Hellraiser 2 Hellbound 1988

Hellraiser 2 Hellbound (1988)

Contains spoilers!

The sequel to Hellraiser. The style hasn't changed too much despite the change in directors. So if you liked the first films atmosphere you'll like this one's too.

Still classically full of blood and gore, creepy blue lighting and even more hell creatures.

Again you are following Kirsty who after witnessing the events in the first film has now been institutionalised.

This is where she meets Tiffany a mute woman who solves puzzles all day.

Kirsty is trying to put everything behind her but after a vision from her father in hell, asking for help, she becomes obsessed with saving him.

In the meantime the head of the facility where Kirsty is being held, Dr Channard, is a fanatical occultist who is also obsessed with opening the box, so much so that he buys the bed Julia died on and after bringing a mental patient to his home and allowing the man to cut himself over the mattress, revives the evil stepmother.

The plot then echo's the first, men and women are brought to Julia who sucks them dry in order to gain her own skin back, this time succeeding where Frank never.

This is all witnessed by a young doctor who has befriended Kirsty, who then helps Kirsty escape the institution in order to find out what's happening.

The dialogue and timing of the film seems a little off, almost as if the plot was heading one way but the characterisation wasn't able to keep up, so they just jumped a lot of scenes forward. However this being a horror movie and not a drama it doesn't really detract too much, you do get the gist of what is supposed to be happening.

Whilst Kirsty is escaping, Dr Channard (plus a fully skinned Julia) get Tiffany to solve the box, opening the doors to hell and releasing the Cenobites.

Now this is where the plot gets a little thin and not as well rounded as the first, Dr Channard and Julia take a stroll around hell, Tiffany also decides to have a look round and Kirsty arriving at the house moments before the doors open, follows everyone in looking for her father.

The cenobites are as creepy as ever though, and the lead cenobite really does make a great bad guy. They really do take over any scene they're in.

Julia betrays Dr Channard and gives him over to hell, which decides to change him in a cenobite too.

This process is very cheesy however and especially the end result which doesn't really mirror the other cenobites at all. It does have some good points though, the tentacle like growths that can bloom flowers or turn into razor sharp knifes is creepy and well done graphically.

This changed Channard now decides to kill everything, including the original cenobites and change the world into hell. The plot gets very thin from here but does offer soon very interesting scene changes, the creepy insane asylum hell being one of them.

Kirsty and Tiffany team up and eventually save the day and the world, walking off into the sunset together.

The dialogue with the original cenobites is as good as ever, with them having the best phrases in the film.

The film is a horror so does have the right level of blood, moodiness, gore and no plot sense. It's a good film to stick on if you want to get a horror atmosphere going.

Best phrases/dialogue:

'Aah, the suffering... the sweet suffering'

'They changed the rules of the fairytale, I'm no longer the wicked stepmother... I'm now the evil queen! So come on... give it your best shot, Snow White!'

'It is not hands that call us... it is desire...'

'So eager to play... so reluctant to admit it!'

Cheesiest Scene:

The Doctor being changed into a cenobite

Scenes to watch for:

Hells dream/vision sequences

They Live 1988

They Live (1988)

Contains spoilers!

If you're looking for a classic horror film then this isn't for you. More an action sci fi thriller it does have some horror story elements; Aliens, controlled population and some very entertaining fight scenes.

A great thought provoking movie that is incredibly watchable.

It also has some of the best dialogue in an 80's film.

Set in America during a recession, you follow Nada, a blue collar worker/drifter who accidentally discovers, through special sunglasses, that aliens have come and taken over most of the world and that the majority of the human race are 'asleep' and being controlled via cleverly placed subliminal messages on bill boards, in magazines, on tv and even on money.

It's a classic case of money is your overlord and thus making everything based on economy evil, if you're not into films making a political status then this film does something unique in that just watching for watching sake is rewarded. The film has fantastic dialogue especially for the 80's where it seems catchphrases are ten a penny and it also has some of the best action/fight scenes in a film.

After discovering the alien species, Nada does everything he can to convince other people, however as thinking makes your head hurt, most people don't want to know. It takes a very large and very painful looking fight scene for Nada to convince his best friend Frank of the danger.

The fight scene is incredibly realistic and does have you cringing as some of the hits connect. 

Now the plot comes together, Nada and Frank team up with a resistance group only to be betrayed from inside, causing everyone to panic, flea or die fighting. It is during this battle that Nada and Frank find themselves inside the alien base along with several human members who have sold out and now work for the aliens. 

The movie ends when Nada blows up a communications beacon that hides all the messages and the aliens true forms, so that the whole world can see for themselves what has been happening.

The film is done with 80's style action and dialogue all the way through and although it isn't a classic horror it is enjoyable and the messages the film tries to show can be classed as horrifying.

The aliens true faces are well done and they, along with the subliminal messages, do seamlessly appear and disappear when the sunglasses get taken on and off quick.

Even with it's 80's acting and catch phrasing the film does have a slightly grim atmosphere that runs all the way through.

It's a great film even if it isn't strictly horror.

Best phrases/dialogue:

'I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass.. and I am all out of bubblegum!'

'Fuck it!'

Scenes to watch for:

The fight scene between Nada and Frank.

The end scene when Nada blows up the communications tower.

Aliens 1986

Aliens (1986)

Contains spoilers!

If you like your horror's full of aliens, gun fights and lots of chasing, then this is the film for you. A classic 80's sci-fi horror, that gets by on well made creatures, good character development and a lot of dry wit.

It has some genuinely creepy scenes, a lot of character deaths and some fantastic alien designs.

Set in space you again (See Alien) follow Ripley, who after being picked up from deep space gets told she has slept for 57 years, the world she knows has changed considerably and humans have spread further across the galaxy.

After being stripped of her rank she finds herself loading docks until Burke, a member of the company, asks for her help with a lost colony on LV426.

Yes the same planet Ripley and her team landed on in the first movie when they encountered the Alien for the first time, the one she warned everyone about at the beginning. Finally convinced Ripley finds herself on a military mission to find these lost colonists.

In typical horror fashion, once the team has landed nothing goes right, firstly the only survivor seems to be a young girl, Newt, secondly the mission to recover the lost colonists only ends up with the marines finding the aliens instead which are a lot more in numbers than the first film, this is where the majority of the marines end up being killed, during a fire fight with the aliens. 

The survivors then try to escape only for their dropship to crash, Burke to betray them as he tries to get Ripley and Newt infected by releasing the face huggers into their room and to top everything off the team have to escape before the whole colony blows up.

All this while trying to fight of hordes of Aliens that are trying to kill them.

The film ends when Newt gets caught by the Aliens and Ripley goes to rescue her, not only finding her but also the Queen Alien, who after chasing them out of the colony and onto their ship finally gets beat after being thrown out of the airlock.

The effects of the Aliens is still very good, they are creepy, very well designed and although there are lots more in this film than the first, still able to move around with an eerie grace just before they crawl out of some dark corner to attack. The music is tense and suits the mood of the film.

Although a tense sci-fi horror, this is still an 80s movie and so it does have an element of humour involved in the form of snappy one liners and a lot of heavy sarcasm. Instead of being off putting or cheesy, it adds to the well rounded marine characters and makes them sound more realistic.

The vehicular scenes can look a little fake but nothing that really detracts from the film. 

The film also has a great sound effects, the main being the tracker system, adding it's own level of tenseness to the film.

It's a great film to watch if you like suspenseful sci-fi horrors with a nice humour level to ease the tension.

Best phrases/dialogue:

'Hey Ripley don't worry, me and my squad of ultimate bad-asses will protect you!'

 'Ripley, she doesn't have bad dreams because she's just a piece of plastic!'

'I may be synthetic but I'm not stupid'

'Get away from her you bitch!'

'Somebody wake up Hicks'

Creepiest Scene:

During the search for the colonists under the cooling towers, an Alien comes out of the wall slowly and silently behind a marine.

Scenes to watch for:

On the dropship just before the marines land on the planet, where Hudson is running through the list of weapons.

The end fight scene with the Queen and Ripley in the Loader suit.

Maniac Cop 1988

Maniac Cop (1988)

Contains spoilers!

Classic bad guy against good guy's, stalk and chase slasher horror with a bit of originality thrown in for good measure.

It has plenty of deaths, not a lot of gore and of course a bad guy that just won't die.

Set in New York you follow Jack (Bruce Campbell), a young NYPD cop framed for a series of murders, committed by what the press dub as the 'Maniac Cop'. Jack is helped by his vice cop mistress Teresa and seasoned detective McCrae.

Together they discover that the real killer is an ex cop thought dead Matt Cordell, who after being sent to prison gets stabbed to death (or so it is assumed) only to be secretly released brain dead and mangled to his girlfriend on the outside.

This of course leads to the inevitable killing spree with the now mentally deranged killer who can't be killed.

The rest is pretty standard, once the heroes know who the killer is and once the failed attempts to get everyone else to recognise the truth is over they take on the killer themselves. Apparently killing him again even though his body is never recovered.

You even see the killer's hand rear up out of the water at the end. Standard horror bad guy ending.

The whole film has a decidedly moody feel, the attacks mostly happen at night and so most of the film is shot in the dark and with the backgrounds neon lighting really sets the mood. The music is fantastic especially if you like moody eerie pieces and works well with the films tones.

The killers facial injuries do look a little fake and cheesy but to counter this, you do only see his face once, the rest of the time all you see is the silhouette of a large policeman which again just adds to the dark gloomy feel of the movie.

Although there is no gore there are plenty of deaths scenes, none of them really using too many effects so the film doesn't seem that out dated compared to some.

If you're looking for a film with a solid plot, creepy music and gloomy scenes then this is the one for you.

Best phrases/diaglogue:

'What happened to your hand? - 'I cut myself shaving'

'Always take a leak with a gun? It's a good way to blow your balls off!'

Scenes to watch for:

The prison bathroom fight scene.

Up Coming Reviews

Just a short one to let you know what reviews are coming up so far next week.

Maniac Cop (movie)

Alien 2 (movie)

St Peters Wolf (book)

Hellraiser 2 (movie)

Scanners (movie)

If anyone has any suggestions for reviews, just email me or comment below and let me know.

Every Sunday I'll post another list and ask for more suggestions.

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Class of Nuke 'em High 1986

Class of Nuke 'em High (1986)

Contains Spoilers!

Well firstly it's a Troma movie and if you haven't seen one yet maybe you should especially if you like over the top acting, ridiculous cheesy plots and loud scenes and music.

More of a comedy horror than a classic horror, it does have some sex scenes and is over the top gory.

Set in a high school less than a mile away from a nuclear plant we follow young lovers Chrissy and Warren who after being tricked into smoking some radioactive weed, which was sold to their friends by the 'Cretins' a gang of drug pushing radioactive goth punks, start to have strange life like hallucinations about being pregnant and turning into a strange creature.

The effects of the film are extremely cheesy and fake looking, however they are from 1986 and even though they look bad now they are still well done and did have a lot of thought go into them.

Chrissy 'gives birth' to a slimy tadpole creature who after running around the school drains grows into a huge nuclear waste producing creature that lives in the school fallout shelter. Warren who himself turns into a muscular (also nuclear waste producing) mini hulk who skulks around town killing off the Cretins who sold his friends the drug. This is all news to them when they 'wake up'

The creature effects are as you'd expect, cheesy, over the top and very outdated but they are done with humour and the creature design is quite creepy if you can look past all the ooze.

To get their revenge the Cretins take over the school, kidnap Chrissy and just generally run amok, which of course leads to the classic horror tactic of young people running around desperately trying to escape whatever chases them, in this case the Cretins who are in turn being chased and killed by Chrissy's creature. It all ends with the creature killing everything in sight then being blown up by a laser which doesn't just kill the evil creation but also blows up the school.

But it isn't all bad graphics, cheesy scenes and over the top acting, the dialogue is fun, the film has a definite 80's look and feel and the music is loud and catchy.

Overall it's a great comedy with horror elements and definitely worth a watch.

Best phrases/dialogue:

   'It may just be my woman's intuition you guy's but somethings going on!'

'Eggs and spam'

'This is going on your permanent record'

'Holy shit, what is all this green stuff!'

Cheesiest Scene:

The whole sex scene.

Scenes to watch for:

The fist down the throat scene.

People dropping from exposure to radiation and just being stepped over.

The hand through the skull monster scene.

Hellraiser 1987

Hellraiser (1987)

Contains spoilers!

If you love your horror's to include dark gloomy music, tolling bells, candlelight and lots of gore scenes then this is for you. With it's classic combination of blood, creepy lighting effects and monsters from hell you won't be disappointed.

Set in England you follow a husband and wife as they move back into his old families house for a new start. Introduce the gorgeous step daughter and we have the beginnings of the film.

Moving into the new family home there is the accident that sets off the entire plot, the husband Larry cuts his hand in a scene that still makes me look away even now! Blood dripping he accidentally revives his evil brother Frank who we do see at the very beginning buying the 'Box' and opening it.

The effects of the film are quite outdated but that's to be expected from 1987 however they are still quite strong visually, Franks reconstruction is still quite creepy even through the old fashioned graphics.

From here the film does start to through out all the gory, bloody and creepy scenes in a steady stream. The wife Julia now realising that her old lover Frank has been resurrected and although he no longer has any skin she is still attracted to him and promises to bring him men to feed on. The step daughter Kirsty realises this and confronts them, finding herself in possession of the famed box. 

Of course this wouldn't be a horror without some sort of monster and this film delivers with not one but four creatures from hell and a floating hell hound, which our heroine releases from the box, bargaining for her life she gives them Frank, however them being from hell and evil they take Frank and then come after her. And this is all after Frank takes Larry's skin for himself. The end see's Kirsty fighting for her life against Julia, Frank (wearing her dads skin) and four monsters.

Although the effects are quite cheesy and outdated Hellraiser still manages to be quite a dark, creepy film. The music is atmospheric and fits well with each scene. The music of the box is a very creepy tinny fairground theme that suits the film completely. The creatures from hell are very well thought out and innovative for the time. There are some very gory scenes for even hard core horror fans to like. There are even some very well shot dream sequences that manage even now to be quite surreal and creepy.

The character progression is well done too, Julia manages to go from squeamish killer to cold blooded bitch seamlessly.

It's a good film to watch and still want to look away at parts.

Best phrases/dialogue:

'The box. You opened it we came'

'We'll tear your soul apart!'

'What's your pleasure, Sir?'

Cheesiest Scene:

The homeless man changing into a dragon and carrying the box away with him at the end.

Scenes to watch for:

Kirsty's boyfriend at the end fighting off the floating hound creature with a milk bottle and getting punched for his efforts.