We've all had that one classmate. The weird one. That kid who was always by himself, didn't speak to anyone, save one or two people, and basically gave you the willies. I'm sure you've even joked later on that he probably became a serial killer. Imagine, you were right.

Most screen heroines who move into haunted houses do so without knowledge of their spooked histories, or in spite of them. In THE AWAKENING, opening this Friday, August 13 from Cohen Media Group, Florence Cathcart arrives at a post-WWI boarding school allegedly inhabited by a child’s ghost for the express purpose of debunking those rumors. It’s a compelling part given memorable life by acclaimed actress Rebecca Hall, taking her first lead in a genre film.

While the ultraviolent A SERBIAN FILM has assaulted international audiences with its taboo-smashing sex and violence, another film from that country has also been attracting the horror world’s bloodthirsty gaze. While not as graphic, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A PORNO GANG will likely attract equal buzz and has already been equally controversial prior to its U.S. disc debut this week.

“Now you’re going to ask me about the dog, right?” asks Guy Magar, director of 1987's RETRIBUTION, at the close of our interview. I hadn’t planned to ask, though the rouged and dressed-up pooch that appears on a hotel desk in the movie (now out on a 25th-anniversary DVD) does warrant some attention.

Many people are aware that the so-called “fairy tales” by the Brothers Grimm, in their original forms, are arguably more for horror fans than for small children: The stories are full of monsters, murders and dismemberment. NBC’s series GRIMM—whose first season hit DVD and Blu-ray this week and which begins its second season next Monday, August 13—maintains this tradition with the help of makeup designer/creator Barney Burman.

Top three finalist Ian Cromer was one of the two youngest competitors on FACE OFF Season Two, and possibly the quietest.

On the eve of the big-budget Sony remake’s opening, it seems like the perfect opportunity to revisit the original 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger smash TOTAL RECALL. Making such a reevaluation easier, New York City’s Film Forum (209 West Houston; [212] 727-8110) begins a special one-week engagement (thanks to a sharp DCP restoration) of the first RECALL from Friday, August 10 through Thursday, August 16, with more cities to follow courtesy rerelease distributor Rialto Pictures.