The unpleasant reality of today’s world is that the global economy is not so hot. This makes the selling of films problematic when countries like Greece and Italy are floundering in a state of financial distress.

The economic picture isn’t so rosy on the home front, but at least we have the American Film Market pushing all types of independent films on weary buyers from around the globe. It’s a film industry stimulus package.

The annual American Film Market (AFM) allows the global film industry to converge in the sunny seaside city of Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making on films in every stage of development and production.

The lesson of hard economic times is that the public is historically in mood for escapism, and what better way to forget your troubles than to spend a few hours at the cinema or watching the latest DVDs?

That may explain why AFM is boasting an increase of buyers and more buying companies attending, with over 440 movies from more than 30 countries being screened at local venues, including 82 world premieres.

Trends are important to the film industry, not just ones affected by demographics. Yet, the youth market must be served, which explains the popularity of the “Hunger Games” franchise that is just getting under way.

Meanwhile, we can thankfully put to rest the whole romantic vampire/werewolf fantasy nonsense of the “Twilight Saga,” which mercifully ends with “Breaking Dawn Part 2” this month.

OK, I must confess that I never once watched Kristen Stewart’s Bella Swan falling in with Robert Pattinson’s vampire Edward Cullen. If I commit to watching five film installments, it will have to be something like James Bond.

AFM seeks to fill the void for the youth market with the usual mix of B-grade horror and zombie films, along with a few teen sex comedies that seem relatively dated and quaint.

The best way to get a flavor of the schlock cinema on offer is to visit the hotel rooms and suites where the independent film companies peddle their wares like sidewalk vendors in New York’s Chinatown.

Of course, the setting is the elegant surroundings of the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, where the occasional glimpse of the majestic Pacific Ocean is a compensating factor.

The traffic in the halls and hotel rooms of the beachfront hotel seemed rather subdued this year, holding almost as much excitement as a Saturday night bingo game.

The most fun to be had is a search for the worst possible films. To that end, my first stop has to be a visit to Troma Pictures, purveyors of classic cinema like “The Toxic Avenger” and “Surf Nazis Must Die.”

Troma apparently has been resting on its laurels. Their only upcoming film is a sequel called “Return to Nuke ‘Em High,” and though it has maniacs, mutants and half-naked girls, it offers no promise of new ground in sleaze.

Just like last year, the zombie film genre remains very much alive (if that’s the way to put it) at AFM. In “A Little Bit Zombie” a mild-mannered office manager, infected by a virus, tries to keep it together so as not to incur the wrath of his bridezilla-to-be.

“101 Zombies” has a typical premise. A small southern town finds itself the center of a zombie apocalypse when tainted local moonshine half its residents into the flesh-eating undead.

The Dutch are getting into the zombie business with “Kill Zombie!,” a tale of four hung-over friends, emerging after one night in jail, to find that Amsterdam has been ravaged by a zombie outbreak.

Even the Chinese, the ones from Taiwan, are promoting what is billed as the “first genre movie combining apocalypse and zombie in Chinese film history” in a cataclysmic bloodbath called “Zombie 108.”

There are plenty of horror films, running the gamut from the “Saw” variety to the more traditional. A company called Nu Image was promoting “Texas Chainsaw 3D” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D.” They looked to be the same, so it was a bit confusing.

Nu Image was also promoting a film in development called “Before I Go to Sleep,” based on a bestseller, about a woman whose memories disappear every time she falls asleep. Produced by Ridley Scott, the film is notable because it will star Nicole Kidman.

The premise of “Falling Down,” which starred Michael Douglas as an unemployed engineer, is taken to the extreme in “Axed.” Here the guy who loses his job goes on a murderous rampage against his ex-boss and his own family.

It’s also fun to come across film titles that remind you of an entirely different film. One such film is “Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman.” The titular character is a ruthless hit-woman, who appears in the advertising dressed in a bikini and toting heavy weapons.

Destruction of the earth is also a big theme. “Independence Daysaster” coincides with the North American continent burning to rubble on the 4th of July. Giant spiders conquer the world in “Archnoquake,” and in “Ghostquake” the spirits of the dead are unleashed by a massive earthquake.

According to the Mayan calendar, our planet comes to an end in late December. “End of the World” brings about Armageddon when mysterious plasma spheres pummel the earth’s surface. Fortunately, this movie is not likely to be released in time to stoke our fears.

On a brighter note, Myriad Pictures is promoting Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley as an ordinary man who reaches his breaking point in the action-thriller “A Common Man.”

AFM is also the place where you can find the forgotten stars of the past.

For instance, Steve Guttenberg stars in a German-produced film called “Fatal Rescue.” My guess is that we’ll never see this thriller stateside.

The American Film Market is a fun place to learn about what type of films appeal to the global market.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.