Yet another movie withheld from press screenings, Pathology isn't exactly a horror movie, though it does contain a good amount of gore. It inspired me to coin a new subgenre: "secret underground club of life and death" movies. In these films, two or more young people get together and use logic and intellect to cut through the dreary, soul-deadening reality of life and get closer to something more metaphysical, usually involving death or sex or both. Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948) is an early example, in which two students kill a man for sport, and then throw a dinner party with the corpse hidden in the very center of the room, just to see what it would be like. Other examples might include Flatliners (1990), Crash (1996) and Fight Club (1999). (Am I forgetting any?) Unfortunately, in conjuring up these other examples, Pathology quickly collapsed in comparison.

In what feels like the blink of an eye, we're wrapping up October, although I could've sworn it was just yesterday that we left summer. Anyhow, Variety has posted a number of small casting nibbles for three actresses, so read on:

• Canadian actress Lauren Lee Smith, who shocked audiences (including me) with some rather racy scenes with Eric Balfour's member in Lie to with Me, has been cast in the Ashley Judd-starring indie film, Helen. The film focuses on "a music professor and mother who suffers from a deep, debilitating depression. Her family tries to help her, but no one can relate to her pain other than a young female student who knows depression all too well." Since Variety says that Smith is the co-lead, I imagine she'll play the young student. In the meantime, she has a few projects coming our way soon, including Pathology with co-star and uberhero Milo Ventimiglia.
• Ashley Benson, who you might remember from 13 Going on 30, or from her work as Abby Deveraux on Days of Our Lives, or have spotted from her upcoming lead role in Bring It On: In It to Win It (yes, there's another!), has nabbed a role in Bart Got a Room. The comedy is about a nerdy high school senior named Bart (Steven Kaplan) who is looking for a prom date. Alia Shawkat (Maeby from Arrested Development) has already been cast as his friend, and now Benson is going to play a girl named Alice. Will she be the object of the geek's affection? Will Alia's character be jealous and in love? Will Bart try to give Alice diamond earrings? Only time will tell.
• Finally, there's a new role for Maggie Siff, who currently plays a lawyer in the just-out Michael Clayton. She's nabbed the part of Teresa Stowe in Paul McGuigan's upcoming science fiction feature Push, which centers on a bunch of people with telekinetic/clairvoyant abilities who are trying to hide from the US government overseas. Mel Gibson's production company got involved with the project last year, and then the cast started to come together in August, including names like Djimon Hounsou and Dakota Fanning. Production should be gearing up soon.

For fans of the TV show Heroes currently suffering from withdrawal until it's return on April 23rd, they can at least content themselves with some casting news for one of the stars. Variety reports that Milo Ventimiglia, has signed to star in the thriller Pathology for Lakeshore and MGM. The story centers on a group of medical students who devise a competition to see who can commit a crime that even their fellow pathologists could not figure out. First-time feature director Mark Scholermann will helm the picture, and the cast includes Lauren Lee Smith; fresh off the horror flick Trick 'r Treat (produced by Bryan Singer), and Alyssa Milano.

For the few, and I mean very few people who are not watching Heroes, Ventimiglia plays Peter Petrelli, the younger brother in a family with "superpowers." He had some big-screen experience last year, playing the son of Rocky in Rocky Balboa, but he is probably most recognizable as the "Rogue-esque" superhero on the NBC hit. Pathology is set to start production this May and is aiming for a fall release, just in time to cash in on some season premier buzz -- although after the last episode, I'm curious to see if he even makes it to next season.