Reel Desire Film Party
9 p.m. Monday Oct. 27
Club 360, 33rd floor, World Trade Center
This opening-night party for the New Orleans Media Experience kicks off the film portion of the festivities with a world-premiere screening of Hype Williams' 10-minute short film, Rain on Me, which stars Larenz Tate and R&B star Ashanti. Admission includes food and drink. Tickets $40.

Mario Bava Retrospective
10 p.m. Monday-Friday, Oct. 27-31
State Palace Theatre, 1108 Canal St., 522-4435
Influencing everyone from Martin Scorsese to Tim Burton, Mario Bava is considered by many one of the great international horror-movie masters; he was "slasher" before slasher was cool, pre-dating the '70s phenomenon with such works as Twitch of the Death Nerve. Sometimes dismissed as a B-movie auteur, Bava followed in his father's footsteps in becoming an expert cinematographer and used those skills in emphasizing image in his films. The documentary Mario Bava: Master of the Macabre kicks off a retrospective that will feature some of his most popular work: Baron Blood, Black Sunday, The Girl Who Knew Too Much (aka Evil Eye), Black Sabbath and Kidnapped. Longtime producer Alfredo Leone will be in attendance for the documentary. Visit www.neworleans
mediaexperience.com for showtime and ticket information.

Pulse Videogame Party, featuring Whitestarr
Tuesday, Oct. 28
Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., 528-3800
The warehouse space inside the CAC will be converted into a futuristic, video-game themed environment with tons of gaming and the music of Whitestarr. Tickets $40.

Rock the Vote Benefit Concert, featuring N*E*R*D, Spymob, Clipse
7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30
Morris F.X. Jeff Municipal Auditorium, Armstrong Park
Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, better known as the Neptunes -- one of the hottest hip-hop producing teams in the biz -- invented this performing offshoot as a side project when not making hits for Jay-Z, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, No Doubt and tons more pop acts. This is postmodernism at its silliest and most intriguing, genre-bending that has critics gushing, including Details' bon mot: "[N*E*R*D] ... steer into hip-hop's post-apocalyptic sunset, where Steely Dan and Queen combust with Kool & the Gang and Earth, Wind & Fire. Confused? Don't worry: It's so funky, it doesn't have to make sense." That's a confusion we can get behind. Spymob and Clipse, who belong to the Neptunes' Star Track Entertainment, also will perform. Profits from the concert go to the Rock the Vote campaign designed to energize young voters. Tickets $30-$125.

Dog Soldiers
8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30
State Palace Theatre, 1108 Canal St., 522-4435
One of the bizarre pleasures of last year's New Orleans Film Festival was trying to pin down all the references that made Dog Soldiers -- which should definitely not be confused as a festival award winner -- such a hilariously bad derivative movie. Perhaps trying to be so bad it's good, Dog Soldiers feels like Southern Comfort meets The Thing From Outer Space, as soldiers on routine maneuvers are trapped in a house infested with some very nasty canines. Directed by Neil Marshall and featuring Rachel Weisz lookalike Emma Cleasby.

Hypnotic
6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31
Prytania Theatre, 5339 Prytania St., 891-2787
Directed by Nick Willing, Hypnotic tells the story of a hypnotherapist (Goran Visnjic of TV's ER and The Deep End) who can see into his patients' minds and doesn't like what he sees. He must help a cop (Shirley Henderson) get information from the living victim of a serial killer before he strikes again. Because the killer left strange tattoo marks on the girl's arms, a shop owner familiar with the occult is brought along. Miranda Otto and Corin Redgrave co-star. A cocktail reception at 6 p.m. will precede the 7 p.m. screening, while Willing and some of the cast members are scheduled to appear afterward for a question-and-answer session with the audience.

Halloween Masquerade Ball, featuring Dita Von Teese
8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31
Gallier Hall, 545 St. Charles St.
This VIP-only event sponsored by In Style magazine features one of New Orleans' favorite special guests. Dita Von Teese is also one of the queens of burlesque, a pin-up fetish model and dancer whose return comes (sadly) after the close of the Shim Sham Club. Her performances with the Southern Jeze-Belles, however brief, were the stuff of legend, so this will be a welcome return. Marilyn Manson's favorite girl toy and Playboy pin-up has been profiled by everyone from People to Spin, but deserves credit not just for her sex-kitten image but also for recreating a cult of personality that used to be so crucial to the burlesque scene. For as popular as the burlesque revival has become, few true stars have been launched. Miss Dita is one of them.