Showing posts with label Demons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Demons. Show all posts
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Hellraiser - Lisa's Review
This week we're onto a movie that has been seen by pretty much every horror fan out there and some non-horror fans most probably, such is its fame. Rather than a review which would prompt a viewer to try this one, this will probably be one of opinions rather than fact.
The story follows Frank, his brother Larry, Larrys wife Julia and his daughter Kirsty. To start the story Frank buys an intriguing puzzle box. By solving the box, he appears to have been killed and some sort of door has been opened to another realm. We will visit this realm and its inhabitants several times throughout the movie.
Franks brother Larry and his wife decide to have a new start in Larry (and Franks) childhood home. Julia has had an affair with Frank so the relationship is strained. We see as the movie progresses, that Julia is obsessed with Frank and has lost her feelings for her husband. She inadvertently discovers Frank in the attic in the house when Larry cuts his hand, bleeds on the floor and appears to restore Frank to something alive. To return to his human state, he needs Julia to lure victims to him so he can extract their blood. With each victim, he becomes more and more like the old Frank Julia loves.
This is the bare bones of how the story progresses. There is obviously other things going on, but this should give you an idea of where we're at, or if you've seen the movie, should be enough of a refresher for you.
I remember watching this movie many years ago and being totally creeped out by some of the horrific things contained, especially the creatures (known as Cenobites) in another realm mentioned at the start of the review. The realm is opened by the puzzlebox and is a place of pleasure and torture. Sounds wierd, but it's true. Here we are first introduced to the iconic 'Pinhead'. I remember marvelling at him and the make-up it would have required. These days, many years on, I am still impressed at the special effects and make-up in this movie. It was ground breaking for it's time and asides from an 80's feel to the movie, it stands up as a great horror even today.
Asides from solid acting, great effects and lots of gore, there is something that makes this movie stand apart from other horrors of the time. This is the first movie (and probably still is one of the very few) that actually did freak me out. I watched a lot of horror growing up and I still do, so it's hard to disgust or frighten me. The Cenobites in this movie though, did fry my brain! They are all so utterly repulsive, I remember asking myself, what sort of warped brain even thought them up. There were never anything remotely like them in other movies. In monster movies, it's hard to do something that hasn't been seen before, but with Hellraiser, they definately managed to do this.
Also the realm in which the Cenobites live is mind boggling. There is so much going on and so much to repel and disgust, yet intrigue, you miss half of what's going on as the brain simply can't take it all in. It truely does feel like somewhere I most definately wouldn't like to find myself.
I have obviously only touched on the storyline, but as I said earlier, most people will have seen it and anyone who hasn't, doesn't need any more than I've written to decide whether or not it's for them. I stick a big fat Recommended on this one with absolutely no hesitation. Ground-breaking horror at it's best!
Saturday, 25 May 2013
Army of Darkness - Will's Review.
Army of Darkness used to be one of my favorite films; in fact, I believe I saw it before I saw the original Evil Dead movies, and was initially disappointed by them in comparison.
That said, it was the mid 90's, and I was in my mid teens; With it's ramped up action and comedy, I think that teenage boys are exactly the target audience for the 3rd Evil Dead movie... How will it fare up now, while trying to look at it through adult eyes?
Actually, pretty well!
I can't be certain that some of my fondness isn't a hang-over from earlier viewings, but I like to think that I would still have enjoyed this if watching it for the first time last night.
As much as I love it though, it's best seen as an Evil Dead spin-off, rather than a true sequel; The slapstick is turned all the way up to 11 this time, way beyond Evil Dead 2, Ash has had a personality transplant, and is now a ballsy one-liner-cracking ladies man, and the horror is non-existent... Its the kind of movie my parents would have let me watch as a kid in between Hammer films.
Transported to England in the middle ages, Ash is tasked with retrieving the Necronomicon that the locals may free the land of "deities" (who may or may not be the Candarian Demons of the first two movies), the book will also allow the town wiseman to send him home. Of course all doesn't quite go smoothly, and instead Ash frees the evil fully, allowing it to amass an army of the dead, and potentially take over the world.
Although it does have a cohesive plot, at times it still feels more like a series of sketches (at least until the deadite army is risen in full force), as ash bumble from one misadventure to the next... he's attack by a miniature army of Ash-Clones, splits into two and fight himself, gets stretched cartoon-style and so fourth. He also seems immune to serious damage; at one point his face gets melted to a hotplate (to the extent that he needs to scrape himself free with a spatula) causing one cheek to be slightly reddened for a short time!
There are two endings, depending which version you see; an upbeat one, and a downer that sees Ash screwed in a whole different way. Army Of Darkness 2 is currently in development, and will apparently kick off from the downer ending.
I'll recommend this one; but as a fun action Comedy, not as a sequel to the Evil Dead movies.
That said, it was the mid 90's, and I was in my mid teens; With it's ramped up action and comedy, I think that teenage boys are exactly the target audience for the 3rd Evil Dead movie... How will it fare up now, while trying to look at it through adult eyes?
Actually, pretty well!
I can't be certain that some of my fondness isn't a hang-over from earlier viewings, but I like to think that I would still have enjoyed this if watching it for the first time last night.
As much as I love it though, it's best seen as an Evil Dead spin-off, rather than a true sequel; The slapstick is turned all the way up to 11 this time, way beyond Evil Dead 2, Ash has had a personality transplant, and is now a ballsy one-liner-cracking ladies man, and the horror is non-existent... Its the kind of movie my parents would have let me watch as a kid in between Hammer films.
Transported to England in the middle ages, Ash is tasked with retrieving the Necronomicon that the locals may free the land of "deities" (who may or may not be the Candarian Demons of the first two movies), the book will also allow the town wiseman to send him home. Of course all doesn't quite go smoothly, and instead Ash frees the evil fully, allowing it to amass an army of the dead, and potentially take over the world.
Although it does have a cohesive plot, at times it still feels more like a series of sketches (at least until the deadite army is risen in full force), as ash bumble from one misadventure to the next... he's attack by a miniature army of Ash-Clones, splits into two and fight himself, gets stretched cartoon-style and so fourth. He also seems immune to serious damage; at one point his face gets melted to a hotplate (to the extent that he needs to scrape himself free with a spatula) causing one cheek to be slightly reddened for a short time!
There are two endings, depending which version you see; an upbeat one, and a downer that sees Ash screwed in a whole different way. Army Of Darkness 2 is currently in development, and will apparently kick off from the downer ending.
I'll recommend this one; but as a fun action Comedy, not as a sequel to the Evil Dead movies.
Saturday, 18 May 2013
Evil Dead 2 - Will's Review.
***Spoilers for the original Evil Dead***
Many people consider ED2 to be a remake of the original; I don't think that's entirely fair. It ovens with a remake of the pertinent points of the first movie (This time the croup is gone, with only Ash and his girlfriend Lynda traveling to the cabin), but by the 7 min mark, Ash is the only survivor, and an unseen force is rushing towards him - the final shot of the first movie.
For most of the rest of the first hour, Ash is more or less on his own; Bruce Campbell does some amazing slapstick work, when his hand becomes possessed and tries to kill him.
On the subject of slapstick, the humor has been cranked right up this time around, and if people think they have a favorite line from Evil Dead, you'll usually find that it's actually from the sequel.
This time, the cast is rounded out by the daughter of the cabin's owner, her husband, and a couple of local who help them find the cabin (for a price) now that the bridge is out.
The acting is good enough (save for a couple of bad screams) with only Cambell really shining; particularly in a scene where the events have taken their toll and he has an extended fit of manic laughter.
Effects wise, despite the bigger budget, there is no massive step-up in quality from the first movie, save for a couple of very Harryhauseneque stop motion bits.
All in all, if you enjoyed The Evil Dead, you should get a kick out of Evil Dead 2.
Many people consider ED2 to be a remake of the original; I don't think that's entirely fair. It ovens with a remake of the pertinent points of the first movie (This time the croup is gone, with only Ash and his girlfriend Lynda traveling to the cabin), but by the 7 min mark, Ash is the only survivor, and an unseen force is rushing towards him - the final shot of the first movie.
For most of the rest of the first hour, Ash is more or less on his own; Bruce Campbell does some amazing slapstick work, when his hand becomes possessed and tries to kill him.
On the subject of slapstick, the humor has been cranked right up this time around, and if people think they have a favorite line from Evil Dead, you'll usually find that it's actually from the sequel.
This time, the cast is rounded out by the daughter of the cabin's owner, her husband, and a couple of local who help them find the cabin (for a price) now that the bridge is out.
The acting is good enough (save for a couple of bad screams) with only Cambell really shining; particularly in a scene where the events have taken their toll and he has an extended fit of manic laughter.
Effects wise, despite the bigger budget, there is no massive step-up in quality from the first movie, save for a couple of very Harryhauseneque stop motion bits.
All in all, if you enjoyed The Evil Dead, you should get a kick out of Evil Dead 2.
Saturday, 3 November 2012
HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: Evil Dead : The Musical - Will's Review
PLEASE NOTE: This review is based on a screener copy made at the "Just for Laughs" festival a few years ago. This has never been released to the public, and the only legitimate way to see this musical is to go see it live.
Saturday, 7 January 2012
The Evil Dead - Will's Review
I've been looking forward to this one for weeks; I haven't seen it for years, but I LOVE the sequels.
As such, this is a tough one to review on it's own merits, but screw it: These "Reviews" are supposed to act as a discussion for people who have seen (or are interested in) the movies already, hence the liberal spoiler policy, so if comparisons to Evil Dead II, or Army of Darkness show up, then they do!
I will say, right off the bat, If you havn't seen the Evil Dead movies, stop reading, head over to your DVD retailer of choice and buy the trilogy, NOW, come back when you're through watching.
One thing that benefits this film enormously is the small cast - there are literally 5 people in the entire film; the nature of the titicular* 'Evil' (it possesses humans with Canderian Demons) mean that they don't even have to introduce extra characters as villains - the 5 main cast play both sides, with only a voice on a tape to provide a little exposition. Also, while the first possession happen early on, the deaths don't start to mount up until the films final act, which gives us plenty of time to get to know everyone.
Unfortunately, "everyone" includes Scotty, the groups requisite asshat - why does every horror movie group have to have one person that you just can't imagine ANYONE being friends with?
Aside from Scotty, there's Ash, Ashes sister Cheryl, ant the 2 guy's girlfriends, Lynda and Shelly. The group are headed out to a run-down cabin in the woods which they have rented cheaply. Once there, they find severel things, including handy shotguns, an old reel-to-reel tape recorder, and the Naturan Demanto (Necronomicon Ex-Mortis in the sequels), roughly translated (we are told) "The Book of the Dead" the tape turns out to be a reading of the book, which unleashes the evil into the woods (again - we are led to believe that this also happened when the tape was made) and the rest is horror movie history!
Speaking of the Sequels, The Ash we see here is a different man to the sequels' Ash; Here, he's far more sweet than the "Hail to the King" ladies man, and far less assured than the "This is my Broomstick" quoting hero we will come to love.
It's great to see physical effects done... if not actually well, then at least competently enough for a feature of this caliber; The stop motion may not put Harryhausen to shame, but they are good enough that their sheer charm carries them the extra few steps that they're intrinsic quality could not, and they are great to see.
Also - keep a look out for the Wes Craven shout-out - I think this is the first in a chain of Raimi and Craven referencing each other.
Oh, and a woman gets raped by a tree.
Body Count: 4
Boob Count: 0
Animal Body Count: 0
Most Memorable Death: Self-killing demons? That's handy!.
*Side note: Not only does Chrome's spell checker not know the word "Movie" (Which it always wants to correct as "Mo vie" but it wanted me to talk about the "Testicular 'Evil'" too...
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
As such, this is a tough one to review on it's own merits, but screw it: These "Reviews" are supposed to act as a discussion for people who have seen (or are interested in) the movies already, hence the liberal spoiler policy, so if comparisons to Evil Dead II, or Army of Darkness show up, then they do!
I will say, right off the bat, If you havn't seen the Evil Dead movies, stop reading, head over to your DVD retailer of choice and buy the trilogy, NOW, come back when you're through watching.
One thing that benefits this film enormously is the small cast - there are literally 5 people in the entire film; the nature of the titicular* 'Evil' (it possesses humans with Canderian Demons) mean that they don't even have to introduce extra characters as villains - the 5 main cast play both sides, with only a voice on a tape to provide a little exposition. Also, while the first possession happen early on, the deaths don't start to mount up until the films final act, which gives us plenty of time to get to know everyone.
Unfortunately, "everyone" includes Scotty, the groups requisite asshat - why does every horror movie group have to have one person that you just can't imagine ANYONE being friends with?
Aside from Scotty, there's Ash, Ashes sister Cheryl, ant the 2 guy's girlfriends, Lynda and Shelly. The group are headed out to a run-down cabin in the woods which they have rented cheaply. Once there, they find severel things, including handy shotguns, an old reel-to-reel tape recorder, and the Naturan Demanto (Necronomicon Ex-Mortis in the sequels), roughly translated (we are told) "The Book of the Dead" the tape turns out to be a reading of the book, which unleashes the evil into the woods (again - we are led to believe that this also happened when the tape was made) and the rest is horror movie history!
Speaking of the Sequels, The Ash we see here is a different man to the sequels' Ash; Here, he's far more sweet than the "Hail to the King" ladies man, and far less assured than the "This is my Broomstick" quoting hero we will come to love.
It's great to see physical effects done... if not actually well, then at least competently enough for a feature of this caliber; The stop motion may not put Harryhausen to shame, but they are good enough that their sheer charm carries them the extra few steps that they're intrinsic quality could not, and they are great to see.
Also - keep a look out for the Wes Craven shout-out - I think this is the first in a chain of Raimi and Craven referencing each other.
Oh, and a woman gets raped by a tree.
Body Count: 4
Boob Count: 0
Animal Body Count: 0
Most Memorable Death: Self-killing demons? That's handy!.
*Side note: Not only does Chrome's spell checker not know the word "Movie" (Which it always wants to correct as "Mo vie" but it wanted me to talk about the "Testicular 'Evil'" too...
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
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