'Probably' everything that Hellraiser ripped off

Miscellany

The Auditor - Hellraiser: Judgment (2018) vs Balberith - Clive Barker's Pinhead #3 - Speak of the Devil (February 1994)

As both wear sun glasses, they may be based on:

Butterball

Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)

Scott Derrickson's feature-length directorial debut is more like a spiritual sequel to Jacob's Ladder than a Hellraiser film.

At a murder scene, corrupt cop Joseph Thorne finds a mysterious puzzle box and after solving it, is plagued by bizarre hallucinations.

He also makes the connection between a kidnapped child and a serial killer dubbed The Engineer.

During a therapy session, Thorne's psychiatrist reveals himself as Pinhead, meaning he's been in Hell ever since solving the box.

The Engineer is the manifestation of Thorne's cruelty and child is the product of his innocence.

Please compare still to the climax of Silent Hill (1999).

The Engineer - Hellraiser¹ vs Tree Monster - Evil Dead II²

¹10 September 1987.

²13 March 1987 (America) and 26 June 1987 (UK).

Despite release dates, we'll never know which animatronic puppet was created first.

Here's a good one.

I AM IN HELL HELP ME - Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) vs daddy help me - Manhattan Baby (1982)

Both messages suddenly appear on mirrors.

Hellraiser (2022)

Riley and Matt vs Jack and Bathtub lady - The Shining (1980)

Voight vs Lillian Shepherd - Silent Hill: Homecoming (2008)

Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)

J.P. Monroe: "Jesus Christ!"

Pinhead: "Not quite."

Which is extremely similar to:

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Tina: "Please God."

Freddy: "This is God."

Camerahead's victim vs T-1000 - Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Elliot's spirit merging with Pinhead vs Split-Face - The Thing (1982)

Effect is duplicated for the Siamese Twins in Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996).

Barbie vs Female Cenobite - Spirit³ (1989)

³As stated in my previous feature, Indonesian film is an unofficial shot-for-shot remake of Hellraiser.

Totally BIZARRE.

Upon entering church, Pinhead feeds a piece of his 'body' to the Priest.

The Unholy⁴ (1988)

Titular creature does the same to Father Michael.

WOW!

⁴ntbcw 2021 film name of same name, based on James Herbert's 1983 novel Shrine.

The Whip and the Body (1963)

While not sexually explicit, Mario Bava's horror caused a stir with censors in Italy, with heavy editing rendering British and American versions incomprehensible.

Sadistic nobleman Kurt Menliff (Christopher Lee) enjoys whipping lovers, and one such lady who really enjoys pain is Nevenka Menliff (Daliah Lavi), married to Kurt's brother Christian (Luciano Stella).

After Kurt's throat is slit by a dagger, his ghost continues to satisfy her sadomasochistic desires.

Sure there's no Box or Cenobites, but...

Julia vs Nevenka

Larry⁵ vs Christian

⁵For some reason, changed from Rory.

Frank vs Kurt

Frank the Monster vs Kurt's Ghost

Taglines

It will tear your soul apart

He'll tear your soul apart.

And the final variation.

We'll tear your soul apart.

Written-for-film quote rapes Tommy (1975).

He will tear your soul apart

But I can top that.

Demon to some. Angel to others.

The final line of Dimmu Borgir's 2001 song Hybrid Stigmata - The Apostasy is "Demon to some, angel to others."

In the film:

"Explorers, in the further regions of experience. Demons to some, angels to others."

What's this?

Excalibur (1981)

Merlin: "A dream to some. A nightmare to others."

(Blushes).

Skinless corpse - Japanese B2 poster vs Flashdance (1983)

Okay then.

Jennifer Beals is cleverly parodied in a teaser for Deadpool 2 (2018).

Instead of water, merc with a mouth is showered with bullets.

Finally, it's time to expose a VERY dark secret, which I've kept for over a decade (no joke).

Poster vs Exodus: Ultima III (1983)

Ignoring humanoid figure (as opposed to winged demon), shit is a carbon copy, particularly hands cupping light.

So now you know.

One of cinema's most iconic posters is 'based' on a video game cover and I'm sure to this day, artist Denis Loubet remains totally oblivious.

If anybody seeing this magically claims credit, I'll do more than tear whoever's fucking soul apart.

The Front Room - The scoop and digest

Based on Susan Hill's 2016 short story of same name, Max and Sam Eggers write and direct their feature-length debut.

Brandy Norwood - Belinda Irwin

Andrew Burnap - Norman Irwin

Kathryn Hunter - Solange

Neal Huff - Pastor Lewis

Summary

After quitting her job, a heavily pregnant Belinda returns home to news from husband Norman that his father has just died.

At church, Belinda meets Norman's estranged and deeply religious stepmother Solange for the first time.

While there's no love lost between Norman and Solange, the couple strike a deal: accommodate her final days at home in exchange for obscene wealth.

Solange immediately claims the 'front room' and upsets Belinda with racial slurs.

One night while praying, the Holy Spirit seemingly 'possesses' Solange, inducing Belinda into labour.

When she returns with baby Laurie, Belinda is angry to discover that Solange has assumed control of the house.

Signs and wonders

Not the worst by any means, but my ass has more in common with horror than this.

I hoped Solange would become the embodiment of evil or something, but no, she's just an incontinent, unpleasant old cow, and nobody could blame Belinda for smothering her to death with a pillow.

90 minutes or so does attempt to creep us out with Belinda hallucinating Solange breastfeeding Laurie and Norman, but that's as weird as shit gets.

Venom: The Last Dance - The scoop and digest

After co-writing original and solely penning sequel, Kelly Marcel returns as writer and makes her directorial debut.

Tom Hardy - Eddie Brock/Venom

Chiwetel Ejiofor - General Rex Strickland

Juno Temple - Dr. Teddy Payne/Agony

Rhys Ifans - Martin

Stephen Graham - Patrick Mulligan/Toxin

Summary

Knull, the prime ancestor of all symbiotes and the Slicer of Worlds is imprisoned on planet Klyntar.

Venom holds the key to his freedom, so big bad sends a Xenophage to retrieve the Codex.

After their battle with Carnage, odd couple are still hiding in Mexico, as the police want to question Eddie about the apparent death of Detective Patrick Mulligan.

Beneath the site of the soon to be decommissioned Area 51, General Rex Strickland oversees the Imperium program at Area 55, which analyses symbiotes captured on Earth.

Mulligan bonds with a symbiote sample and Strickland is ordered to bring Venom down.

Basically, if Eddie or Venom die, so does the Codex.

One way or another, bromance ends.

Mid-credits

Knull vows to kill the world and burn everyone.

Post-credits

At the decimated Area 51 location, the bartender flees and a cockroach heads to a broken cannister, similar to the one Strickland used to capture a piece of Venom in Mexico.

Dark forces

Incoherent road trip was an absolute car crash and almost nothing makes sense.

So much pointless stuff happens and banality nearly gave me a headache.

In Vegas, Eddie/Venom have their 'last dance' with Mrs. Chen to a remix of Dancing Queen.

(Sigh).

Graham is spectacularly under-utilized and gives one of his worst performances.

Hardy talking to himself can be funny, but banter largely doesn't land.

The final 20 minutes is basically a generic video game boss fight, climaxing with Venom and Xenophages dissolved by an acid shower.

In New York (against Maroon 5's Memories), Eddie remembers his time with Venom.

Montage is not endearing or touching, just FUCKING CRINGING.

Although Spider-Man doesn't officially appear, Eddie briefly dangling upside down inside a warehouse was pretty cute.

The Wild Robot - The scoop and digest

Writer-director Chris Sanders adapts the first in Peter Brown's book trilogy.

Lupita Nyong'o - Roz/Rummage

Pedro Pascal - Fink

Kit Connor - Brightbill

Bill Nighy - Longneck

Stephanie Hsu - Vontra

Matt Berry - Paddler

Ving Rhames - Thunderbolt

Mark Hamill - Thorn

Catherine O'Hara - Pinktail

Summary

Lost from a container ship in a typhoon, Universal Dynamics robot Roz washes up on an island uninhabited by humans and is soon dubbed a 'monster' by local wildlife.

After fleeing a grizzly bear, Roz becomes the 'mother' of an orphaned gosling, naming her Brightbill.

Ahead of the winter migration, Roz and Fink the fox teach Brightbill how to eat, swim and fly.

Life's good, but when Universal Dynamics sends squid robot Vontra to take Roz back, things get tasty.

Kindness is a survival skill

One of the best films of 2024 warmed the cockles of my heart.

Dazzling visuals are complemented by excellent voice performances and an awesome score from Kris Bowers (his first for an animated feature).

Oh, original songs Kiss the Sky and Even When I'm Not are so uplifting.

Goddammit man - this film was awful.

(Laughs).

Thunderbolt is an original character, and the second collaboration between Rhames and Sanders since Lilo & Stitch (2002).

For the record, Vontra stands for Virtual Observational Neutralising Troublesome Retrieval Authority.

Sequel is in development and presumably will keep the same title as book The Wild Robot Escapes.

Smile 2 - The scoop and digest

Parker Finn returns as writer and director.

Naomi Scott - Skye Riley

Rosemarie DeWitt - Elizabeth Riley

Lukas Gage - Lewis Fregoli

Peter Jacobson - Morris

Ray Nicholson - Paul Hudson

Dylan Gelula - Gemma

Summary

Days after witnessing Rose Cotter's suicide and contracting the Smile curse, Joel attempts to pass it on by confronting a pair of criminals.  One is killed, but his intended witness is shot dead.  Instead, drug peddler Lewis Fregoli inherits the curse and Joel is killed by a speeding truck.

Nearly a year after surviving a car accident (which killed actor and boyfriend Paul Hudson), troubled pop superstar Skye Riley announces a comeback tour.

Secretly taking Vicodin for back pain, Skye visits Lewis for additional pills, but watches in horror as he kills himself with a weight plate.

Skye is soon terrorised by grins and hallucinations, gradually sending her batshit.

Chaos and noise

Leading lady is brilliant as tortured soul and even manages ironic humour.

Silence builds tension and jump scares are initially very effective.

At her apartment, Skye is met by her back-up dancers, who get closer and closer each time she looks away.

Principle smacks heavily of the Weeping Angels in Doctor Who.

Earlier, Skye meets ER nurse Morris, who theorizes the entity requires a living host to survive.  So to break the curse, he suggests stopping her heart and then resuscitating her.

Good luck with that mate, as a defibrillator cannot perform miracles.  Its purpose is to detect irregular heart rhythms and shock them back to normal.

Anyway, skinless creature forces its way inside Skye's body via mouth.  Now possessed, she fatally stabs herself in the eye with a microphone.

(Yawn).

Perfect Blue (1997)

Darren Aronofsky denied Black Swan (2010) was inspired by Satoshi Kon's brilliant psychological horror.

But feature presentation is arguably more of an unofficial remake.

Mima Kirigoe, a member of Japanese idol group CHAM!, retires from music to pursue acting.  When obsessive fan "Me-Mania" begins stalking her, gruesome murders take place, causing Mima to lose grip on reality.

Capping shit off, Skye is approached by Me-Mania's equivalent, a creepy dude called Alfredo.

Silent Hill 2 (2024)

Bloober Team remakes one of the greatest video games of all time.

Summary

Three years after his wife's tragic death, James Sunderland receives a mysterious letter from Mary, beckoning him to return to the dark realm of Silent Hill.

James seeks to uncover the truth, unaware that answers require the ultimate sacrifice.

Sanctuary of Memories

In my restless dreams, I never thought shit would be this impressive.

Over-the-shoulder perspective ditches classic third-person and fixed camera angles.

During combat, we can now dodge/strafe and if an enemy grabs James, mashing button pushes bastard away.

Taking cues from The Last of Us, dumpsters can be dragged and climbed on.

Objects or traversals marked with white cloth can be interacted with.

Aside from combat, melee weapons smash TV sets, storage cabinets, car windows, panes of glass etc, typically hiding health and ammo.

Enemies are more threatening and we're encouraged to take care of them more often than not.

Some puzzles have been removed altogether, but solutions to oldies have been changed to keep veterans on their toes.  Also, there's a bevvy of new head-scratchers, which can be tough.

Consulting map no longer freezes enemies, meaning we're in constant danger.  Whether that's a good thing is down to personal opinion.

Some bosses have multiple phases and go beyond a single room.  For example, Abstract Daddy chases James through a hallway.

Script is largely verbatim, with subtle alterations.

All key settings remain, with The Labyrinth boasting three new places - Rotten, Desolate and Ruined.

Akira Yamaoka composes another wicked soundtrack and hearing enemies squeal like pigs is extremely satisfying.

Endings function identically to OG:

Three in first run, another three in New Game Plus, and includes two of its own - Stillness and Bliss.

Issues

Areas can be very dark, but flashlight helps.

Combat is undeniably tighter, but still feels a bit clunky.

Angela and Eddie's faces are weird, and voice acting in general is weaker.

OG took between 6-8 hours to finish, but play time has ballooned to around 14 hours, mainly because buildings have increased in size.

Brookhaven in particular is really padded out.

Verdict 8/10

Quality has defied expectations, but the world wanted 1999 original remade instead.

Transformers One - The scoop and digest

Animated prequel is written by Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari and directed by Josh Cooley (who also voices Skywarp).

Chris Hemsworth - Orion Pax/Optimus Prime

Brian Tyree Henry - D-16/Megatron

Scarlett Johansson - Elita-1

Keegan-Michael Key - B-127/Bumblebee

Steve Buscemi - Starscream

Laurence Fishburne - Alpha Trion

Jon Hamm - Sentinel Prime

Summary

At the dawn of time, Primus sacrificed his life to protect the universe by transforming himself into the planet Cybertron.  From within its core, Primus birthed the first Transformers known as the Primes and to assist them, created a powerful entity called the Matrix of Leadership.

The planet's natural power resource Energon flowed in abundance, until the Matrix was lost, causing Energon to no longer flow.

In Iacon City, cogless bots Orion Pax and best friend D-16 dig for Energon, which following a cave-in, sees them reassigned by Darkwing to garbage incineration, where they meet B-127, aka "Bad-Ass-atron".

They find a chip containing an SOS message recorded by Alpha Trion (one of the Primes), inferring the Matrix's location.

After reaching the surface, Trion is reactivated inside a cave and reveals that Sentinel has been secretly supplying the Quintessons with Energon in exchange for him ruling Cybertron.

Trion provides the group with cogs and they head back to Iacon to expose the truth about crooked leader.

Frenemies

Just as D is about to kill Sentinel, Pax gets in the way.

D decides against rescuing Pax and let's him fall apparently to his death.

He rips Sentinel in two and replaces his cog with Sentinel's, dubbing himself Megatron.

The spirits of Primus and the Primes embue Pax with the Matrix.  Revived as Optimus Prime, he defeats and banishes Megatron from Iacon.

Subsequently, the Autobots and Decepticons are born.

Break some protocol

Jordan Knight's Bumblebee erased Michael Bay's sexualised atrocities.

But this was even better.

Stunning visuals are complemented by a great script, sharp visual gags, excellent voice performances and sensational set-pieces.

I just hope origin story is not left in limbo.