Last film you saw, vol. 6

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Evil Dead (1981)

"Did something in the woods do this to you?
-No, it was the woods themselves!"

Well, a day late and a dollar short, but I figured, now that all my meds are straightened out, I'd belatedly celebrate the 40th anniversary.

…Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2019) . . . This was easily the best Mortal Kombat-related film I've seen in the past week. . .

It's really good and is the most faithful of any of the movies at least. The Liu Kang sequel is out now.

[Parrylakks Neko Samurai Find all posts View Profile Close Parrylakks]

Not quite as good as the last one, but still up there. Bringing Kirsty back was a nice touch, and her [spoiler for a 20 year old movie] deal was quite the clever play, and it generally makes it a pretty solid sequel on top of being a fairly solid movie regardless. Had I seen it before Inferno, I might even place it above it, but the concepts were too close to each other so this follow up seemed a little bit trodden. It's easily my second favorite so far, though, and that actually makes me quite excited for the next two, as they are from the same director.

[Parrylakks Neko Samurai Find all posts View Profile Close Parrylakks]

Not as good as the previous two, but still a decent film. Connecting back to Bloodline was an interesting choice, but it didn't really do anything with it. Ultimately, the idea behind this one was good, it just wasn't explained very well, leaving a bit too much for the viewer to fill in. I suppose you could say that about most of the sequels, really, but yeah.

One more Doug Bradely entry to go, but I think I'm going to view the other two, as well.

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

I will nut the fuck outta you, buddy.

Don't threaten me with a good time!

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Army of Darkness (1992)

"Well, hello, Mister Fancypants."

If I had done the anniversary right, I probably would've stopped with #1, but since I watched the other two, I decided to finish the trilogy (I usually watch something from a series on Sunday anyway).

[Parrylakks Neko Samurai Find all posts View Profile Close Parrylakks]

This one feels more like a typical slasher than a proper Hellraiser film, and the twist at the end solidified it as pretty damn convoluted, trading it all for what essentially amounts to a BS acid trip. I did quite like the end, though, when the guy discovers the actual truth of Hellworld, and gets his split on. It was almost like they were hanging a lantern on the whole film, tossing away all the meta junk for a double twist. But it really should have ended there. The follow up ending was both trivial and pointlessly confusing, never mind the fact that for people who mourned the loss of one friend for two years, these two gamers sure got over the deaths of three more right quick. Pretty weird that. Bah! This one was a disappointment, but I still wouldn't say it was worthless. It's just not one anyone should watch unless they're already into the franchise -- it might scare newcomers away with its poorly contrived plot.

Well, I'm not sure what I'm in for with the next two. My expectations are pretty low, especially for Revelations, as I understand it was a rush job made solely for the purpose of retaining the rights to the franchise, which is why Bradley turned it down. I read that he felt like the script was sloppy and the shooting schedule was too short to ensure any sort of quality, which given this last film speaks volumes to how bad the script must have been. But such as it is. I've come too far to stop now!

Here's to hoping my low expectations save the pain for other pinheads.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

West Side Story (1961)

"Why do you kids live like there's a war on?"

60th anniversary. Watched again with the fam.

[Hellraiser: Hellworld]
. . . This one feels more like a typical slasher than a proper Hellraiser film, and the twist at the end solidified it as pretty damn convoluted, trading it all for what essentially amounts to a BS acid trip. I did quite like the end, though, when the guy discovers the actual truth of Hellworld, and gets his split on. It was almost like they were hanging a lantern on the whole film, tossing away all the meta junk for a double twist. But it really should have ended there. . .

Yeah, that's how I remember it. It had some fun stuff. Again, it feels like it could've been a decent low-budget horror if it wasn't Hellraiser.

. . . Well, I'm not sure what I'm in for with the next two. My expectations are pretty low, especially for Revelations . . . Here's to hoping my low expectations save the pain for other pinheads.

I've only seen those once each (I think). Keeping a very-low expectation, I found stuff I like in each while still not finding either good themselves. I actually liked Revelations a little more than Judgment, but Jeff is the exact opposite. So, you can weigh in. Honestly, I don't know if I'd feel the same if I rewatched.

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

I'm having one of those nights where I really *really* want to watch a movie, but no matter what I find, I don't want to watch it. This sucks.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

[Rifftrax:] Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare (1987/2015)

"Migraine: The Motion Picture."

I'm having one of those nights where I really *really* want to watch a movie, but no matter what I find, I don't want to watch it. This sucks.

Not really familiar with that problem. I'm more likely to think "do I watch the Netflix I have here, the one about to expire on Tubi, or one of the several I recently bought but haven't watched yet. This week, I'm torn over all the movies I'd like to see for the Halloween season but only have a few more days to watch before heading out of town.

[Parrylakks Neko Samurai Find all posts View Profile Close Parrylakks]

With such low expectations, this actually managed to be kinda decent. It's script was almost definitely a first draft that after a few rewrites could have made a great sequel, but wasn't given the chance due to the tight schedule. I can understand why Bradley didn't have faith in it, and if the studio had listened to him and done a couple of rewrites they probably could have still made it just under the wire and have it be actually good, but I don't know. As it is, it was a pretty good idea, harkening back to the first film quite well, but the execution was just off, making for a movie that's not terrible, not great, and not nothing but ultimately pretty close to it.

As an aside, part of me really wants to see a meta comedy cartoon in the vein of Star Trek: Lower Decks called The Adventures of Pinhead and Nail Boy. Seriously, it's a golden opportunity.

[Parrylakks Neko Samurai Find all posts View Profile Close Parrylakks]

This was actually a pretty great finale, methinks, and with its ending, it is exactly that. This film could easily have been the best of the franchise if it had a substantial budget increase and the involvement of Doug Bradley, but alas. Even so, I think it's still in my top 3. I really liked how it played with the other side, and in doing so managed to justify that "Jesus wept" line, as it was reused here with proper religious implications. The addition of another way into the Hell dimension was kind of weird at first, but with the ending of the film, it felt fine -- especially with that post credit scene. Ultimately I think this one is definitely worth watching.

On a side note, I find it amusing that the three Hellraiser films I've enjoyed most are one involving police investigations. It's almost like I'm a fan of murder mysteries with a demonic twist.

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

I'll forever remember the Hellraiser franchise for one thing and one thing only: having posters consisting solely of one character's head with only different lighting and angles to tell the films apart.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

The Lift (1983)

"I believed the best story."

Heard about this from Cinemassacre's Monster Madness and found it from Netflix. It is definitely now my favorite Dutch killer-elevator flick.

[Hellraiser: Judgement] . . . This was actually a pretty great finale, methinks, and with its ending, it is exactly that. . .I really liked how it played with the other side, and in doing so managed to justify that "Jesus wept" line, as it was reused here with proper religious implications. The addition of another way into the Hell dimension was kind of weird at first, but with the ending of the film, it felt fine -- especially with that post credit scene. Ultimately I think this one is definitely worth watching...

There you go, Jeff. He's on your side. I'd have to watch this again. Maybe I'd rank it higher. The heaven-hell aspect just seemed like a massive retcon and very unBarker to me.
Congrats to Parrylakks. I’ve seen all those movies and own 7 of them, but I don’t think even I would watch all 10 in fewer than 10 days.

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

Not really familiar with that problem. I'm more likely to think "do I watch the Netflix I have here, the one about to expire on Tubi, or one of the several I recently bought but haven't watched yet. This week, I'm torn over all the movies I'd like to see for the Halloween season but only have a few more days to watch before heading out of town.

It's more of a "I don't know what to do with myself" kind of issue, and the more I think about it, the more I feel anxious like I'm about to have a panic attack. So for that night that I wrote that, I just watched another episode of Mazinger Z and went to bed early. It gets overwhelming at times.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Evil Dead (2013)

"I can smell your filthy soul."

Figured I may as well finish the series since I started (no, I'm not re-watching the whole show . . . yet).

It's more of a "I don't know what to do with myself" kind of issue, and the more I think about it, the more I feel anxious like I'm about to have a panic attack. So for that night that I wrote that, I just watched another episode of Mazinger Z and went to bed early. It gets overwhelming at times.

Not the same thing at all (I think I had one legit panic attack in my life), but last night I’m pretty sure I had a true sugar rush. I usually drink diet sodas, but lately the store was out of them and I had to drink the sugar ones. I didn’t mentally account for that fact when I ate a box of candy and about 10 minutes later I had this rushing heart rate, cold sweat and wave of nausea but it all passed in maybe 20 minutes. Gotta remember I can’t eat like I did when I was 20.

But seriously, try not to let entertainment become a source of stress (easy to say, I guess).