As if two horror film fests* starting this week are not enough, the annual Screamfest in Hollywood will launch next Friday with George A. Romero's DIARY OF THE DEAD.

Screamfest is the biggest and probably the best of the horror fests in Hollywood. It is not on the level of the Toronto International Film Festival of the San Diego Comic Con, but they tend to screen movies from established filmmakers, not just up-and-comers (they claim to discover the new blood of horror and honor the past masters). Each year offers a mix of new movies, foreign films, director's cuts, unrated versions, and usually some classics. Last year's event featured two films that made it into the After Dark Horror Fest (THE HAMILTONS and THE GRAVEDANCERS), plus the excellent HATCHET, which recently received a platform theatrical release on the way to its DVD debut from Anchor Bay.

This schedule for this year's festival, which runs from October 12 through 20, is as follows:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12

• DAY OF THE DEAD - 7:30pm

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13

• Student short subjects - noon
• Short film program 1 - 3:00pm
• Short film program 2 - 5:00pm
• DEAD IN 3 DAYS - 7:30pm
• FRIDAY THE 13TH 3D 25th anniversary screening and reunion (followed by Q&A) - 9:30pm
• FRIDAY THE 13TH 3D 25th anniversary screening and reunion (preceded by introduction from select cast members) - 11:30pm

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14

• ROOM 205 - noon
• ALONE - 1:45pm
• DOOD EIND (DEAD END) - 3:30pm
• PARANOMRAL ACTIVITY - 5:30pm
• DAYS OF DARKNESS - 7:30pm
• HELL'S GROUND - 9:30pm

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15TH

• PLANET TERROR (Robert Rodriguez's director's cut) - 7:00pm
• "30 Days of Night: Blood Trails" (short) and RETURN TO HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL - 9:15pm

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16

• 30 DAYS OF NIGHT - 7:30pm in Grauman's Chinese Theatre
• TOOTH AND NAIL - 7:30pm
• WASTING AWAY - 9:30pm

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17

• "Suck" (short) and INSIDE (a.k.a. A L'INTERIEUR) - 7:30pm (followed by a party at Mood)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18

• SYMPATHY - 5:00pm
• FRAYED - 7:00pm
• THE TRIPPER - 9:30pm (followed by a party at Garden of Eden)
• SHROOMS - 11:00pm

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19

• HALLOWED GROUND - 7:30pm
• STORM WARNING - 9:30pm
• THE RAGE - 11:00pm

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20

• BURIED ALIVE - noon
• BOOGEYMAN 2 - 2:00pm
• HEADLESS HORSEMAN - 4:30pm
• THE SIGNAL - 7:00pm
• TIMBER BALLS - 9:00pm

All screenings are at the Mann Chinese 6 multiplex theatre, except for 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, which screens in the magnificent single-screen Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

*The two fest starting this week are Shriekfest and October Scarefest