I'm a big fan of good horror movies and had a chance to watch some when wifey was away for the weekend.
It's not an all-timer, but I thought that Lights Out (Netflix) was a fun watch that put some detail and spin on
maybe the most common of all human fears -- the dark.
I liked the dysfunctional family that was the centerpiece and in particular liked the self-involved older sister who had washed her hands of her Mother and kid brother and moved out only to discover her maternal instincts waking up after learning the kid is under assault from a shadowy presence that stalks the family. Just when you think you're out they pullllll you back in.
Said shadowy presence is portrayed in an extremely creepy manner and the film, while not possessing a plot of sheer diabolical
genius, is generally smart and incorporates both creative wrinkles, humor and, more importantly, manages to be
very scary without insulting the viewer's intelligence a whole lot in the process.
I'd give it a thumbs up and consider it one of the better horror flicks made in the last several years.
I grew up on horror movies. I am the youngest of 7 and my two oldest siblings loved them so when the VCRs came out in the early 80s, they got one and would rent 3-4 movies a weekend. Not sure it was the best thing for me to see at such a young age but it is amazing to me all the remakes of the 80s and 90s horror flicks. I do enjoy seeing another director's interpretation. On that note, when I was away on vacation a couple of weeks ago, I saw the reboot of the original Hellraiser. It was released in October of 2022. I read the Clive Barker book on which the movie and 10 subsequent sequels are based - the Hellbound Heart.
What immediately caught my eye was the cinematography. I have to say, today's technology really adds levels of exquisite detail and for horror movies in particular, it really creates the tension necessary to create that eerie feeling. What I really enjoyed was the puzzle. If you are familiar at all with the Hellraiser series, it focuses on a puzzle box, made by a French toy maker. It opens a gateway to the Hell-like realm of the Cenobite lifeforms. The Cenobites are an order of former humans who have become monsters who harvest human souls to torture in their sadistic experiments.
In this reboot, the puzzle actually takes on different configurations each time it is solved - the blade which stabs the person who solves it then takes them to the Cenobites as a sacrifice. When the sixth and last configuration is solved the person is then presented with a "gift" from the Cenobites. One of the choices is to have someone resurrect from the dead. The lead character whose brother was the first sacrifice could be resurrected upon her wish but she refuses as she knows the "gift" will be twisted in some way. The Cenobites tell her that by choosing to live with her guilt and loss, she has effectively chosen the gift of "lament." Not sure I have ever heard of lament being called a gift before but that is the brilliance of the series - it paints a very thin line between pain and pleasure.
So the story itself is nothing like the original but obviously it has the same themes. It evokes Barker’s original adaptation in the same way a good cover song recalls its source material: with love, intelligence, and an inevitably crushing sort of redundancy. What I found fascinating is Pinhead who is the star cenobite of the series, is played by a woman, Jamie Clayton. In the other films it is played by Doug Bradley who was simply awesome but Clayton gives the character more of a mysticism and she is referred to as the high priest which is more in line with the novel. It feels much more spiritual than the other movies which were more sadistic and ornery.
Also, it was made by Disney. LOL It’s curious to say the least to see the reimagining pop up on Disney-owned
Hulu with a robust budget and glossy sheen, and even curiouser to find that it’s just as gory and just as committed to its unhinged world-building as the films that have come before. It doesn’t always work, and at times it really
really doesn’t, but it feels confident and unfettered in a way that so many horror films don’t these days.
Anyways, the acting was probably a B- except for the cenobites who are always an A but it is well done and certainly provides a good fright and as an added bonus, it makes you think about morality and the razor difference between pain and pleasure.