Horror films hit the theaters, as well as the shelves!

One major big screen scare, and Tuesday sees the release of the Ghost House Underground eight film collection, another damn "Halloween" anniversary set, and the critically lauded Stuart Gordon film, "Stuck."

In theaters:
"Quarantine" - Television reporter Angela Vidal and her cameraman are assigned to spend the night shift with a Los Angeles Fire Station. After a routine 911 call takes them to a small apartment building, they find police officers already on the scene in response to blood curdling screams coming from one of the apartment units. They soon learn that a woman living in the building has been infected by something unknown. After a few of the residents are viciously attacked, they try to escape with the news crew in tow, only to find that the CDC has quarantined the building. Phones, internet, televisions and cell phone access have been cut-off, and officials are not relaying information to those locked inside. When the quarantine is finally lifted, the only evidence of what took place is the news crew's videotape.

Ah, "found footage" horror; where would our new millennium be without you? Dating back as far as Ruggero Deodato's "Cannibal Holocaust" and peaking (or bottoming out, as is my opinion) with "The Blair Witch Project," found footage horror is such a wonderful way of providing a one-two punch of horror sensibilities: First, there's the horror itself (See: "Cloverfield"). Then, there's the suggestion of cover-up, and/or a lingering "the truth is out there" vibe (See: "Diary of the Dead"). Personally, I'm waiting for the release (presumably on DVD) of the Spanish film this was based on, "[.REC]" (shot almost simultaneously with "Quarantine," with the latter being the Americanized version of the former ... how's that for the absurdity of Remakemania going too far?).

On DVD this week:
Alfred Hitchcock Premier Collection
Alien - Predator Total Destruction Collection
Ghost House: Brotherhood of Blood
Camp Horror Double Feature
Ghost House: Dance of the Dead
Ghost House: Dark Floors
Deadly Game
Drive-In Cult Classics 3
Exploitation Cinema: Mausoleum/Blood Song
Halloween: 30th Anniversary Box Set
Icons of Horror: Hammer Films (6 films on 2 DVDs)
Ghost House: Last House in the Woods
A Nightmare on Elm Street 1-4: 4 Film Favorites
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5-8: 4 Film Favorites
Ghost House: No Man's Land: Rise of the Reeker
Rapist Rampage Grindhouse Double Feature
Rocky Horror Tribute Show
Ghost House: Room 205
Salt: A Fatal Attraction
Stuck
Ghost House: Substitute
Ghost House: Trackman
Ultraman Box Set
Zombie Jamboree