New Horror Releases in Theaters and on DVD: Week of Feb. 17, 2008

It's been generating buzz for months, but The Signal finally imposes its will this week, telling the tale of a mysterious, well, "signal" emitted via TV, cell phones and other electrical devices (Air purifiers? Pneumatic drills? Crock pots?) that turns people into homicidal maniacs.

Killer crocodile movies have become quite a cottage industry in recent years, from the Lake Placid movies to Primeval and a pair of 2007 Australian films, Rogue (coming out in the US this spring) and Black Water. Black Water is about, well, a crocodile eating people; what more do you want? Just think of it as freshwater Jaws.

Like your gore by the gallon? Try this 10-pack of blood-letting, featuring '70s and '80s fare Deep Red, The Demon, Don't Look in the Basement, The Hatchet Murders, Horror Rises From the Tomb, It Happened At Nightmare Inn, Memorial Valley Massacre, Night of Bloody Horror, Pieces and Silent Night, Bloody Night.

A couple of American sisters in Paris are stalked by someone -- or someTHING? -- in the labyrinthine Catacombs that run beneath the city. Released theatrically elsewhere in the world, this American production goes straight to DVD in the US. What, do Shannyn Sossamon and Pink not exude box office success?

He's an unapologetic serial killer stalking the streets for victims! He's a sympathetic family man who accidentally killed his wife! They're partners!

Prolific B-movie -- er, make that "C-minus"-moviemakers John and Mark Polonia bring us their latest "masterpiece," which asks the question, "If an earthquake unleashes an evil demon in the forest, does it make a sound?"

This is a low-budget, experimental take on the Frankenstein story -- except the doctor's name here is Karlstein, which makes the title a bloody nightmare to understand.

This flashy Australian production combines martial arts with special effects and supernatural elements in the vein of the Underworld series -- except with angels and devils instead of vampires and werewolves.

What's the German word for "old, artsy horror?" Ah yes, "expressionism." Check out four groundbreaking 1920s films (Yes, they're in black and white.) from the land that David Hasselhoff built: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Hands of Orlac, Secrets of a Soul and Warning Shadows.

Did Dragon Wars and Cloverfield pique your thirst for giant monsters destroying all of humanity? Well, consider taking a trip down memory lane to -- where else? -- Japan! Watch as Godzilla, Gamera and the whole gang take turns pummeling Tokyo silly in this nine-pack of films, featuring: Gamera vs. Monster X, Gamera vs. Gaos, Gamera vs. the Invincible, Destroy All Planets, War of the Monsters, Yongary, Warning From Space, Monster From a Prehistoric Planet and the lone American entry, The Giant Gila Monster.