Stephen King divided up the realm of horror into three categories in his indispensable book of essays Danse Macabre. There is terror -- the large sense of the universe never being the same again after the events told in the story, of inescapable personal threat as the aim of the story: nameless dread finally has a name. There is horror: a more removed sense of sympathy and pity for some victim of supernatural violence. And, as King concluded, if you can't get either one, there's always the good old reliable gross-out. Well, the gross-out is king in current horror. It's a lever is pumped 'till the handle breaks, and no one ever tires of it. The jack in the box pop-up followed by the explosion in the strawberry jam factory ... not that I'm complaining, mind you, but a more rarefied sense of terror is what floats my boat. Using some examples from America's first horror master Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-64) I'd like to try to describe easy ways to get it ...

Lots of people liked Brandon Routh's Superman, but many were also much less than impressed. He tried, but he just couldn't pull off the role like other fellow actors have in similar positions -- Tobey Maguire, Christian Bale, and so on. Instead of backing away from the comic world with a shrug, Routh is going to try again. Comic Book Resources has reported that the actor will take his next comic stab by starring in an adaptation of the horror series Dylan Dog. The movie, Dead of Night, will be directed by Snakes on a Plane helmer David R. Ellis, from a screenplay by Joshua Oppenheimer and Thomas Dean Donnelly.

Dylan Dog is a supernatural PI who lives in London, always wears a red shirt, black jacket, and blue jeans, and used to work for Scotland Yard. If you look at a picture of the character, he looks kind of like Rupert Everett, and that's because the look was based on the actor. (I guess he wasn't interested in the role...) I can see why Routh was picked, but I'm not sure it was the best match out there -- Routh has that fresh, gentle sort of quality, and Dog is all about the tortured visage. The actor will need to learn how to amp up the angst and look a little less sweet and cheek-pinchy.

I'm thinking Routh should take some pointers from David Boreanaz (who could've pulled the role off). Doesn't that picture on CBR look like Angel? Anyhow, fans will just have to hope that this stint works out better than Routh's last, and that this production doesn't get tossed into the pile of comic flops. The $35 million production will start soon in Connecticut.