I'll admit it: Most of the indie / foreign horror films that I see at film festivals and then recommend like crazy ... are not exactly "mainstream" titles. My apologies if you watched Inside, Teeth, or Frontier(s) with your mom -- although she'd probably like The Signal. Heck, even my preferences in studio horror fare tend to run towards the bleak, and hats off to The Mist, The Ruins and The Strangers for keeping me on my toes.

So what's my point? There's one particular indie that is absolutely NOT a gorehounds-only affair. I actually expect quite a (relatively) mainstream groundswell of support once Gregg Bishop's Dance of the Dead hits DVD -- and according to good ol' Bloody-Dee, that DVD will arrive on October 14. Yes, the movie is about a prom that's been overrun by zombies, leaving only the dateless outcasts to save the day, and sure, it's got some gore, some salty language, and some playful sexiness -- but dang if the Dance of the Dead doesn't feel like something Spielberg might have done as a newcomer. (And actually liked horror movies.) It's quick and colorful and jaunty and amusing -- and I think that's the first time I've ever used the word "jaunty" in any capacity. Anyway, toss a red circle around this title. It's not just for the horror fans. (No less than eight Cinematical staffers saw and really enjoyed it.)

And hey, get this! Lionsgate is absolutely GUSHING horror flicks on October 14! Not only the Dance will hit DVD on that date, but seven more titles as well: Brotherhood of Blood, Dark Floors, The Last House in the Woods, No Man's Land: The Rise of the Reeker (cool!), Room 205, The Substitute, and something Russian called Trackman (that looks pretty wild). Now that sounds like a Halloween party!

One of the best things about last March's South By Southwest Film Festival was that I got to hang out with a bunch of Cinematipals like Kim, Erik, Pete, Jette, Snider and Gene ... and one of the best times we had together was during the world premiere midnight screening of Gregg Bishop's Dance of the Dead. It certainly helped that we were chilling at the Alamo Drafthouse, but the flick should play well in traditional cinemas as well.

Which brings me to the point: According to a recent press release, Dance of the Dead is now co-owned by the horror-lovin' Lionsgate and Sam Raimi's Ghost House outfit. I'll leave the specifics for the after-the-jump press release, but suffice to say that Dance of the Dead is sort of like George Romero meets John Hughes. (Read Peter's review here and mine right here.) Congrats to the Dance gang for snagging a pair of partners who actually specialize in high-quality indie-style horror stuff. (And while you freaks are waiting for Dance of the Dead to hit your town, feel free to rent Bishop's first flick. It's called The Other Side and (after watching it) you wouldn't believe how much it cost to make.

In a little while we'll be shoveling out our list of the ten best films from this year's South by Southwest Film Festival, and we'll continue to finish off our reviews over the weekend, but in the meantime I figured I'd stop by and give you my final thoughts (as a person who attended the fest for the first time this year). SXSW is wayyy different from, say, Sundance or even Tribeca, because there's an unbelievable amount of partying going on ... all the time. You can't leave a screening without seeing a row of about seven bars lined up across the street -- all of which have live music blaring out their doors. Yeah. So it's a bit difficult to see a film, then run home and review it -- because there are several different awesome obstacles in your way. Not that that's a bad thing.

First off, a few films that really need some love:

• Starring John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott, The Promotion was, by far, the funniest film I've seen all year. If you adore Election, then you'll definitely like this flick -- which I've said is like Election ... but in a supermarket ... with older guys.
• I'm not much of a horror guy AT ALL, but Dance of the Dead was one helluva fun flick. So fun that half our Cinematical crew went to see it twice in, like, three days. Of course, watching it at the Alamo Ritz was definitely part of the experience (they shot down confetti during one scene ... and it was super awesome), but the film itself is still one of the more original zombie flicks I've seen since Shaun of the Dead. Very funny. Very well done. (Two words: Graveyard scene.)
• Joe Swanberg's Nights and Weekends was another flick I really enjoyed. Different, unique -- it may piss off those of you looking for structured plots and predictable outcomes, but give it a shot when IFC releases it later this year. (Keep in mind, though, that Joe is fond of "revealing his parts" on screen.)
• I also adored both Super High Me and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but I don't think those need the love -- folks will flock regardless of what I say.

After the jump ... I become a superhero and save one thousand half-nekked women from a group of monsters and three psycho nuns -- all while eating BBQ at Iron Works with Weinberg ...

An unapologetically funny, gooey, gory, silly, slathering bloodfeast, Dance of the Dead is a full-bore party movie. If the idea of rocket-launched zombies rioting in an apocalyptic graveyard doesn't make you giggle, there is no hope for you.

The ideal setting to watch the movie was probably the world premiere at SXSW on Sunday night, where countless members of the cast and crew were in attendance, copious amounts of beer and other adult beverages were consumed, and the energy level remained on overkill throughout. (It made such a deep impression that my colleagues Scott Weinberg, Eric D. Snider, and Kim Voynar have already posted about it.) Even so, in the quiet of the (second) morning after, I'm convinced that Dance of the Dead delivers on what it sets out to do. There is no pretense of social relevance and no hint of talking down to the audience. Director Gregg Bishop (The Other Side) and writer Joe Ballarini simply want horror fans to have a good time.

A lot of people have taken to calling the Masters of Horror series a Showtime production, but the truth is that the experiment was born over at Anchor Bay. Series creator Mick Garris had the idea to snag a bunch of the finest horror-makers under the sun, have each one direct an hour-long mini-movie, and then let the Gorehounds devour the goods through the magic of DVD. But then Showtime got involved, and they aired 12 of the 13 episodes between last December and March of this year. (The 13th episode, Takashi Miike's Imprint, was deemed too harsh by the Showtime folks, which means you won't be able to see it till the DVD hits shelves.)

Unfortunately, Anchor Bay has taken a fairly money-hungry approach to releasing Masters on DVD: Two episodes hit stores yesterday, available individually or as part of a 2-pack. But with a list price of $16.98 apiece (which means a retail cost of about 11 bucks each), it seems that the horror faithful are expected to dole out about $150 if they want the entire season. (By comparison, my 13-episode collection of the brilliant Firefly set me back only about 40 bucks!) But hey, nobody's saying you have to buy 'em all, right? We horror geeks aren't ravenous completists and ferocious collectors ... are we? (To be fair, if the first 2 DVDs are any indication, each release promises to come stocked with loads of extra goodies, so at least we're getting some value for our money.)

Anyway, to commemorate the DVD debut of the series (well, the first two episodes) I thought it might be helpful to give our readers a Masters Guide -- despite the fact that I've seen precisely ONE episode of the show so far! Click below for a list of all the actors, the Masters, the release dates, all 13 plot synopses, and a variety of trivial hoo-hah intended mainly for the hardcore horror freaks.