favorite slasher movie hidden in their hometown’s backwoods, a group of horror movie buffs heads out in search of the celluloid treasure. Once arriving at their destination, they discover that the carnage captured in the movie was completely real, and worse yet, the filmmakers are looking to spill more blood before they’re ready to call “cut.” Sophie Monk and William Sadler star.

Dinner with a Vampire (1988)
Hoping to land roles in an upcoming movie by enigmatic horror director Jurek (George Hilton), four aspiring actors agree to spend the night in his creepy, isolated castle — only to discover that the auteur is an ancient vampire. But the thespians are in for an extra shock when Jurek announces the real reason he lured them to his mansion. Patrizia Pellegrino co-stars in this Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava.

The Shortcut (2008)
When Derek (Andrew Seeley) moves to a new town and discovers a shortcut through the woods to his high school, he learns about a crazy old man who lives near its path: Legend has it that he abducted a group of teenagers years ago. Ignoring the warning, Derek and his friends set out to uncover the dark secret that’s buried deep in the woods. But will they survive to tell it? Shannon Woodward and Katrina Bowden co-star in this creepy thriller.

The Hanging Woman (1973)
Upon his uncle’s death, Serge Chekov (Stelvio Rosi) journeys to a spooky Scottish village for the reading of the will. But when he inherits the estate, Serge runs afoul of his uncle’s jealous wife (Maria Pia Conte), his business partner (Gérard Tichy), his maid (Dyanik Zurakowska) and others. It’s not long before zombies join the fun in this Italian supernatural thriller, also starring Paul Naschy as a nutso gravedigger.

Farmhouse (2008)
When they crash their car near an isolated vineyard, Chad (William Lee Scott) and Scarlet (Jamie Anne Allman) seek shelter at the house of locals Samael (Steven Webber) and Lilith (Kelly Hu), who turn the couple’s overnight stay into a nightmare of hellish imprisonment and torture. Now, Chad and Scarlet must confront a terrible secret from their past if they hope to escape with their lives. George Bessudo directs this tense thriller.

Uninvited/Mutant (1984)
Greedy corporate misdeeds yield horrific results in this double bill of 1980s B-movie treats that feature a killer cat, a greedy gangster, a toxic waste disaster and a town overrun with zombie cannibals. In Uninvited, a feline freak of nature flees a sinister corporation’s laboratory and wreaks havoc on board a mobster’s yacht, and in Mutant, chemical dumping in a small Southern town turns the residents into undead bloodsuckers.

Nightmare (2005)
A celebratory night of sex following a screening of his new movie turns into a nightmare for an up-and-coming filmmaker when he wakes up to find a camera focused on his bed and a video seeming to show he and his sex partner committing murder. Jason Scott Campbell stars as the aspiring director and Nicole Roderick is his girlfriend in this horror flick that has the young helmer sorting out his nightmare the only way he knows how — by filming it.

Haunting of Winchester House (2009)
When a young family moves into the famously haunted Winchester House, a wildly sprawling mansion built by an eccentric heiress, they begin to wonder if the tales of spooks and ghosts roaming the halls may actually be true. But all their doubts are erased when an evil spirit takes their own daughter captive. This horror-thriller from director Mark Atkins stars Lira Kellerman, Tomas Boykin, Patty Roberts and Michael Holmes.

Flesh, TX (2009)
While passing through the backwater burg of Flesh, Texas, Donna Parker (Eleni C. Krimitsos) suddenly finds herself propelled into a nightmarish world when her daughter, Tabitha (Jada Kline), disappears from a filling station. After seeking help from the less-than-obliging town sheriff (Dale Denton), Donna goes looking for Tabitha — a pursuit that leads to the insane, inbred Barley clan in director Guy Crawford’s blood-spattered tale of horror.

Burke and Hare (1972)
When a man in their Edinburgh boarding house dies, poor Irish immigrants Burke (Derren Nesbitt) and Hare (Glynn Edwards) discover they can make good money by supplying corpses for scientific study to a doctor at the university medical school. Inconvenienced by the lack of available cadavers, the cunning pair soon turn to murder to maintain their revenue stream. Vernon Sewell directs this classic comedy-horror romp that co-stars Harry Andrews.

Pick of the Week

Book of Blood (2008)
Based on the writings of horror master Clive Barker, this creepy thriller centers on paranormal expert Mary Florescu (Sophie Ward) and spiritual medium Simon McNeal (Jonas Armstrong), who band together to investigate the mysterious occurrences of an alleged haunted house. When hostile spirits begin to speak through Simon in a horrifying fashion, he and Mary discover that the house may be a crossroad of spiritual paths.

Friday the 13th: Season 3 (1989)
A long-ago pact with the devil continues to yield grave consequences for the staff of Vendredi’s Antiques, as plucky owner Micki (Louise Robey), occult expert Jack (Chris Wiggins) and handsome Johnny (Steve Monarque) race to find the jinxed relics of Lewis Vendredi. In the third season of the serial horror sensation, the trio tracks down a poison-producing tea set, a painting by the Marquis de Sade, a deadly cross from the Crusades and more.

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009)
Mexican wrestler El Superbeasto (voiced by Tom Papa) may be well past his prime, but that won’t stop him and his sultry sister, Suzi-X (Sheri Moon), from saving the world from the greedy and evil clutches of Dr. Satan (Paul Giamatti). Rob Zombie adapts his own comic book series into this gleefully filthy monster adventure, which also features the voice talents of Brian Posehn as Murray the Robot and Rosario Dawson as Velvet Von Black.

Albino Farm (2008)
Decades of religious fanaticism in an Ozark Mountain town have produced an in-bred community of albino misfits who have become the stuff of legend in surrounding areas. Now, four college pals are trapped there when their research trip goes awry. Stuck in a land of pigment-impaired predators, the group struggles for survival in this horror fest starring Chris Jericho, Tammin Sursok, Richard Christy and Duane Whitaker.

Edges of Darkness (2008)
The undead roam Earth after a global apocalypse in this collection of three films, each following survivors’ tales as they battle flesh-eating zombies, vicious vampires and crazed holy men bent on finishing God’s judgment. While a girl captured by vampires discovers her own way to fight back, a lonely writer uses a macabre energy source to power his computer, and a survivalist protects a boy who manifests a whole new kind of evil.

Grave Danger (2009)
Home alone, Becky (Debbie Kopacz) is already on edge from a night of watching scary movies when an anonymous caller takes her terror to the brink by forcing her to trade spooky stories with him in this Jim Haggerty-helmed horror flick. Tales of murderous ventriloquist dummies, housewives ensnared by voodoo and more follow in an agonizing game of one-upmanship that could end up with Becky dead. Cathy St. George and Vic Martino co-star.

Witchmaster General (2009)
LA Guns lead singer Phil Lewis stars as the evil Dr. Phineas Gorgan, a witch doctor who runs a killing business, in this Jim Haggerty-helmed chiller featuring horror babe Suzi Lorrain, “Sopranos” alum Vic Martino and centerfold Colleen Marie. From bad bosses to wandering wives, the accommodating Dr. Gorgan will take care of whoever bothers you, but the price is your soul in this sexy, scary romp from a master of the genre.