As I was watching the new Eclipse trailer, out of sheer boredom and a hint of curiosity, I found myself wondering why in the world two super-powered boys would fight it out over a girl clad in American Apparel who’s a hell of a downer.

How is there an entire film series devoted to one girl’s delusional obsessions of a fairy tale ending with a born-again killer? Sparkely vampires want to kill you, strapping werewolf shape-shifters want to keep you safe.

Do these Edward fans have a death wish and a yearning for abandonment? Is Bella Swan so heavily marketed as mesmerizing that it erases the history of the brazen blonde that came before her?

A long time ago, otherwise known as the 90’s, there was a series called Buffy the Vampire Slayer where a feisty girl from the southland slayed Urban Outfitted demons. This legendary show paved the way for multi-tasking girls who cheer by day, slay by night, and every once in a while hook-up with a tormented blood sucker.

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About a week ago a colleague of mine asked why in the world I wanted to go see The Box. I explained that I found the premise fascinating. What if you were told that if you pushed a certain button, you would get a million dollars, but there is a catch. When you push the button, somebody you do not know will die. What would you do?

Therein lies the premise of The Box. This is the third film by Richard Kelly, who garnered cult-like status with Donnie Darko (2001), then wide ridicule for his follow up Southland Tales (2006). Lots of movie types were looking toward this movie to determine whether Kelly is a gifted director, or a one hit wonder. I’m sorry to tell you after viewing this convoluted mess, it seems like a case of the director having no clothes. It’s one thing to be a little avant-garde  with your vision, another entirely to just throw weird crap in your movie and hope that it sticks.

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House of the Devil is now playing in limited release. You can also access it on demand through many cable providers, and it is available to rent on Amazon.com.  So, just in time for Halloween, I give you this review.

If you are a fan of 80’s horror movies, you’ll probably be delighted by this movie. I fear that today’s fickle horror fan, who is accustomed to frenetic stylings à la the Saw franchise, will be bored to tears by this very deliberately paced thriller. College student Samantha (perfectly cast Jocelin Donahue) is desperate to get an apartment in order to get away from her slutty dorm roommate who feels free to have sex in their room all the time.  She finds an apartment, and a kindly landlady (scream queen Dee Wallace) who requires a modest deposit.

Samantha answers a dubious ad for a babysitter in order to make some cash. When her best friend Megan drives her out to the isolated mansion, Megan is immediately creeped out, and begs Sam to reconsider. Reluctantly, Megan leaves Sam and promises to return later to give her a ride home.

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Not in the mood to throw on a costume and run around from bar to party to candy-giving front door this year? Why not sit at home with a stack of haunting flicks to get your Halloween jollies off, or better yet, hit the theaters IN COSTUME!

Over the past month, we’ve put together quite a compilation of horror reviews for you to pick and choose what to watch during your Halloweekend, and why not start tonight, on All Hallow’s Eve?

Take a look at our list of Horror Reviews below, from things like Zombieland, which you can currently see in the theaters, to movies like Dance of the Dead, which you could run out and grab at any DVD outlet. Put together your favorite scary movie queue from these titles for a guaranteed haunting Halloween marathon!

In Theaters:

• Paranormal Activity

• Zombieland

• The Stepfather

• Saw VI

• House of the Devil

On DVD:

• The Hills Run Red

• Trick R’ Treat

• Dance of The Dead

• Dark Floors

• Evil Dead 2

• Child’s Play

• Friday The 13th

A father, concerned for his autistic daughter’s health, sees her immediate removal from the hospital as her only option. An elevator break-down prevents a smooth exit and renders them trapped with others. This is only the beginning of their descent into hell. When the doors finally open, the hospital appears mysteriously deserted. As mutilated bodies are found, creatures from a dark world start a frightening attack. It soon becomes clear that the survival of the group may rest solely on the little girl.

The one thing that needs to be known before watching Dark Floors is that this film is primarily a showcase for the Finnish metal band Lordi. Those unfamiliar with the band should consider them like Rob Zombie meets GWAR. The international subtitle for the film is even “The Lordi Motion Picture”. The band, along with the leader Mr. Lordi, came up with the idea for the film, and star as all of the “monsters” in the film (in quotes because if you see a picture of the band, you know that this is what they normally look like, professional makeup and all).

The members of the band are essentially playing themselves in the film. Sadly, this is probably the coolest part of the film. The plot takes itself a little too seriously, and with a weak and confusing resolution at the end, it really should have just been about the band members.

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On the night of the big high school prom, the dead rise to eat the living, and the only people who can stop them are the losers who couldn’t get dates to the dance. Filled with a plethora of high school stereotypes, the group takes on a town for of brain hungry zombies and vow to save what’s left of the town from the adjacent power plant that seems to be the cause of the recent resurrections.

Those in the mood for a great zombie flick should pick this one up. Other critics have been quoted saying this film “makes Carrie look like Pretty in Pink,” though if you were to truly classify it, it’s much more like Shaun of the Dead meets Breakfast Club. Any fan of film who has seen dozens upon dozens of zombie movies knows the feeling of “how much ass they would kick if zombies were real.” Well, this movie does it for you, bringing out the Sci-Fi nerd in all of us as a group of high school freaks and geeks take on a town full of zombies.

The group is filled with just about everybody you would need in a zombie uprising: the Jackass-style bad boy, the heroic yet sassy wise-ass, the ditsy cheerleader, the know-it-all class president, the stoner rock band, the militant gym teacher, and of course the pack of nerds. Each member has their fifteen minutes as a hero, and then dies off or becomes second banana to the main love story between the wise-ass and the class president. That’s right: the zombie comedy has a romantic twist, and you’ll enjoy it.

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The Stepfather is a remake of a 1987 movie that starred Terry O’Quinn (Lost) as a deranged man looking for the perfect family. Of course, no such thing exists, and when a family doesn’t live up to his impossibly high standards, they meet a most unfortunate demise. He then disguises himself, moves to a new city, and sets up the cycle once again.

In this updated version, director Nelson McCormick (Prom Night 2008) tries to coax scares from the premise once again, but the movie too often wanders into camp (unintentionally, I’m sure).

Dylan Walsh (Nip/Tuck) steps into the stepfather shoes as David, and unfortunately, he is about as menacing as a teddy bear. I like Walsh, but I have the same problem when they try to make him do something deviant on Nip/Tuck, I just don’t buy it. That is not to say he is a bad actor, I just think they should have cast someone a little creepier. When Walsh tries to flick back and forth between normal and psycho during the movie,  it elicited more giggles than scares.

Sela Ward (stunning at 53, we should all be so lucky) plays Susan, the most clueless, desperate woman in recent memory. Freshly divorced, she meets David in a grocery store and promptly asks him out. They have a whirl-wind romance, and within six months are engaged, much to displeasure of Susan’s teen-aged son Michael (Gossip Girl’s Penn Badgely) who is home from military school.

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Trick ‘r Treat is yet another horror film that has been severely mishandled over the last few years. A few other notables are Paranormal Activity (finally out in theaters) and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (collecting dust on  a shelf somewhere). Trick ‘r Treat was shown at a few genre film festivals last year and a few this year as well. It was received by the audiences with giddy, glowing praise, and was  heralded an instant Halloween classic.

Then it sat on a shelf with no release date.  Fortunately, Warner Brothers threw us horror buffs a bone and released it last week on DVD.  It promptly sold out, which demonstrated the pent up demand to see this movie.

Admittedly, it has been over-hyped a bit. It is not among the best horror movies ever made, but it is really fun. It actually celebrates the traditions of Halloween, and is unique in that respect. In the town where the story takes place, candy still needs to be carefully checked for razors and poison, and you don’t disregard the rules of Halloween. Namely, never blow out the candle in a jack-o-lantern, lest bad things happen.

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If you’re an astute reader, which we know you are, you’ve probably noticed a few new reviews popping up on The Flickcast over the past few weeks. For the month of October, in addition to our regular film, TV and DVD reviews, we’ll be bringing you lots of reviews of horror films to commemorate the month as well.

We’ll be bringing you a few new Horror Reviews each week, of both new theatrical releases, as well as new films on DVD. We’ll be doing this all month long so be sure to check out each horror review as they hit. Or, you can check out our most current list of reviews at the site by clicking on the link at the top.

Finally, on October 30th (Devil’s Night for those in the “know”), we’ll list all of our reviews and let you know which films to watch to get into the Halloween spirit. So, be sure to check back here frequently for all your horror film review needs.

Happy Halloween!

The Hills Run Red, sadly, has almost nothing going for it or to recommend it. Its a combination of the worst elements of the latest genre of horror filmmaking and not a very well put together combination of them either. The story, if it can be called that, follows four young adults who’ve set off to make a docudrama about an obscure, unfinished horror films called The Hills Run Red. Along the way they encounter citizens of a small town where the original film was made and, of course, trouble follows.

What happens during this film can be best described as a mismatched, cliched unfolding of coincidental and needlessly violent and bloody events that taken as a whole, signify almost nothing. Usually, at least in the better films of this genre, you hope the audience feels some empathy or, at the very least, pity for the poor characters trapped in this scenario. Or, as in the case of the recent Zombieland, the film has other things in it favor such as humor. Unfortunately, because the characters in the film are developed so haphazardly and so poorly and there’s basically nothing much here in other areas, I felt nothing for them and was not the least bit concerned as they met their individual demises.

In fact, most of their actions in the film were patently stupid in so many ways, they probably deserved what they got — at least in the context of the film. One of my biggest pet peeves is stupid characters in movies who do stupid things that no real person would ever do. As an example, if someone calls and tells you the disturbing phone calls are coming from inside the house, you don’t go upstairs to check. Or, if you hear an odd noise on a dark and stormy night, you probably shouldn’t go and investigate.

Sure, there’s exceptions to this and also in many cases you need to suspend your disbelief to keep the story going, but for this film, that was a very tall order. Whatever thoughts the filmmakers were thinking when making this movie, logic and common sense were obviously not among them — which is one of the few things that does come across clearly with this film.

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