When you hear the phrase "gateway horror," what comes to mind? The phrase is frequently thrown around when discussing modern cinema, serving as a perhaps gentle way of saying something doesn't cut all that deep but could lead to discovering other better genre films that do.

In two decades at Variety, I have reviewed precious few slasher movies. Call me old-fashioned, but I don't take much pleasure in what Roger Ebert called "dead teenager movies" - and yet, for some reason,