Are horror flicks in or out?

Inquiring minds would have a tough time figuring that one out if they read this morning's LAT and heard NPR's "Weekend Edition Saturday."

Here's what NPR reported:

Hostel Part II opened Friday, and it's expected to kill at the box office. The first Hostel cost less than $5 million to make, and grossed 10 times that amount in ticket sales alone. Of course, gross may be the operative word: Along with other so-called Splat Pack films, like Saw and The Hills Have Eyes, Hostel and its sequel dwell on pain and mutilation. Like it or not, such films are extremely popular — and their appeal is adding up to a real extreme-horror trend.

Here's what the Times had:

The body count is piling up in Hollywood, but unfortunately not all the cadavers are on screen. Call it a market correction. Call it a slump. Call it audience fatigue with a subpar rash of crazed killers, wanton vampires and jiggling coeds, but horror, one of Hollywood's enduring staples, is tanking. Consider the numbers. Last year, the studios released 23 horror movies. This year the tally will be 42, nearly double, and too often the take at the box office has been anemic, leaving studios and distributors with lots of red ink gushing through the bottom line.