The Video On Demand Power Ranker returns this week with a batch of new movies to watch. Sure, there are some holdovers on the list, such as (the still excellent) Life of Pi, but our brain-implanted super computer appears to be feeling that which is fresh this week. Will you go along for the journey? Don’t say no. It doesn’t like being told no.

Welcome back to This Week In Discs! As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Beautiful Girls Willie Conway (Timothy Hutton) has returned home for his high school reunion at a very confused time in his life. His long time girlfriend (Annabeth Gish) joins him on the trip as he visits with friends, strikes up a purely platonic relationship with a 15-year-old neighbor girl (Natalie Portman) and decides if he’s ready to settle down and get married. The late Ted Demme has a few fine films to his name including The Ref and Blow, but this sweet, honest and funny movie remains his high point. Portman’s perfect encapsulation of the untouchable teen is fantastic in every regard, but to be fair her storyline is only a small part of the whole. Willie’s friends (Matt Dillon, Noah Emmerich, Max Perlich, Michael Rapaport, Rosie O’Donnell and more) run the gamut of emotional stages as some are satisfied with their lives and others are not, but all of them feel authentic. The story threads fold together so effortlessly, the performances feel so real and the Blu-ray debut is long overdue. Also, Natalie Portman. [Blu-ray extras: None]

In an off week at the box office, it was the battle of three holdover releases, with all of the new films dropping well down the charts. From Killing Them Softly‘s lukewarm 7th place finish to horror film The Collection, it was not a great weekend to be new to theaters. The films with previously built success — from the wildly passionate fanbase film (Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2) to the one with a half-century of history (Skyfall) to the one with Oscar written all over it (Lincoln) — were the ones that brought home the bank in an otherwise warm weekend.

Editor’s note: This review originally ran as part of our Fantastic Fest 2012 coverage, and since The Collection hits theaters this week, we felt obliged to scrape off the dried blood and post it back up. In 2009, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton gave us The Collector, which, in addition to being a dark and bloody enjoyable horror gem, was possibly the greatest Home Alone sequel ever conceived. Now, in keeping with grand horror tradition, a franchise blooms. The Collection continues the exploits of our hoarding serial killer and centers largely on his prized acquisition from the first film. When Arkin (Josh Stewart) is finally able to escape the clutches of The Collector, it is at the expense of the maniac claiming the lovely Elena (Emma Fitzpatrick) as his new treasure. A team of mercenaries, hired by Elena’s father (played by “Shooter McGavin” himself, Christopher McDonald), forces Arkin to lead them to the killer’s lair on an ill-advised rescue mission. Lots of people die. The incredible thing about The Collection is that, even though this is only part two, the franchise seems far more mature. The Collection feels like part six of a series, and we’ve somehow missed three through five. This is the zombie Jason, the dream child…the critters in space. It takes everything we enjoyed about the first film and twists the dials past eleven until the knob snaps off. Our boogeyman has, between films, earned a formidable mythos and seems well established within horror canon by his

Although different in style and tone, celebrating Halloween and Suspiria together is an obviously great idea after speaking with Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, two horror writers who have created wicked traps for the Saw franchise, played lifeguard for Piranha 3DD and continue the terror of their own masked killer with the forthcoming The Collection. From grisly realism to stylized violence, we discuss how they both prove horror films can be beautiful and revel in Melton’s still-fierce fear of the plants outside his window. Plus, we check in with Bloody Good Horror co-host Casey Criswell to get his take on the new Evil Dead (2013) trailer. Download Episode #154

It’s a rarity to see an advertisement for a sequel not mention that it’s a sequel. After all, you want the name recognition and the carry-over audience, right? The major movie studios are even basing their existence on that sales pitch. However, the trailer for The Collection wants to use a different kind of name recognition: the coattails of the Saw franchise. Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton took on screenwriting duties for the later half of that franchise’s life, and Dunstan made The Collector his directorial debut. It featured a stream-lined concept, a red steamer trunk, and a thief who breaks into a house on the same night a serial killer has gone on the hunt for its inhabitants. Having moved beyond a house in the middle of nowhere, the gimp-masked murderer has set his sights on a rave in the middle of nowhere. You know the rules: sequels mean higher stakes and bigger kills. Check out the trailer for yourself:

After a pretty dismal 2010 in terms of horror films, I decided to look into my crystal ball and peer into the future. By the future I mean 2011. While gazing deep into my crystal ball laptop monitor, I feel fairly confidant that 2011 will be approximately 78% better in terms of horror than the previous year. Why do I feel more confident in this year’s horror slate? Because in trying to find just 11 titles to bring attention to, I had to whittle it down from sixteen. Why not give you all sixteen? Because it’s 20-eleven, not 20-sixteen, duh. Anyway, here are the 11 horror films to keep on your radar this year.