By Scott Weinberg

After several weeks of really skimpy selections at the new release shelf (horror sub-division), the digital gods have smiled upon us in a big way. As in: If you're any sort of horror geek, you're bound to find something fun this week. Let's just dive right in:

The Monster Squad -- Yes! Finally! After years of waiting and wondering, the loyal geeks will be rewarded with one helluva slick Monster Squad DVD package. Yes, young dads, now you can sit down with your own 9-year-old and introduce them to the magic of ... a bunch of funny kids and a big bunch of old-school movie monsters. Much more of a comedy than a fright flick, but it's a whole lot of campy fun anyway. Plus the flick's being released in a stellar 2-disc package, complete with a pair of audio commentaries (one with the squad!), a feature-length retrospective documentary, some deleted scenes, the original theatrical trailer, and a brand-new anamorphic widescreen transfer. Awesome.
(Lionsgate)

The Number 23 -- He's known mainly for laughs, but Jim Carrey does like to get dark on occasion. This is one such occasion. Here he plays a normal joe who finds himself suddenly haunted by (you guessed it) the number 23. The movie's not as silly as the way I describe it ... but not by much. Among the numerous extras you'll find an audio commentary with director Joel Schumacher, a 22-minute 'making of' piece, more than a dozen deleted scenes, a handful of numerology-related featurettes, and an in-movie "fact track" that'll keep the fans entertained. (New Line)

The Host -- You heard about it, you read about it, but unless you live in "limited release" territory (or you happen to visit film festivals), you probably haven't seen Bong Joon Ho's The Host yet -- which means you're in for a treat. I'll just leave the plot synopsis at "giant monster run amok" and then let you discover all the surprises for yourself. Suffice to say it's one of the most entertaining genre imports of the last five years. Extras include a director's commentary and (if you're smart and you opt for the Collector's Edition) a second disc absolutely stuffed with featurettes and whatnot. A great package overall, perhaps one of the year's best. (Magnolia)

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer -- You just don't see too many "art house horror movies," but that's how I'd describe Tom Tykwer's epic tale of murder, betrayal, and ... odor. It's a pretty wild affair -- right up to a finale that's as bizarre as it is rather unforgettable. Certainly not for all tastes, but I dug it a lot. (Paramount)

Creature from the Black Lagoon -- Universal gives one of its favorite monsters another digital re-issue, this time with ... a new DVD cover! Still, if you don't already own Jack Arnold's original "gillman" adventure, this re-package stands as a pretty solid bargain. Extras include the requisite historian commentary and a few retrospective pieces. (Universal)

Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror -- I was really curious to see this low-budget anthology piece for a very long time. And now that I've seen it, I feel kind of stupid. Rent it and you'll see what I mean. (Actually, you'll now have to wait until september for this DVD. Consider yourself lucky.)

Tales from the Crypt: The Complete Sixth Season -- HBO's long-running anthology series was running out of gas by this point, but there's still a decent dose of jolts to be found in this collection. (Warner Bros.)

Invasion of the Pod People -- Just in time to catch a little free attention thanks to Nicole Kidman's "Invasion" remake, this is another Asylum knock-off that's guaranteed to be good for a few laughs.

Re-issue alert: Universal has repackaged a bunch of old titles into new "double feature" discs. The pairings go like this: The Mummy's Hand / The Mummy's Tomb; Dracula's Daughter / Son of Dracula; Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man / House of Frankenstein; Son of Frankenstein / Ghost of Frankenstein; Werewolf of London / She-Wolf of London.

Coming next week: Creatures, Cradles, Clowns, a few classics, and the arrival of 300, which isn't a horror movie but is gory / violent enough to earn a few mentions here on FEARnet.