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So I just watched Hellraiser for the billionth time...

post #1 of 11
1/17/07 at 11:47pm
Thread Starter 
And I realized that the last few minutes of the movie just don't work all that well. For the majority of its runtime, the film is a great little thriller with a dash of supernatural (and emotional) cruelty, but at the end it turns into a typical horror movie, what with Kirstie running from the Cenobites and the face off with that wall-walker thing. Not to say that this stuff is BAD, but it's certainly inconsistent, and I think that it could have ended better.

Do we really need the Cenobites to chase Kirstie around at all? If anything, the ending as it is brings any of the themes that had been developing up until that point to a crashing halt. Pinhead and the exposed throat lady having a discussion about Kirstie's fate and whether or not she deserved their "pleasures" could have been fucking nerve wracking if done right (A scene like that could have incorporated some "chase" elements, come to think of it.)

Are they still remaking this? They'll probably amp up the "typical" elements if it goes through, but here's hoping that doesn't happen and they come up with a better ending.
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post #2 of 11
1/17/07 at 11:52pm
Yeah, I always prefered the powerplay between Frank and Kirsties family to stuff involing the Cenobites. The film should have ended with Frank's evisceration, maybe with Pinhead the cenobites forcing Kirstie to watch and offering her the same exquisite experience. It's the thing with Clive Barker though, he tends to always slip in these damaging elements into his books films which work to totally compromise the quality of the overall product.

Having the Cenobites remain utterly inpartial would have been far more terrifying than having them essentially say "ah, fuck it. Get her too". The fact they get dispatched by Kirstie solving a puzzle box doesn't help either.
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post #3 of 11
1/18/07 at 12:39pm
I feel like the more recent the film being remade, the less that's changed. The trailers for "The Hitcher" look like they regard the original as gospel, including copying the ludicrous car chases. Thinking this, feel the "Hellraiser" remake would probably be tamer, though whatever can be copied will be copied.
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post #4 of 11
1/18/07 at 12:42pm
hey Pirate,

Have you ever read the story that it was based on? 'The Hellbound Heart'

That is a damn good read.
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post #5 of 11
1/18/07 at 12:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fabfunk
I feel like the more recent the film being remade, the less that's changed. The trailers for "The Hitcher" look like they regard the original as gospel, including copying the ludicrous car chases. Thinking this, feel the "Hellraiser" remake would probably be tamer, though whatever can be copied will be copied.
Barker's writing has always been pretty intense, which is probably why it polarizes opinion on it so much; you either really like it or you don't. Movies made about his work should be equally as intense. A tamer remake is never a good thing. A "Tamer" Hellraiser would, more so than w/ many other remakes, would gut and castrate the film. If anything, since the public's tolerance for "objectionable" material has gone up since the original was released, they should ramp the discomfort meter UP, not tame it down.
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post #6 of 11
1/18/07 at 1:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hostiledm
hey Pirate,

Have you ever read the story that it was based on? 'The Hellbound Heart'

That is a damn good read.
No, I haven't. I've been meaning to read more of Barker's stuff (I've only read "The Damnation Game," which I enjoyed), and I always end up with lots of other stuff on my plate that I read before any of the horror books I'd like to (it's not my preferred genre). I'll get around to it eventually, I'm sure.
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post #7 of 11
1/18/07 at 1:12pm
In the book, the Cenobites honour their agreement with Kirstie and tell her that what's about to happen to Frank is "not for her eyes".

They are essentially completely alien but not evil creatures. In the film, they are the usual bunch of supernatural assholes.
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post #8 of 11
1/18/07 at 1:25pm
Thread Starter 
See, that sounds so much better. The Cenobites should be forces of nature in the film, which they are until the ending. I know it would send chills down my spine if they had an argument about what to do with her, though. Hell, they should see what they do as a favor, instead of punishment (which is how it comes across in the movie). I guess that also I think that Hellraiser 2 (while still a fun flick) should have dealt with the "sex game" aspects of the cube a bit more. The ending leaves it wide open for that, but they go nowhere with it.

I'm still wary of the remake, but I hope that the new HR franchise (if it comes to that, anyway) takes these things in mind. Isn't Barker involved?
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post #9 of 11
1/18/07 at 1:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FutekiNa, Irate Pirate
No, I haven't. I've been meaning to read more of Barker's stuff (I've only read "The Damnation Game," which I enjoyed), and I always end up with lots of other stuff on my plate that I read before any of the horror books I'd like to (it's not my preferred genre). I'll get around to it eventually, I'm sure.

Damnation Game is my favorite,

anyway, honestly, it will take you just a few hours (if that, Im a damn slow reader). Its only 164 pages. But its one of those books I have re-read a few times. (even re-bought it when someone didnt return it. I know, I know, 'you never lend books....' how does that saying end?)

I hope the remake or whatever its being called is a little closer to the book.
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post #10 of 11
1/18/07 at 4:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FutekiNa, Irate Pirate
I'm still wary of the remake, but I hope that the new HR franchise (if it comes to that, anyway) takes these things in mind. Isn't Barker involved?
Barker's involvement may not be any guarantee of anything. Just look at how Stephen King managed to screw up every adaptation of one of his novels he's been involved with. . . .
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post #11 of 11
1/18/07 at 5:04pm
I always thought Hellraiser 2 was rather underrated, myself. Bits of it were a little silly, but it had some nice ideas and scenes.

But yeah- the original Hellraiser is a great film, but the plotting is all over the place in parts of it.
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