Starting today and running through November 18, the program known as "8 Films To Die For" features an enticing but decidedly mixed grab bag for horror fans.  Encompassing many filmmaking styles and horror subgenres, After Dark Films' cleverly marketed post-Halloween rollout of fright flicks is now playing in theaters across the U.S.  (Check out the second link below to find a venue near you.)

I was able to grab a peek at a full 25% of Horrorfest's offerings today.  As I'm able to catch more titles, I'll provide updates in the hope that they can guide your selections over the coming week.

Unearthered:  Starting with an original premise regarding the disappearance of the Anasazi in the Southwest centuries ago, this movie unfortunately ends up covering—or uncovering, given the title—ground that is very, very familiar.  Basically an old-fashioned monster movie but without much of a sense of fun to keep it fresh, Unearthed soon recalls any number of movies I suspect you've seen, from Tremors (1990) to The Relic (1997).  In fact, the precursors to this movie are too many to keep track of or list.  The conceptual nadir, though, is reached by the creature design of the monster itself, which would have been startlingly creepy and original had a movie entitled Alien not been released in 1979.

There are several small interesting touches throughout, and the game cast does a good job all in all.  The score, too, is at times quite effective.  However, the overall result is a picture that is just a deadly bore.  The lead, Emmanuelle Vaugier, resembles in profile no one so much as a very young, and beautiful, Joan Crawford.  As the sheriff, the one-line backstory for her character is that she has a hard time building credibility with the locals.  Sadly, with the way that director Matthew Leutwyler shoots her, her long hair fetchingly in her eyes much of the time, she doesn't build up much credibility with the audience either.

  Neither she nor any of the other characters take charge of the narrative itself and really surprise us with their resourcefulness, chutzpah, or even plain old charm.  With a non-humanoid, not-too-compelling monster as the antagonist, a strong hero or group of heroes is a must in a horror-action hybrid such as this.  Paging Ellen Ripley.

Borderland:  An extremely well-executed horror-thriller that boasts several unsettling and gruesome images as well as, corny as it may sound, pulse-pounding action.  Made squarely for a B-movie audience, Borderland nonetheless displays A-level intelligence and instincts, if that doesn't sound too condescending.  What I'm trying to say is that I could imagine this level of talent taking on a big budget project such as 30 Days of Night (2007) and making it the shocking, ultra-violent and gripping entertainment that it should have been—and which this flick is.  Following a set-up made familiar by Hostel (2005) and other films, a trio of twenty-somethings heads out of the country (in this case, south of the border) for some boys-will-be-boys debauchery.  But thanks to a memorably brutal pre-credits sequence, we already have a sense of the horrors that they'll encounter.  In fact, Borderland's filmmakers effectively sustain an air of dread throughout, even after the story ultimately morphs into an action-thriller (again, see the last act of Hostel).  Director Zev Berman, cinematographer Scott Kevan, editor Eric Strand, and production designer Tim Galvin all do terrific work.  The film looks good and moves well.  And, as a bonus, Sean Astin does a very nice job playing a role that should help him cast off his previous screen persona and be seen for the versatile actor he evidently is.  His character reminds me a bit of Dennis Hopper's in Apocalypse Now (1979), only a lot meaner.

You can wait for Borderland to be released on DVD, but it's good enough to catch now if you have the chance.