by TOM DOTY

Times Columnist

The odds of renting an entertaining flick were higher than the average this week, with three hits and only one miss hitting the shelves.

“Land of the Lost” — Best to get the one clunker out of the way. Yes this adaptation of the low-budget Sid and Marty Kroft show is as bad as you thought it would be. Will Ferrell stars as Will Marshall. He gets sucked into a vortex that pops him, a lab assistant and a gun toting survivalist into an alternate world ruled by dinosaurs and lizard people. It’s done for laughs, and there are a couple, but not enough to justify the budget for this one-joke lameness.

“Drag Me to Hell” — Laughs and chills are served up with equal vigor in this fast-moving horr-omedy from Sam Raimi. He wrote this one with his brother Ivan after their “Army of Darkness” success, but never got around to making it as he was too busy steering “Spider-Man” to the big screen after proving his diversity on flicks like “A Simple Plan.” The film was worth the wait and features Alison Lohman (in a Bruce Campbell-like role) as a bank officer who evicts an elderly woman from her home. The woman turns out to be a witch and she drops the titular hex on Lohman. What follows is almost 90 minutes of high-octane ickiness, as Lohman gets bounced around by all manner of demons while being forced to eat stuff that would give second thoughts to “Fear Factor” champions. Good fun.

“The Proposal” — Here is a romantic comedy in the screwball vein which was popularized back in 1939 when Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert starred in “It Happened One Night.” The thin plot here involves a snooty boss who pressures her male assistant into marrying her so she can stay on American soil. Apparently national health care is not enough to make Canada attractive to this woman. Well worn material but the leads (Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds) make it work.

“The Stepfather” — The holy grail of 1980s horror finally hits DVD this week to cash in on an inferior remake that is currently unspooling at area theaters. Here’s the real deal. Terry O’Quinn stars as Jerry Blake. He’s a middle-aged insurance salesman who’s stuck in the 50s when everyone said “neato” and thrilled to sit-coms like “Father Knows Best.” Jerry is stubbornly clinging to his outmoded values but there is a problem — when his family can’t make the grade, he wipes them out and moves on to another town. This may sound like convoluted plotting but the story was based on the true story of John List. He murdered his family and escaped detection for 16 years using a new identity until an early episode of “America’s Most Wanted “ outed him. This is great suspense film-making which benefits from an original screenplay by suspense master Donald E. Westlake. The film has some classic scares, scenes and lines of dialogue. Check it out.

Next week look for the mega-budgeted ‘Transformers 2” and the straight-to-video chills of “Wrong Turn 3.”