Tag: British

29 – A Puzzling Development (Hellraiser)

The man stares at you for a long time, his eyes piercing in their intensity. Then, turning his attention once more to the prone figure before him he lowers his head. A loud, sucking, squelching noise fills your ears and you see rivulets of gore flowing up and onto the man’s body, reforming sinew and tendon, muscle and fat.

The sight is appalling, a hideous un-melting of a human body but you cannot look away, transfixed like the deer in the headlights.

A bell tolls. The reforming man looks up. An eerie blue light flickers through the trees.

No! Not yet, I cannot go back. His rasping voice cries through his still lipless mouth.

Staggering to his feet the cadaver of a man looks once more in your direction before loping off into the trees away from the pulsing blue light. The bell tolls again, this time in the direction the man left, the light too shifts in pursuit.

You don’t know how much time has passed but eventually you can no longer hear the bell, or see the light. All about you those who can are standing, helping those who cannot and weeping over those who never will. You turn to Donald and find him flat on his back, eyes closed. Fearing the worst you grasp him by the shoulder and shake him. A rattling cough emerges from his dust caked mouth and rubbing his eyes he looks up at you.

What happened?

You describe to him what you saw, the explosion, the reformed man, the blue light, none of it draws any flicker of recognition from the physician.

A puzzle indeed…

Looks like I get to review another of my all time favourites, spoiler alert. A film from acclaimed British Author and Director Clive Barker, the man whom Stephen King called the future of horror. If you are aware of Barker’s work it tends to be strong on the body horror with a generous amount of perversion. His Books of Blood series of short stories are a favourite of mine, today’s film being based on one of Barker’s slightly longer tales, the novella The Hellbound Heart.

Jesus wept. It’s Clive Barker’s 1987 directorial debut, Hellraiser.

This is one of those films that’s mentioned in the same breath as…well ok maybe a couple of breaths after…the likes of Halloween, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. It’s a household name, though probably more so if we return to the 80s and 90s, and certainly here in Britain.

The plot of Hellraiser is fairly unique. A man, Frank, acquires a mysterious puzzle box. An ornately patterned cube which gives access to a hellish realm of pleasure and pain. Sometime later Frank’s brother and his family move into Frank’s now deserted house, only it isn’t really deserted and soon Frank is vying to return from his torment at the hands of those unleashed by the box, by any means necessary.

The late 80’s was a time when many of the big horror franchises were becoming a little tired or at the very least had reached their peak. A Nightmare on Elm Street had just had it’s 3rd entry and arguably it’s last great one, the entries would become sillier and sillier from here, at least until Mr Craven re-took the helm with The New Nightmare. Friday the 13th had pumped out 6 films. Halloween had taken a hiatus but was about to embark on the, unofficially named, ‘Thorn’ trilogy and it would be tough to call any of those classics, well ok, 4 maybe…maybe.

Another trend at this point was for horror films to lose a bit of that grit that we saw in the late 70s to mid 80s. Studios were trying to appeal to the widest audience possible and we had to look to new projects rather than sequels to find films which put the horror back. Hellraiser is one such film.

In a world of wisecracks and one liners Hellraiser wasn’t afraid to tear our souls apart…ok fine so that IS a one liner, but it’s badass ok!

The violence and gore, though pretty over the top at times, also feels visceral and mean. Whether it’s Rats nailed to a wall, a beating with a hammer or hooks tearing into flesh. Hellraiser does not pull any punches in this regard.

On a sidenote, I do tend to feel that British horror in general tends towards a darker, grittier tone, even when it’s being a bit sillier, it always has an edge to it. I wonder though if this is just, being British myself, that I can relate more, especially when the settings and characters are also British. Anyway I’ve typed the word British too many times now and it feels like I’m going to accidentally summon Winston Churchill or something. Back to Hellraiser.

Is Hellraiser a scary film? Disturbing, grotesque, ominous, gritty but probably not scary. The circumstances behind the situation are too specific for you to feel you’d ever be in the same boat, though to be fair that’s the case in a lot of horror films. I don’t personally find that I have any issue watching this alone at night, perhaps I’m desensitised but there’s certainly films out there that do scare me, though this isn’t one of them. You may feel differently.

The real standouts in this film for me are the creature designs. The Cenobites, the aforementioned beings unleashed by the box, are iconic. Show anybody a picture of the unofficially named ‘Pinhead’ and they will likely recognise him, but his cohorts are equally fascinating and repulsive to look at. Each is unique and each is terrifying in their own way. Unsettling is the word, much of what we see in this film is unsettling. A sticky gloss of perversion coats everything we see from this other realm and seeps onto everything it touches.

The box itself, the Lament Configuration is a masterpiece of design. The intricately embellished cube moves and reconfigures itself at the user’s touch, forming itself into different shapes in a beautifully mechanical, practical way. I even have a replica proudly displayed in my living room. It’s a beautiful piece, elegant and subtle…and hopefully inert.

The only ‘pure’ aspect of this film is Frank’s niece Kirsty, the heroine of the movie who fights against both Frank and the Cenobites. Played by Ashley Laurence she does a fine job but doesn’t stand out as overall the acting in the film is…believable I would say. If anybody is going above and beyond it’s Clare Higgins as Julia, Frank’s Sister-in-Law, one time lover and now accomplice. She switches between cold and detached to passionate yet terrified, she always seems to have an undercurrent of fear about her which puts you on edge whenever she is on screen.

Also shout out to Doug Bradley as the Lead Cenobite or Pinhead as he’s often known. A true icon of the horror scene. He doesn’t really have a lot to do in this film but what he does do is delivered with gravitas. It would have been easy for the Cenobites to come across as cheesy villains but the calm, ominous tones employed imbue them with a cold intelligence which makes them truly threatening.

If I do have anything bad to say about the film it’s probably that it all gets a but rushed and weird at the very end. A lot happens and I feel that a simpler ending, specifically cutting out the very end scene, though cool, would have suited the film better. It’s only a minor gripe though.

So as usual I’ve found myself furiously debating between 2 scores. Is it a perfect film? Well no, not perfect, but there are very few films I would describe as that. A 5 for me doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to stand out, to be that film which I point to and say “Love that film!” so with that in mind I’m giving Hellraiser 5 exposed nails out of 5. Maybe ask me on a different day and I’d give it a 4…maybe. This film was a breath of fresh yet perverse air to a genre well on it’s way to a period of toned down mass produced horror fare.

**WARNING** SPOILERS BELOW **WARNING**

Welcome to the spoiler section. This is the part where I can bring up some specific parts of the film which I’d like to talk about more, whether they be good, or bad.

I have to mention, and this is often the case for me, a part of the film which most stood out to me was something relatively minor, but oh so much more relatable. You probably know what this is already from my scoring system, but there’s a scene where Frank’s brother Larry, and some tradesmen, are moving some furniture up some stairs. We see that there’s an exposed nail sticking out of the banister, we see Larry’s hand unknowingly getting closer and closer till the nail gouges a bloody furrow into the back of his hand. It makes me wince every time! I struggle far more with something like that than hooks tearing someone to pieces.

I discussed the Cenobites earlier in the review when talking about creature design but who can forget the absolute horror that chases Kirsty down the corridor which opens in her hospital room. According to sources it’s known as The Engineer but in the film we have no idea what it is, only that we need to get the fuck away from it. It’s hard to describe but it almost looks like a dangling phallus with a creepy face, arms and a stinger like tail. I just love how disturbing it looks.

Another fantastic bit of effects work is where Frank is reforming having been revived by his brother’s blood dripping on the attic floorboards. The use of reverse photography and puppetry here is The Thing levels of practical effects, it’s an absolute masterpiece. It savours the scene as well as we slowly see Frank’s brain and bones emerge from a gooey mess to form the beginnings of a man.

Anyway, look at me chattering away, goodbye for now…

6 – Tasty Treats (Shaun of the Dead)

With Albert’s ominous warning still fresh in your mind you make your way north through the town, looking to escape the strangely deserted streets flanked by crooked buildings, the occasional twitch of a curtain catching your eye where the windows aren’t covered by shutters.

Did somebody move across the end of that alley?

Was that the sound of shuffling feet?

ICE CREAM!

The voice seems to come from directly behind you. Crying out you spin about and see a thin man with a gaunt face wearing white overalls and what appears to be a sailor hat.

Surrounding him is a gaggle of children, but surely you would have heard them, children are usually so…silent, these children are silent. They fidget and jostle one another reaching for the Ice Cream cones the man is handing them, but they don’t say a word.

One by one the children claim their treats and patter off down side streets and into doorways, soon it’s just you and the Ice Cream vendor.

Little rascals, I’ll lose a hand one of these days.

With that he turns his cart around and shuffles off. The streets are empty again.

It’s been a long time coming this review. For whatever reason I found myself procrastinating and kicking the can down the zombie infested road. I had a similar issue with Alien, I think there’s more pressure when it comes to reviewing such a well known and well regarded film.

Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead sits astride the Horror and Comedy genres and manages to be an excellent example of both. Ask anybody who watches a lot of horror to name their top 10 zombie films and Shaun of The Dead will most likely make an appearance, often near the top.

The film follows the titular Shaun as he navigates through his mundane run of the mill life, dealing with housemates, family, his love life…and zombies.

The pacing of the film, and in particular the introduction of the zombies, is brilliant. It’s gradual and subtle at first. We’ve already been shown how zombie like the human characters can be, that Shaun…well, no spoilers. If you haven’t seen this film already then you should go watch it right now. Still here? Fed up of this cliché review trope? OK, let’s continue.

The introduction of the zombies is slick, which is one of the best ways to describe Shaun of the Dead. Whether it’s the rapid cuts to staccato sound effects, or the excellent use of music, it’s lovingly crafted and really stands out in a saturated genre, be that horror or comedy, take your pick.

So it’s been established that Shaun of The Dead is a slick horror comedy, but is it scary, is it funny? I wouldn’t say it’s a scary film, but it has its moments, the threat is real, and the gore is wonderfully done, there’s a scene where a character is pulled through the window which has echoes of a similar scene in George A Romero’s Day of the Dead. The zombies look great, they’re not as grim and relentless feeling as the ones from Lucio Fulci ‘s Zombi 2 for example but they look believable, especially as newly created undead with their skin and clothes mostly intact, these are your neighbours, the people from down the road.

Another thing this film has is real emotion. Be prepared to cry in this film, it’s not all gory set pieces and comedy, it has some truly moving and upsetting scenes. This is the beauty of Shaun of The Dead, it’s just as good at making you cry as it is at making you laugh, and it’s oh so good at making you laugh!

Shaun and his interactions with his best friend Ed, more on him later, provide the bulk of the laughs but honestly the whole cast are hilarious, each in their own way. Fans of Edgar Wright’s series Spaced will feel right at home as the crude fart jokes evolve into ridiculous set pieces, though what I will say is it’s very British. I mean, I am British, so that’s fine for me but I’d be interested to know how the humour translates to non British audiences.

Ed. If I have one issue with this film, it’s that I found Ed entirely unlikable. He has his funny moments, indeed as I said it’s him and Shaun’s banter which provides the meat of the humour, but I find myself adverse to him on every watch through. So there we go, something negative, but it’s more of a personal feeling rather than an issue with the performance, in fact Nick Frost is excellent in the role. Speaking of performances Simon Pegg is at his very best in this film, the range of emotions he goes through and the seeming ease at which he portrays Shaun has you fully engaged with him throughout, you feel what he feels, good, bad and ugly.

Was there ever any doubt, not only of the rating system but of the final score, I’m going to give Shaun of The Dead 5 Cornettos out of 5. An incredible film which is a real contender for best comedy horror ever made.

**WARNING** SPOILERS BELOW **WARNING**

Welcome to the spoiler section. This is the part where I can bring up some specific parts of the film which I’d like to talk about more, whether they be good, or bad.

Let’s talk about the introduction of the zombies. I mentioned this in the spoiler free section but couldn’t go into any detail. It’s so well done. We see signs of what’s to come, a woman collapsing, a man in the park who looks like he’s about to bite into a pigeon, then as we go on, we the audience see more obvious signs whilst Shaun and Ed, drunk at this point, are oblivious to the true nature of a couple of zombies they encounter on their way home from the pub. The culmination of this is when Shaun manages to walk through mostly deserted, except for the occasional zombie, streets, buy something from the shop, leaving money for the absent owner, and walk back home without noticing the zombie apocalypse has even begun!

I mentioned moving and upsetting scenes, there are several, not many of our core group make it through the film, but the scene that hits the hardest is the death of Shaun’s mum. As a viewer we notice something isn’t quite right after her earlier off screen encounter with a zombie, she keeps holding her arm, she’s been bitten. After a tearful reveal in the Winchester, Shaun’s mum dies in his arms, and then to make things worse he has to shoot her when she rises as a Zombie. It’s devastating, and to think 5 minutes ago we were laughing as the gang fought off zombies to the sound of the jukebox blaring Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now, this film has a huge range.

There’s a moment early on in the film which I feel has affected my own life. Now bear with me. In my garden I have a rotating washing line. The central pole of this washing line slots into another pole which is cemented into the ground. I’d quite like to be able to remove the washing line from the base pole so I have a better view of the garden, but I can’t. Not because it doesn’t come out, it does, but because I know that if I do, that exposed pole is 100% going right through somebody! I’ve always found mundane deaths or injuries the worst in films, because I can see them happening! Ugh! No! It makes me cringe.

The end of the film is a nice touch. We get a happy ending…ish…maybe? I mean, it’s about as happy as it could be with the dead people and all. The zombie plague is over, Shaun and Liz are together, and Shaun still has his best friend Ed, in zombie form, chained in the shed…ok so it’s not THAT much of a happy ending.

Sorry.

No no, I’m sorry.