Just in case dating a serial killer and hanging out with Rambo wasn't enough horror for Julie Benz, The Hollywood Reporter posts that she's got herself a starring role in the next Saw movie -- Saw V. The film, which is currently filming in Toronto, is being directed by David Hackl, from a script by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (as Scott mentioned back in February). Tobin Bell is returning as Jigsaw, but this latest victim isn't quite to his liking. As THR describes it: "Benz has been cast as a Brit with clothes and hair too proper and elegant to be a pawn in Jigsaw's latest games."

Well, at least she gets to be elegant. But really, when I see an actor like Benz who could be great on one show (or two, as in Buffy and Angel), top it off with a pretty notable gig on Dexter, but fill in the blanks with eh roles, I wonder if the real magic was just contained within one show or role. (The same could be said for Alyson Hannigan and her drama talents.) Is it just too hard to find a role similar to a snarky, strong, and in-control vampire woman? Benz can play a weak or troubled woman well, but she's at her best when she can command the screen and show her edge.

It's great that she's getting work; I just wish it was work that showed off more of what she can do, in roles that would give her some genre-free cred. At the very least, maybe she'll give Jigsaw a run for his money, even in fancy garb.

Saw V will be released on October 24.

One of the most ferociously entertaining horror flicks of the past several years is Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury's Inside (aka A l'interieur), which will be hitting DVD a little later this year. We already knew that the Frenchmen had been tapped to direct the Hellraiser remake for Dimension, but the project recently got bumped back to 2009.

Now that the strike is over, the producers can take some steps towards getting the flick moving. To that end, horror-lovin' screenwriters Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton have been hired to help get the new (Barker-approved) Hellraiser ... raised. Genre fans will remember Marc and Pat from their debut flick Feast, plus they also joined the Twisted team last year when they provided the screenplay for Saw 4. (And yes, they also worked on Feast 2. And Saw 5. Oh, and Feast 3.)

According to Shock, the duo also have The Midnight Man in production with Dimension, so obviously the studio likes these guys. More word on Hellraiser, Inside, Saw 5, The Midnight Man, and the new Feasts as it becomes available.

According to Bloody-Disgusting, Lionsgate is planning to shoot Saw V and Saw VI back-to-back, perhaps to make sure they have two sequels in the can prior to any sort of Hollywood strike. Either that, or they're just testing director David Hackl and his crew to see how fast they can write and shoot these suckers. Of course, I won't be happy until they write, shoot and have a Saw film in the can in one month, with 12 sequels to watch each year. Maybe by that time they'll figure out a way to clone Tobin Bell before the guy gets so used to being Jigsaw, that he winds up going on a mass killing spree for real. Screenwriters Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton (Feast, Project Greenlight) wrote Saw IV, and they're also signed on to write two more sequels. Good for them! At least someone came off that Project Greenlight show ready to kick serious ass.

The most interesting note to come attached to this Bloody-Disgusting story is that, apparently, Lionsgate may skip a year with the Saw films. Yup, that means October 2008 would come and go Saw-free. This has not been confirmed yet, and folks are on it as we speak, but that's what's being reported. Should Saw IV absolutely demolish the box office, I imagine Lionsgate may re-think that strategy. But if Saw IV doesn't put up big numbers, then maybe it would be a good idea to take a year off, let the fans breath, and then come back with a Saw V and Saw VI that absolutely rock. What do you think? Are you ready for the Saw franchise to end? Do you want to keep seeing one installment each year? Or, would you be down with them taking a year off?

I covered the very cool Texas Fearfest for Comcast's FEARnet last March, and one of the very entertaining filmmakers I got to chat with was Feast director John Gulager. (Goofy video interview here.) The guy all but promised a sequel, but since things were still in the very early stages, nothing was even remotely locked in or "news-worthy." (Actors and filmmakers talk sequels all the time, especially in the horror division, and lots of 'em just never materialize.) But here's some pretty excellent news for you Feast-hungry fans: We're probably looking at a pair of sequels!

While talking to Fangoria, Feast and Saw 4 co-writer Marcus Dunston (who was also at Fearfest!) let it be known that on top of the two new Feasts, we can also expect a veritable salad bar of sloppy gore goodness: "Feast 2 and 3 are coming together, with [director John] Gulager back ... with the vulgarities we've currently scripted, and if we don't get deported, we just may have the NC-17-rated monsterfest that was only hinted at in the first film." Dang, sounds good to me!

For those who haven't Feasted yet, I'll remind you that the Project Greenlight flick, while certainly not a flawless piece of genre gristle, is a fast-paced, well-cast, admirably gooey and perfectly enjoyable concoction. Despite the Weinsteins' uncertainty on how to handle the flick, I'd say it's definitely found a place in the gorehounds' collective heart since it hit video last year. Good to know that Dunston, Gulager and co-writer Patrick Melton will be back on board, at the very least. The retention of the original creative team gives one a little more hope than usual.

Old-school schlock-slinger William Castle was known for a whole lot of things ... but, for the most part, quality filmmaking was not one of 'em. He was, however, one helluva showman, constantly coming up with new in-theater gimmicks to keep his Saturday afternoon chiller flicks well-populated by thrill-seeking kids. One of Castle's best-known flicks is 1959's The Tingler, which was about a creature that lives within the human spinal cord, and starts, like, vibrating when its host gets extra scared. And to help sell the flick, Castle had these little doo-hickeys installed into the theater seats ... and they'd vibrate every time a scary part showed up! Neat-o!

So now that every horror movie from the past 33 years has officially been remade, it looks like the folks at Sony have tapped Feast writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan to pen a remake of The Tingler. That's all the info we have so far, but the Feast boys seem to be pretty busy these days: Apparently they're also working on a draft of Saw 4 and have something called The Midnight Man on the way.

This is far from the first time a William Castle flick has been remade: 1959's House on Haunted Hill was remade in1999 and 1960's 13 Ghosts was remade two years later. Combine the best components of all four of those movies into one package, and you might have a really good horror flick.

Anyone who's seen Saw 3 knows that it'll be pretty tough to come up with a viable screenplay for Saw 4. Not saying it's impossible, but let's just say the incoming Sawmakers will have to pull a few fancy tricks ... and fast, since Saw 4 has already been scheduled for an October release date.

It's been widely reported that James Wan, Leigh Whannell and Darren Lynn Bousman participated in Saw 3 only out of respect for their deceased producer/friend Gregg Hoffman -- and while I'm sure the trio didn't exactly complain about their Part 3 paychecks, the guys probably have other things they want to do with their careers besides Saw 17, right? Right. Which is why Lionsgate is presently fielding ideas from a wide array of screenwriters, two of whom (according to Bloody-Disgusting.com) just released their very first horror flick.

Yeah, the two Project Greenlight knuckleheads who wrote Feast are (allegedly) among the running for the Saw 4 gig. Also known as Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, the pair have a variety of projects on numerous back-burners, but a Saw sequel has to seem sort of like a lottery ticket to guys like this.

Also, Feast is a whole lot of wet, splattery, gore-soaked fun. So there's that.

Wow, so it looks like The Weinstein's and Dimension Films have finally found something they like out of this whole Project Greenlight fiasco. The company has gone ahead and picked up not one, but two scripts from writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, the scribe duo behind Greenlight's last winner, Feast.

The first is called Midnight Man, in which Dunstan (as new as he is to the business) has negotiated a deal to direct. The story will focus on a man who finds himself in the middle of a kidnapping situation after breaking into the home of his employer. The second is a thriller titled The Neighbor, and it did not come along with a description. However, I imagine someone will discover the crazy person who lives next door, with thrilling and unfortunate consequences. Feast opened in theaters this past weekend (to favorable reviews) and its DVD hits streets on October 17.