A trio of summer DVD releases

Funny Games is a remake by writer-director Michael Haneke of his 1997 Swedish horror film. The plot goes something like this: A couple (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) are enjoying a nice vacation at their lakeside cabin with their son (Devon Gearhart) when two well-dressed men (Brady Corbet and Michael Pitt) come up to their door and ask them if they would like to "play a game." Soon, the family is in the fight for their lives as the two men humiliate and torture them, killing the family dog in the process. Will they make it out alive? The film played in select theatres a few months ago but never received a wide release. It's one to look for if only for the cast, as both Watts and Roth have shown themselves to be great actors.

Alive or Dead has the following premise: While traveling down a desolate road, Maria comes upon an apparently abandoned school bus. A girl has written "HELP ME" in one of the windows and Maria quickly discovers the messy secrets that lie in the back of the bus. As the killer reappears, Maria finds herself now hidden and trapped as the killer takes them on the ride of their lives. Their journey leads to a bizarre location in the desert, where they'll quickly learn their enemy is not who they think. The girls must figure out whom to trust, if even each other, if they hope to return home, alive or dead.

Advance word on the film is better than one might expect for a low budget film like this, with reviews saying it offers a nice mix of visceral and psychological terror.

Bone Eater concerns a group of construction workers working on a project on what is reported to be Indian holy ground. When they discover and remove an ancient artifact from the ground, they unleash a monster known as the "Bone Eater." They must uncover the origins and secret of the creature before it's too late.

Skepticism reigns supreme here; how many monster movies about ancient holy and/or burial grounds do we really need?

Funny Games is released June 10 via Warner Bros., Alive or Dead follows a week later via Lionsgate, and Bone Eater hits July 8, also via Lionsgate.