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After a long flight on my part and a far longer drive for both of us, Scott Weinberg and I have finally arrived in Montréal for the FanTasia International Film Festival (their thirteenth, our first). The genre-heavy festival lasts for nearly three weeks; alas, we've but one to spare, so without much further ado, here's a look at what I've seen already and what I hope to see before Scott tips his own hand with a title or two to recommend.

Of the features playing, I can highly recommend Michael Paul Stephenson's Troll 2 doc, Best Worst Movie; the Aussie revenge thriller, The Horseman (not to be confused with the barely-seen Dennis Quaid vehicle, Horsemen); and Paul Solet's beautifully bloody baby horror, Grace. Those looking for something a bit stranger might end up being a bit more fond of Black and The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle than I was, though I also seemed more easily pleased by the Nazi zombies of Dead Snow than most, so I guess it all balances out. My enthusiasm for the ultra-kitschy likes of Alien Trespass and Lesbian Vampire Killers, not to mention the admittedly boundary-pushing Deadgirl, is all a bit less than what's already been mentioned, so let's just leave those at that.

Read the rest at HorrorSquad!

I know, it's been a while since I've written one of these gore-soaked missives, but the upside to that is ... we have a lot to talk about! And since I wrote this during a lazy Sunday (happy belated holidays, btw) I figure it's time to break out the candy-coated bullet points! Let's start out with a freaky fistful of upcoming DVD releases:

Currently strewn across shelves are Donkey Punch and Vinyan, two festival-heavy horror films that couldn't possibly be more different. One's about venal young jerks, and the other is about heartbroken (but stupid) parents. Really bad things happen to all of them.

This Tuesday we're getting the old-school-style monster movie Splinter, which is really quite good. If you like prickly monsters, that is. On the same day ... whoa. It looks like someone actually bothered to exhume flicks like Repossessed, Slaughter High, and My Best Friend Is a Vampire. That sound you just heard was my Netflix queue getting fatter.

Come the 21st we get J.T. Petty's The Burrowers, which played (and played well) at last year's Fantastic Fest, and Robert Hall's Laid to Rest, which is sort of like a non-snarky slasher throwback with a hint of Phantasm-style weirdness. Couldn't find a stranger double feature than these two, believe me.

And mark your calendars, gore-lovers, for April 28, because that's when Martyrs finally hits R1 DVD. According to the UK poster, Scoot Weinberg says it "makes Saw look like Sesame Street," which is one of the most shameless blurbs I've ever heard. Even if the guy is correct, brilliant, and really handsome. (Trust me, this is one rough horror movie.) Also on this Tuesday we'll get the unofficial Donnie Darko sequel, and a movie starring Amber Benson called One-Eyed Monster. I leave the jokes to you fine folks.

I've been pretty impressed with our teams' Casting Bites pieces, so I thought I'd borrow the format and use it for genre-style news that might not be HUGE information, but is interesting enough (to me) to bear repeating.

For example, I knew that director Jon Knautz was planning hoping to turn his scrappy little Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer into a franchise, but now we're getting some early details on where Mr. Brooks might be headed next. The filmmaker promises more action the next time around, plus they have a few unlikely partners for the angry hero to deal with. The screenplay isn't finished yet, but apparently the project is a go. (Check out this report at Filmstalker for more.)

Also, a very cool little horror flick called Splinter is opening this weekend in limited release, and if you're the sort who doesn't mind driving a few extra miles for your claustrophobic bio-terror monster movies, then you'll be pleased to hear about my raves, the equally enthusiastic thoughts from Variety, and a bunch of nifty gizmos at the flick's official site. Yay, that was all one sentence. (Oh yeah, and Splinter is available via video-on-demand in several markets, so check the official site for more info.)

Ever seen the original Saw? No, not the feature-length flick. The short. If not, click here.

The director of The Killing Gene (aka WAZ) has a new flick called The Children, which as far as I know is not a remake of this film. Check out that trailer here.

New website for the Friday the 13th remake. Also, New Line just announced a triple-feature DVD of their Jason titles, so check out that stuff at Shock.

Also, check out Joe Leydon's review of Anaconda 3: The Offspring. This sort of stuff is beneath Leydon, but he's really good at writing about crap movies.

Last but not least: My awesome pals at EFC have put together an article called Halloween Treats, in which a few under-the-radar offerings are made to Samhain. Oh, and this is handy. The new & improved Horror's Not Dead blog has a weekly recap of its own. Expect to see this linked again. (Thanks to our own Willy G. for the nifty banner. More to come.)

This week I'm taking a look at trailers chosen purely on the basis of how much they caught my eye.

Marley and Me
What caught my attention here was the idea that Owen Wilson is yet again playing a man wrestling with his inability to grow up, kind of like he did in Wedding Crashers and You Me and Dupree. Is this a groove or a rut? This time out Wilson is playing a married man who is unsure about whether or not he's ready to be a father, so he and his wife (played by Jennifer Aniston) test the parental waters by getting a dog. There's lots of cute doggie hijinx on display here, but between the Beethoven flashbacks and the fact that I've yet to see a really good Jennifer Aniston movie, I think I'll be passing on this one.

Sunshine Cleaning
In this indie comedy, two down on their luck sisters launch a business in which they clean up after crime scenes and untimely deaths. It's no one's dream job, but I can see there being a market for it. This is being touted as coming from the producers of Little Miss Sunshine, and one of that film's stars (Alan Arkin) appears here as the sisters' father. We've got some laughs and endearing characters here and there's a scene with Amy Adams lounging fetchingly in her underwear. I'll be watching for this one. Check out Kim's review of the film.