The Splat Pack

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O.K., the Splat Packers are brash. But considering their work, they're actually a very normal bunch. In fact, the writers and directors of the new wave of horror movies seem to be mild young men from the suburbs who grew up watching The Shining at sleepovers while Mom and Dad slept in the next room. The Old Guard of horror directors, including Craven and Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), has welcomed the newcomers, inviting them to its Masters of Horror dinner parties in Hollywood (also occasionally attended by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, who are co-directing a slasher double-feature called Grindhouse, due next year). And for men (and it is all men) who spend their lives coming up with vile ways to kill people, the horror club is awfully warm and fuzzy. "I'm just so happy to be part of this wave," says Roth. "Everybody's so psyched for each other."

The only thing that could end this horrorteurs lovefest, it seems, is if the extreme gore craze starts to suffer from, well, overkill. After Saw III comes Turistas, which is sort of like Hostel with Brazilian bikini girls instead of Slovakian ones. In addition to Tarantino and Rodriguez's Grindhouse, 2007 will bring a full sicko slate, including Hostel: Part II, a retooling of Halloween by Zombie and The Hills Have Eyes II. "These movies aren't for everybody," admitted Zombie, the day after he turned in his Halloween script. But they don't have to be. "I see trailers for movies like [romantic weepie] The Lake House, and I think, I would have to rip my eyes out of my head to sit through that. But that's somebody's favorite movie." And somewhere, at some sleepover this weekend, someone is watching Saw or The Devil's Rejects while Mom and Dad sleep in the other room, and appreciating that, yes, it does feel good to scream when you're safe. [This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine.]