What are we to conclude from the box office for U.S. horror films the last few months? In short order, THE FINAL DESTINATION creamed ROB ZOMBIE'S HALLOWEEN 2, the much hyped JENNIFER'S BODY bombed, ZOMBIELAND debuted in the #1 position, and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY - in limited release - annihilated THE STEPFATHER remake.

First of all, let's award the dunce cap to the rocket scientists at Weinstein Co. that released ZOMBIE'S H2 in late August rather than, duh, October, the month of the holiday for which it is named. Yes, ROB ZOMBIE'S HALLOWEEN did well this same time two years ago, but there was anticipation for that film. Despite its strong box office take, general audiences and horror fans alike realized one thing: Zombie's remake was a giant, stinking turd. Even if you liked the film, it was pretty easy to envision how Zombie would tackle the sequel, so there was zero anticipation for it. Any student in Marketing 101 could have deduced that October would have been a much riper month for this latest stink bomb. So why this incredibly inept decision? Simple: the Weinsteins feared that Jigsaw would kick Michael Myers's ass. They ceded the slot for which their franchise was created to the most successful horror franchise in years, assuming that the Shape would fare better against a bunch of death-chased teens. And they lost. Big time. Thanks to his corporate masters as much as to the man behind his latest sorry misadventures, Mr. Myers is now a has been. Maybe we'll see him on DANCING WITH THE STARS next year.

THE FINAL DESTINATION, on the other hand, was a PG-13 rated, fourth rate, fourth film in a franchise that should have gone the direct-to-DVD route years ago. TFD did not beat the pants off H2 because it was shot in 3-D, but because it appealed to teenagers who knew what they were getting from it... but also knew what they would get from Zombie's steaming mess. To add an air of desperation to insult and injury, the Winstein Company announced after the failure of H2 that H3 would be lensed in 3-D, just like TFD, and without Zombie's participation. Thank heaven for that last development, at least. Maybe John Carpenter or even Rick Rosenthal would be interested in restoring Myers's lost luster, but the Weinsteins will no doubt hire some flavor of the month TV commercial/music video director to further damage Micael's resume.

JENNIFER'S BODY's failure was a much more spectacular crash and burn. With Megan Fox and Cody Diablo promoting the hell out of it, and a sexy ad campaign, this seemed liked a Sure Thing. But two things contributed to its failure: first, Megan Fox may have generated a lot of publicity, but almost all of it was bad. In a stunning show of arrogance, the actress trash talked Michael Bay, the man who made her a star in TRANSFORMERS and TRANSFORMERS 2. Fox boasted that JENNIFER'S BODY allowed her to "act," unlike Bay. Too bad nobody cared about her self proclaimed talent. Fox also presented herself as a sex goddess in print interview after print interview - too much of a not-so-good thing. And this leads us to the second reason for JENNIFER's failure, which is far more interesting. Movie theatre exit polls show that the audience for horror films these days consists of more females than males, a sharp turnaround from box office trends of years past. And apparently women do not like Fox. I'd say this new trend is a welcome turn of events, but it will be interesting to see how this new marketing research influences which horror movies are developed and produced at the studios, where marketing research is king.

ZOMBIELAND was a hit: Woody Harrelson and the hungry dead devoured Jennifer Aniston's latest rom com. The reason here seems pretty simple: the film was funny and the trailers enticing. Good old fashioned movie making designed to entertain, properly marketed and positioned (in early October, before SAW came down the track.

And now we have PARANORMAL ACTIVITY vs. THE STEPFATHER. THE STEPFATHER is another remake, but a remake of a film that was a sleeper hit due to a smart script, direction and star performance; a film that never should have spawned a STEPFATHER 2 or STEPFATHER 3; a film that has been unavailable on DVD (until now); a film which is unfamiliar, both in name and content, to its target teenage audience (and with a PG-13 rating, it was aimed at those teens - ironic, since the original was a fairly sophisticated adult thriller). PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, on the other hand, is the $15,000 beneficiary of strong word of mouth and the smartest faux grass roots ad campaign since THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. By most accounts, it is a superior indie chiller, aimed at adults, and containing that ingredient missing from most horror films today: fear of the unknown. Score one for the little guy, and a more demanding audience, and one against the unnecessary remake machine.

So what we gather from these examples is the following: Rob Zombie can fool audiences once, but not twice; the Weinstein Company is not nearly as smart as its namesakes probably believe; young women do not like Megan Fox; and discerning audiences will respond to a smart, scary horror film. Marketing execs, studio chiefs and accountants are no doubt scratching their heads: we horror fans are not so easy to predict as they thought, and we know which films to spend our money on. The only question remaining for this Halloween season is how SAW VI will fare. Despite my above conclusions, I suspect it will be another hit in this surprisingly lucrative franchise.