H is an easy one for me. I knew instantly it had to be Hellraiser. I discovered Clive Barker via the Books of Blood prior to Hellraiser being filmed. As a writer, he has been a huge influence for me. He is the first writer I ever read where I saw art in the form of words printed on a page. This wasn’t just words strung together to form sentences conveying a story. There are times I stop reading and go back and reread and marvel at the exquisite way he weaves words together. Turning those words into a movie where he was the architect of the visuals put on the screen was incredible for me.
I know. This is the cover to the comic series. But it’s such a good cover, and I didn’t want to use the DVD cover. I wanted you to see something different.
Hellraiser is a franchise unparalleled in my eyes.
Nothing more needs to be said.
Ok. You didn’t really expect me to stop there, did you? A quick history lesson for those who don’t know. Clive Barker had two movies made from short stories written by him prior to the deal for Hellraiser being made. Underworld and Rawhead Rex. Being wholly unsatisfied with the resulting movies, he decided he would only do Hellraiser if he was allowed to direct it. And thank goodness for that. Interestingly, the face of the franchise, Doug Bradley, got the role of Pinhead because he lost a bet with his acting buddy. The two of them were friends with Clive and one was going to be a mover and the other not have his face shown due to makeup. Safe to say that Doug was the actual winner there.
The quick recap. There is a mythical puzzle that when solved will bring the ultimate in pleasure through pain. “Demons to some, Angels to others.” The main character, Kirsty, becomes embroiled in the affairs of the Cenobites due to her uncle’s and step mother’s machinations. But Pinhead realizes that she wasn’t the one calling to them, as she didn’t have the desires of the flesh required to satisfy the Cenobites. A relatively innocent being put into conflict with not just the Cenobites, but also the evil of Uncle Frank.
The Doug Bradley era wound up being 8 films. Followed by the two “new” Pinhead ones Revelations and Judgement. To be honest, I need to rewatch these as I wasn’t enthused with them at release. And then the really good remake in 2022 with Jamie Clayton playing a female version of Pinhead.
Everyone has thoughts and opinions on entries in the franchise. I will do a lightning round.
Hellraiser -> Amazing. This is my comfort movie (technically one of my two with the other being Jesus Christ Superstar. On the dichotomy.)
Hellbound: Hellraiser II -> Taking the story to hell was a great follow up.
Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth -> The worst part about this is that the “column” was all Art Deco as opposed to the grim visceral spinning column we had seen previously. The movie has grown on me though.
Hellraiser: Bloodline -> I love the way this gave us both history and space
Hellraiser: Inferno -> A fantastic entry as it dealt with a story that felt separate from Hellraiser but had the Cenobites lapping at the edges ready to burst in.
Hellraiser: Hellseeker -> Bringing back Kirsty in what feels in hindsight as the last decent entry
Hellraiser: Deader -> 7 & 8 were filmed back to back with Bradley being duped into filming a single movie, but his scenes being split. So the story goes. Which lead to the lack of entries after Hellworld. Nothing of note about the story itself though.
Hellraiser: Hellworld -> Forgettable at best. See Deader.
Hellraiser: Revelations -> I own this and need to watch it. I avoided it as it just didn’t look good and I lamented the recasting of Bradley.
Hellraiser: Judgement -> See Revelations
Hellraiser (2022) -> A great entry with a complete new idea of how the Lament Configuration works. I worry though that the way it works makes it almost impossible to do a follow up. I’d love to see Jamie reprise the role though.
Hellraiser: Scarlet Gospels -> This movie doesn’t exist. Bradley has said he wants to return and make this film. The story is Clive combining the Last Illusion character of Harry D’Amour with Pinhead. And it was great. I hope the studio bites on it.
I could easily do so much more on this subject, but trying not to overdo it here.
High Tension or Haute Tension as the french title would be, is not actually my subtitled entry today.
This is a fascinating movie. Alex and Marie are two young women who go to stay at Alex’s parents for a bit of a vacation. But shortly after arriving a seemingly psychotic serial killer truck driver arrives and kills her parents taking Alex hostage. Unable to stop her being taken, Marie manages to stow away on the truck to try and figure out saving her friend.
Ahhhhhh.
I really want to talk about some aspects of this, but I realize this movie may not be super well known. Go watch it. Twice. Because after you watch it you will have questions and to satisfy those you need to watch it again. And some things don’t align properly on a second viewing which is frustrating. Because it is soooo good.
The director is best known for rebooting the Hills Have Eyes. I like his style and suggest checking out more by him.
This movie is based o a manga by Hideo Yamamato, the creator of the Ichi the Killer manga.
I’m not exactly sure what to say about this movie. Not even sure it is horror. Our main character, Nokoshi, lets himself be talked into a medical procedure called trepanation. A process of drilling a hole in the head. Traditionally it was done to release evil spirits. Medically it was done to relieve pressure on the brain. In this story it is done to allow a mystical ability to see some “truth” about a person that they are suppressing for some reason. By covering his right eye, Nokoshi is able to visibly see horrific aberrations walking around seemingly disguised as people.
He realizes he can actually help people by digging into the appearance he perceives. Helping to free them from their trauma. The first person he helps is a gangster, and that is quite fascinating as we see the process. But the second person he helps is a teen girl that he rapes because her trauma is in part related to her being ashamed to be a virgin. At this point the hero of the story becomes a villain, but the story doesn’t actually acknowledge this. I can only assume that in the manga this plot element is more fully explored.
I have actually watched this several times and there are elements to it that keep bringing me back to it. Really don’t know how I feel about it, but the fact I have watched it several times is interesting. There are parts I wish were further explored. Parts that needed to be more explained. I may need to read the manga to get the answers I want.