A conference session called "Panel of the Dead" brings to mind an image of a long table populated by zombies, facing an eager crowd waving shotguns. However, the horror-film panel at SXSW this year was lively and no one tried to eat anyone else's brains, at least not in a literal sense. The big conference room was full and most people stayed in the room even after learning that Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever) was too ill to attend. (He was suffering from a virus, which inspired a lot of "flesh-eating disease" jokes. It was that kind of crowd.)

Panelists included Cinematical's Scott Weinberg, who watches more horror movies in a month than I ever will in my life; Scott Glosserman, who directed Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon; Lauren Moews, a producer on Cabin Fever and the recently announced Cabin Fever 2; Zev Berman, who co-wrote and directed Borderland, a horror movie premiering at SXSW; actor Rider Strong, who had lead roles in Borderland and in Cabin Fever; and Zack Carlson, who programs horror film events at Alamo Drafthouse such as Terror Thursdays. The panel was moderated by Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, who also actively participated in the discussions about the horror genre.

Knowles started the session with a question about what he called "torture porn," the type of horror movie that features people being tortured in horrible ways, instead of being slaughtered quickly with a sledgehammer, axe or chainsaw. Although Saw was mentioned as an example, Weinberg argued that the film's attraction wasn't simply from scenes of torture. "Saw taps into some primal questions. What affected me was that I put myself in those characters' shoes."

Extra, extra! Read all about it! Professional gore-slinger Eli Roth to attend South By Southwest this March, sit on a horror-geek panel, and show off a brand-new clip from his upcoming movie Hostel: Part 2! Cool!

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First the panel news: The event ("Panel of the Dead: Horror Films of Today") will be held on March 11, with AICN's Harry Knowles moderating the discussion. Panelists will include Mr. Roth, filmmaker Scott Glosserman (Behind the Mask), producer Lauren Moews (Cabin Fever, Borderland) and yes, yours truly, because if you're going to invite a film critic to sit in on a horror panel, you should probably choose one who actually appreciates the fine art of cinematic horror ... as I so definitely do. (There may be some more panelists announced down the road, so stay tuned!)

But what about the movies? Well, in addition to the aforementioned Hostel: Part 2 clip, SXSW attendees will be able to enjoy the following fright-centric flicks:

Borderland (World Premiere) -- Sean Astin, Rider Strong and the amazingly gorgeous Mircea Monroe star in this tale of lost kids, wrong turns and human sacrifices.

Grimm Love (North American Premiere) -- Before he was handed the reins on the upcoming Hills Have Eyes 2, German filmmaker Martin Weisz created this unpredictable (and fairly controversial) tale of hardcore cannibalism. (Over the past year or so, I've been asked "Have you seen Grimm Love yet?" at least a dozen times.)

Mulberry Street (North American Premiere) -- SXSW producer Matt Dentler described this one to me as "Zombies overtake New York, only they're like Rat-Zombies. It's pretty damn wild." Sign me up.

Sisters (U.S. Premiere) -- All I know is that it's a remake of the Brian De Palma flick, and it stars Stephen Rea and Chloe Sevigny ... which is all I need to get at least somewhat interested.

Them (U.S. Premiere) -- A French chiller also known as Ils, it's about a couple who get absolutely terrorized by a group of unseen assailants. And by "unseen," that means by the audience as well.

...and of course the SXSW brain-trust has its collective eye on a few more horror titles, so if you feel like visiting Austin and you really like scary, spooky, splattery movies -- I say you make your trip mid-March.