Gregory Nicotero

Kiefer Sutherland stars as an NYPD detective-turned-security guard who discovers something sinister lurking in the mirrors of a fire-damaged department store in Haute Tension writer/director Alexandre Aja's menacing study in the origins of evil. It's been just about a year since mercurial police detective Ben Carson (Sutherland) was suspended from the NYPD for the fatal shooting of an undercover officer, and ever since that fateful day he's been locked in a self-destructive spiral of anger and alcoholism. Increasingly isolated from his wife and kids, Ben spends most nights crashed-out at his sister Angela's (Amy Smart) apartment in Queens. But Ben hasn't given up hope just yet, and in order to get his life back together and prove that he's still capable of supporting his family he takes a job as the night watchman at the Mayflower department store. The Mayflower used to be a lavish symbol of inner-city prosperity, that is, until a raging inferno gutted the building while claiming numerous lives in the process. These days, the Mayflower is a scorched reminder of human misery, the ornate mirrors therein reflecting a suffering so profound that it begins to wear on Ben's already-fragile psyche. Not only that, but whatever force dwells behind the shimmering glass seems to have gained the power to alter reality as well.

After Ben gazes into the mirrors and sees a vision of himself being relentlessly tortured, he is horrified to experience violent convulsions, spontaneous bleeding, and frightening asphyxiation. And while his sister is always willing to lend a sympathetic ear, she chalks the anomalies up to an unusually potent mix of stress and anxiety. Unfortunately for Ben, his estranged wife, Amy (Paula Patton), isn't nearly as forgiving. A prosaic NYPD medical examiner who has seen her fair share of tragedy, Amy fears that Ben's erratic behavior could be placing their children in danger. Later, as Ben begins to draw connections between his increasingly gruesome visions and a former Mayflower security guard who vanished without a trace, he begins to suspect that an unimaginable evil is using the mirrors as a gateway into the real world, and that his family is in mortal danger from forces beyond their realm of understanding. Perhaps if he Ben can manage to convince Amy that their children's lives are at risk, he can summon the courage to face the greatest evil he has ever known. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Frequent Stephen King collaborator Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) teamed with the celebrated horror author once again for this tale of terror concerning a small town engulfed by a malevolent mist, based on a story originally published in King's 1985 horror anthology Skeleton Crew. When a thick fog descends upon a rural community and claims the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to be caught outside, a small band of survivors seeks refuge in a local grocery store. Now trapped in a darkened cloud of pure horror, the frightened denizens of the town are forced to fend off an advancing horde of murderous monsters. Punisher star Thomas Jane heads up an ensemble cast that includes Andre Braugher, Laurie Holden, William Sadler, and Marcia Gay Harden. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez details the violent struggle between a ravenous army of zombie-like humanoids who have taken control of the planet and the remaining survivors who refuse to go down without a fight. A dangerous government experiment has unleashed an abominable contamination that turns normal people into murderous mutants. Now, as an infinitely multiplying horde of frenzied psychotics flood the Texas plains, a dangerous outlaw named Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), a sexy stripper named Cherry (Rose McGowan), an unscrupulous smuggler named Abby (Naveen Andrews), and the curiously incapacitated Dr. Dakota Block (Marley Shelton) must try and make their way to the helicopter that could provide their only means of escaping to a place untouched by this nightmarish scourge that threatens to wipe out all of humankind. This nonstop action-horror hybrid originally was released as part of Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's ambitious Grindhouse double bill. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Everyone loves a good, two-fanged fright flick, and from the silent screen to the 21st Century, vampire films have drawn moviegoers to theaters in droves. Much like the immortal monsters that stalk the night in search of precious blood, it seems that our fascination with these strange and seductive creatures will never die. In this ocumentary, interviews with a wide array of filmmakers, actors, special-effects artists, writers, and critics combine with a hearty collection of memorable film clips to explore the evil and eroticism that abounds in vampiric cinema. Vampires director John Carpenter, Underworld director Len Wiseman, and The Lost Boys director Joel Schumacher all weigh in on what inspired them to craft films featuring vampires, while Kristanna Loken and Stuart Townsend reveal what it was like to assume the persona of a creature that so many viewers fear, yet embrace at the same time. Additional interviews with Stan Winston and Greg Nicotero highlight how creative vampires can be tons of ghoulish fun, while writers Marv Wolfman and David Goyer discuss understanding their motivations and critics Leonard Maltin and Harry Knowls explain just why these monsters are so compelling to watch up on the big screen. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An American news crew travels to one of the most remote locations on the planet in hopes of capturing the savage serial killer rumored to have claimed over 300 lives in this white-knuckle horror-thriller starring Dominic Purcell and Orlando Jones, and based on actual events. As the intrepid documentarians cautiously make their way upriver, they soon find that the brutality inflicted on man by his own kind pales in comparison to the relentless viciousness of mother nature's most resilient predator. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director Zev Berman teams with screenwriter Eric Poppen to explore the occult-based Mexican border town murder spree that claimed the lives of sixty innocents between January and March of 1989 alone. Graduation is drawing near and the spring breeze is blowing, what better time for three thrill-seeking Texas University students to make a run for the border to celebrate with one last wild weekend of drinking and debauchery? Though all the elements were in place for the perfect weekend getaway, this hard-partying trio is about to find out just how quickly things can take a turn for the worse when you're a stranger in a strange land. Upon running afoul of an ancient blood cult in search of the perfect human sacrifice, the three unsuspecting students are abducted and prepared for the ritualistic execution that will give Mexican drug runners supernatural protection that reaches above and beyond the laws of man. Sean Astin, Rider Strong, and Jake Muxworthy star in an ominous tale of occult bloodletting inspired by actual events. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Horror icon George A. Romero effectively hits the "reset" button on his hugely influential Dead series with this scaled-back look at the zombie apocalypse as told from the perspective of a student filmmaker who sets out to shoot a low-budget fright film, but instead captures the breakdown of modern society at the decaying hands of flesh-eating ghouls. Jason Creed (Joshua Close) and his crew are shooting a mummy movie in the Pennsylvania woods when media reports begin pouring in about the dead rising from their graves to feast on the flesh of the living. While self-centered star Ridley (Phillip Riccio) beats a hasty retreat to his family's fortified mansion halfway across the state, the remaining cast and crew are forced to fight for their lives despite having no weapons to speak of, and only a wobbly recreational vehicle in which to seek shelter. Immediately recognizing the gravity of the situation and outspokenly skeptical of the media, determined director Creed decides to use his own camera to capture the real story in a documentary entitled "The Death of Death." Now, as the group attempts to fight their way to safety, the skeptics will all watch as their greatest fears become reality, and the realists will attempt to process a nightmare that modern science would pass off as impossible. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

For decades fright fans have cowered in horror as vicious killers stalked their helpless prey in the cold flicker of the projector bulb and in darkened living rooms with the curtains firmly drawn. Now, for anyone who has ever wondered just what motivated the filmmakers behind these brutal classics, this look at the history of the modern slasher film offers demented insight into some of the most terrifying motion pictures ever released. From Psycho to the giallo genre to Freddy Vs. Jason, Going to Pieces offers a comprehensive overview of the entire slasher genre as discussed by such horror luminaries as Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sean S. Cunningham, and Rob Zombie. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A self-assured Midwestern girl finds her confidence gradually crumbling as a barrage of terrifying visions prompt her to investigate a brutal murder in a supernatural thriller directed by Asif Kapadia and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Joanna Mills (Gellar) is a successful sales representative for a local trucking company, and though her professional life is at an all-time high, her personal life couldn't be any more troubling at the moment. Estranged from her father (Sam Shepard) and menacingly stalked by an obsessive ex-boyfriend (Adam Scott), Joanna feels all alone in the world as her downward spiral rapidly begins to accelerate. When Joanna has a psychic experience in which she literally sees and feels the brutal murder of a female stranger, she soon begins to suspect that she has been targeted as the killer's next victim. Joanna isn't the type to go down without a fight, however, and as her increasingly vivid visions guide her ever closer to the victim's hometown, the secrets that will be revealed leave her wondering if the murder she is investigating may be her own. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Four siblings -- Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Lucy (Georgie Henley), Peter (William Moseley), and Susan (Anna Popplewell) -- are sent from their London home to the country estate of an eccentric professor in order to ensure their safety during World War II. The house is very dull, except for a large, ornate wardrobe discovered by young Lucy during a game of hide-and-seek. Venturing inside of it in the hopes of finding a hiding place, Lucy is transported to a snowy alternate universe: a magical world called Narnia. The land is populated by talking animals and ruled over by the benevolent lion god Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson), but sadly, the world is also in a state of perpetual winter. The white witch Jadis (Tilda Swinton), lustful for power and governed by narcissism, has cursed Narnia with a tyrannical decree that it will always be winter but never Christmas. Now, the children must fight alongside Aslan for the salvation of Narnia, but one of them, seduced by the charisma of the white witch, may choose to fight on the wrong side. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Cabin Fever director Eli Roth skips the humor of his freshman feature and goes straight for the jugular in this unrelenting scare-fest about a pair of libidinous American backpackers seeking cheap thrills in the European countryside. Their carefree college days close behind and the responsibility of the real world looming ever closer on the horizon, Josh (Derek Richardson) and Paxton (Jay Hernandez) strap on their backpacks and prepare for a stratospheric last hurrah of booze, babes, drugs, and debauchery halfway across the globe. It's during a visit to Amsterdam that the pair meets up with raucous Icelandic backpacker Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson), and after the three globe-trotting thrill seekers catch wind of a Slovakian city whose male population has dwindled as a result of civil strife -- leaving the ladies ready and willing to accept any male companionship that might turn up at the local hostel -- the trio quickly beats a hasty retreat to the out-of-the-way oasis. Upon check-in, the trio is greeted by a bevy of beautiful locals and is quickly convinced that the hedonistic hideaway is indeed the real deal. Hazily awakening the following morning to find no trace of backpacking buddy Oli, Paxton chalks his former traveling companion's disappearance up to capriciousness and prepares for another day of debauchery, despite Josh's rapidly elevating sense of unease. Now trapped defenselessly in a foreign land without any means of escape and no way of anticipating the unimaginable hell that lies ahead, the pair is plunged into a torturous netherworld where the screams of the damned fill the air with dread and the warm rays of the sun are little more than a fading memory. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Ang Lee directs the live-action feature film The Hulk, based on the Marvel comic book created by Stan Lee and illustrated by Jack Kirby. Emotionally stunted Dr. Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) is part of a research team at the University of California at Berkeley. Corporate hustler Glenn Talbot (Josh Lucas) takes notice of the lab and makes plans to take it over. Then Bruce accidentally gets hit by an experimental ray and grows into a huge beast, destroying the lab in the process. A creepy janitor who claims to be his real father, Dr. David Banner (Nick Nolte), starts to secretly use the experimental ray on himself. He creates some mutant dogs and sends them after Bruce's lab mate and ex-girlfriend Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly). After Bruce saves her life in the form of the Hulk, she lets her distant father, General Ross (Sam Elliott), take him to an abandoned army base in the desert. However, Glenn Talbot takes over the operation and wants to patent the creature's superpowers for his own profit, so he holds Bruce unconscious in an isolation tank. When provoked, Bruce turns into the Hulk and makes a break for San Francisco, leading to a desert chase sequence involving military aircraft, tanks, and bombs. Only the sight of Betty can make him turn back to his human form. When he is eventually captured, Dr. David Banner shows up for a final confrontation with his son and his old adversary, General Ross. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide