The Ghost House Underground DVDs Are a Good "Diversion from Thanksgiving Hell."

Finally got around to seeing four of the Ghost House Underground DVDs (Lionsgate), and from what I've seen so far, it's a nice batch of chillers from around the globe. The Last House In The Woods is a grisly shocker from Italy with a '70s splatter slant about a couple of lovers attacked by goons in the country who are rescued by a "kindly" couple with ulterior motives, who bring them back to their place in the woods where their sharp-tooth child awaits. Pretty outlandish and gruesome. The Substitute is an enjoyable sci-fi film from Denmark by the director of Nightwatch, Ole Bornedal. The kids' new substitute teacher is not of this world but they can't get their stupid parents to believe them. The female teacher/alien is hilariously fiendish and the kids are terrific. Trackman is a Russian entry about a bank heist, wherein the hostages escape into the underground tunnels only to confront a monstrous killer who prowls the dark with a pickax. Finally, the American zombie flick Dance of the Dead is about a group of prom-goers who are forced to battle the living dead. It's jokey and gory and actually funny -- as opposed to the tiresome familiar junk. You couldn't find more diversion from Thanksgiving hell than to check out any of these terror treats.