There's two types of horror films (well I mean there are loads but for the sake of this sentence there are two) the relatively quiet and soft ghost story and the bleak and violent dirty horror. The sort of horror which genuinely makes you want to have a shower once you've watched it. Hellraiser is a dirty horror.
That's not to say that the film's bad however, perhaps it's a little overhyped with a strong cult status, yet Hellraiser does have a weird, peculiar charming factor. Despite being utterly filthy with dark and dingy 80's basements, with gruesome practical effects which look so unrealistic it weirdly makes the visuals more disgusting, Hellraiser actually has a quiet and childlike charm to it. The monsters of hell, one of which being the now renowned horror villain 'Pinhead', are fantastically crafted from wild imagination, similar almost to that of the monsters in Beetlejuice, which were as scary as they were odd fun to be around.I dunno, perhaps thats an oppositional reading, but I found the film to be more just gory fun than specifically scary, that said there are certainly some frightening scenes which usually come from the films excellent practical effects. Such a film is a perfect example of why practical effects should be used more widely in horrors today which sadly usually opt for CGI which looks considerably worse.
Hellraiser is a whole load of 80's fun, daft and kitsch throughout but with a constant dark and dingy streak which will keep horror fans satisfied.
7/10- Thrilling dirty horror fun.
#14- Lake Mungo (2008)
I don't mind the old mockumentary, there ok, some work some are just plain wrong, the key is to make it all seem authentic from the story to the actors who are playing 'real people'. Whilst Lake Mungo for the most part is pretty terrifying, the film goes ahead and ruins itself through one plot point, but then fixes itself again! Agh, basically Lake Mungo is really annoying, at one point it creeps under your skin the next it undoes all it's progress with a wimpy 'boo'.
The film follows the mysterious dissapearing of a teenage girl and her brothers persistent search to find out what happened to her, far more substantial than the pretentious IMDB plot suggests- 'a supernatural drama about grief. As the story commences creepy photographs and video footage emerge, which unlike much of the 'paranormal activity' footage is actually very effective in crawling under your skin. As a result you become entwined within the story as you hold your disbelief, this is all before the actors start 'acting'.As previously mentioned, in such a genre, the performances must be pretty impressive for the spectator to believe the story and whilst a few of the performances are acceptable, some are just plain shit, So this leaves Lake Mungo in a really weird space, very effective in it's scares, one especially at the end allows the film to live up to its horror name, but pretty bad in its story and performances. Ugh.
6.5/10- Really annoying, showing signs of greatness as well as puddles of rubbish.
#15- Troll 2- (1990)
So we're around the middle of October, and I thought I'd treat myself to a light hearted horror...or so I thought. I'd heard of Troll 2 as a pathetic attempt at horror and boy are the critics wrong. This is one of the scariest films i've seen since birth...golly.
Naahh, but really, Troll 2 claims to be a horror film, and frankly i was getting pretty tired of blood, guts and gore so thought I'd try something new. This film is a classic case of 'so bad it's good', a title only few films can hold (the room being a notable other) from the awful practical effects the the stinted dialogue, Troll 2 is a beautiful disaster.
Despite all this however, the sheer effort and clear large budget seen in the film gives it a real sense of joy, with a kitsch theatrical aesthetic Troll 2 is loads of fun. I think however that whilst the film is hugely entertaining alone, with the 2009 documentary about the films legacy , Best Worst Movie, does give it a whole new peculiar depth, showing us just how much effort went into the film and how it has positively affected the lives of the actors, who are now almost unknown. After watching Troll 2 again after the documentary I found it even more entertaining as inside jokes behind some lines of the film were revealed and the eccentric nature of the director becomes more visible.
As good as Troll 2 is alone, with Best Worst Movie the film becomes something more than a terrible film, it becomes something which connects to the audience as a film which tries its best to but fails to a catastrophic degree. By seeing the human side to everyone involved in the film it becomes easily charming.
5/10- So bad, it's good (but see it with the documentary too)
#16- Fright Night (1985)
Not to be confused with the classic boxing game 'Fight Night' of a very similar premise, Fright Night is a 'next-door neighbour' horror in which 'Charley' a teenage boy is living next to a vampire however no one will believe him. The whole film is about him tryna convince everyone they're real as well as stopping them in their dastardly tracks.
Fright Night is probably the best conventional vampire film I've ever seen, or at least the most entertaining, nailing the infamous abilities of the mythical monsters. A large part of the film really isn't that horrible and is more about the boys paranoia which is built up very well, fortifying the vampires bad ways as they deceive everyone around them, as well as showing the developing arc of Charleys character as he dips into insanity, He seeks help in T.V vampire hunter Peter Vincent, played excellently by Roddy McDowall, as a brilliantly fleshed out and often comical character, whom eventually is convinced to help him, whereby bloody and entertaining horror ensues.Alike Hellraiser which I watched a few days ago, this film thankfully opts for fantastic looking practical effects which truly made me feel quite icky, as appose to the pants CGI which is used in abundance today. Thus this makes the climactic battle and general shenanigans throughout feel all the more authentic and fun.
In terms of the classic monster, this is by far one of its best outings behind such classics as Dracula and Let the right one in, there's no emphasis on dark reality nor a significant young love story, Fright Night is just a classic vampire movie with awesome special effects. A real fun time.
8/10- Graphics were really bad, sucks you can't play as Mike Tyson.
#17- Planet Terror (2007)
Part of that Grindhouse double feature , which I don't really understand to be brutally honest, which saw the film being released with Tarantinos Deathproof , as part of a tribute to classic b-movie cinema.
The aesthetic of this film is bang on the money, with it's fake trailers before the film and the unexplained burning of film halfway through the movie. Also however, the director Robert Rodriguez decided to fill the film with a constant grainy quality which should work but instead, when mixed with the conventional contemporary cameras used to shoot the film it just looks out of place and is a little irritating to be honest. If you want to make a film look like its from a certain period of time, simply look at Ti Wests House of the Devil which emulates 1980's horror movies so well I genuinely had to ask Jeeves when the film was made .That said however overall the Aesthetic is very impressive and aids the film considerably when it comes to its completely over the top violence and dialogue, making it seem 'all part of the act'.Violent the film certainly is spurting blood from all angles from all forms of weaponry, and it's great fun to say the least. There's a thin line between being too gratuitously violent and being simply good fun, the key is for the film to know exactly what it is, thankfully Planet Terror knows exactly what it is and frankly doesn't give a shit about a good story, it just wants to have fun, with a lot of plot points being totally unexplained, both to the films weakness and credit.
8/10- Super gr8 fun wif ur fwends
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