Not a whole lot hitting the shelves this weekend, but there definitely are one or two indie flicks that you'll probably want to check out. (And enjoy 'em slowly, because next Tuesday is even skimpier!) Argh, will the Great Horror Drought of June 2008 ever end?

By Scott Weinberg

The pick of the week has got to be The Signal. I've lost count of how many festivals I've seen this flick at, but it really kicks an audience in the pants a few times, I can tell you that much. It's a well-shot, low-budget piece of sci-fi horror that's disturbing, amusing, and strangely touching all at the same time. Plus each third of the flick comes from a different director, so the flick is sort of an anti-anthology. All I know is I dig it a lot. Expect a full DVD review later this week!

In second place we have Michael Haneke's Funny Games (American version), which stars Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, and two amazingly evil blonde kids who do just awful things to the actors. If you've already seen Haneke's original version, then there's very little here that will surprise you -- aside from the fact that pretty much EVERYthing is the same! Still, the English-language version feels just a bit more accessible to me, although I think both versions are pretty audacious filmmaking.

Another one I saw at a recent festival is Otis, which comes from Sony's Raw Feed outlet. Suffice to say I wasn't a fan of the flick, but I know some horror freaks who really dug it. It's about a fat weirdo who kidnaps a teenage girl (for unsavory purposes), but earns the vengeful wrath of her goofy parents (Daniel Stern and Illeana Douglas) in return. Extras include a writer / director commentary, an alternate ending, a few featurettes, and a trailer. So at least the disc is stocked.

From Image we get a biological horror offering called Organizm (their mispelling, not mine) that I'd probably skip ... but this one stars Erica Leerhsen, whom gorehounds will definitely remember from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Wrong Turn 2. Yes, I'd rent a potentially awful movie just to see Erica for 85 minutes. (Sue me, I have a crush.)

Also today: Black Wine, which is some sort of urban thriller, and Razor Eaters, which is a slightly controversial Australian flick (based on actual murders) that I just might have to rent soon. Plus a few more Paul Naschy re-releases and an Amityville Horror "original + remake" double feature disc.

Next week: Maybe the worst week in the history of horror DVDs. I'm not kidding.