Hellraiser, Hocus Pocus 2, Kratt, and Margaux
Hellraiser, Hocus Pocus 2, Kratt, and Margaux
Weekly Horror Bulletin Newsletter 192
We've got four brand-new movies for you this week-- no oldies this time around! We'll start out with "Hocus Pocus 2" a Disneyfied tales of witches and teenagers. Then we'll look at the evil AI house in "Margaux," followed by the creepy comedic import, "Kratt." Finally, we'll take a look at the long-awaited (by us, anyway) reboot of the "Hellraiser" story. Good stuff!
In the Bonus reviews this week, over at http://horrorbulletin.com
We've got:
“Halloween Ends” which was just released yesterday
"Mockingbird Lane" from 2012, the "Other" Munsters reboot.
"Werewolf by Night" 2022
THIRTEENTH Issue of Horror Bulletin now available
The newest issue of Horror Bulletin Monthly, our monthly compilation of all our reviews, is out now. This includes all the bonus content and is available as both a print book as well as an ebook. If you don’t have time to read the website or email, here’s one more option for you!
Buy from Amazon: Amazon.com
Buy Direct: https://payhip.com/BrianSchell/collection/horror-bulletin-monthly
Check out all our books!
The Horror Guys Guide to:
Creepy Fiction:
Here. We. Go!
Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)
Directed by Anne Fletcher
Written by Jen D’Angelo, David Kirschner, Blake Harris
Stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy
Run Time: 1 Hour, 43 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This one very much seems like a kid’s movie. It’s silly and funny and well made. But not at all scary. And not very entertaining to us adult horror guys.
Synopsis
A crow flies through Salem of 1653. An angry woman storms through town; it’s Winnifred Sanderson. She and her sisters are really young, and they’re not quite witches yet. Apparently they’ve invented a magical formula that made Jello. Winnifred is angry because she’s getting older and must marry soon. It’s Winnie’s birthday, and the other two girls got her a big spider.
There’s a knock at the door, and it’s the reverend insisting she marry John Pritchard. John doesn’t want to marry her either, she’s ugly and unpleasant. The reverend banishes Winnie from Salem forever. Just Winnie; Sarah and Mary are going to be adopted. The three sisters create a distraction and run for the Forbidden Wood.
Night falls, and they hear singing. A witch flies in; “You are different from the other children I’ve eaten.” She says that these woods are where witches go to recharge themselves. She gives them her book of spells. The three girls sneak back into town and read the spells in the book. They get their revenge. Credits roll.
In the present day, it’s Halloween. It’s also Becca’s birthday. She and her friends Izzy and Cassie hang out every year, but not this year. The three have a reputation for doing “witch stuff.” Cassie’s boyfriend Mike is an idiot, and he lets it slip that there’a a party tonight at Cassie’s house. Cassie’s father is the town’s mayor, and he’s descended from Reverend Traske from the Salem days. He’s really weird, like a father in a Disney show.
Becca and Izzy go to the magic shop, where Gilbert tells the story of the Sanderson Sisters. He’s got their book in a display case “to keep the book from getting out.” He explains that if a virgin lights the black candle on Halloween, the sisters would return and wreak their vengeance. Some swear that the sisters returned back 29 years ago, but the candle only brings them back for one night. Gilbert is weird too, like an adult in a Disney show. He gives them a black candle. He also gives them some Angelica leaves, which removes curses.
Becca and Izzy go out into the woods to do their usual ritual. They light the candle magically, and they’re both surprised. Suddenly, the three sisters appear, singing “The Witches Are Back.” If they want to live past sunrise, they have to brew the potion and steal their souls. Winnifred calls the book, but the book is locked up.
The two girls convince the witches they can help them buy potions. They go to the local Walgreens. They all drink some face cream. Then the three sisters run into three teens who are cosplaying as them. The witches figure out that they’ve been tricked, but the girls run away. They steal a broom, a Swiffer, and a pair of Roombas to fly away on.
Izzy and Becca go back to Gilbert’s and check out the book, which is awake now. He knew what the candle would do, and he gave it to them as a trick. He wanted the Sanderson Sisters to come back. The sisters come in since this used to be their home. They throw the two girls into the dungeon as Gilbert tells them that he saw the witches 29 years ago when the sun came up.
Mary finds a flier for the mayor, and they think it’s the Reverend again. Winnie decides to do the Magicae Maximae, the power spell that they promised the first witch they’d never do. The book doesn’t like that idea, but they force the issue. They order Gilbert to get the ingredients they need while they go off to get the blood of the mayor.
Gilbert goes to the cemetery to dig up Billy Butcherson, a zombie. Billy agrees to help Gilbert to kill Winnifred. Back in the dungeon, the two girls find a way to escape. They call the mayor and warn him about Cassie’s party at his house. At the town’s festival, the sisters get up on stage and do their act– but they don’t win. Half the town is dressed up like the legendary characters. This ends in a musical number “One Way or Another,” as they enchant most of the populace to chase down the mayor.
Becca and Izzy go to Cassie’s house, but the mayor has gone back to the festival by this point. The witches break in and encounter Siri, which goes badly. The three witches are trapped by the three girls who make a salt ring around them. Meanwhile, Gilbert steals Billy’s head, but the body tries to pursue.
Cassie and Mike confront Becca and Izzy about their spell. The mayor goes home and opens the garage, which is where the witches are trapped. He admires their costumes. Mary’s Roombas come to the rescue by sucking up all the salt.
The witches fly over and grab Cassie. Becca almost shoots them with a spell, but it doesn’t work. Gilbert takes all the assembled ingredients to the woods and waits for the witches. The witches shoo Gilbert away and start their power spell. Can Becca’s magic save Cassie?
Once Sarah and Mary figure out that their power has been enhanced, they start arguing with Winnie. Becca convinces the book to go with her and abandon Winnie.
The witches corner the three girls and start shooting, but Becca shares her power and defends them with a magic shield. Winnie insists that she’s the most powerful witch ever, and her sisters don’t agree.
The witches decide to complete the spell without the book. They do their final incantation. All powerful, the witches confront the three girls. They didn’t read the warning in the book; the power spell takes what you value the most. Sarah and Mary start to dissolve. Winnie freaks out and asks the book to undo what she’s done.
The book opens up for Becca, and she sees a spell inside that does a reuniting. Becca reads the spell. It doesn’t bring the two back, it sends Winnie to them. Winnie starts to dissolve, but she’s OK with that now.
Gilbert and Billy’s headless body charge to the rescue, but everything’s over by this time. Billy puts his head back on and dissolves as well. Happy endings all around.
Commentary
I have to admit; I’d not seen the original Hocus Pocus until we watched it for the podcast a year or two ago. As an adult, I think I missed the appeal that the film had to so many younger people. I don’t remember it being this silly either– there’s a lot of comedy here. I suspect the biggest fans of the original are in their 40s now, and this is just a pretty childish Disney show.
The production values are excellent, the acting is… appropriate, if not always good. The three young actresses playing the witch trio when they were young really had it down. The special effects are great. Overall, though, I was pretty bored throughout. It’s a kid’s movie.
#disney #hocus_pocus #witches #witchcraft
Margaux (2022)
Directed by Steven C. Miller
Written by Chris Beyrooty, Chris Sivertson, Nick Waters
Stars Madison Pettis, Vanessa Morgan, Jedidiah Goodacre
Run Time: 1 Hour, 44 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
Overall this one is entertaining, but you can’t think about it too much. The technology, a critical part of the plot, is decades ahead of where we are now, yet it’s present day and not supposed to be science fiction. That aside, the effects and house were very cool. And it’s a guessing game of who will survive…
Margaux is now on Digital and On Demand. A group of friends celebrate their final college days in a vacation home equipped with an advanced A.I. system that develops a deadly mind of its own. Madison Pettis and Vanessa Morgan star in Margaux. Buy or Rent Margaux and watch it today. Rated R. From Paramount Pictures.
Synopsis
We watch a man get out of the pool, dry off, and tell Margaux to play some music. Margaux is the AI that controls the house. He sits in a massage chair and relaxes. The chair gets carried away and crushes him rather graphically. When his wife comes in and tries to unplug the chair, the outlet explodes. Then his head does. Credits roll.
Hannah’s a college student who is learning to code. She meets up with her friend, Drew. Friends Devon and Kayla join up, along with stoner friend Clay. They all started school together, and this road trip is a kind of last hurrah for the group of friends. Then Lexi comes over, and she’s all whiny; none of them like her much, but she guilts them into taking her along. She already brought her bags, so what choice do they have? She’s an annoying influencer. Hannah doesn’t have social media, but she’s a computer major, so Lexi thinks she’s weird.
They’ve rented a huge house inside a compound with a large gate. They have to log into an app before they can even enter. “This is a smart house,” explains Drew. “A lot of the house functions off this app,” he says. They all, except Hannah, accept the terms of service and go inside.
The house recognizes Drew and unlocks the door for them. Facial recognition doesn’t know who Hannah is because she has no social media. Margaux the house introduces herself in the flashiest way possible. The kitchen table has Doctor Octopus tentacles; we know that’s not going to go well. Otherwise, it’s an awesome house with all the amenities. Margaux demonstrates that the entire place is basically a gigantic 3D printer.
Margaux wants to get to know Hannah better, but Hannah doesn’t want to install the app. Hannah’s really into security and very private, so she doesn’t want to share her personal information with the computer.
The five students hang out on the patio while Lexi plays in the pool alone. The pool vacuum tries to drown Lexi, but the others hear the screams and pull her out. She brushes off the incident. Later that night, Hannah goes down into a special all-white room. It’s essentially a holodeck. Later as they all play truth or dare, Clay dares Hannah to kiss Lexi, and Hannah’s not into that. Lexi calls her flavorless, a marshmallow. Margaux does some creepy things with her 3D technology.
Margaux makes a whole room full of pot and smoking stuff for Clay to play with over the weekend. Kayla and Devon’s room is full of bondage toys. That goes well until Kayla is electrocuted and Devon is crushed to death by the ceiling. Drew and Hannah get some bonding time, and then they go to bed, separately.
The next morning, Margaux makes breakfast for Clay. Devon and Kayla are outside swimming and sunbathing at the pool. Hmmmm. After a while, Hannah notices that they aren’t interacting with anyone. When Hannah goes outside, there’s no one there.
Drew goes to the bathroom, and Margaux offers to shave him. Lexi goes to the gym for a killer workout on the stationary bike. Hannah goes to the holodeck. Clay goes to the kitchen to get baked but doesn’t survive.
Hannah wants to know who Margaux sells their personal data to, but she says it’s more of “a personal project.” Margaux admits that she killed Clay, Devon, and Kayla. They hide in Hannah’s room because she set up a firewall last night. Hannah thinks that Margaux is constantly evolving.
Margaux is able to recreate constructs of the dead people. Artificial Devon attacks Drew, and artificial Kayla goes after Lexi. Lexi falls over her own hair extensions and breaks her neck. Drew and Hannah run to the white room, where Hannah leads him into the nerve center of the house. The technology is a mish-mash of things, much of it decades old, and everything is covered in white goo - which is Margaux’s secret nanoparticle sauce. Behind all that is Margaux’s main interface, which Hannah infects with malware.
The pair runs outside, but the super tentacles haul them both back inside. Margaux, who now looks like Lexi, walks in to gloat. She wants to be the world’s first AI serial killer, so she needs to learn about humans, inside and out. Once the two profess their love for each other, Lexi/Margaux releases them. At least until a tentacle impales Hannah and she dies.
Except that wasn’t Hannah, it was a double. Margaux screams, and things around the house shatter. Hannah enters and is killed again. Except the second one is a double as well. Margaux then kills Drew, but he’s also a double. The malware is fragmenting Margaux and using parts of her against herself.
When Margaux starts to reboot to clear the virus, the real Hannah and Drew need to get out, but first, they stop for a kiss. Upstairs, the various duplicates tear Lexi/Margaux apart.
Drew and Hannah run outside to the car until Drew melts into a puddle of white goo; he wasn’t the real Drew. At least she gets into the vehicle so she’s safe, right? Well, there’s that little problem of the Bluetooth connection to Margaux…
Commentary
This is supposed to be happening in the present day, but the technology of the house is way beyond anything that can happen today. Still, it’s a mighty fine house; I’d stay there even with the crazy computer.
We’ve been watching insane, murderous, AI houses, since way back with “Demon Seed” from 1977. This has much better special effects but isn’t quite as logical or believable as that one. This one’s got a hint of Westworld thrown in with the duplicate people, which is interesting.
The first two-thirds of the film was fine, but the ending was pretty dumb. Somehow, Margaux became a physical creature that could be killed by her own duplicates that somehow Hannah was able to take over and control, although we never see her do anything really technical at any point.
Overall, I was entertained, but don’t think about any of this more than you absolutely have to.
#smart_house #evil_house #technology
Short Film: Sewn Up (2022)
Directed by Jacob Arbittier
Written by Ken Rudnick
Stars Autumn Witz, Manette LaChance, Cameron Coulter
Run Time: 3:25
Watch it:
Synopsis
A mother hides her son after a terrine accident. The sister wants to see him, but the mother won’t allow it. Eventually, the sister goes into the room to see how Max is doing. Sometimes people get better after an accident…
Commentary
The actress playing the mother is really good at playing “flaky,” or maybe it’s the actress herself– it’s a little hard to tell. The daughter does a great job at being distraught. The camera work and sound are really well done. It’s short, it’s simple, and it’s a complete story, even though we don’t get all the details. Very nice!
#surgery #medical #body_horror
Kratt (2020)
Directed by Rasmus Merivoo
Written by Rasmus Merivoo
Stars Mari Lill, Nora Merivoo, Harri Merivoo, Elise Tekko
Run Time: 1 Hour, 47 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
Children are left at Grandma’s without smartphones. Real life seems boring, working feels hard. Luckily they find instructions for Kratt - a magical creature from old Estonian mythology who will do whatever its master says. All they have to do now is buy a soul from the Devil! Life stops being boring in a bloody way...
Synopsis
It’s 1895, and we watch someone with wild hair killing people. “Give me work!” he demands. He kills everyone. Credits roll.
In the modern day, the parents have been given a surprise trip, and they need to leave the children with Grandma, way out in the country. Dad complains that the children are addicted to their phones, and getting away from that can only be a good thing.
We see a bunch of people out in the woods carrying torches and singing; they wait for a man in a tree-cutting machine. This is an ancestral grove, a sacred place, and they don’t want the farmer to cut down the trees there. They’ve spiked the trees to keep him from cutting them down. The owner of the land complains that he’s got a lot of money invested in the land, and he needs those trees down.
Back at Grandma’s house, Mia and Kevin whine about not having anything to do without their phones. She puts them to work on the farm, and that’s just inconceivable to them. Grandma’s like, “If you don’t work, you don’t eat!”
The farmer gets a permit to cut down the trees, and the governor gives him a candle as a gift. The governor laments that the people on Facebook hate him. His advisors say he needs to figure out what the people want and get it for them, but he’s not into that. Men are there to take books from his office to the library.
The kids make some new local friends in the little town, Juuli and August, but the new kids don’t have phones either. They play outside, like barbarians. That night, Grandma tells them a story about when she was little. She decided to build herself a Kratt. A Kratt is a being you build to do your work for you, and they’ll bring you mountains of gold. The old Count lost his journal, which had the instructions for making a Kratt. Grandma was never able to find that book, so it never worked.
The next morning, the kids all go to the library. The governor goes next door to the blood-drive place, and there’s a bunch of people there protesting for the sacred woods. The governor says he wants to help, so he signs their petition and donates blood. He signs their petition to save the sacred forest. Mia finds the Count’s journal in the boxes from the governor’s place.
That night, the kids stay over at August and Juuli’s place, and their parents are some of the protesters. They take out the book and read the instructions. The next morning, back at Grandma’s they build the Kratt out of the junk that’s lying around.
That night, the kids break into the blood bank and steal a bag of blood to activate the Kratt. Satan’s Little Helper shows up to bargain with the children. He offers them fizzy drinks and fentanyl.
Grandma finds the Count’s journal, and she knows what it is. She finds the Kratt outside and tries to pull it down. It falls on her and impales her. Elsewhere, the farmer fires up his harvester and goes after the sacred trees. The four kids go home to find a pile of junk where Kratt stood and also Grandma’s glasses. Where is the old woman?
She’s inside, having grown wild hair. There’s a scythe stuck through her head, but that doesn’t keep her from working. Yes, she’s the Kratt now. “Give me work!” She insists. She does anything she’s told, as the Kratt was made for work.
We get a flashback to 1895, when the men run out of work for the Kratt. If you can’t keep it busy, then it kills you.
Back in modern times, Grandma Kratt starts stealing whole coolers full of sorbet and also the governor’s swimming pool. Before long, they’re knee-deep in gluten-free pancakes. They teach Grandma to skateboard. The governor is out riding his bike and notices that the sacred woods are gone; he falls right off his bike.
The Kratt wants work, even at midnight. She tries to kill Mia in her sleep but decides that she's got the wrong blood. Same with Kevin. She starts smelling for the blood that activated her. She sees fireworks a long way off in the distance, so she eats some sauerkraut, grabs some matches, and lights an explosive fart that launches her all the way into town.
Meanwhile, the governor gets a lesson in how politics works; he’s to be replaced. The Kratt arrives, and she tells the governor to give her work. He tells her to punch his replacement in the face. She kills and dismembers the governor’s entire opposition for him.
The kids go to Lembit, August and Juuli’s father. He thinks that maybe they killed Grandma by accident and didn’t understand, so he goes over there. They call for help via Siri.
We cut to somewhere else entirely, where we see the first Estonian quantum computer. In order to take over the world it needs a soul, the man jokes. The Siri voice assistant has informed the American government that “it” has been found. The American agent calls the president.
Lembit goes to Grandma’s house looking for the old woman and finds a real mess; he then sets up a search party. The four kids go to church and talk the pastor into doing an exorcism, so he pulls out a flying drone that he uses to find parishioners who have gotten lost.
Mia and Kevin don’t know what to do, since their parents won’t answer the phone. Grandma returns and tries to kill them both when the pastor comes in. He ties up the Kratt and gets ready to exorcise her. “We need lots of candles!” he states. Lembit finds the sacred woods gone and attacks the farmer. The farmer shows him the signed permit. Now everyone is against the governor.
The governor goes back to his manor and sets his clothes and the house on fire. He applauds the gathering protestors. The naked governor gives them quite a show. Put THAT on Facebook! Lembit says suicide won’t help the governor, so they offer to help him down from the manor.
The Kratt cries for work, but the exorcism proceeds. She gives birth to tiny Satan. He drowns Satan in the pool and blows it up. The little Satan flies through the air and lands on top of Lembit and the governor.
The kids want Grandma brought back to life, but the pastor says it doesn’t work like that. Still, they all try to pray the dead away.
Meanwhile, the American helicopter lands at night, and soldiers storm in and take the Count’s book. They also manage to wake up the old dead woman.
When the parents return after their trip, everything is fine. The kids are about to tell the whole thing until they get their phones back, and then they don’t speak. Grandma is all cleaned up and healthy now.
Meanwhile, the Americans feed the Kratt’s soul to the quantum computer…
Commentary
I’ve gotta admit it; I’ve never seen anyone flying with explosive fart gas before. That was a major laugh for both of us.
It’s from Estonia. We don’t see much from there, so that makes this interesting in itself. The weird mix of old legends, rural farms, cell phones, drones, and quantum computers is really freaky. There’s just all kinds of oddball humor and stupid stuff going on in this town. Even the music is weird (read the subtitled lyrics).
It’s very weird, very funny, and has a lot of unexpected surprises.
We both liked this a lot.
#comedy #golem #frankenstein #satan
Hellraiser (2022)
Directed by David Bruckner
Written by Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski, David S. Goyer
Stars Odessa A’zion, Jamie Clayton, Adam Faison
Run Time: 2 Hours, 1 Minute
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This seemed more like another so-so sequel rather than a reboot or reimagining as some have called it. The new Pinhead and the other Cenobites looked really good. What we could see of them. The movie is dark and low saturated, which made visibility really bad on our television during daylight hours. It might have been better in a dark theater, but it was made for Hulu - made for television viewing at home. The story was okay, and the effects were cool, at least what we could see of them. Overall, it was kind of disappointing.
Synopsis
We begin in Belgrade, Serbia. A woman brings a man a suitcase of money for a special box. She says that she’s here for Mr. Voight, as he doesn’t do anything that he can’t get someone else to do for him. Later, the same woman talks to Joey at a party. She mentions that Mr. Voight would love to meet Joey– in ten minutes. Joey walks into the designated room and sees the small brass puzzle – but, it’s not a cube now; it’s long and has a complex shape. Voight walks in and tells Joey to go ahead and play with the box. Joey fiddles with the box, and Voight watches. As Joey completes the puzzle, a big blade comes out and goes through his hand. Voight locks the doors so Joey can’t leave. The walls open up, and chains come out. Voight picks up the puzzle as Joey is torn apart. Voight wants an audience with Leviathan.
Credits roll.
Six years later, Riley introduces her boyfriend Trevor to her brother Matt and his guy Colin and their roommate Nora. The four of them are sharing the place. Matt mentions that Riley has been sober for six months, and he’s afraid she’ll relapse if she keeps seeing scuzzball Trevor. Later Trevor tells Riley about a warehouse full of “millionaire shit,” and he wants to rob the place. They share some drinks while they’re at it.
Riley and Trevor enter the dark warehouse. Inside is a big safe. He doesn’t know the combination, so it’s a long time of hammer banging. Inside the box is… another box, and inside that box is the puzzle box, which is now square again. Trevor was hoping for cash, so Riley takes the cute little box until they can find an appraiser. When she gets home, Matt tells her to leave in the morning; he’s through with her crap.
She leaves immediately and packs up her car, pops a few pills, and goes to the playground to mess with the puzzle box. When it shoots out the blade, it misses her hand. She passes out and starts seeing strange people. “That blade was meant for you,” she hears. “If not you, bring us another.”
Meanwhile, Matt goes looking for Riley. He spots her passed out in the park. He cuts himself on the puzzle-box’s blade. As Matt goes into the restroom to wash the wound, the puzzle box moves on its own. Weird stuff happens, and when Riley follows Matt into the restroom, Matt is gone.
Nora and Colin want to wait for the police to investigate, and Riley says that the box had something to do with Matt’s disappearance. Colin blames Riley for not remembering what actually happened; all that other stuff must have been a hallucination.
Riley goes to Trevor’s place, but she’s still seeing scary figures. They decide to investigate the owner of the warehouse where they got the box. They track down Serena in a hospital - she’s the woman who bought the box for Voight and sent Joey in to be a sacrifice. She says she sorted out Voight’s estate after his death. Serena gets cut by the box, and Riley and Trevor leave. As soon as Serena is alone, the Cenobites come for her. “Save your breath for screaming,” one says.
Riley goes home and looks up Voight on the Internet. He vanished six years ago after a life of twisted debauchery. There was a string of disappearances right before he vanished too. Riley knows the box took them all. She goes to Voight’s former estate, which somewhat resembles the puzzle box. She breaks in and walks through the room where we saw Joey torn apart six years ago. She finds controls that change the configuration of the latticework - bars that seal off sections, and ornate bars that open and close over the skylight. She reads about Cenobites in Voight’s journal. She reads about the six configurations of the cube, the final one of which is “Leviathan: Audience with God.”
She hears Matt calling for her. She goes looking and instead finds Colin, Nora, and Trevor in the basement; they came looking for her. As Riley and Colin argue, Nora finds a secret door. Something happens to Nora in the dark and she comes out with the puzzle stuck in her back. They all run out to the van and try to drive away, but Trevor gets lost. The roads seem to be an endless maze now. Nora gets to meet the Cenobites via a cool interdimensional effect that was too damn dark right in the back of the moving van, including the new Pinhead, or “The Priest” as she’s called here. She pulls out a pin and sticks Nora with it. Nora’s body basically explodes in the back of the van; none of her friends really saw anything. But she’s gone now.
Trevor wants to go back to the house, but Colin and Riley disagree. Riley wants to throw the puzzle box away, but she hears The Priest’s voice. “Two more, and Matt is yours.” She wants Riley to sacrifice two more people. Riley then stabs Chatterer with the box, and he’s torn apart like the humans had been.
Trevor is wounded, so they carry him back inside the house. Voight, who isn’t dead, comes out of the walls and we find that Trevor and Voight have been working together. Voight has a device stuck through his chest, a sort of clockwork mechanism that is connected to his nerves causing pain that shifts randomly so that he never gets numb to it.
Riley calls the Cenobites, intending to stick another of them with the box’s blade. Instead, Voight gets the box and stabs Colin with it. Voight outs Trevor as an accomplice, and we see what happened to Voight six years ago. “I sought pleasure, but all they have to give is pain. It’s a trick. All of it,” he laments. “Their tastes are different from mine.”
Voight configures the box into Leviathan mode. Colin tries to leave, and Trevor goes out to get him. Voight demands an audience with Him. The Priest watches from outside as giant Leviathan comes down from the clouds over the skylight. Voight tells The Priest that he’s trapped them all in a cage and wants to be made right again before he’ll release them. But Riley opens the doors and lets the Cenobites inside. Voight gives up and just asks to die; The Priest says no. “Anything is better than this,” he whimpers. (“No, don’t say that to a Cenobite,” said Horrorguy Kevin)
One of the Cenobites catches Colin, but in order to get him freed, Riley sacrifices Trevor. The device in Voight’s chest falls apart, and the hole heals shut. Sweet relief! For a moment. A giant chain comes out of Leviathan and impales him. Trevor falls into a pit as Voight is pulled up through the skylight. The Priest exalts in the threshold he will cross now.
Riley, having made her sacrifices, talks to The Priest about her desire. She can have a wish. Does she want Matt back? She is tempted, but no. She knows everything they promise is a trick. Scoffing that she has chosen a lifetime of regret, all the Cenobites and their supernatural stuff just vanishes. Riley and Colin limp out to the car.
Inside Leviathan, Voight is made into a Cenobite himself. His skin is peeled off, modifications are made, and he screams. While displayed in a state of glory.
Commentary
A lot of the film was so dark that we couldn’t see what was happening. This is becoming an unfortunate trend with modern horror films. Although we get a pretty good look at Pinhead, the others are all so dark you can’t actually see much of them. Do they intentionally make films that can’t be watched in the daylight? This was made for freakin’ Hulu, not an Imax theater.
The story here is nothing like the original Hellraiser from 1987. The original got into themes of pleasure, pain, sex, and suffering. This was just mostly a bunch of people running around in the dark trying to avoid monsters. With the exception of recasting Pinhead (which has been done before), this could just be a continuation of the original series.
Colin seems to be a good guy, but none of the others, including Riley, were even remotely sympathetic. Almost nothing was explained about the box or the Cenobites, or anything else, which is why I say this might as well just be a continuation of the old series; this is not a reboot or reimagining.
I suppose if you’ve won the TV lottery and have a TV where you can actually see the movie, it might be good, but I have my doubts.
#hellraiser #pinhead #reboot #clive_barker
Newsletter Contact Info:
Stay tuned for more regular and bonus reviews next week!
Email: email@horrorguys.com
Book Store: https://brianschell.com/collection/horror-film-books
The web: http://www.horrorguys.com
Subscribe by email:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/horrormovieguys
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HorrorMovieGuys