I’ve been slowly watching my way through the Hellraiser franchise of films and for a while there it got very made-for-video and b-grade! I’m pleased to say that Hellraiser: Hellseeker was actually a very watchable film.
Despite also being made-for-video, Dean Winters (of Oz fame) gives a brilliant performance of a man trapped inside the world of the box in this offering. The film entered an almost Bergmanesque world of shifts and changes with us the viewer left constantly dazzled.
I wouldn’t say it is the best film ever made, but its certainly not the worst and if you are a fan of Hellraiser and psychological horror you will enjoy this immensely.
I watched this film again after its recent release on Blu-Ray and what I’ve been saying for a long while was certainly true: the film looks no better than it did on the screen or even on DVD. This of course is because the source material is the source material and no amount of megapixels is going to change that. Indeed often times Blu Ray films are being made from the identical masters that were used for DVD releases. Blu Ray does nothing for older films that I can see.
Having said that, the film itself still stands up to the test of time with Charles Bronson playing the depression era bare-knuckle fighter that makes his living in thirties America moving from fight to fight. He joins forces with promoter James Coburn to chase a big fight and make some real money.
A very funny film from Luc Beeson (yes a comedy film from action guru Luc Beeson!) starring Robert Deniro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones.
A mafia family are relocated to France as part of the witness protection program, but they somehow can’t quite quit their old habits. The wife blows up the local supermarket, Deniro stands over the local water authority and their teenage children run protection in the high school.
Some very funny moments ensue as they gradually adapt to the quiet country surroundings and integrate into the local community bit by bit.
I saw this film many years ago on late night TV and have always been haunted by its final scenes.
A group of Hunters go on their usual weekend hunting trip and a bullet narrowly misses them. This begins a time of mass paranoia with the men inventing various reasons for the shot that has gone astray. They know that none of them fired it, but can not bring themselves to believe it was just an accidental shot from another group of hunters.
They decide to take action against the other group deciding they shot at them on purpose and the film escalates to its climax.
You could maybe argue that this is something of an anti-gun film (in a country like America so riddled with gun violence) but I would make the argument that it is exactly the opposite. Whilst it doesn’t make the consequences of guns very attractive, it doesn’t leave us the viewer feeling other than that they should escalate things even further.
About the only remotely original idea in Wrong Turn 5: the title credits
Yet another Wrong Turn in terms of cinema, the mountain men cannibals are back this time eating their way through a music festival of young people called the “Mountain Man Festival”.
Now having been subjected to the mass traffic of young festival goers coming home on the train after the Big Day out, smoking, spitting, drinking, sleeping and vomiting, I don’t tend to think this film is too far off the mark…
But seriously just another poorly made horror film that relies on dismemberment shock, really there is no discernible difference between all five of the films , I can’t believe they are still bothering to make them. If you have seen Wrong Turn one through four, you have already seen Wrong Turn Five.
A very well made film with a cast of thousands including Tom Berenger, Martin Sheen, Stephen Lang and Richard Jordan following the American Civil War battle of (you guessed it) Gettysburg.
The version I watched came in at just under four hours and my only criticism of it overall would be that unless you are a civil war reenactment nut, a lot of the minor skirmishes and events leading up to the Gettysburg battle portrayed in the film make it rather confusing. Sure I know the basic details of the battle, but packing in every little tiny incident, as Gettysburg does, leaves you a bit lost after a few hours.
My recommendation is if you want to really enjoy this film read this link first (not after you watch the film as I did) to brush up on the history a bit.
Roger Corman has made some very offbeat films and his take on Frankenstein is no different. Corman presents the age old classic starring John Hurt in a sci Fi time travel spectacular. Also we are treated to performances from Raul Julia and a very early movie role for Bridget Fonda.
Hurt is propelled back in time during a freak time gash he has created with a laser weapon, looks like a massive vagina in the sky ala the “vagina dentatis” so popular in Sci Fi. He ends up in the 18th Century chasing Doctor Frankenstein and his monster around.
The monster of this Frankenstein is a bit of a thinker, not quite the brain-dead growler we are used to. He wants Frankenstein to make him a girlfriend (haven’t we all been there) and he’s gonna kill people until he gets her (fair enough really).
Ok its not the best monster movie ever made, but certainly worth checking out if you enjoy Roger Corman’s twisted take on the world as I do.
Ok having just reviewed Death Wish 1 please see it for commentary on the themes of the Death Wish series of films!
Death Wish 3 is perhaps more of an eighties action film than anything else, sure it follows the same revenge themes, but this time the fighting is on a much grander scale. You have whole neighborhoods and Bikie Gangs involved in really quite big melees. The ante is also upped with bigger and badder military weapons.
Also for the first time the film does not revolve around an incident of sexual violence, this time the hapless victims are a group of elderly people in a city apartment block.
If you enjoyed the series of Death Wish films you will enjoy this chapter immensely.
Its hard to look at Geoff Goldblum without expecting him to spout fly wings!
Pitched in the seventies as the film for everyone who has ever been a victim of crime (Sort of Dirty Harry without the need for a Badge), Death Wish is just as fresh, controversial and relevant today.
Ok some of it is starting to look a bit dated (Geoff Goldblum in an early role as a type of punk nasty) and the vicious rape centre-piece of the film is becoming rather politically incorrect these days (modern films tend to go more for the heavy implication then the actual showing of sexual violence…well most). However basically it still stands up as a film that asks the question, do criminals have all the rights and why can’t we just blow them away?!
Now I’m not saying I agree with these ideas, not at all, I don’t think Bronson’s avenging character is morally right at all. But then its only a film and meant to make us feel like cheering or something and this it achieves.
Nasty act then horrible revenge has been a fundamental narrative in films for decades. I don’t think this means we all agree with the vengeance or want to carry it out in real life, but it seems we are entertained by seeing such blunt justice at least in the fantasy world the screen creates. Of course we all know that the realities of life are not all so black and white (well most of us do) and that things like capital punishment are inherently flawed.
Agree with it or disagree with it, Death Wish still stands up as a brilliant Bronson film that does exactly what it set out to do, ask questions about the balance between victims rights and criminals getting fairness and justice.
The latest thriller film starring Eric Bannana (Bana) set in the UK in the aftermath of a terrorist bomb.
A very interesting movie that asks a lot of questions about government accountability which seems to quite often just get bypassed in these times of terrorism alert (Of course the UK has always been subject to Terrorism, with bombs going off in mainland Britain because of “the Irish” question for decades).
A lot of screen time was dedicated to what was obviously created CTTT footage (hence the films title) and I tend to think the director was also asking questions about the degree of scrutiny to which UK citizens are subjected in their daily lives.
The film centers around the trial of one of the suspected bombers, part of which is secret and held in a locked court, the rest which is to be held in open court. This creates issues in respect of the Justice system and the Secret service and Bana and his co-star Rebecca Hall find themselves being chased about.
there it got very made-for-video and b-grade! I’m pleased to say that Hellraiser: Hellseeker was actually a very watchable film.
