Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 review by Rabid Fox

Hellbound: Hellraiser II

Story:

This film picks up right after the events in the first film. There’s a brief aside/flashback that shows us the human origin of Hellraiser’s signature monster – Pinhead – but I’ll get back to that later. The film properly opens with Kirsty (the survivor from the first film) in a psychiatric institute due to the traumas of part I which include, but are not limited to, being hit on by a salacious uncle who happens to be wearing her father’s skin, and being stalked by creatures from Hell bent on dragging her down for an eternity of sado-masochistic “delights”.

So I guess some people might not have the mental fortitude to take that in stride and carry on with their lives.

Kirsty is made to recount her tale to the police and the psychiatrists and while tales of Cenobites and puzzle boxes and the dead coming back to life don’t really mean much to the cops, the psychiatrist Dr. Channard is intrigued. Channard’s assistant Kyle is also interested in Kirsty but not because of her batshit crazy story (wink, wink). Dr. Channard takes possession of the bloody mattress found at the house from the first movie and raises the suspicions of Kyle who decides to do some snooping.

He finds in Dr. Channard’s study a whole slew of creepy items including several puzzle boxes and other paraphernalia that would indicate that even if Kirsty’s story were b.s. someone else believes in it too.

Kyle witnesses Dr. Channard offering up one of the mental patients as a sacrifice to the bloody mattress which, as it turns out, is a great portal for Julia (Kirsty’s wicked stepmother) to return from Hell.

There’s a lot of creepy eroticism between Channard and the skinless, but no-less seductive, Julia and a good montage of victims being sacrificed to bring Julia back to full form (similar to how she sacrificed people to bring Frank back in the first film).

While all this is going on, Kirsty is having visions where she thinks her father is begging for help to escape from Hell. She befriends another patient (Tiffany) who, lucky for everyone, is a puzzle-solving savant.

The Kirsty and Julia stories converge when the puzzle box is used to take us back to the magical land of Puzzle Box Hell. Julia didn’t really need to convince Channard that he wanted to visit, he was pretty much primed from the get go. And Kirsty took the opening as an excuse to try to find and rescue her father. It’s pretty much just Tiffany that has no interest in going to Hell (go figure) and just wants to sit in her semi-catatonic state and solve puzzles. Is that too much to ask for? Yep!

Now we get to see who has been manipulated this whole time and by whom:

– Channard: even though he really wanted to see what the mystery of the box was all about, he’s been offered up as a sacrifice by Julia in a move that should surprise no one.

– Kirsty: actually, sort of a surprise but a neat payoff. Turns out that lecherous old uncle Frank has been using Kirsty to try to get himself back out of the box again.

Now why all the manipulation?

Julia: in a great bit of character evolution, Julia has been transformed from lustful temptress to full-on religious zealot. She’s now a follower of Leviathan, the dark “god” at the center of Puzzle Box Hell. She’s out farming for souls and Channard is a great offering.

Frank: this is pretty much just Frank being Frank. Hell-box sucks and Frank wants out. Frank is the one-trick pony of Hellraiser.

So now we see Channard converted into Cenobite (and boy howdy does he love that new role!) and for some reason he thinks it necessary to kick the other Cenobites’ asses and assert himself as the new leader. Maybe Hell is like prison and the new guy just needs to take on the biggest guy so nobody else will fuck with him? Either way, we get Pinhead versus Channard as a nice little break from the rest of the film’s goings on.

And that gives us a chance to discuss a side item. In the first film we’re meant to think that Cenobites are a species of their own, hellspawn that have always been and always shall be. Pinhead even comments in this one that the Cenobites are some otherworldly creatures. It’s Kirsty that convinces them that they were once people and as they realize that we get to see our Cenobite pals revert (at least for now) to their previous human forms which gives everyone else a chance to run off and attend to their affairs (i.e. getting out of the box).

The end wraps up nicely, with devils getting their due and the good “guys” getting to keep their souls for now.

Random thoughts:

I love the Julia character! Her arc really continues strongly in this one and I love her line about going from wicked step mother to evil queen. Well done, ma’am.

The Channard character really deserves his trip to the box. There’s a great shot where you see his schizoid patients all bed-bound and working out all this other collected boxes. Brilliant! This guy is an evil bastard worthy of the series.

Cenobites are people… PEOPLE! I thought I would be irked by this but it’s actually not a terrible idea. I would liken it to angels; do “good” people who die become angels or just dead spirits with wings? There were angels before people so maybe there are “real” Cenobites and then these post-human entities as well. It’s a big universe so maybe they can shed some light on it one day.

I enjoyed that Tiffany and, to a lesser extent, Kirsty, actually got better after going to Hell 🙂

All in all this was a pretty good follow-up to the first film!

Rating 4 out of 5

-Rabid Fox

Second Opinion:

I had to chime in since this, like Hellraiser, is one of my favorite movies. Hellbound also does a great job through montages reminds us what we saw in the first film. Hellbound especially shows some of the best scenes from Hellraise like Julia’s husband Larry getting torn apart.

Hellbound is also extremely gory. Make sure you seen the Unrated version. The R rated version has some of the gore cut out. Two scenes in particular are Channard’s transformation into a Cenobite and Channard’s going a bad doctor on his patients in the psych ward. It’s brutal, he rips them apart, for me that is part of the terror of Hellbound. I remember as a teen, pre-CGI, cringing at some of those scenes. That was back before I was desensitized, but wow I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I first saw Hellbound. Just like I remember where and what I was doing when the first plane flew into tower 1 of the World Trade Center. Channard’s transformation branded into my longterm memory. This film had quite the impact on me back in the day. Hellraiser: Hellbound II is a nostalgic film for me. I would give Hellbound 5 stabs. I’ll acquiesce and we’ll give it a 4 stab, Highly Recommended. I would say HH2 is a MUST SEE, but chances are you already have. I hope you enjoyed Fox’s review because he brought out some fantastic plot points. This is why Hellbound is such a great squeal. It takes great elements from the first film and brings them back in a great way and further explores the story and Clive Barker’s mythology. This unfortunately is where some of the later Hellraiser sequels fall short (where Pinhead only makes cameos).

Really, if you like the Hellraiser Mythos the comics are a great place to go as well. The comic series is great. I only recently read some of them. What I saw was really cool.

-The Director.

News, upcoming reviews!

We have five upcoming reviews this week!

It’s gonna be a fun time. Five great flicks reviewed with all the funny and gory details. Served up to ya with a healthy dose of terror! 

Battle Royal review by the Director

 

What the fuck kind of school field trip is this?

In this fantasy world a fascist government deals with juvenile disobedience by passing the BR Act. 42 ninth graders are taken to a remote island where their sadistic teacher and the military force them to engage in the ‘Battle Royal’. They have 3 days to kill each other until one stands as the victor.

How the BR works:

Each student has a collar put around their neck. If they refuse to kill each other or there is no winner in three days this happens:

Asian exploding blood, awesome I know.

The kids are of course shocked and terrified but they have little choice. Forced at gun point and terrified from that little demonstration each student is given a bag containing some food and water and a weapon or some item that they may find useful. Some of the kids get a machine gun, others get a fucking useless paper fan or a frying pan, though most get something deadly including poison, a knife, sword, hand gun, sickle, as so on.

Sex:

These are minors so there is no sex or nudity. The girls are wearing semi-short skirts if you are a into statutory rape.

Gore:

Welcome to a gorehound buffet. We get a brutal death every few minutes. It never lets up and it’s explicit. Chopped off heads, multiple shootings, stabbings, and fountains of blood. You won’t be disappointed.

Even though the movie is shocking in nature, kids killing each other and over the top gore, it’s actually a really good movie. Some of the students form alliances, some commit suicide, some go Rambo, some alliances break down.

There is teen romance, there is a constant feeling of innocents coming from these kids. I found them all, though at times stereotypical, engaging. I felt bad for some and I found myself rooting for them to survive.

Two ‘transfer students’ are thrown in the mix. One is a total psychopath and elected to be a part of this BR insanity.

The other was last year’s previous winner. He has experience and seems like the obvious favorite, being older and toughened from his previous BR experience. I won’t spoil how things unfold for him.

Acting:

All the kids do a great job. I couldn’t find anything to be critical of.

The teacher oozed psychosis, well played sir, well played.

Directing:

As with nearly all Asian films I watch their is a clear feeling of perfectionism. Great attention is paid to everything so the film looks great and is comfortable to follow. Of course this flick isn’t overly predictable, you’ll just have to see what happens.

Final Grade:

This is one of the best movies I’ve ever scene. It has heart, terror, visceral gore, a great plot, and an engaging story. Sometimes the teen romance get’s a little over the top but the movie always gets quickly back to the savage battle to prevent it from being cheesy. Some of the kids back stories are hardcore. The villainous kids are scary. The story has a believable feel even though the plot is realistically ridiculous. This is a great flick you will have a fun time watching. It’s pure horror entertainment. If you haven’t seen it, get to it now!

I give it an +A

-The class Director

Haute Tension (High Tension) Aficionado Review

Friend Marie and Alex are on vacation. They arrive at Alex’s parents house to chillax. Marie, the hot chick with a boy’s hair cut, listens to music and masturbates, very nice.

A menacing truck driver killer is the movie’s psychopath. He engages in violent murders and eventually chases the young girls. The ‘high tension’ comes as the girl’s fight for their lives.

The movie doesn’t disappoint with some blood soaked gore.

A Concrete saw, one of Marie’s weapons of choice. 

There is a very whacked twist in the third act. It was our consensus that this was good and bad. We were kind of divided on the twist, some liked it, some not so much. Personally I wasn’t really engaged with Marie and Alex to care by the 60 minute mark.  Ultimately we think this is a horror film worth watching, but don’t go out of your way to see it. Over all most horror fans like it. I can’t imagine it’s anyone’s favorite or in their top 20.

If you like twists, lesbian overtones, and whacked gore including a blow job with a severed head then check it out…

-The Director

The french duo director Alexandre Aja and writer Gregory Levasseur of this flick, later brought us the awesome Hills Have Eyes remake. I highly recommend you see their revision of Hills.

Gallowwalkers (2012) review by the Rabid Fox

Let’s see if I can sum this up in a 90 seconds to help you avoid wasting 90 minutes of your precious life.

Gallowwalkers stars Wesley “Blade” Snipes in a movie that has all the ingredients of an interesting movie (supernatural western, people coming back from the dead, Wesley Snipes looking like a badass) but cooked by someone who has never stepped foot in a kitchen.

Many of the plot reveals are elements that should have been introduced much earlier (like, right away) to help better set the stage but by the time you are clued in to some of the goings on it is just too late to care. For example, it is revealed that anyone Snipes’ character kills comes back to life; the resurrected continue to rot (at least on the outside) so they have to keep getting new skins.

Unfortunately that rule only seems to apply to the bad guys.

If you’re wondering why that is don’t go looking for answers in this film. And if you want to see Snipes look and act like a badass in a supernatural film just go watch Blade.

1.5 of ouf 5

-Rabid Fox

Tales from the Hood review by Rabid Fox

Anthology of Interest* Part I: Tales from the Hood (1995)

 

*Yes, this title has been cribbed from Futurama.

The Frame: A trio of young gang members shows up at Simms Funeral Home looking for a stash of drugs. As the eccentric Mr. Simms leads the guys through the funeral home to the drug stash, he shares stories about some of his recent “guests”.

1. Rogue Cop Revelation 

A group of corrupt cops murder a local black politician/anti-corruption activist and plant drugs on the body to help discredit and tarnish the memory of the victim. A rookie black cop who was also on the scene and witnessed the brutality ends up washed out and guilt-ridden from not standing up to his colleagues. The now former cop has a vision of the victim who beckons “bring them to me.” The corrupt cops and the washed out former cop return to the victim’s grave on the anniversary of his murder. The victim emerges from the grave to take bloody revenge on the cops. This tale ends with the washed out cop in a mental ward having been blamed for the murder of the other cops.

2. Boys Do Get Bruised

A little boy named Walter shows up to school with bruises one day, blaming it on a “monster”. His concerned teacher keeps an eye on things and notices more bruises. Meanwhile, one day Walter, afraid of a class bully, stays in rather than going to the playground with the rest of the class and draws a picture of said bully; when Walter crumples up the picture the bully collapses in pain (huzzah!). After continued strange behaviors, the concerned teacher goes to Walter’s house to chat with the mom. During the visit, mom’s boyfriend comes home and loses his shit. Turns out he’s the “monster” and he starts beating up on everyone. Thankfully, mom knows about Walter’s little gift and encourages him to use it. Mr. Monster gets a portrait which gets quickly crumpled, smashed and burned by Walter. Bye bye Mr. Monster 🙂

3. KKK Comeuppance

A southern politician Duke Metger (likely fashioned after David Duke – Klan ties and all) has the ire of many local groups due to his racist history and his ballsy decision to put his office in an old slave plantation. The plantation is also home to a large portrait of a former slave (and voodoo aficionado) and her dolls. The dolls come out of the painting one by one, treating Metger’s associates (and Metger at the last) to grisly deaths.

4. Hard-core Convert

This is an interesting story about a gang banger, Crazy K, who gets shot after an altercation with some rival gang members. As the cops arrive on scene they take out all the gang members. K, however, survives the shooting only to get arrested and sentenced to life. He gets transferred to a special treatment area where the attendees put Crazy K through some intense treatments to try to elicit compassion/remorse from the killer for all his previous crimes, especially the black-on-black crimes. There’s some intense imagery and K is told that he’s no better than Klansmen or other white-on-black criminals and that the black community cannot survive if this type of crime continues. A remorseless K then finds himself back on the street right after being shot. He dies having passed up his chance at redemption.

End Frame: This is basically the cherry on top for this anthology sundae. I don’t wanna give up all the goodies for you!

Overall: I love horror anthologies! This movie’s title was clever to give a nod to other famous anthologies/series like Tales from the Darkside and Tales from the Crypt. Hood also has plenty of socially-relevant messages for the time it was made, continuing the conversation from more serious films like Do the Right Thing and Boyz n the Hood. Rod Serling, George Romero, and others have also shown that Horror is actually a great forum for social commentary even (or especially) hot topics like racism and bigotry. If you like your blood and gore to have heart/substance you certainly can’t go wrong here!

-Rabid Fox

 

American Horror Story review by Sinderella

If I had to choose my number one favorite TV show of this generation it would be hands down, without the shadow of a doubt, American Horror Story. I wrote an article about my opinion of American Horror story. But, that was how I felt about AHS compared to another show. So it wasn’t a true solo review of American Horror Story and it’s three seasons.

I recently watched all of season two and I am all caught up one season three, so now I have decided to review the show as a whole. This is on three seasons up to this point.

Season one:

Whenever a new show or movie comes out we hear things like  “original, breathtaking,” “four stars” says random critic from random source. You can’t take these things for gospel, can you?

Season one (Murder House) was something special because it actually was “original; smart and witty,” yet so much more than that.  This show went above and beyond. It was a thought provoking mystery while being horror at the same time. It had twists and turns, it made you love and hate the same character in the same episode. Not to mention it was sexy in a classy yet some how kinky way. Season one was a breath of fresh air. It had been too long since a real horror show had been so well done. I loved that I got a little piece of the haunted house’s disturbing history at the beginning of every episode. This made Murder House more interesting and much more beautiful. I love history and period pieces. There was no denying I loved this aspect of the show. For this and so many more reasons…

I give it five brain stabs 5/5

Season Two:

I binge watched this season just last week due to being unable to catch it when it was airing. I thought it was really great. I truly enjoyed it. However there was some really big aspects of Asylum that I didn’t like and understand point of them including them. The alien creatures and the human experiment subplots were weak. I don’t know what they were thinking. These subplots made the season seem messy and confusing as to what the story wanted to say. I don’t see the point of either and both felt like a waste of an idea. The Asylum, mixed with the nuns and the Satan possession was strong enough to carry the season if you ask me. The serial killing psychologist worked well, it was a nice twist, it advanced the story and answered a question we had had since the beginning about Kit’s character but the Aliens and human experiments felt out of place and honestly forced in just for the hell of it. I will say that out of the two subplots, the human experiments fit a little better with the story. Still, it was kind of stupid. The writers or producers should have used these stories on their own, in seasons to come; now both are wasted forever. I believe they were just excited at their success, being picked up for another season. Hence, they started throwing awesome ideas out there and tried to tie up loose ends later. Unfortunately it didn’t tie up very neatly. Other than that the rest of the stories were, as expected, very interesting and still better than The Walking Dead ☺

Oh, also the musical number made me laugh and filled me with great joy.

I give it a 3/5 Brain stabs

Season Three:

I watched Coven every week. In my book, it’s tied for the “best season champion” with Murder House. I love the third season. I like the witches and the voodoo priestess war. The subplots are now fitting in with the big picture (a relief after season two). This season has a girl power feel to it and it’s still smart. This makes me happy as a proud owner of lady parts. Most shows with mostly women characters are dumbed down and superficial. That’s a disgraceful portrayal of how women really work. I don’t know how the male fans feel about this season but I’d love to hear a their perspective. Another nice touch in the story is the Salem tie in. I expected that, so it was great to see it executed so well. I’m still watching this season unfold but with the way things are going I do believe I will continue to adore it. I am confident in saying…

5/5 brain stabs.

Til next time, stay haunted Ghoulies! ❤

-Sinderella

Dumplings (2004) reviewed by the Director

Dumplings, 2004

The lowdown shame:

Women will do anything to look younger, painful surgery, liposuction, implants, Botox injections, whatever. Insecurities about growing old must be a bitch. Dumplings is about trying to look young, in a stomach churning way.

Dinner is served:

Aunt Mai is 64 and looks like she is in her twenties.

She credits this magical rejuvenation to eating aborted babies.

This is a special male in the fifth month, very rare and potent!

See, in China you are only allowed one child. Most men prefer to have a boy so their family name Wong, which everyone else has, can be passed on. This results in a lot of abortions. Aunt Mai has worked out some black market deal with an abortion clinic to keep a steady supply of fetuses coming. Yum Yum, right? Aunt Mai is a weird bird. Her main customer is an aging actress named Mrs. Li. Mister Li, like all Asian men, if you watch many Asian films, is totally banging all the hot young twat he can find. He is a rich man and in Asia it’s socially acceptable to have a mistress or several I guess. Mrs Li wants her husband to be in lust with her, have her friends envy her looks again, and be over all desirable physically. I had to deduce this because she has about 25 lines in the flick. Dumplings was supposed to be an ultra disturbing gory and upsetting movie. That is what I heard. I was majorly disappointed.

Sex:

3 Sex scenes, Mr Li’s ass (yuck) boring. Thrusting and moaning, cuming and groaning. Nil female nudity.

Gore:

DIY abortions, not recommended 

Little fetuses, a placenta, some implied induced pregnancies. Not gory and not really gross.

Aunt Mai working her magic.

Directing:

Like most Asian films I’ve scene in the 2000s they are gorgeously shot and quite artistic.  It’s not great, but it looks great.

Acting:

Aunt Mai is the only interesting character. She is ultra self-confident, talking non-stop, cooking, singing, and a raging cannibal. The movie gets very tedious because of the lack of dialogue.  Mrs. Li is obsessing over the horror of cannibalism and makes  facial expressions to tell the story. It doesn’t work.

Final Thought:

This was supposed to be a shocker. The most disturbing thing about Dumplings was the amazing sound effects. Squishing aborted babies being eaten sounds, chopping, boiling, and cooking. These were the parts that were supposed to make the viewer nauseated. I was not.

Shocking! Yawn….

I was bored, waiting for something to happen, for everything to go horribly wrong. The ending is amped up a little, but it’s not by much.
I would recommend you skip this movie. There are lots of better options. Even if someone recommends it, trust me, it ain’t worth your time.

Being stabbed in the head is how I felt after viewing Dumplings. 

-Your young looking Director.

Dead Alive -Aficidados review

Before Peter Jackson directed Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit he made this gem. One of the goriest movies out there. Sometimes campy, funny, but gross as hell. An original gross out Zombie movie, with a karate fighting priest and an 18 minute lawnmower vs. zombies blood bath.
A Must See!

-Aficionados 

Cannibal (2006)-opinion by Chae

 

“An internet advertisement placed by a man with a cannibalistic obsession brings yields a willing victim to serve up his own flesh in this dramatic account of the crime that shocked the world.”-IMDB

Lots of nudity and disturbing gore.
Homosexual overtones.

-Chae