I was all set and ready to head out to the multiplex and enjoy a few of the one-weekend-only After Dark Horrorfest offerings, but unfortunately I got sidetracked and was able to catch only The Gravedancers -- which I quite liked! And then I found myself wondering when those horror titles would be available on DVD ... just as Fangoria was announcing the information!

On March 27 Lionsgate will be unleashing the following titles on DVD: Dark Ride, The Gravedancers, The Hamiltons, Penny Dreadful, Reincarnation, Unrest and Wicked Little Things. Regarding the other titles, Fango informs us that Nacho Cerda's The Abandoned will re-hit theaters early next year, that Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror hits DVD on January 9 and that David Arquette's The Tripper (which popped up at only a few After Dark locations) will be released at an as-yet-undetermined time.

It's hard to say determine how big a success the After Dark Fest turned out to be, but it looks like it was a semi-clever gimmick to get a few direct-to-video Lionsgate titles some pre-release buzz (and bucks). Having seen only two of the flicks (Unrest being the other), I don't feel comfortable commenting on the quality of the concept, but hey: more horror movies for me!!

I don't know what's funnier: The cast list for Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror -- or the fact that the flick played as part of the "Guilty Pleasures" lineup at this year's L.A. Film Festival. The weirdness continues: Xenon Pictures (distributors of Blood Ranch!) has purchased Hood of Horror, and they plan on (maybe) giving it a theatrical release later this year -- and if the flick opens on more than 200 screens, I'll eat an entire birthday cake all by myself.

Or perhaps I'm being too hard on a low-budget horror comedy anthology piece that stars Danny Trejo, Ernie Hudson, Lin Shaye, Aires Spears, Diamond Dallas Page, Jason Alexander, Method Man, Billy Dee Williams, and the King Snizzle Snoop himself. As a matter of fact, the flick was directed by Stacy Title, who (once upon a time) directed a rather intriguing ensemble black comedy called The Last Supper.

Anyway, good, bad or outrageously moronic, I am now more than a little interested in seeing Hood of Horror. Bring it on, Xenon. It's been a few years since Tales from the Hood, so let's give it a second shot.

Frankly, I'm not sure what to make of this latest piece of low-budget horror news ... but here goes:

Snoop Dogg, Ernie Hudson, Danny Trejo, Method Man, Jason Alexander, Lin Shaye, Diamond Dallas Page and Billy Dee Williams will co-star in an inner-city horror anthology entitled Hood of Horror. Now that's a cast. (I can only assume Casper Van Dien was out of town.) But wait, there's more! Not content to simply rehash the same old construct used in the legendary horror classic Tales from the Hood, the producers hope to inject Hood with that one surefire-ingredient that always helps to make a great horror flick: humor.

Producer Christopher Tuffin says, "We are definitely looking at this film as a franchise property along the lines of 'Scary Movie' ... We want to push the envelope combining humor and gore."

I'll give the flick a fair shake, obviously (it's not too often you'll get to see Snoop Dogg, Winston Zeddemore, George Costanza and Lando Calrissian in the same room), but the last time someone used "Snoop" and "horror flick" in the same breath, Bones was born. And I still bear the emotionals scars. ...