This list was harder than I thought. I honestly thought it would be easy to scrape up a handful of funny horror movies, or scary comedies, or even unintentionally funny, Ed Wood-type movies. But the more I started poking around, the more I discovered a healthy and thriving subgenre, packed with potential classics. This year's hilarious, disturbing Black Sheep is just one example, as well as Fido (which I missed). There were also many shades within this subgenre, ranging from flat-out comedies with supernatural elements (Beetlejuice, The Witches of Eastwick) to horror movies with just a hint of the absurd (The Invisible Man, An American Werewolf in London) to spoofs (Young Frankenstein, Scary Movie) So I stuck with my original impulse and went with the ones that I found the "funniest" that were actual "horror" movies. Oddly enough, most of my choices went -- arbitrarily -- to zombies. I guess vampires and ghosts just aren't as funny.

1. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
I've seen this four or five times now, and I just don't get sick of it. On a purely technical level, it moves beautifully, from the camera setups and tracking shots to the fluid editing. It's so well executed that the jokes are more or less imbedded within the film, rather than jumping out of the film, so that it remains funny each time. Some of the subtler jokes get better each time, such as Ed's "two seconds." What's even more amazing is how well it works as both a character-driven movie and a zombie movie. It's so good, it even earned the seal of approval from the zombie master, George A. Romero (the boys, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, went on to make cameos in Romero's Land of the Dead).

2. Army of Darkness (1992)
The debate rages on around Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy: which one is best? I love them all, and Evil Dead II is my admitted favorite, but this third entry -- at one time entitled "Medieval Dead" -- is definitely the funniest. Bruce Campbell earned himself a lifelong cult following with his deadpan readings of lines like "boom stick," "primitive screwheads," "gimme some sugar, baby," etc. The drawback is that this film is definitely the least scary of the three films, but it does have its share of monsters, gore and creepy Harryhausen-like effects.

I'm no horror buff, but I do love the zombies. Well, I love the idea of zombies. I'm not really that interested in watching all the low-budget zombie movies, all the Italian zombie movies, or all the non-Romero Living Dead movies. But it's funny, I was looking over Ryan's recent Cinematical Seven of reasons he doesn't care for zombie movies, and it dually serves as my own list of reasons I like zombie movies. Or at least those zombie movies that apply. Primarily, I like zombie movies for the first reason: the symbolism.

Shaun of the Dead may be a comedic zombie movie, and it may not have any political undertones or serious social commentary, as do Romero's films and other prominent examples of the genre, but it does permit a scholarly subtext reading nonetheless. And because I'm a scholarly sort of gent (or maybe really I just like to over-analyze everything), I'm going to take this opportunity to look at this deeper level of the movie. Sure, I could just write about why I think the movie is one of the most hilarious I've ever seen, but that would be boring; plus, I respect that some people don't have the same sense of humor as me.

Shaun's symbolism comes in the form of the romantic story. The movie, often referred to as a "rom zom com" (romantic zombie comedy), actually serves as a sort of cinematic relationship guide, comically instructing us about dealing with commitment issues. Look at the order in which the members of Shaun's party are killed (killed dead, not undead): #1: his stepfather (Bill Nighy); #2: his mum (Penelope Wilton); #3: the other guy who loves his girl (the underrated Dylan Moran, who must be seen in Run Fatboy Run); #4: his roommate (Peter Serafinowicz); and finally, #5: his immature best friend (Nick Frost). These are the people that have to die in order for Shaun (Simon Pegg) to devote his full attention to Liz (Kate Ashfield). In real, non-lethal terms, they are the people Shaun has to let go of before he can fully connect in a relationship.

Fall 2007 is shaping up to be the season of illogical movies. First there was the much-praised Gone Baby Gone, which has a third act twist that's logically crazy and impossible in practicality, and now there's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, a film from the aging non-master Sidney Lumet that twists its narrative into a pointless and annoying timeline-pretzel and in doing so drains every ounce of energy and motivation from the piece, only to arrive at a Greek tragedy climax that has a plot hole so large you could drive a Hummer through it. (Don't worry, I won't spoil it, but I'll just say this -- cops?) That both both films contain performances by Amy Ryan may be their saving grace -- Ryan has a lock on Best Supporting Actress this year that's as tight as Ben Foster's lock on Best Supporting Actor, but that's not enough to push Before the Devil over the line. Nor is its high-grade cast, that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke. Even Marisa Tomei's frequently naked breasts don't get it done.

The plot: two brothers scheme to knock over their parents' jewelry store. Mom and pop will get the insurance money, they'll get the loot, and everyone's rent gets paid. Sounds pretty simple, only -- pause for effect -- something goes wrong. What goes wrong is Rosemary Harris, who re-confirms here what she proved in the Spiderman films -- she can't act worth a lick. Harris plays the boys' mother, who unexpectedly stops the thief they send in to rob her with a handgun and also gets herself shot in the process. 'Big emotion' is not something that should ever be required of Harris, and I felt a tinge of relief when she was dispatched early on in the film -- the less screen time she takes up the better. The boys' father, played by the excellent Albert Finney, sets out to make it his mission in life to find the "guy who did this." And so it begins ... or ends ... or something. The timeline in this film is so herky-jerky that for all I know, my interpretation of its events could be completely wrong.

Well, it might not be the best idea for a video game movie I've heard lately, but I will say this: at least it's better than Joust. Variety reports that The Animation Picture Co. has optioned the rights to an animated big-screen version of the Vivendi platform game, Spyro the Dragon. The best-selling game (from a franchise that has earned over $50 million dollars over the years) centered on a winged purple dragon that suffered from the usual hassles of any platform game protagonist -- collecting gems, evil sorcerers; you know, just another day at the office. A director has not been chosen yet, but Steve and Dan Altiere (Dr. Doolittle 4) have already been hired to write a script. The story will be based on the recently re-launched Legend of Spyro trilogy.

The first installment was released back in 1998 and has spawned numerous sequels. Some extra fun facts for game aficionados out there: Stewart Copeland of The Police fame was responsible for the first game's soundtrack and Gary Oldman provided voice talent for The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning back in '06 (what did we ever do without Wikipedia?). I remember playing Spyro a few times and the most I can remember is this: collect coin, jump, fly, collect egg, double jump -- not exactly the makings of a tale of epic sacrifice. I can only assume that this will be a kid's movie, considering who is already involved. Plus, it's not like we are dealing with battles and high body counts; he is just a little purple dragon after all. APC have just finished (inexplicably, I might add) a Garfield movie with creator Jim Davies (Garfield Gets Real) and have already lined up another one (Garfield's Fun Fest) before heading off to start production on Spyro.

It's funny, for a movie that probably only ten people are looking forward to seeing in the theater, there's certainly a lot of gossip surrounding it. Cinema Blend is reporting that their sources are telling them James Brolin, Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Diane Ladd, and Julie Bentz are in negotiations to star in the update of the classic 80's soap, Dallas. Brolin would star as Jock Ewing, Ladd would play Ms. Ellie, and Kelly would take over from Victoria Principal in the part of Pamela Ewing.

Last April, word spread that the production had stalled, and I think most of us thought this would be the last anyone would hear about the film. But, this August, Scott brought us the news that the film was not only back on track, but this time it would be made as a comedy with Betty Thomas at the helm. There was was no more talk of Jennifer Lopez and Luke Wilson, but John Travolta is supposedly still on board to play the big kahuna himself; J.R. Ewing.

If Blend's sources can be trusted, then the film has gone back to being a drama and the comedy script has been tossed -- yeesh, can't these people make up their minds? But I would be inclined to believe that the film will be a comedy after all since Thomas has signed on to direct. Dallas is expected to go into production this summer, that is if they can ever make up their minds about what movie they are going to make. Oh, and there's also a little strike that might happen too.

In case you weren't aware, Owen Wilson's first interview since being holed up in a hospital following an apparent suicide attempt took place the other day via MySpace's Artist on Artist series. The interview itself was finally posted online somewhere around 10pm EST last night, and after watching it, I must say it's definitely one of the most awkward interviews I've ever seen. Basically, director Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson talk to one another about The Darjeeling Limited -- only problem is, they're not together in the same room. They're miles upon miles apart, and through some special effects magic, it appears as if both are sitting next to each other having a conversation. I tried embedding the actual interview into this post, but for some reason it wasn't working ... and our tech folks are normal people who have off on the weekend. Unlike myself. So you can check out the interview for yourself over here.

Of course, everyone and their publicist was wondering whether Owen would open up at all and talk about what went down a few months ago. I'll save you all the time now: he did not. And the reason why the interview seemed awkward probably had to do with the fact that both men were not together in the same room (although at one point it was funny to see them play off that). Owen seemed tired, and a tad out of touch, as if it took hours to convince him to do this. Anderson tried his best to remain lively, tossing questions out to Owen, following up on them, but the whole thing just seemed forced. That's nothing against The Darjeeling Limited -- I happen to be one of the few who actually loved the flick -- but I wish the boys got into it a little more. Perhaps I'm reading into it too much (and feel free to tell me that), but something definitely seemed off here. Let us know what you think.

So it seems Dumbledore has inspired other fictional characters to start coming forward, sharing their sexual preference with the world. The latest in what's sure to be a long line of recently-outed imaginary characters appears to be the new Predalien from Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. John Campea, of Movie Blog fame, first reported the major late-breaking scoop. Co-director Colin Strause explains: "You see, instead of just some boring old mindless force of nature killing machine that he was going to be, now he's a socially rejected and misunderstood person who is figuring out how to deal with being different in this new world where many don't accept him just because of who he is. It's very touching." It's certainly an interesting route for the franchise, and one I feel will bring in more of the female audience. But will the Predalien's gayness turn off the film's core male teenage audience? I guess we'll find out when the film officially hits theaters on Christmas Day.

Once in a while, us movie bloggers like to have a little fun with the characters and movies coming out down the line. We can't be serious all of the time, and so when I called into The Movie Blog's weekly podcast last night, myself and the crew somehow went from "So what do you think of the new Predalien" to "I always thought the Predator was a chick" to "Perhaps the new Predalien is gay" to "Campea, you need to write an editorial." Thus, we've wound up here. Yes, it's a joke, and of course Cinematical wishes the folks behind Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem a happy and healthy Merry Box Office ... but every once in awhile we like to have a little, tiny bit of fun. That's allowed, right? Check out Campea's story here, and feel free to chime in with your own theories ...

[Gay pride Predalien photo courtesy of The Movie Blog]

If it's Halloween, it must be Saw. And it is. So it must be. Cinematical attended a press junket this week for Saw IV. It consisted of three interviews, with reporters from various outlets throwing out questions. The first was with Jigsaw himself, Tobin Bell (phoning in because he lives in Malibu, so wish him and his family well). The second was with Lyriq Bent (Rigg), Scott Patterson (Agent Strahm), and franchise producer Mark Burg. The third was with Costas Mandylor (Hoffman), Betsy Russell (Jill -- Mrs. Jigsaw), and franchise producer Oren Koules. Lionsgate hadn't screened the movie for critics (or even the actors!) as of this junket, as the representatives are extremely secretive about its plot, particularly a final twist. All we know is, despite having seemingly died at the end of Saw III, Jigsaw is back. Oh yes, and we know that there will be blood. Lotsa blood. We discussed what makes the franchise so popular, the phrase "torture porn," and the future of the Saw series.

Can you tell us what attracted you to the role yet again?

Tobin Bell: He's a big character. There could be nothing better for an actor than to have an opportunity to play a role where the character is sort of a multi-faceted guy. I mean, he is a scientist and a very well read guy and a man of conviction and passionate about what he does. There is something Shakespearean about him in a way. And there is a lot more story to be told. I feel like the Saw story doesn't play out in a linear way. It doesn't happen in sequence, necessarily. Whenever you have the opportunity to develop a guy like this, it's a blessing. It's what actors become actors for.

It's interesting to hear you talk about the thought process that goes into creating his back-story. Because if you ask an audience after they see a Saw film, they were there for the gore. They want to see someone's guts spill out on the floor. Are you rationalizing the character for yourself? Or do you really care about the characters in these films?

TB: I think that anybody who goes to one of these films wants to care about the characters. I think you can accomplish the same thing in the horror genre that you can accomplish in any other genre, whether it's a period piece, or a romantic comedy. I think there is an opportunity in a drama of any kind for the viewer to get involved with the characters. If you sell out completely on that, and I think that is what the horror genre has done for many years, people will not think of it very highly as a genre. Many genre films of the fifties and sixties were interested in the special effects, or interested in the scare factor, or the sci-fi factor. Jacob's Ladder is a very smart, well-crafted script. It is very scary. The Dead Zone with Christopher Walken. On its face, you have a man that looks at things and lights them on fire with his eyes. Look at the film. Christopher Walken draws you in. He makes you care about him. That's what makes the film work.

Outside of the Baby Geniuses pictures, I can't think of a more joyless, humorless, lifeless movie series than the Saw films. I watched the previous three alone at home, and each just sucked the life right out of me. But since I'd be seeing Saw IV with an audience, I expected to finally understand why people love these grisly flicks so much. I thought I'd hear yelling, cheering, people shouting "Gross!". I thought it would be fun. But the crowd remained completely silent until the credits rolled. Then everyone quietly got up, quietly walked to the doors, and quietly headed for their cars. How has this become the most successful horror franchise of all time?

Jigsaw is dead, and the film opens with his naked corpse laid out on a slab. Yes folks, I don't know why this hasn't been mentioned more in the marketing, but you do get to see 65 year-old Tobin Bell's genitals. That oughta sell some more tickets! What follows is an autopsy scene so astonishingly graphic that I removed the organ donor sticker from my driver's license. Seriously, if you had trouble with the brain surgery sequence in Saw III, get to Saw IV 15 minutes late. A new cassette recording is found in Jigsaw's stomach, and the games begin all over again. Two FBI profilers (played by Scott Patterson and Athena Karkanis) join Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) to put together the Jigsaw puzzle (nice little play on words there, if I don't say so myself). SWAT Commander Rigg (Lyriq Bent) is abducted and has 90 minutes to overcome the usual series of traps and save an ex-New Kid on the Block (Donnie Wahlberg). In other words, it's exactly like the other Saw flicks.

Since I am a single gal, the very thought of having my own kids is enough to send me into a terror spiral. But, the little darlings on this list aren't your every day kids; nope, these are the kids that nightmares are made of (Like Richard said, "children are almost essential to a real horror film"). But this list just isn't about children in horror movies; it's about when the children are the source of the horror. Now I'm not saying all kids are evil, but if you take this list as an example of just how bad children can get, you will never look at those trick-or-treaters on your doorstep the same way again.

1. The Bad Seed (1956)

If you are going to talk evil children, then you have to give props to one of the baddest in the bunch: Patty McCormack as little Rhoda Penmark. Directed by Hollywood vet Mervyn LeRoy (who was more famous for his sophisticated comedies than suspense thrillers), the film was based on William March's novel of the same name and focused on a little pig-tailed demon who gets away with murder (despite a tacked-on ending that gives Deus ex Machinas a bad name). Rhoda terrorizes her nice suburban mom and tortures the staff while draped in a pinafore and knee-socks. It might not be the scariest flick in the bunch, but you can't deny that she was a nasty piece of work.

2. The Omen (1976)

Sure Rhoda Penmark might have been one of the first, but when most people think of evil kids in horror flicks they're usually thinking of Damien Thorn. Besides, you can't get much worse than being the Anti-Christ. Richard Donner directed the story of an upwardly mobile couple who bring home their bouncing baby boy, and the last thing they were expecting was to have to avert an apocalypse. Throw in some serious overacting on the part of Gregory Peck and the unforgettable scene at Damien's birthday party (if you haven't seen The Omen, I won't ruin it for you), and you get a preschooler that no one in their right mind would want to mess with.

When movie nerds discuss Italian films, the first name that comes up is Federico Fellini, followed by perhaps Michelangelo Antonioni, Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica. Those were the five directors to whom Martin Scorsese paid tribute in his wonderful four-hour documentary My Voyage to Italy (1999). From there, more die-hard film buffs might throw in the political Gillo Pontecorvo, or the controversial Pier Paolo Pasolini, or Bernardo Bertolucci, who only made a few Italian films before swapping to English for good. Someone might even remember that Max Ophuls once made a couple of films in Italian. After a moment's recollection, someone might recall the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci. The Italian horror films would get mentioned last, and hardly anyone would suggest that horror director Mario Bava was the greatest of them all.

There are three reasons why Bava is not considered as highly as he should be. The main one is that he made mostly horror films, and we are not trained to see the artistry in that genre, just as we're not trained to see any artistry in erotic films or comedies, or any of the "body genres." Another reason is that, due to the Italian cinema's practice of dubbing, Bava's films have an "unprofessional" quality; the lips don't match the actor's line readings. This is commonplace in Italy due to many factors, but mainly due to the casting of actors with various dialects or from other countries. For example, see Luchino Visconti's dazzling epic The Leopard (1963), starring Burt Lancaster. On the Criterion DVD, viewers can watch either the Italian version with Lancaster dubbed by another actor, or the English version with Lancaster's voice and every other actor dubbed. Bava himself worked a roster of non-Italian stars, some of whom appear dubbed: Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, John Savage, Joseph Cotten, Elke Sommer, Telly Savalas, Michel Piccoli, Christopher Lee and Barbara Steele (the latter of which went on to appear in Fellini's 8 ½).

Do you live in the Los Angeles area? Are you interested in seeing a free movie and hobnobbing with celebrities at a reception afterwards? Plus with the added benefit of it all being for a good cause? Well, then you've come to the right place.

Cinematical, along with Warner Independent Pictures, is giving away ten pairs of tickets to the World Premiere of Darfur Now, starring and co-produced by Don Cheadle, this coming Tuesday, October 30th at the Directors Guild of America. The film starts at 7:30pm, and you'll be able to watch the arrivals on the red carpet, and attend the exclusive reception afterwards. We'll be giving these tickets away to ten random commenters, but please be aware that you need to live near enough to Los Angeles to get there on your own nickel by Tuesday.

Check out the details about the film (including the trailer) and the giveaway after the break.

Finding a theme to bind together five trailers for this column every week can be tricky. Sometimes a common element jumps out at me, and other times I have to spend some time searching before I find one. Still other times there's no similarity to be found, which leads us to this week's topic. We're firing a barrel of buckshot (metaphorically speaking) at some new trailers, and we'll talk about the first five we hit. Ready? Lock and load.

Starting Out in the Evening
Frank Langella plays an aging novelist who can't get publishers to even look at his new book, but a young female grad student thinks she can revive people's interest in his work. Langella's character is so old school he actually uses a typewriter, and this looks like a truly great performance. The plot reminds me a bit of Finding Forrester, but only on a superficial level. James reviewed the film at the Toronto International Film Festival, and you can read that right here.

I am Legend
There's a new full-length trailer for this third adaptation of Richard Matheson's classic novel about a lone human in a world overrun with mutated survivors of a global plague. I'm not clear on whether the plague victim's in the movie are actually vampires like they are in the book or some other kind of mutation, but you finally get a peek at them here, as well as some mutant dogs. Beyond the basic premise, this doesn't look like it's going to be a particularly faithful adaptation, but I've always felt a film should judged for what it is and not how similar it is to the source material. This should be good.

The Comebacks may not have exactly wreaked havoc at the box office like those immigrant vampires trying to take all the good blood in 30 Days of Night, but at least it inspired a fair amount of caption comedy for last week's contest. That should put a few studio execs at ease (is laughter not the best medicine for the absence of laughter?). And as much as we wanted to give away a romantic getaway with David Koechner, we're hoping a tee-shirt, Frisbee, cup (again, to sip from, not put the junk in) and more goodies from the movie will suffice for our three winners below.

1. "This was the moment Carl remembered why he and David aren't friends anymore." -- Eric W.

2. "Don't worry, I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night."
-- Joel C.

3. "Okay, coach, but I better make first string this year."
-- Wayne A.

See full image and read all captions

This week we're in Halloween mode with a pic from the sprinting zombie sequel 28 Weeks Later, which released on DVD earlier this month. Writers of our three favorite captions will win the DVD and a signed poster from the movie. Don't worry, it's not signed in blood. Good luck, and a heads up: We have another MASSIVE giveaway launching next week that involves foreign travel and free-ness. Sadly, no David Koechner, however. Look for the big announcement next Thursday, November 1 at 4 PM EST.

Read the official rules for this contest

One of the most talked-about films of the fall (due to its popular run on the festival circuit) is Jason Reitman's Juno. I've heard from several different people that it's "this year's Little Miss Sunshine," and I have yet to meet one person who did not like it. With lots and lots of buzz, Fox Searchlight has decided to push Juno's release date up a bit to capitalize on all the good word, deciding to send their baby out into the world on December 5 (in NY and LA only, before tacking on additional theaters across the country in the weeks to follow). The film was originally set to arrive in limited release on December 14. For those of you who are dying to see Juno, and do not live in either NY or LA, fear not -- Searchlight has set up a number of free promotional screenings in several different cities.

Ah, but if you live in NYC, and want to take advantage of those free promotional screenings, your sh*t out of luck -- they're all booked. Seriously, I took a look at the list and every other screening across the country is open except the four or so screenings in NYC. What gives? Do people in NYC just watch more movies than everyone else? And are they hipper to the stuff that's free? Who knows, and perhaps Searchlight will add a few more screenings in the Big Apple. Directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) Juno stars Ellen Page as a teenager who's accidentally knocked up by her awkward best friend (Michael Cera), and subsequently decides to give the child away to an adorable-looking married couple (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner). For more on the film, and to check out the trailer, head on over to Juno's official website.