In "Monster House," DJ (Mitchel Musso) crosses over to the other side of the street to unlock a mystery.

With Halloween a week away, there's a chill in the air -- and in the movies materializing on ...

The big screen scene: A Halloween treat for kids of all ages, the computer-animated "Monster House" (Sony) finds a 12-year-old and his pals realizing the spooky abode across the street might be a real, live monster preying on neighborhood kids.

If you're more in the mood for zombies and space slugs and plagues -- oh my! -- the horror spoof "Slither" (Universal) should provide seat-squirming scares and gross-out giggles.

A 19th-century ghost story, meanwhile, inspires "An American Haunting" (Lionsgate), as a mysterious specter terrorizes a Tennessee farm family. Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek lead the cast.

And while he may not be trick-or-treating, Jack Black certainly sports a distinctive costume -- that of a masked Lucha Libre wrestler -- in the wacky comedy "Nacho Libre" (Paramount).

Rounding out today's recent-release lineup: the independent drama "Jailbait" (Lightyear), about a pretty-boy druggie (Michael Pitt), imprisoned under California's three-strikes rule, sharing a cell with a cold-blooded killer (Stephen Adly Guirgus).

Critic's choice: In the ever-popular "Welcome to Las Vegas" portion of our show, featuring movies that never played local theaters, "Mini's First Time" (HBO) casts Alec Baldwin, Jeff Goldblum, Carrie-Anne Moss and "thirteen's" Nikki Reed in a dark comedy about a teen who joins an escort agency -- where her stepfather is a client.

A high school basketball coach (David Krumholtz) and a hard-luck private eye (Edward Burns) trail the coach's wife, who has run off with a second-rate rock musician, in "Looking for Kitty" (Velocity/Thinkfilm). And "The Kid & I" (Anchor Bay) features Tom Arnold as a has-been movie star who helps a millionaire's son star in his own action movie.

Hot docs: Part drama, part documentary, "The Road to Guantanamo" (Sony), which made its local debut at June's CineVegas film festival, focuses on three British Muslims held in Guantanamo Bay for two years by U.S. officials who believed they were "enemy combatants."

Kidvid corner: In the fanciful "Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller" (Hen's Tooth), the secrets of "stamp travel" enable the title collectors to journey the world -- in miniature form.

Speaking of traveling, the animated "Journey Back to Oz" (Brentwood) takes Dorothy (voiced by Judy Garland's daughter, Liza Minnelli) and Toto back to Emerald City.

Favorites returning to DVD, meanwhile, range from "Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw" (Lionsgate) to "The World According to Sesame Street" (Sony Wonder), along with "Batman Beyond: Season Two" (Warner), "Go Diego Go! Diego Saves Christmas!" (Paramount), "Hannah Montana, Vol. 1: Livin' the Rock Star Life" (Disney), "Holly Hobbie and Friends: Christmas Wishes" (Sony Wonder), "Justice League Unlimited: Season One" (Warner) and "Krypto the Superdog, Vol. 1 and 2: Super Pets Unleashed" (Warner).

TV transfers: Another just-in-time-for-Halloween treat, "The Addams Family, Vol. 1" (MGM) revives the merrily macabre '60s clan.

Continuing the spooky, ooky theme, "Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King" (Warner) adapts several chilling tales, with William Hurt, William H. Macy, Ron Livingston, Steven Weber, Samantha Mathis, Tom Berenger and Marsha Mason along for the eerie ride.

"The Reading Room" (MTI), meanwhile, features James Earl Jones as the widowed proprietor of the title establishment.

And if you're in the mood for laughs, "Saturday Night Live: The Best of Saturday TV Funhouse" (Universal) compiles decades of satirical cartoons, from "The Ex-Presidents" to "The Ambiguously Gay Duo." Also on the funny side of the street: "SCTV: Best of the Early Years" and "Greg the Bunny: Best of the Film Parodies" (both from Shout! Factory).

Series DVDs on tap today include "Baywatch: Seasons 1 and 2" (First Look), "Bewitched: The Complete Fourth Season" (Sony), "The Facts of Life: The Complete Third Season" (Sony), "The L-Word: The Complete Third Season" (Showtime), "MacGyver: The Complete Final Season" (Paramount), "The O.C.: The Complete Third Season" (Warner), "Slings and Arrows: Season 2" (Acorn), "The Swan" (Xenon), "That's My Bush! The Definitive Collection" (Paramount), "Voyage to the Bottom of Sea: Season 2, Vol. 1" (Fox) and "Wings: The Complete Third Season" (Paramount).