Just about anyone who follows horror has bemoaned the sorry state of the genre these days. Nearly everything is a remake, either of some 1970s or 1980s classic or of some recent Asian hit. The rare films that aren't remakes are simply lazy copies of whatever worked a year earlier, the current "torture porn" subgenre, for example. And hardly anything screens for the press, which means that even the studios now understand how low things have sunk.

The new film The Ruins likewise isn't screening for the press, but it is based -- of all things -- on an actual book! With pages! It's by Scott B. Smith, who many years ago wrote both the book and screenplay for the excellent A Simple Plan. The new movie inspired me to look up other literary-based horror movies (whether inspired by novels or short stories). Sadly, aside from Stephen King and the upcoming Midnight Meat Train (based on Clive Barker's short story), I couldn't find much good recent work, but there is plenty to choose from ...

Despite the often inflated sticker prices, I'm a huge fan of the "DVD box set." My very special "no touching" DVD shelf contains the Alien Quadrilogy, the Star Wars Trilogy, the Godfather Trilogy, Indiana Jones, Matrix, etc., etc. There's just something about getting the whole darn series in one slick box that makes for a happy movie geek. And with November's mega-cool Superman set on the horizon, it looks like a may need to invest in a new shelf.

But here comes word on an upcoming box set that, frankly, I can live without. Streeting October 10th is WB's Exorcist Movie Collection, and here's what's included:

• The original cut of William Friedkin's The Exorcist, a true classic in every sense of the word
• The extended "Version You've Never Seen" (which is a lie because I have seen it)
• John Boorman's frankly horrible Exorcist 2: The Heretic
• William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist 3, which has its fair share of supporters (one of whom is not me)
• Renny Harlin's Exorcist: The Beginning, which kinda stinks
• Paul Schrader's Dominion: A Prequel to the Exorcist, which (no kidding) might be the worst movie title I've ever seen

DavisDVD informs us of the impending release, but there's very little info on the actual platters -- most likely because this is not a newly-produced box set, but instead a slipcase filled with the exact same product you'll find at your local DVD shoppe. But hey, it looks like this set will cost only about 30-some bucks, so if you've got a taste for the Satanic sequels, I suppose it's a pretty good deal.