Evil Dead: Rise is the newest instalment in the Evil Dead franchise. Now removed from the typical environment of the countryside, we follow a family in a run-down building. Corrupted by the Necronomicon, a mother turns on her family and a desperate scramble for survival begins

 

Evil Dead: Rise, a review.

    Evil Dead Rise is the newest entry into the franchise, and it has much to live up to. Changing up the placement of events from previous films, the series not so much, and we have new dangers to contend with. The family dynamic adds a vital element of threat, as the mother figure is corrupted to become the danger the children must be protected from. Being an Evil Dead film means that people die, and often in a gruesome manner. Thankfully, this film keeps to the usual visceral scenes and racks up the intensity as the movie plays out. The leads of this film are the sisters Beth and Ellie, played by Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland. With Ellie possessed by a dark spirit, it is up to Beth to protect the children from what had been their mother.

    This film has an opening set with a trio of characters outside the main story. Out in the countryside in a cabin by the lake, events reminiscent of earlier entries unfold, with blood and mayhem ensuing. The film then shifts to one day earlier, to a rough-looking lady's toilet in a bar or club. Here, we meet Beth. Our heroine-to-be uses a pregnancy test while dealing with problems for the band she works for. The result is not to her liking. Now, facing this daunting life change, Beth decides to see her sister. Travelling across the country Beth arrives at the building where Ellie and her children live, and we have the stage for where this drama will play out. And that fact works in the film's favour. Keeping the action in an enclosed space gives the film a sense of claustrophobia, as the family cannot escape easily from that which hunts them. We get a brief overview of the family situation and the relationship between the sisters before events take a dire turn. Inevitably, the book is found, and phrases are recited, bringing dark forces into our world. And this is where the fun begins.

    For those who have watched any of the previous entries, what comes is just what you would expect: blood, gore, and crazed antics. The formula is a familiar one that continues to work well when used here. The formula works particularly well here because of the family dynamic. We are inherently more drawn into a situation when children are at risk. With a demon-possessed mother on the loose, it is up to her sister to protect them from the thing that used to be their mother. Things do not go well, and soon it is only Beth and Kassie that are left fighting for their lives. The tension is maintained well throughout, with the threats growing as time passes, and we get to see the true horror of what Ellie has become. Making it to the building's parking, the pair are drawn into a final conflict with this horror, and Beth is forced to battle it to save Kassie.

    The film is an obvious choice for any fan of the original films, or the 2013 remake. It keeps true to the original lore, with callbacks to the previous entries, and never lets up once the action gets started. I found the acting to be decent by all parties, though Alyssa Sutherland stands out as the twisted version of Ellie, and enjoyed watching them attempt to survive this madness. The film's ending does explain how the opening fits into the narrative, and I was left hoping we might one day get to see where that leads. Evil Dead: Rise is an 8 out of 10, in my opinion. It has all the gore of the earlier entries with solid performances and enough new material to separate it from what came before. I can't wait for the next entry, and I just hope it comes sooner than this film did.

Event Horizon, with Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne. A cult nineties classic Sci-Fi horror that was supposed to be far more graphic and disturbing than the film we got. Still, its a great watch with some disturbing visuals and unique story choices.

 

Event Horizon, a review.

    Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Laurence Fishburne, and Sam Neill, this film follows a rescue crew investigating the return of a missing Space Vessel, the Event Horizon. The Event Horizon was believed to have been lost with the entire crew, making it the worst space disaster in history. Unfortunately, those that investigate its reappearance are dragged into madness and horror. This film is heavily influenced by Cosmic horror elements, with hints of something existing beyond the understanding of those onboard the vessel. This film was reportedly supposed to be far more graphic, with a more twisted story, but the studios reined in the director, and this is the version we got. It has some fantastic elements, but it feels like it was supposed to be something more. A shame that the footage was lost, so we can't at least learn what that story was meant to be.

    The film begins with Sam Neill's Dr Weir waking up from a nightmare, living on board a space station. The film moves then to the crew of the Lewis and Clarke, their captain running them through initial preparation for their rescue mission. Miller's people are going through the motions with practised ease. They are used to this work but are reluctant to go on this mission when they should be on leave. They were quickly set up for travelling by gravity tank, as they could not survive outside of them when the hyperdrive was active. Weir has another strange dream, his deceased wife speaking to him, though, in this dream/vision, her eyes are gone from their sockets. Waking terrified, Weir finds himself with the crew of the Clarke closing in on Neptune. He briefs them on their mission, what they believe to be out there, and what the Event Horizon was supposed to be capable of. This is about interstellar travel through bending space/time to make travel across great distances instantaneous. The team find the Event Horizon and begins investigating the seemingly abandoned vessel.

    Things go wrong from the moment they set foot on the Event Horizon, Justin is sucked into a black abyss, and Lewis and Clarke are damaged. They are forced to move to the Event Horizon, with Justin injured and unresponsive, and figure out what happened and how to get home safely. Miller orders the Clarke repaired and has his people look into the Event Horizon, searching for answers. Things inevitably get worse for the group as they begin to experience hallucinations. They all start to feel that the ship is reacting to them, but Miller won't accept it. Justin ends up in the airlock, and as if possessed, he sets the airlock to open to the vacuum beyond. He snaps out of it, but it is too late. Severely injured, he is put into the gravity tank, and the rest are left shaken by this. These events build in intensity, with Miller seeing a crew member who died years ago and Weir seeing his wife calling to him. Only it isn't his wife. D.J. explains that the initial translation of the message was wrong, telling Miller it actually meant 'Save yourself from Hell'. When pushed by Miller, Weir admits that when the gateway is opened, he doesn't know where the ship goes. D.J. postulates that it might have gone to a realm we would consider Hell. It was as if the ship passing through that realm had brought something back with it. This life force had infested the vessel, and it wanted Weir to stay with it, to take him back to that dimension it had come from. Possessed or corrupted by the ship, Weir turns on the rest and blows up the ship, Lewis and Clarke.

    Weir kills D.J. and sets the gateway to open. He intends to take those left alive through with him. Miller and Stark face him on the bridge, his eyes now missing, and only by the timely arrival of Cooper do they survive, with Weir being sucked out into space. Thinking themselves safe, they are ready to separate the foredecks from the engine, with Miller going to set the explosives. Weir is not dead, however. The ship has brought him back, the man now crazed and possessing inhuman strength. Miller fits but is unable to defeat the returned Weir. In a last-ditch attempt to save those left, Miller detonates the explosives, allowing them to escape as he and Weir are taken through the gateway. Stark and Cooper survive and are rescued, but both are left traumatised.

    This film has many graphic scenes in it and warrants the rating it got. The scene showing what happened to the previous crew is not pleasant. And it was supposed to be worse than what we got. Sam Neill is great at being creepy once he turns, and Fishburne delivers a solid performance. The rest of the actors are solid in their roles, though we don't see a great deal of Sean Pertwee or Jack Noseworthy. The horror elements are done well, the tension remains high throughout, and I wish they had explored the other place more. There is a theory that this film is heavily inspired by the warp in Warhammer 40k. It is supposedly the first encounter with the warp before the defence of the gellar fields was invented. As a fan of Warhammer 40k lore, I like the theory, but highly doubtful of its likelihood. While it is showing its age in places, Event Horizon remains a great horror sci-fi. I give it an 8 out of 10 and recommend it to any horror fan.

Hellraiser(2022), a review. A modern take on the Cenobites and the realms of pleasure and pain beyond our own. A different look and feel to the classic Pinhead is interesting but lacks some of the earlier menace.

 

Hellraiser (2022), a review.

    I have watched the original Hellraiser several times over the years. I loved The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker. I hoped this film would capture some of what made the original film so thrilling to watch. And it does, somewhat. The film keeps much of what makes the Cenobites disturbing, though there are changes, and some are better than others. The film does expand on the lore surrounding the Lament configuration and what the box is capable of, but it changes who the Cenobites seek out. Thankfully, much of the lore remains unchanged, keeping what previous fans were familiar with. Unfortunately, this reboot/sequel lacks some of the horrors that the original films had, and in many ways, it seems tame by comparison. That doesn't make it bad, though I would have preferred a more startling element to the horror. The acting is serviceable to good, though never great, and an air of inevitability surrounds the unfolding events.

    The film follows Riley, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction. However, the film opens up with events 6 years before following Riley. A woman buys something from a man on behalf of someone else, the conversation hinting that this figure is rarely seen. We move to a party at a mansion, figures engaging in orgies, as a young man nervously wanders through the building. He meets the woman from earlier, Menaker, as she sits nursing her drink. They talk, and she invites him to meet her in another room. This is a setup, and he falls for it. Drawn to a strange puzzle box in the centre of the room, Joey begins to examine it. As he moves the pieces, another man approaches, and they begin to talk. The man reveals himself to be Roland Voight, the host, and he watches with interest as Joey begins to move the pieces into place. With a click, he completes it before a blade pierces his hand. In pain and shock, Joey pulls his hand away and drops the box. Voight is pleased by this, the blood seeping into the box as it changes formation. Joey is trapped there as Voight places the box on a pedestal, calling out, beseeching something unseen. In the background, Joey is caught by hooks and then torn apart, undoubtedly a victim of The Priest. 

    Six years later, Riley is a recovering addict living with her brother and his boyfriend. She is seeing Trevor, a man she met in her twelve-step programme. Her brother Matt does not approve of or like him but knows there is little he can do. It is a point of contention between the siblings, and Matt feels the strain of supporting her. Riley is not a likeable character, to begin with. She is selfish, abrasive, and unable to see the damage she inflicts on others. These are traits that are common with addicts in films. The events of this film play out as an analogy to addiction, and the subtext is there, though it attempts to be subtle. Riley doesn't seem to care what Matt wants, only that she feels that he is judging her, he wants to save her, and that she doesn't need or want to be saved. Feeling pressured by Matt, she complains to Trevor, and he suggests stealing something from a lockup, hoping to make some money from whatever is in there. And all they find is the strange puzzle box from the film's opening minutes. Drunk and high, Riley returns home. Riley and Matt get into a fight, and he tells her to get out, that he is done looking after her. Angry, Riley does that, going to her car, where she ends up taking some pills. Under the influence, she moves the box through the first configuration, falling unconscious before the blade can pierce her flesh. Safe from the Cenobites, they speak to her, saying that she must give them another. Matt wakes from a dream and goes looking for his sister. He finds her but cuts his hand on the box. With his blood taken in, he is marked as the sacrifice to the Cenobites, and they come to claim him. 

    Riley realises that Matt has been taken, though she doesn't know by what, and she attempts to find out more about the device she has found. She is sure it has something to do with Matt's disappearance and is determined to find him. With Trevor's aid, Riley learns more about Roland Voight, including his sudden disappearance six years ago. Dragging Trevor with her, the pair go to his mansion to find answers. Throughout this, Riley sees the Cenobites in flashes, even dreaming about her brother asking her to bring him back. They learn of Voight's lawyer and go to see her with the box in hand. She tells them little beyond that Voight was a terrible person, and she loses it at the sight of the box. Amid a struggle with Riley, she gets cut by the box, dooming her to a visit from the Cenobites. She is taken by them shortly after, taken to pain by those that revel in it. And the encounter is as expected, the world shifting to reveal the places behind and alongside our world. This element is familiar, appearing in both the books and earlier films.

    The film moves forward, with Riley and the others seeking answers at Voight's mansion. And they find them, but they find worse things than that. In time they discover that they have been set up, drawn here by another. Separated from the rest, their friend Nora is stabbed with the box by an unseen assailant. They rush to get her help, racing from the mansion in the van, but the roads change and shift as the Cenobites give chase. Nora is taken even as they try to flee, taken from the back of the van, with only a pool of blood left behind. The Cenobites aren't done, trying to force Riley to serve up one of the others. Chased back to the house, they manage to find safety for a time. But the Cenobites are patient, and there is danger in the mansion as Voight reveals himself. They race to a conclusion, with Trevor being taken and Voight begging to exchange one gift for another. Riley and Colin escape after Riley refuses to accept the Cenobite's gift. Voight is taken by Leviathan, exchanging sensation for dominion, becoming a Cenobite.

    I have to give the film credit, as Riley has a good character arc. She goes from annoying and selfish to moving on to consider the damage her actions cause, refusing to sacrifice Colin no matter the temptation. It is subtle at first, but it becomes more evident as time goes on. This character growth is one of the better elements of the film. The Cenobites themselves are a mixed bag. The new designs are interesting but don't seem as terrifying as earlier versions. This is most noticeable in the form of the Priest, or Pinhead, as they are better known. This version isn't as menacing. Doug Bradley had better delivery, in my opinion, but that isn't to say that I didn't enjoy this version. This one is more patient, a silent menace that stalks them from a distance. This isn't as gory as I expected it to be, though it does have its moments. I give this film a 6 out of 10. It is a better-than-average movie that never quite reaches greater heights.

Evil Dead 2013, review. With Evil Dead Rise soon to be released I thought I'd give this one a re-watch. To be fair it remains a solid entry into the world of the Deadites, if not the best of them.

 

Evil Dead 2013, a review.

    I have watched the original trilogy films more times than I can count. They remain some of my favourite movies, with Evil Dead 2 being the peak of the trilogy. The added humour elevated 2 over The Evil Dead for me. I was hesitant to watch this film when it first came out, it had a lot to live up to, but in time I had to watch it. And, it wasn't as good as those that had come before, but neither was it a bad film. With a new young cast, the cabin in the woods, and a familiar book in place, this film kept close to the core elements of what had been done before. There are a few issues, but I'll get into those later on.

    The film opens up with a young woman being pursued in the woods before she is quickly taken captive. The scene switches to some interior with the young woman bound to a wooden post and her father before her. It quickly becomes clear the young woman is possessed, having killed her mother, and is set alight before being shot. We then move to the opening credits. We are introduced to our main characters and learn that David is here to support his sister, Mia, as she attempts to go cold turkey. Mia's friends Eric and Olivia are determined to ensure she kicks the habit this time. Olivia tells David that Mia overdosed and clinically died, that they might have to force her to stay and work through this against her will if it came to that. David is reluctant to agree to this as he is here to repair his relationship with her. As Mia begins to feel the effects of her withdrawal, she becomes sensitive to smells, convinced that the cabin has a foul scent within, though the others cannot detect it. It isn't long before their dog Grandpa is scratching at the carpet, pulling it back to reveal a trapdoor and blood smeared over the wood. Obviously, they are shocked, and they proceed down into the root cellar to investigate. They find dead cats strung up around the main room, with signs that something has been burnt, and a book bound in black bags wrapped in barbed wire. This is the Necronomicon.

    For anyone that has seen any of the previous films, this book is a doorway to a supernatural force that lives in dark places. A kind of entity that wants to possess and destroy the living. And it is inevitable that some idiot, in this case, Eric, has to read from the book. If I find a book wrapped up in barbed wire and depicting some horrible stuff, I might use my common sense, wrap it back up and put it out of reach to be safe. Eric doesn't do that, and we have something summoned on our unsuspecting group. And poor Mia is the one it goes after first. What follows is Mia's initial spiral as she sees something watching in the woods before she flees into the woods, crashes her car, and has an encounter that always makes me very uncomfortable. It is a scene taken out of the original Evil Dead, and it was never a scene I enjoyed, something passing from demonic Mia and slithering into the bound Mia. They find Mia but don't believe her story, convinced this is just her withdrawals and desire to use overwhelming her. What follows is a descent into chaos and bloodshed as Mia succumbs to her possession and the demonic force moves through each of our protagonists. A minor point, but the evil force coming to life after claiming five souls seemed convenient, given that there are five of them, but it works given the premise and isolated location. There are callbacks to the original trilogy throughout, with the use of the chainsaw, shotgun, and removal of a hand gone bad. They use a lot of fake blood in this film, an almost obscene amount, with the film's finale featuring blood raining down on Mia as she fights against a vile reflection of herself.

    The film's pacing remains constant throughout, and its runtime is short. Once it gets going, it doesn't relent, moving from possession to the next. The character development is handled well, as we see changes in David through the film's events,  along with Mia as she is faced with this evil alone upon the death of the others. In all, the film is good, with decent characters, a tight storyline, and tension maintained throughout. I recommend this film to anyone who enjoyed the original films and the series, along with any horror fan. This is an easy 7 out of 10, a solid entry worth watching.

Barbarian, the movie review. A good film with a familiar premise, though a different play through than I expected. Also a different role than I had seen Justin Long in before.

 

Barbarian, a review.

    I was unsure what to make of this movie at first. It opens slowly, centring around Tess sitting in her car after pulling up to a house in the rain. She gets out and attempts to get the key out of the lockbox, only to find it is not there. The place looks empty, and she phones the company she had made the booking with, hurrying back to her car in the meantime. At this time, a light comes on in the house, and Tess rushes back to knock on the door. It is opened by a very tired-looking man with a confused expression. The two talk back and forth, and it is swiftly discovered that the booking company for the house has double-booked them. From there on, the pair work out a deal, Keith offering her the option to stay there and take the bedroom. Reluctantly, at first, Tess takes the deal. The pair soon begin talking, and the initial tension between them fades. Eventually, they retire for the night, and we get our first inkling that something isn't right at this house. Tess wakes up in the night to find her door open. She is obviously nervous, and moving across the room, finds Keith asleep on the sofa. As she moves to him quietly, we see something move behind her and a door close at the end of the corridor. This is the first sign of something suspicious going on in this building. Tess wakes Keith, and he is obviously startled. After questioning him, Tess returns to bed, and we flash forward to her waking in the morning.

    Both of them head off to their respective days. Tess head's to her interview, and we see her do well. So well that it looks as though she has the job in the bag. However, when she mentions where she is staying, her new employer seems surprised and unsettled by the information. This is another hint that something is odd about the house and the area. Tess returns to the house and begins looking around, ending up in the basement. She ends up being trapped inside after the door closes behind her. This leads to her investigating and discovering a secret door. A door that leads to another room, a room with a bed, a bucket, and a camera in it. Tess is obviously freaked out by this and returns to the basement proper, looking for a way out. Keith returns at this moment, looking for the key she was supposed to leave for him, and she manages to get his attention. Together, they open the basement window, and Tess passes the key to Keith. He comes to a panicked Tess, and after a few moments, he leaves to investigate this room. Tess waits and then calls to him, he doesn't answer, and she goes to look for him. He isn't in the room, and Tess looks about in confusion, finding yet another door. A door leads to stairs that lead down into darkness. She calls to Keith, and he shouts back, his voice distant and scared. Stumbling through the tunnels, she finds him hurt moments before a woman comes out of the dark and brutally murders him. Then the film flashes to our next protagonist. 

    Justin Long plays AJ. A Hollywood type enjoying his drive until he gets a phone call. And things are about to take a bad turn for him. And it turns out in the long run that he probably deserves everything that happens to him. I've always enjoyed Justin long, as an actor, but this character is one of the sleeziest that he has ever played. AJ is not a good person, but he believes that he is, to such a degree that he cannot see how he treats others.And it will be his downfall. After his new series drops him, and accusations are made against him, he has to liquidate his assets. It turns out that the house Tess and Keith were staying in is owned by AJ. This leads Aj to the house and what awaits him there within. He finds what Tess did before him, and like her he wanders into the dark below the house. Also like her things do not go well for him. 

    The tunnels below the house lead to roughly carved out room and worse. The woman is living in this space and treating her new guests like they are her babies. She even tries to feed them, until Aj freaks out, leaving Tess still trapped in her cage. Until she manages to free herself and the two of them attempt to flee the tunnels separately. We get a flash back to this space to another time, looking to be the 70's by the clothes and cars on display. A man leaves the house that Tess and AJ are below in the future, heading off in a car. We see him buy things for a new born and then stalk a woman, dressing up a gas man and lying to get into her house. After leaving a window unlocked he leaves and returns to the house, and then down to the basement. In the present Aj and Tess aren't doing so well but they manage to escape the house, helped by a homeless man. With Tess hurt they listen to the man's story of what happened to the area, and what led to this woman being born. Moments before she bursts into their place of safety and kills the old man. Fleeing the pair find themselves atop a water tower, where AJ throws Tess off the tower in an attempt to save himself. The woman jumps off the tower after her, managing to catch her though it looks as though she dies in the effort. Of course that isn't the case and Aj finds that out just before he meets a grizzly end. 

    This is a strange and intense film. It gets its hooks into you and doesn't let go. The performances are good, the 'creature' oddly sad and horrifying, and the overall story grim but interesting. I enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to any fan of horror. I rate it 8 out of ten, and would watch again.