Halloween Watch-A-Thon

A young woman must once again do battle with the sadistic demons whose tore her family apart.

Hellraiser always had a sufficiently intriguing and unsettling premise for a horror movie - hedonistic humans seeking greater and greater pleasures only to suffer the ultimate in pain at the hands of the sadomasochistic "Cenobites" who treat pleasure as pain and vice versa, which ultimately ends up bleeding out into the real world and affecting innocent people. The cosmic horror elements of a hell-like dimension ruled by creatures who consider themselves far beyond human concepts of morality certainly made the original's tale of a family being torn apart by the uncle's meddling in such affairs a compelling one and a low-key favourite of mine so I was definitely interested in seeing the rest. Hellbound sees protagonist Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) being treated in a mental institution after the events of the first film - unfortunately, it turns out that the head psychiatrist (Kenneth Cranham) harbours his own obsession with the world of the Cenobites, which only escalates with the introduction of a cursed mattress and a puzzle-solving mental patient.

Hellbound makes for a decent follow-up that earns its expansion upon the original's cosmically-unknowable mythology without undermining it by giving too much away in the process. It maintains the original's uncomfortable intermingling of skin-ripping brutality with all-consuming lust while adding new elements such as a further excursion into the Cenobites' homeworld complete with an increase in scale and celluloid insanity. One can obviously question the overly familiar and problematic asylum setting (already being depicted as a hellhole full of shrieking patients and padded cells long before any supernatural shenanigans set in), but it's arguably justified by how thin the line separating the patients' mistreatment and the Cenobites' cruelty only speaks to them being less eldritch abominations than them really being far too similar to the worst of humankind (which executive producer Clive Barker arguably refined - or maybe just simplified - in Nightbreed). In the end, it's pretty solid as far as horror sequels go, though that's not exactly the highest bar to clear.

An aspiring journalist investigates a strange series of events that are connected to a sculpture of demonic origin.

Watching this back-to-back with Hellbound: Hellraiser II really underlines the paradoxical way in which the concept of Hellraiser is at once primed to support sequel after sequel and yet probably shouldn't have been allowed to progress past the second one (and maybe not even reach that far in the first place). It definitely gets more than a little silly as it transports the action from the suitably Gothic gloom of '80s London to the scuzzy mean streets of '90s New York and cranks up the absurdity to a notable level even for a franchise that had established a fondness for distorted leather-bound monsters and flesh-ripping instruments of torture. Regular antagonist Pinhead (Doug Bradley) returns in the form of a cursed statue that feeds on blood at the same time that intrepid reporter Joey (Terry Farrell) is looking to find out the truth behind a classically Hellraiser-looking death she witnesses. These threads intertwine with others - most notably involving an arrogant nightclub owner who buys the Pinhead statue, but also B-plots involving Joey dreaming of the Vietnam War and Pinhead's true soul being trapped in purgatory - and it all adds up to...something?

Hellraiser III functions best as a sort of feverish shark-jump for the franchise that fills out the gaps it tears in its own concept by borrowing from other prominent horror movies (there's an obvious Nightmare on Elm Street vibe where Pinhead rattles off overwrought one-liners and dream worlds figure into the plot). The shift in tone is reflected in everything from cinematography that alternates between garish and crusty to a soundtrack that supplants the typically ominous orchestra with a considerable number of metal and industrial songs. Of course, this signals that the movie is less about trying to create an overwhelmingly scary experience like its predecessors and more about drawing as much crazy weirdness out of the concept as possible while still creating a semi-coherent serialised narrative. As such, I think it's appreciable to a degree because there is at least some level of crazy fun to be had with the proceedings - while that only does so much to elevate this rather messy threequel from badness to campy mediocrity, something just managing that is enough.

I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.

The Craft (1996) https://letterboxd.com/smudgeefc1985/film/the-craft/


While far from being the scariest and truest horror film, this is an old favourite and a guilty pleasure I go back to over and over again. I first saw it back in high school, back when Channel 4 used to play great films late night on weekends, and everyone in school would come in on Monday morning talking about. This was one of those that was pretty much ingrained in our teenage 90s popular culture. And yes, we all at some point tried out Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board...

I think it retains popularity because there is a lot of reality and relatability in this film, the fantasy elements with the witchcraft only give us a sense of wish fulfilment. How many of us would have loved to cast a working revenge spell on a bully? Or that boy we like who's not interested be bewitched by a love spell? It is only in the second half of the film that it takes a darker turn as we see the consequences of abusing these powers. While quite a tame film in a horror sense, that scene with all the snakes and bugs still makes my skin crawl. And while all four of the lead actresses put in strong performances, it is Fairuza Balk's manic unhinged Nancy who provides much of the films darker and more memorable moments.

"We are the weirdos mister..."

Suspiria (1977) https://letterboxd.com/smudgeefc1985/film/suspiria/


This was a rewatch and Im noticing a trend when I rewatch Argento films...I absolutely fall in love with them on the first viewing, but they just dont hold up as well on a rewatch. Even one after a couple of years like this was. That isnt to say it is now rubbish, but if you asked me yesterday morning how I would rate this film, it would be a solid 9. After the rewatch, it has fallen a couple of notches.

I still enjoyed it. Probably the best Argento Ive seen (though curiously not my favourite, as Phenomena will always hold that nostaglic little place in my heart) it is slow in places, but it absolutely comes to life when the real horror starts to happen. Anytime a death or murder takes place, the film springs to life with it's performances, lighting, camera, angles, colours, music, everything. It's like the rest of the film is the dress rehearsal, then everyone gives their absolute all when it comes to the gruesome bits! These are the moments that make it. The very grisly murder of Pat Hingle in the first 20 minutes is as good as Argento gets, an absolute assault on all of your senses, reds and blues making all the more nightmarish. The later scene that takes place in the late night Berlin square is the opposite. Dark, all blacks and whites and quiet, but equally as disturbing.

I still like this film, the more mundane segments however are much more mundane second time around. Still a horror essential.

Hellbound: Hellraiser II



After surviving the traumatic events of the previous adventure, Kristy Cotton is brought to a mental institution. Wanting to save her dad still stuck in hell, Kristy tries but fails to have her voice heard, until her psychologist witnesses something so unspeakably horrible he decides to help her. But will Kristy make it out this time too?

Hellraiser II is a model example of how to do a horror sequel that feels fresh, while at the same also giving the fans what they want. Kristy goes through the portal again, but this time there's a different villain, and she has a different companion with her.

There are a lot of cool special effects, and some stunningly well-done makeup work and stop-motion animation mixed inbetween there as well. When psychologist Kyle McRae, who was previously cautiously sceptical towards Kristy's story witnesses the murder of a mentally ill man who literally has bugs crawling inside his skin, and later is devoured by someone wanting to look like a "real" human being again, you feel his fear as it looks so incredibly disgusting and realistic.

I liked Kristy and Kyle's dynamic with each other. You can tell how much Kyle cares about his girl even before he believes her, not trying to write her off as a kook unlike Dr. Philip Channard. And when he does believe her, you root for him so badly that . Another notable sidekick is Tiffany, who after a traumatic incident has refused to talk. The way she and Kristy slowly build their trust towards each other is very welldone, and Imogen Boorman does a fantastic job. Her facial expressions and body language communicate what she's thinking so effectively that you don't need her speaking many lines. And when she far into the movie says her first line of dialogue, it's funny.

The main villain this time is Julia, who comes off as possibly even more frightening than Uncle Frank. But damn, if she isn't one of the most hatable characters ever! It was to the point where every second she was onscreen at first, I was full of rage and forgot I was watching a fictional character. It's not until after a while I was able to relax more and not having to feel boiled-up all the time. Philip Channard is a great villain as well, who once he transforms becomes a truly sick force of nature. Frank for the little screentime he has is also still as creepy as he was in the original.

Now, let's talk about Kristy. After this movie I'm convinced: she's one of my favorite horror protagonists. She's fearless yet fearful at the same time, and is pushed around a ton but never ever gives up. How she remains sharp and never gets anyone overpower her makes her both likeable and cool. Clive Barker (who wrote the script) gets that his audience doesn't like being insulted, they love a character who's actually able to think and doesn't make a ton of stupid mistakes so the villain can easily slash her. The story is suspenseful enough that the script doesn't need that.
The director Tony Randel adds a bit more violence, adding to the grotesque and dark nature of this unforgivably cruel yet also weirdly alluring underworld. The environments look hauntingly beautiful.

And there's Pinhead himself, whose role is more prominent, but still only shows up when it's neccessary. Him and the other cenobites still look amazing, with tremendous makeup. Doug Bradley brings an imposing presence as Pinhead, who is not merely out to be cruel, but rather wants to show people they don't want to know what he's capable of. And even with him and the other cenobites' hideous appearance, they are really just people who ended up this way due to circumstance of somber fate. However, I do also have one small bit of criticism with his character this time: he's a bit too lenient. I think he would have posed more of a threat had he not gone "Okay, okay, I'll listen to you for a second". While he's a "fair" leader (as much as you can be there anyway), he also forgets that Kristy is incredibly smart and can outwit him if he's not careful enough. I get this is because Julia and Dr. Channard are more villains than he is, but it did strike me as odd.



Hellraiser II will make your hair rise on end. It's a good bit of fun.

Yeah, it's very close to the spirit of the original, thanks to Clive Barker handling the script. And Kirsty is just the best! She's not far off from Nancy Thompson in terms of female horror icons.

A family is beset by unexplained supernatural phenomena following the death of its grandmother.

This review contains unmarked spoilers.

There's a scene early on in Hereditary set in an English class where the teacher asks if a tragedy is more or less tragic if nothing can be done to avoid it. One student bluntly says "less". Another one not only answers "more" but elaborates on how the sadness of a tragedy is only compounded if people keep trying and failing to avoid it. The scene (and the film's most overt addressing of the idea) concludes, but not without showing how all this is lost on Peter (Alex Wolff), the unlucky chump who is about to start his own inexorable journey through hell - and he's more focused on organising a lunchtime weed session. While most of the stuff I noticed on a second viewing of Hereditary amounted to little more than picking up on bits of foreshadowing here and there, this particular moment was what stood out the most, if only because I questioned whether the film ultimately ended up taking a firm stance on this either/or question or if it left viewers to draw their own conclusions. The plot certainly weaves a sense of inevitability into its tale of Annie (Toni Collette) coming to terms with her mother's recent death and gradually realising how the lingering traumas said mother left behind can only now be read as portents of something even more nefarious than ordinary parental abuse, but whether or not that translates into a film that rewards on either a first or a second viewing is still debatable.

While it's easy enough to acknowledge the more tangibly strong elements of Hereditary - Collette's remarkably committed performance, the sparing use of conventional horror tactics in favour of delivering a slow-burn story that plays more like a standard drama about living with grief than anything else, reasonably effective deployment of said tactics - at the end I still have trouble determining whether or not these elements all build up to a satisfactory whole. This much is reflected in its nominally intense and revelatory conclusion, which ends in a manner that again brings up the question as to whether or not all the suffering and death and futile attempts to prevent this particularly terrible finale are rendered more or less tragic because of its sheer inevitability. It's easy enough to interpret what happens to Peter as an especially dark and twisted "happy" ending as the trauma and grief that has plagued the family for generations (and especially throughout the course of this film) is finally washed away, yet this does not come across as an altogether satisfying or resonant ending - the lasting impression it leaves barely goes beyond "oh, okay then". While there's something to be said for how Hereditary's fixation on various facets of death makes for fairly discomforting viewing, that's only effective up to a point and the moments where it leans into the horror side of things are just as liable to work against such discomforting thematic material as for it.

The Blackcoat's Daughter (alternatively titled February) (2015) https://letterboxd.com/smudgeefc1985...oats-daughter/


What the hell was that? A dull, needlessly twisty non-linear mess of demon possession ****, and probably the worst horror film I've seen in a long time. It was poor enough as is, by then trying to make it like some twist driven thriller just made it even worse. The story was not that complex that it needed non linear multiple stories storytelling to make it work. It just muddied the waters even further. It's an incredibly boring demon possession film, put together into a messed up package that reads like 'how to make a ****ty pretentious hipster horror film' 101. They messed it up that much that their big twisty reveal at the end was not even a twist, and wasn't even clear if it was, it just fell completely flat.

That score as well. Basically just a load of droning background noise that then rose up any time anything was about to happen, telegraphing the 'scares' so blatantly, characters might as well have shouted out a warning.

Absolutely ****ing dreadful with not a single redeeming quality.

My thoughts on Hereditary mirror Iro's pretty closely. I liked a lot about the film, but in the end, felt it sort of failed as a whole.

You're an enigma, cat_sidhe.

Seems to be low participation this year, haha.