A Look Back at Hellraiser (1987)

 

With the remake coming out soon, it's time once again for me to look back into the past and review the film that started it all.

Hellraiser is a 1987 British supernatural horror film, based on Clive Barker's 1986 novel, The Hellbound Heart. The movie's produced by Film Future and distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors. Hellraiser was written and directed by Clive Barker.

The story is Frank Cotton bought a mysterious puzzle box that's said to open a door to a realm of otherworldly pleasures. Once he solves it, he's welcomed by hooked chains and mysterious figures called the Cenobites. Sometime later Frank is back but he's flesh and everything else is gone, he convinces his brother's wife to lure men back into the apartment so he can be reconstruct himself. However, what Frank doesn't know is the Cenobites have cut a deal with someone to bring him back.

• Negatives

I've got nothing to say, so just move onto the next part.

• Mix

It's no surprise that people of praised the practical effects. Rightfully so too, they are truly a work of disturbing art. But I'm not here, too take a slight issue with those, my slight issue is with non-practical effects. In I want to say the last five-to-ten minutes of the movie, the non-practical effects are very bad. It's especially bad because when compare them to other effects to other 80's horror flicks, it just gets worse. But, but I willing to kind of forgive that, 1) They were working on a very limited budget, and 2) the movie makes up for this downside, with those spectacular practical effects.

• Positives

Now let's get this out of the way, the story is very common. Woman falls in love with the more dangerous and aloof guy, because the guy she's currently with just doesn't excite her. However, what really helps that element of the story isn't just the S&M aspect, but because of Clive Barker's horror element as well. So when people describe this as a twisted love story, it's very accurate.

Since I brought up the horror aspect, or this case body horror as it's classified it's time I told you about it. It's takes a lot for a horror flick to make me feel grossed out, scared, or cringe, and Hellraiser managed to do all three of those. I was scared of the Cenobites, I was grossed out by the more body horror elements, and I cringed because the effects of the hooks penetrating human flesh, looked so real, once again props to the special effects artists.

I also thought the performances were done really well too. The actors/actresses not only did a fantastic job with the horror bits, but I also thought they were really great for the more dramatic/character focused parts as well. Granted, they were a couple of times when the acting was a bit hammy, but that can be easily forgiven given everything else I saw. And do I even need to say anything regrading Doug Bradley as Pinhead? The guy just nails the role, even when you're watching an absolutely terrible excuse for a Hellraiser sequel (for any of that are fans of this franchise, you know the ones I'm talking about), he's amazing.

The last thing I'll praise is and it's something I never really thought about when watching it the first time, and that's how this also deals with being a character driven story. Sure, the blood and guts is still there, but to perfectly add in some character development, is always a welcomed surprise. Instead of this family storyline dragging the film down, it actually helps increase the film's quality.

Hellraiser is a great horror film. It's got a very common love story, but manages to make it work by adding in a twisted horror element, the body horror is excellent, the performances were also great, and the added drama/more character focus aspect was a nice touch. For a majority of the film the special effects are incredible, but those last ones aren't anything to write home too.

My final rating is Great.

So that's going to do it for me. Come back on Saturday, Oct 8th for my review of the Hellraiser remake. I'm really hoping that'll be a good one. Anyhow, enjoy the rest of your day.

The Evil Dead Review

 

Originally I was gonna review the all of the Evil Dead films when the newest movie (Evil Dead Rise) came out, but that got pushed back to April 21st, 2023. So I'd now just review these for good old fashioned Halloween season fun. And no, I won't be reviewing the Ash vs. Evil Dead tv series. I got enough of my plate as it is.

The Evil Dead is a 1981 supernatural horror film. It was produced by Renaissance Pictures and distributed by New Line Cinema. The Evil Dead was written and directed by Sam Raimi.

The story is five college kids decide to take a vacation in a small cabin in the woods. Things quickly take a turn when the five find a tape recorder that not only tells them about the Book of the Dead, but also chants an incantation. Because of this, the group is soon thrusted into a fight for survival against demonic forces.

• Negatives

I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

• Mix

The only gray point in the movie, for me anyhow, is the characters. They're not too bad. There could've been just a bit more, but there was plenty of stuff with them to make you care if they get killed or not. If anything the characterization is acceptable. Which isn't too bad, it's serviceable.

• Positives

Now let's get into the positives, one of those being Sam Raimi's directing. It's truly amazing how this was his first feature film, and yet there was none of that that give it away. His visual style is fantastic, and there are so many creepy shots. Not too mention, that even if the film had a low budget ($357,000 to be exact), Sam really did let it show too much. What I learned when doing behind the scenes research for this movie, is the cellular door and the cellular itself it actually filmed in two different locations. One in shot in Tennessee and months later they filmed the basement scenes in Michigan. And it's cut together so well, you wouldn't even notice. Again, for one of Raimi's first, it's very well put together.

Another aspect of The Evil Dead that makes it an amazing horror flick, is the pacing. The movie's only an 1hr and 25 minutes, and yet that runtime time just breezes by. I mean it too. Cause as I was watching it really didn't feel like I was sitting on my couch for an hour. It almost felt like only a few minutes went by.

What also worked for the movie was yes, the blood and gore. Not only is it used when it's needed, but it also has some range. There's your typically f*ck yeah gore, but then there were times when it was just gross. Like whenever the Deadites are killed, they gush out blood, pus, and some weird slime stuff. But the worse was the ankle stab. No seriously, that looked painful. I'm even cringing just thinking about.

Now that a got that sort of joke out of the way, another thing I loved about this flick was the makeup and special effects. Again, despite the low $370,000 budget, everything was very well done. Whether it be something practical like a Deadite getting chopped up, or something really good claymation at the end of the movie.

The last thing I'll give credit to is the suspense. Even when there's nothing violent going on, there's still plenty of creepy moments. Heck, the moment we arrive at the cabin, you already don't have a good feeling about it, whether you've seen this movie or not. Sounds also played a big factor in this as well. Especially with the Deadites. Their disturbing echoing voices were very effective, and I'm even getting a tiny bit of chill just thinking about them as I'm writing this. Sometimes even the way the camera moves gave an unsettling feeling. It's like the camera itself was an evil entity, just watching over our characters and waiting for their demises, whether that was the purpose or not.

The Evil Dead is definitely one of my many favorite horror movies. While character is just serviceable at best, the movie makes up for that with Sam Raimi's spectacular directing, top notch pacing, the perfect amount of blood and gore, nicely done makeup and special effects, and perfect suspense.

My final rating is Great.

That was a fun watch. Due come back on Thursday, Oct 6th for my A Look Back at review for 1987's Hellraiser. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Hocus Pocus 2 Review

 

Hocus Pocus 2 is a fantasy horror comedy film, and the sequel to the 1993 film. It's produced by Walt Disney Pictures and David Kirschner Productions and distributed by Disney+. Hocus Pocus 2 is written by David Kirschner, Blake Harris, and Jen D'Angelo and directed by Anne Fletcher.

The story is it's been twenty-nine years since the last movie, and Salem has been doing great. Sadly that all changes when a new group of teens accidentally bring back the evil witches, the Sanderson sisters. Now they must work together to stop the sisters before the cause chaos...once again.

Initial Reaction

I think it's pretty obvious why I was going to watch then review this. I really liked the first movie. I thought it was entertaining, and had quite the charm to it. So naturally I would want to see how the sequel would turn out.

Cons

Really the only thing that bothered was how one character was easily forgiven. Which made no sense to me. This guy tricked our main characters into resurrecting the Sanderson sisters, believed they [the Sandersons] were ahead of their time (which makes me think he deliberately ignored the child killing thing, despite basically being an expert in both the Sandersons and the supernatural in general), and because of these events, not only was Salem nearly doomed, but so was the entire world. And the only reason he helped was because his life was in danger. All of these are very unforgivable, but our heroes were like "Yeah we forgive you and your terrible actions. See ya next week."

Middle Ground

There are three decent things about Hocus Pocus 2, and one of them is the special effects. If you read my review of the first movie, then you'd know this something I also wrote about in a section similar to this but, what I said in that is in the first film effects can range from okay to really good. Here, there are still good special effects, but then you have instances where they're bad. I think there were two scenes where you can clearly tell the actors/actresses are in front of a green screen. The other decent aspect was the lighter tone. Now in the first, while it was still a family Halloween movie, there was quite a few times when things were dark. Here, while the lighter tone didn't bother me too much, there were times where I felt like "okay, this could've been a little bit darker. That could've been darker", and so forth. I wasn't begging for a flow blown horror flick, just something where the tone was much closer to the original. Then there's the post-credit scene. While I do like how it's wasn't a set up for a stupid joke like a lot of post-credit scenes seem to be nowadays, I do wonder if it entirely necessary? Because it's a good scene, but considering the ending, it almost makes me think it shouldn't be there.

Pros

There are two really good things about this film, and one was the performances from Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy. Once again their chemistry made for an entertaining experience, and that's what also made the best part of the entire film, even though the story isn't exactly the best. Then there's the humor. Much like the first, while some jokes don't work, there were quite a few times where I had a good laugh.

Hocus Pocus 2 isn't as good as the first, but I overall don't think it's horrible. There was somethings that could've been improved on such as the effects, a tone that could've been closer to the first, and the post-credit scene. What was good was the performances from Midler, Parker, and Najimy and the humor. The only thing I couldn't get behind was how one character was forgiven, despite the absolutely horrible things he did.

My final rating is Okay.

While I don't have the movie, you should just stick with the first. So, this wasn't the most horrifying way I wanted to start off my Halloween themed reviews, but luckily that's going to change. Come back on Monday, Oct 3rd for my review of Sam Raimi's 1981 horror flick, The Evil Dead. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day, and I hope you have a fun Halloween season this year.

Blonde Review

 

Blonde is a psychological drama film based on Joyce Carol Oates' 2000 novel of the same name. The film is produced by Plan B Entertainment and distributed by Netflix. Blonde is written and directed by Andrew Dominik.

The story is a little girl named Norma Jeane Mortenson had a very hard childhood. Years later she changes her name to Marilyn Monroe, and becomes the biggest star in Hollywood in the 1950s and early 60s. However, it's sadly not all glitz and glamour. Marilyn deals the struggles of love issues, abuse of power, and drug addiction in her private life.

Initial Reaction

The reason why I wanted to review this film was because 1) the trailer/marketing really seemed like this was going to be an incredible movie. Filled with great drama. 2) I just wanted to give a good old college try at reviewing an NC-17 flick.

Cons

Now I'm gonna get into some small issues with the film before I get into the big one. One of those small issues is the pacing. It started out fine at first, it was almost perfect even. But as the film kept going, the longer the movie felt. It's 2 hours and 46 minutes, but it felt like it was almost longer than that. Then there's the rating itself. It was such a big deal that this movie was rated NC-17, but after watching it, it didn't seem like it deserved that. Sure there's a lot of intense and sexual content in it, but that stuff felt like it could've also been in your typical rated R flick. Then we have the biggest problem with Blonde, and that's the way it was presented. What I mean by that is, while the movie is based on a book, the book is highly fictional, where even the writer herself [Joyce Carol Oates] has gone on record to say the book should be viewed as a work of fiction, and shouldn't be regraded as a biography. BUT THE MOVIE SURE DIDN'T FEEL LIKE THAT! Because of how the film presents itself, a majority of people felt like this was a biopic, instead of a work of fiction. Sure, we can pin point which moments were most likely fictionalized, and which are real, but because the movie itself doesn't give you more clues that the story is highly made up, a lot of people were left feeling like that watched a movie disrespecting Marilyn Monroe. Sure, she definitely had her issues, all Hollywood types do, even ones that have more of a triumphant story then a tragic one. But with this film, you're left to believe Marilyn never had one good moment of happiness, even when she was happily married to a guy she truly loved. So like I said before, instead of the movie giving us details that it isn't true, a lot of people got tricked into thinking they just watched a trashy hit piece on an iconic Hollywood star.

Middle Ground

The one gray aspect of Blonde is Andrew Dominik's directing. He did direct a nicely shot movie, even if some scenes are really hard to watch. But there quite a few decisions that I just didn't understand. Like the consist switching on going from full colored to black and white. I can't tell you just how much that got on my nerves.

Pros

Really the only great thing about this film is Ana de Armas' performance. Sure, there were a few moments where you can hear her accent, but that's easy to forgive, because her acting in this is amazing. She truly is the only good reason to watch this movie.

Blonde definitely disappointed me. It's pacing had a good start, but quickly got slow, there really wasn't a reason for the entire film to be rated NC-17, and the truly worse thing about the film is it doesn't tell you that the story is fictional, instead of historical. Andrew's directing is really good, but some of the choices he made didn't quite sit well with me. The only redeeming quality is Ana's acting.

My final rating is Bad.

So yeah, if you were looking forward to this, and wanted to watch it more on a Friday night, instead of Wednesday like I did, don't bother. Anyhow, that's going to do it for me, come back on Saturday, Oct 1st, for my review of Hocus Pocus 2. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

A Look Back at Hocus Pocus (1993)

 

Originally I was gonna review this movie much closer to the release date of the upcoming sequel, but Netflix's Blonde had to make me change some dates around. Either way, hope you like it.

Hocus Pocus is a 1993 fantasy comedy horror film. It was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures. Hocus Pocus was written by David Kirschner, Mick Garris, and Neil Cuthbert and directed by Kenny Ortega.

The story is in 1693's Salem, Massachusetts three witches called the Sanderson sisters were sentence for execution, just before their deaths one of the sisters cast a curse they'll resurrect them. 300 years later, the sisters have come back to cause havoc once again. Now it'll take a whole new group of people to stop them.

• Negatives

I've got nothing to say. So just move on to the next part.

• Mix

The only mix feeling I've got with the film is the special effects. Now I by no means think there are a lot of times when it looks bad. I think there are scenes when it goes from acceptable to really good. I truly don't think there's not a really bad effect. It just goes from decent to really good.

• Positives

One of the reasons why the film became so beloved was the design. I was amazed how much work was put into the Sanderson sisters' house. There are even times where I was surprised how some of the backgrounds are just paintings. You truly see how much work and passion was put into just the look alone in this film.

What also works for the most part in this is the humor. Sure, some of it didn't work for me, but for the most I had a lot of good laughs. In matter of fact, most of the time some of the humor doesn't come from the physical comedy, but the dialogue. I'm pretty sure everyone knows of the line "Oh, look. Another glorious morning. It makes me sick!"

Another really good thing about Hocus Pocus is it's pretty dark. The opening contains literally sucking a child's soul out, the witches being hung, and so forth. A matter of fact, the Sisters' whole plan is to kill kids. Sure Disney has had dark stuff like this before, no doubt about that, but when people think Disney, they don't think of the possibility of kids having their souls removed and then die.

Then we have the performances. More specially from Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy. When watching this, you can clearly tell those three were having the times of their lives playing these characters. They truly are the best thing about the entire film, whether their suppose to be comedic, scary, or a combination of both.

The last thing I've give praise to is how this actually a pretty good Halloween film for the entire family. Kids can enjoy the more wackier moments, while the adults can enjoy the more mature/darker stuff. And this also plays into the humor as well, because once again kids can enjoy the witches being goofs, while at the same time the adults can enjoy the jokes that are clearly gonna go over their kids' heads.

Overall, I really enjoy this movie. It has it's charm to it. But what really worked was the set designs, the humor, how it can get pretty dark, great performances from Midler, Parker, and Najimy, and how it's a perfect Halloween film for the family. Now sure I did slight criticize the special effects, but like I said, their not entire bad, it's just some a pretty good, while others are just better.

My final rating is Great.

So, that's my review. Come back on Thursday, Sept 29th, for my review of the newest Netflix film, Blonde. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Season 1) Review is Cancelled

 

Well...this really sucks.

So, yes, if any of you read my previous post, then you'd know that on this day I was gonna have a review for season one of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Well that's just not gonna happen.

Because I only discovered a day or two ago, that season two was pushed back to Jan of 2023. And you know what's funny? I didn't know about this announcement, because I was too busy watching The Bad Batch. How ironic. So with that being said, I've decided to cancel my season one review because there's no real point of posting it now, when season two won't be coming out for another four months.

Sorry I didn't announce this earlier, but like I said I only discovered this recently. But I'll tell you something. On Monday, Sept 26th I'll have a review for Hocus Pocus. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Raiders of the Lost Media - WWE Brawl

 

Man, it's been a real long time since I did one of these. Six months if you want to get specific. But anyhow, after doing a movie post with the last Raiders, I thought it'd be a good idea to go to the video game side of the entertainment industry. So, let's begin.

Part One - What is WWE Brawl?

WWE Brawl is a cancelled platform fighting game based on the professional wrestling organization, WWE. It was going to be developed by Blue Tongue Entertainment and be published by THQ for the PlayStation 3, XBox 360 and the Wii before being cancelled. Where as they previous WWE video games such as No Mercy, the SmackDown! series, and the SmackDown vs. Raw series, were aiming to be realistic and match the wrestler's personas, Brawl wanted to be base on platforming fighting games such as the Super Smash Bros. series.

Part Two - Development

Production started somewhere in 2009 after the release of WWE Legends of WrestleMania. Because of Blue Tongue Entertainment's work as been on a critical acclaimed by both WWE and THQ officials they were hired to make the game. One way they wanted to copy the previously mentioned Smash Bros. series was to have the wrestler's have much more power to them, with wrestlers such as Big Show having more "grizzly bear-like strength". 

The creators would've had the game take place in "Brawl City". One feature would've been after the wrestlers were done fighting within the various venues, said venues would've been completely destroyed. These venues also would've matched the Superstars and Divas personalities and would've benefitted them, such as a boneyard for The Undertaker. There were also going to a story, were they was some sort of conspiracy from the game's main villains those being Mr. McMahon and Edge.  The story would go through various changes with the only thing remaining the same was the wrestler's personal stories remaining the same.

WWE and THQ were very excited and enthusiastic about this. WWE were planning on expanding just beyond the game. They were going to have action figures, a clothing line, and a cartoon series most likely aimed at kids because when the game was in development, WWE already changed the ratings for their shows and pay-per-views from TV-14 to PG.

Part Four - Cancellation

Despite all of the numerous setbacks which were preventing the game from having a 2012 release date, development began to make significant progress. A matter of fact in 2012, it was estimated that there was only six months to a year of development was needed for the game to be released in 2013.

However, despite all of the good news WWE Brawl would be suddenly cancelled in 2012. WWE themselves went on record to say numerous factors caused the game to be cancelled. Reasons such as poor timing, global economic issues, and the difficulty of producing a game that may outweigh the benefits.

Part Five - A Glimmer of Hope?

Now while the game was cancelled there does seem to be a possibility that it'll happen. In August 26th, 2021, WWE trademarked four names. Those four being WWE Extreme Rules, AWA, WWE Universe, and WWE Brawl. It might be the same I've been telling you about, or it maybe something that shares the same name, but it's a different games. Either way, it's quite interesting that they felt the need to trademark the Brawl name.

Part Six - Art & Gameplay

No build of the game was ever been made public nor as anything resurfaced. They only things were have are concept art, videos showing the gameplay, and a teaser trailer.

That's going to do it for me. Due come back on Thursday, Sept 22nd for my A Look Back at review for season 1 of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.