'Probably' everything that ripped off Hellraiser

Trilogy of yesteryear opened doors to the pleasures of Heaven or Hell.

http://nukesandknives.blogspot.com/2018/02/i-have-such-sights-to-show-you.html

https://nukesandknives.blogspot.com/2020/05/demons-to-some-angels-to-others.html

http://nukesandknives.blogspot.com/2020/06/ill-tear-your-soul-apart.html

And now, the odyssey continues.

Titbits

While strongly influenced, Paul W. S. Anderson's cult 1997 hit Event Horizon is cleared of any foul play for the following reasons.

The Gravity Drive was redesigned with three interlocking rings as a tribute to the Lament Configuration and Clive Barker consulted on project during pre-production.

The Pumpkinhead series has a few interesting connections.

Andrew Robinson played Sheriff Sean Braddock in 1994 sequel Blood Wings and Doug Bradley portrays Doc Fraser in penultimate entry Ashes to Ashes (2006).

Warlock: The Armageddon (1993) vs Poster

This may be paying homage, but whatever.

Faces of Evil: Prometheus (January 2009)

Chatterer

Nemesis - Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999)

The Creature - Painted in Blood (2022)

Eligos - Ash vs. Evil Dead - S1 E3 (2015)

Shrieker (1998)

Wishmaster (1997)

Piano wire victim¹ vs Barbie - Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth

¹Cameo by director Robert Kurtzman.

Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies (1999)

Djinn reborn vs The Engineer

Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell (2001)

Djinn box vs The Box

Peter Atkins penned screenplay for Wishmaster, and previously did the same in Hellbound, Hell on Earth and Bloodline, but wasn't involved with special effects.

Hellinger (1997)

Never heard of ultra low budget effort?

Don't worry, you're not missing much.

After trusted clergyman Father Thomas Donaldson began to question his faith, he became obsessed with seeing heaven.  To fulfil his earthly desire, he made a deal with Satan, transforming him into unstoppable demon Hellinger.

Hellinger vs Pinhead

Hooks and chains

Behind you

HA HA HA!

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Yeah, I'm not joking.

The Borg were redesigned from TV series The Next Generation to seemingly appear as machines.

Or biomechanical Cenobites.

Borg Cube ship vs The Box

Borg Queen² vs Angelique³ - Bloodline

²Sexy and dangerous.

³Seductive and evil.

However, Alice Krige's villain is immediately comparable to:

Dreamer - Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth

The Box

Hellbox (2021)

Wish Upon (2017)

Silent Hill: Origins (2007)

Travis Grady pieces together the Flauros and ultimately frees Alessa's Dream.

That puzzle was such a pain in the ass.

(Laughs).

Spirit (1989)

Unofficial Indonesian remake is shot-for-shot, so here's a few 'highlights'.

The Engineer

Chatterer

Pinhead

Butterball

Female Cenobite

Miscellany

The Missionary - Silent Hill: Revelation (2012) vs CD and Chatterer

Professor Jones - Hellmaster (1992) vs Pinhead

Julie Walker - Return of the Living Dead 3

Hmmm.

The Devil's Chair (2007)

Personal best

Autopsy - Severed Survival (1989) vs Frank

Jesus wept!

Samael - Silent Hill (1999) vs Guardian - Clive Barker's Hellraiser Spring Slaughter Razing Hell, Part II: No One Ever Dies in Hell (March 1994)

In 2001, McFarlane Toys distributed the Tortured Souls series, with each action figure accompanied by a novelette, written by Barker.

Of the six available, one in particular stands out.

Amalgam Core - The Evil Within (2014) vs Agonistes

Reza Ricker - Dark Escape 4D (2012) vs The Engineer

IDENTICAL.

Death Chamber regular during gameplay.

Wrapping shit up.

Rolan's Curse 2 (1992) vs Hellraiser, Epic Comics #1 (March 1989)

As King Barius and Pinhead are so similar, it's possible that British artist John Bolton was responsible for both.

However, I'm unable to confirm.

Salem's Lot (2024) - The scoop and digest

Gary Dauberman writes and directs the first feature-length adaptation of Stephen King's 1975 novel.

Lewis Pullman - Ben Mears

Makenzie Leigh - Susan Norton

John Benjamin Hickey - Mark Petrie

Alfre Woodard - Dr. Cody

Bill Camp - Matt Burke

John Benjamin Hickey - Father Callahan

Nicholas Crovetti - Danny Glick

Spencer Treat Clark - Mike Ryerson

William Sadler - Parkins Gillespie

Summary

Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot in search of inspiration for his latest novel, only to find the town infested with vampires.

He joins an unlikely mob to fight back.

Pernicious anemia

Speaking about Warner Bros. delaying release, King is quoted as saying:

"Not like it's embarrassing, or anything."

I agree with the great man, but result is just very ordinary, favouring action over story and plot development.

Head vampire (who also talks like the book) looks decent, but fails to match his 1979 miniseries counterpart.

Tobe Hooper changed the setting of final confrontation with Barlow from Eva Miller's boarding house to the Marsten House.

Now we move to the parking lot of an outdoor movie theatre, where the infected townsfolk use trunks of cars as makeshift coffins.

Barlow stalks Mark but is surprised from behind by Ben, who drives a stake through his mouth.  He's then finished off in trademark fashion.

It's so anti-climatic.

V/H/S/Beyond - The scoop and digest

Latest effort largely focuses on extra-terrestrial activity.

Abduction/Adduction

Written and directed by Jay Cheel

Wraparound is presented as a documentary, using digitized footage from a pair of video cassettes (labelled Proof 1 and 2) purchased in 2021 by an anonymous Redditor at a flea market, supposedly containing footage of an alien encounter.

After each story, a new interlude plays.

Stork

Written by Jordan Downey and Kevin Stewart

Directed by Jordan Downey

In the early hours of 30 October 2023, a New York police unit dubbed W.A.R.D.E.N. tool up and arrive at a dilapidated house to rescue kidnapped babies.

They're attacked by zombies (called Brooders in the credits), including one wielding a chainsaw.

The rest of the team find a meteor cracked open and a Brooder with no brain.

In the attic, they find a nursery of sorts with one baby growing a beak.

'Mother' is hungry.

Dream Girl

Written by Virat Pal and Evan Dickson

Directed by Virat Pal

In Mumbai, a paparazzi pair receive a tip to obtain footage of Bollywood superstar Tara, who's rumoured to dabble in witchcraft.

Ripping her face off, robotic demon embarks on a killing spree.

Live and Let Dive

Written by Ben Turner and Justin Martinez

Directed by Justin Martinez

A group of friends are celebrating Zach's 30th birthday party via skydiving.

Their jump is interrupted by an alien jumping on the plane, causing it to collide with a UFO, sending everybody falling to an orange grove, resulting in multiple casualties.

The survivors are stalked and picked off by an insectoid alien.

Fur Babies

Written and directed by Christian and Justin Long

Becky runs daycare centre Doggy Dream House and keeps taxidermies of her dead dogs, claiming she cannot bear to bury them.

After viewing her video, members of activist group Humans Against Animal Cruelty decide to investigate the house.

Stuart and Angela are taken to the basement and led to a 'time out corner', where naughty boys and girls are kept.

Human-dog hybrids are let loose.

Stowaway

Written by Mike Flanagan and directed by Kate Siegel

In the Mojave desert, a woman called Halley grills locals about 'lights' that have apparently reappeared.

At night, Halley enters a spaceship and accidentally cuts her hand, which is healed by nanites.

But the ship is actually copying her DNA.

After being frequently battered and repaired, she mutates into a monster.

A backwards step

I enjoyed Stork (mainly because it was obviously inspired by Resident Evil) and Fur Babies was pretty out there, but the rest were fucking garbage.

Gore and kills are impressive and performances could be worse, but this is still the weakest entry since the much maligned Viral.

Joker: Folie à Deux - The scoop and digest

Todd Phillips returns as director and co-writes screenplay with Scott Silver.

Oh, subtitle is derived from a French term meaning 'madness for two'.

Joaquin Phoenix - Arthur Fleck/Joker

Lady Gaga - Harleen "Lee" Quinzel

Brendan Gleeson - Jackie Sullivan

Catherine Keener - Maryanne Stewart

Zazie Beetz - Sophie Dumond

Steve Coogan - Paddy Meyers

Harry Lawtey - Harvey Dent

Leigh Gill - Gary Puddles

Summary

Looney Tunes parody Joker in "Me and My Shadow" kicks things off.

In 1983 at Arkham Asylum, guards taunt Arthur by asking what joke he has for them today.

He later meets Lee, who burned down her parent's apartment.

They instantly click.

To cut a long story short, Arthur is considered competent to stand trial. 

Bothered and bewildered

No, just NO.

What we get is a visually beautiful 'fuck you to the fans' and I couldn't wait for poorly written, pretentious piece of shit to finish.

If the intention was to PISS everybody off, then mission accomplished.

Phoenix is good, albeit more subdued, and while Gaga can act, she's basically here to sing. 

Relentless musical routines are redundant and felt more like ad breaks.

After leaving Arkham, we endure a boring courthouse sequence for over an hour, leading to a spectacularly miserable conclusion.

Upon the jury finding Arthur guilty of first and second degree murder of Murray and Randall respectively, building is car-bombed by a supporter, killing most and scarring half of Dent's face.

Harley rejects him for renouncing his Joker persona and admits pregnancy was another lie.

Soon after, the police take Arthur back to Arkham.

An inmate begins telling Arthur a joke about a clown and a psychopath in a bar before repeatedly stabbing him in the stomach.

As Arthur bleeds to death, the patient laughs and carves a smile into his face as That's Life plays.

Original made a billion at the box office and the sequel nobody asked for has flopped like a jelly on a wet mattress.

You could say Warner Bros. got what they fucking deserved.

Apartment 7A - The scoop and digest

Natalie Erika James directs and co-writes the prequel to Rosemary's Baby with Christian White and Skylar James.

Julia Garner - Terry Gionoffrio

Dianne Wiest - Minnie Castevet

Kevin McNally - Roman Castevet

Jim Sturgess - Alan Marchand

Marli Siu - Annie

Tina Gray - Lily Gardenia

Summary

New York City, 1965.

Aspiring dancer Theresa "Terry" Gionoffrio breaks her ankle when a jeté goes wrong.

Four months later, she auditions for Broadway musical The Pale Crook and arranges to meet producer Alan Marchand at the Bramford apartment building, but collapses on the sidewalk due to pill abuse.

Rich married couple Minnie and Roman Castevet (who live at 7A) let her stay rent free in 7G.

Over time, Terry gets conveniently 'ill', and has trippy nightmares involving a bejeweled demon.

At a Christmas party, the Castevets give Terry a mysterious locket and she suddenly becomes pregnant.

Could the bun she's cooking in her oven be Satan?

The girl who fell

Aside from giving minor character her own film, (less husband), this basically remakes the original, begging the question - what's the fucking point?

Trapped in 7A with the coven, Terry literally has her last dance, against The Ronettes' Be My Baby.

Presumably a few minutes after Terry jumps from a window, the Castevets come home and witness a couple giving a statement to the police, who are clearly Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse.

So we're supposed to believe that after Terry's suicide, Minnie and Roman left the building, went for a walk and came home again, all before the police arrived?

BULLSHIT!

Also, prequel ends about 15 real-time minutes AFTER original begins, when Rosemary and Guy meet the Castevets.

Err, okay.

Never Let Go (2024) - The scoop and digest

Alexandre Aja's supernatural horror (ntbcw unrelated 2015 film of same name), is written by KC Coughlin and Ryan Grassby.

Halle Berry - Momma

Percy Daggs IV - Nolan

Anthony B. Jerkins - Samuel

Will Catlett - Father

Stephanie Lavigne - The Evil

Matthew Kevin Anderson - The Stranger

Summary

Film is divided into three parts, chapters, whatever.

I. The Rope is Your Lifeline

II. How Will I Feed my Children?

III. What Will Become of Us?

Momma and her two sons Nolan and Samuel live inside a cabin at a remote location in the woods.

It's explained that a malevolent force called "The Evil" (visible only to Momma) can wear many skins and has wiped out everybody but them.

One touch from The Evil results in possession, so when out foraging and hunting for food, tying ropes around their bodies connected to the house serves as protection.

Each day, Momma forces the boys to chant a prayer to thank the house for keeping them safe:

"O blessed house of ancient wood. Shelter to the pure and good. We'll keep you bright and never roam. Heaven is here, within our home."

As time goes by, Nolan begins to doubt whether The Evil actually exists.

Darkness is in your blood

Slow burn boasts great performances, decent tension and an ominous score by Rob.

Despite some effective imagery, this is ironically scarier without the creatures.

Much remains unexplained, but to be fair, Berry has confirmed that studio already have plans for a prequel, and more.

All in all though, like Smile, this is just another derivative of It Follows.