The Sci Fi Channel has reached an agreement with RHI Entertainment, the company behind the "Maneater" series of killer animal films that have aired on the channel -- including Vipers, Grizzy Rage, Eye of the Beast, Blood Monkey and The Hive -- to premiere five upcoming horror/suspense films as part of Sci Fi's ongoing "Most Dangerous Night of Television" weekend theme:

• Hellhounds: In 500 B.C., a Greek warrior battles the demonic hellhounds of Hades in order to rescue his bride and bring her back to life. Directed by Rick "Don't Call Me Ricky" Schroder.
• Rise of the Gargoyle: A struggling author in Paris finds himself face to face with a real, living version of the stone gargoyles he's devoted his life to studying.
• Alien Western: Monstrous, buglike machines from another world attack an Old West town in the 1890s.
• Carney: Based on the Jersey Devil legend, a fiendish carnival sideshow attraction -- half-animal and half-devil -- escapes and terrorizes a Depression-era Mid-Atlantic town.
• Sand Serpents: American combat soldiers in the Afghan desert must battle both the Taliban and a horde of giant, carnivorous wormlike serpents awakened from beneath the earth's surface.

It's acceptable practice to make fun of these movies, but for what they are -- cheesy basic cable extensions of 1950s monster movies -- they're fairly enjoyable. I'll keep a not-so-diligent eye out for these in 2009.

Source: NBC Universal, Inc.

The annual Screamfest horror film festival opens today in Hollywood with perhaps the most impressive lineup in the fest's eight-year history. Kicking things off tonight is the long-delayed, eagerly anticipated Trick 'r Treat (pictured), an anthology that's rumored to be going straight to DVD next year, so this might be your last chance to see it on the big screen. Other highlights of the nine-day festival include Let the Right One In, Splinter, the controversial French flick Martyrs and Train, the former Terror Train remake that's grown into its own story. Stay tuned for reviews!

Good news for those who can't wait for the upcoming movie House, from acclaimed novelists Ted Dekker and Frank Perreti: its release has been moved up a week from November 14 to November 7. It'll be a limited release, so check the official site for city listings.

It appears that Hellboy's Guillermo del Toro might be returning to his horror roots after directing the upcoming Hobbit films. Comingsoon.net has an interview with the director -- who began his career with fright films like Cronos, The Devil's Backbone, Mimic and Blade 2 -- stating that he plans on tackling three horror adaptations after all this Hobbit hubbub dies down: Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness.

With the updated Wolf Man coming out next year, maybe the new Hollywood trend will be remaking classics. (Might I suggest Leonard Part 6?) Don't get too excited, though, because The Hobbit and its sequel aren't scheduled to hit theaters until 2011 and 2012, respectively, so it'll probably be at least five years until we see anything else from del Toro.

Source: Comingsoon.net