Zombie is the watchword this time around. Not only is Rob Zombie unmasking his take on 1978’s slasher classic Halloween this weekend, the Alamo Drafthouse has also managed to round up a herd of zombie sheep from New Zealand for your viewing (really resisting the urge to say ewe-ing) pleasure. If you could care less about the grisly fate Rob Zombie doles out to lustful babysitters and the thought of zombie sheep does nothing more than get your goat (sorry, that’s our last blatant animal reference – it just feels so good), there are some quality options for you in the documentary, comedy, drama, and foreign genres.

Black Sheep:
Zombies are all the rage nowadays. The effects of the undead on the film industry have been mixed; in the past few years, brain-eating subject matter has been taken to new heights (Land of the Dead), intelligently spoofed/honored (Shaun of the Dead), and brought to new lows (Special Dead – so potentially offensive, it deserves its own link). By the looks of this horror/comedy hybrid, this flick contains nothing but the good stuff – the obligatory genetic experiment gone wrong, outlandish situations, disgusting attacks, glorious accents, and imposing, flesh-devouring sheep. With a trailer tagline like “violence of the lambs,” you can do no wrong. Check out the food accompanying the flick at the Drafthouse if you want to get even more excited. [Website] [Trailer]

Halloween:
Rob Zombie is putting his life on the line here – many fans of the original Halloween can be classified as overzealous and obsessive. If he’s not careful and fails to satisfy with this updated version of John Carpenter’s masterpiece, he might find himself pinned to a door with a butcher knife a la Mr. Myers’ signature move. Although Zombie’s past movies haven’t been anything to obsess over, he is managing to become a master of atmosphere. The trailer for Halloween hits all the right visual notes (literal notes as well – keeping hints of the original score was a smart move). Keep an eye out for an inspired piece of casting – the little girl who played Michael Myers’ niece in the series is now one of the original hot and bothered babysitters. [Website] [Trailer]

No End in Sight:
Finally, a documentary focusing on the U.S. in Iraq that isn’t filled with dubious, over-exaggerating Michael Moore’s and Bill O’Reilly’s. Director Charles Ferguson focuses in on people who have actually experienced the situation firsthand, whether its behind the scenes in Washington or on the ground in Iraq. Check out this Austinist preview for more information. [Website] [Trailer]

The Boss of it All:
Lars von Trier (Dancer in the Dark, Dogville) takes on office comedy in his latest film. The perpetually experimental and daring Trier shot The Boss of it All with a technique called “Automavision” where camera movements and angles are selected by a computer. [Website] [Trailer]

Balls of Fury:
If you have a penis, you may have seen this movie advertised above, around, or in urinals (this type of campaign accompanied Van Wilder back in 2002). That information, along with the fact that this movie revolves around ping-pong, should be enough for you to get the gist of what you’ll be getting here. Jack Black – oh, sorry, Dan Fogler (to his credit, he is a Tony Award winner for Broadway’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee musical) – plays with balls, gets kicked in the balls, and gets a brutal chopstick grab on…wait for it…his balls. [Website] [Trailer]

Death Sentence:
Kevin Bacon becomes a vengeance fiend when his son is murdered right before his eyes. Having recently seen Eye for an Eye (love for Sally Field will make you do crazy things), we had unwelcome flashbacks to an underutilized Field and Kiefer Sutherland when reading this description. Further investigation reveals that this movie most likely stands above Field’s trip down vengeance-for-your-family lane, because the trailer is a two-minute exercise in creative, tension-building scenes. We’re still anticipating The Brave One a little more (Jodie Foster is, as always, INTENSE and sports a hot, lezzy – that’s right, we said it – haircut). Let’s not forget Kevin Bacon’s ability to get intense with lezzy haircuts, though – Stir of Echoes, anyone? [Website] [Trailer]

Self Medicated:
A delinquent’s (Monty Lapica) drug-addicted mother (Diane Venora) has her son kidnapped and placed in a psychiatric hospital. While undergoing treatment, he attempts to come to terms with his demons so he can escape his new digs. The performances (and the film as a whole) are critically acclaimed. The film looks promising and, in the same vein as Requiem for a Dream, don’t-watch-this-alone depressing. [Website] [Trailer]

Ladron que Roba a Ladron:
It’s crack thieves robbing infomercial thieves in this film that goes above and beyond its Robin Hood premise. When a king of TV infomercials (Saul Lisazo) has taken way too much from poverty-stricken, Latino immigrants, two crack thieves (Miguel Varoni, Fernando Colunga) band together with real day laborers to bring about a little justice. [Website] [Trailer]

[Showtimes]

Photo from Black Sheep Official Site