“The first time I ever held a pancreas in my hands, I got an erection.” That’s the darkly humorous and attention-grabbing first line of Eric Garcia’s REPO MEN, which first saw publication as THE REPOSSESSION MAMBO last March and has now been rereleased by Harper as the retitled REPO MEN, to coincide with the film adaptation hitting theaters March 19 from Universal Pictures.

For all those who think zombie literature began with the great Max (WORLD WAR Z) Brooks, think again.

An early photo from JULIA’S EYES (LOS OJOS DE JULIA), the latest chiller to have Guillermo del Toro on board as a producer, has appeared on-line with news that the movie has started selling to assorted international territories. Check out the pic after the jump.

Dinner and a movie. In the world of dating, is there a more perfect first date cliché? It is a situation that can provide the participants with the most important facts you should know about a potential mate- can they be taken out in public and what kind of movies do they like? But dating can be difficult for a devoted horror fan. And just to be clear, dinner and a movie does not consist of “Hey Baby, lets get drive thru and then go watch PUPPET MASTER at my place”. If you are as serious about this date as you are about horror films, then hopefully this article will get things off to the right start.

The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has announced the nominees for its 36th Annual Saturn Awards. Sam Raimi’s DRAG ME TO HELL turned out to be the most honored fright feature, scoring five nominations including Best Horror Film.

Variety reports that Universal has made a mid-six-figure deal to buy up a horror/comedy pitch called THE SOMETHING from Rodney Rothman, who will script. The writer, whose credits include producing gigs on FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL and the upcoming GET HIM TO THE GREEK, will also serve that function on THE SOMETHING.

Fango caught up with Australian director Mark Hartley (pictured), creator of the amazing documentary NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION!, while he was in NYC grabbing interviews for his follow-up, MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED. This project is in a similar vein, covering the history of genre filmmaking in the Philippines—though not so much homegrown product, he points out.

No notable horror films have lurched out of Western Australia since ZOMBIE BRIGADE circa 1988. NEEDLE, shot just before Christmas 2009, is seeking to redress the situation, and goes about it with a deadly device from the 18th century. This is the third feature from John V. Soto, who wrote PREY (released Down Under to negligible returns last year), co-directed CRUSH (now visible via video on demand and hitting U.S. DVD April 21) with Jeff Gerritsen and helmed NEEDLE from a script he wrote with Tony Egan.

• Fango got the word from Breaking Glass Pictures that it has picked up Chad Ferrin’s new shocker SOMEONE’S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR for release under its Vicious Circle banner. The company also grabbed Ferrin’s previous feature EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL!, as well as the German production SLASHER.

Arrow in the Head got the first word that David Morse has joined the cast of Summit Entertainment’s 3-D action-chiller DRIVE ANGRY. This comes hard on the heels of a Moviehole announcement that Billy Burke has also signed onto the film.

Variety reports that Vincent Cassel, fresh off Darren Aronofsky’s supernatural drama BLACK SWAN, has been cast in the title role of THE MONK for France’s Diaphana Films and Spain’s Morena Films. Based on Matthew Lewis’ 18th-century Gothic novel, the film will topline Cassel as Capucin Ambrosio, who is undone by temptation brought on by black magic and the devil himself.