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Post by masterofallgoons on Jul 19, 2018 16:46:05 GMT
Just caught up with this movie finally after meaning to see it for a long time. I'm a sucker for any sort of gates of hell or alternate dimensions sort of theme in a movie with surrealist elements of horror. There are very few good examples of this, but I find that sort of theme very compelling viewing, even when it doesn't really work fully. I have favored mediocre movies like The Void or Beyond the Gates from the last few years because the those themes work for me enough to rise above the otherwise underwhelming films. This one, has those elements involved. It's well shot, the actors do a decent job, it has some nice atmosphere, it shows us a bit of the Turkish culture in which it's set. There's not that much negative to say here, but ultimately it feels like one of those later Hellraiser sequels that was written as a different film but then later has Pinhead randomly dropped in to the third act so it can fit in the series. In fact, it's essentially a Hellraiser movie but with P inhead replaced with an old man baby, and the cenobites replaced with demonic ladies in robes and sacks. Anyway, this was somewhat disappointingly just another one of these types of movies that feels familiar if you've seen others of it's ilk. It doesn't do anything new, but does it all competently, I'd say. Any other movies like this one that other people liked?
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Post by lostinlimbo on Aug 6, 2018 14:13:30 GMT
Visually it pops, and the horror escalates into sheer uncomfortable torment and grotesque imagery. But yeah, it doesn’t break any new ground, narrative wise, yet the cultural influence gave it somewhat a new spin. The first time I saw it I did leave me cold and it’s short film origins does show it up. Still it’s well-made, and the horror scenes were effective and intense. It kind of reminded me of The Void, but I liked this one better.
I also saw the director’s latest film; “Housewife” earlier this year. Visually as impressive and some brutal acts of voilence with a killer ending, but the story pales in comparison in staying in the shadows of “Rosemary’s Baby”. However I do like this film more. Definitely worth keeping an eye on this director.
As for similar films, loosely I say, Japanese Hell (1999) which is a darkly humourous and batty reworking of Jigoku. The scenes of pain and torture are crazy and atmospherically staged. Not as interesting when the story moves away from this gimmick. If you’re talking about gateways to hell;The Sentinel (1977) is a favourite. One I haven’t seen, but is on my watch list is the The Burning Moon (1992), which is pretty extreme in its depictions of hell.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Aug 7, 2018 13:50:59 GMT
Visually it pops, and the horror escalates into sheer uncomfortable torment and grotesque imagery. But yeah, it doesn’t break any new ground, narrative wise, yet the cultural influence gave it somewhat a new spin. The first time I saw it I did leave me cold and it’s short film origins does show it up. Still it’s well-made, and the horror scenes were effective and intense. It kind of reminded me of The Void, but I liked this one better. I also saw the director’s latest film; “Housewife” earlier this year. Visually as impressive and some brutal acts of voilence with a killer ending, but the story pales in comparison in staying in the shadows of “Rosemary’s Baby”. However I do like this film more. Definitely worth keeping an eye on this director. As for similar films, loosely I say, Japanese Hell (1999) which is a darkly humourous and batty reworking of Jigoku. The scenes of pain and torture are crazy and atmospherically staged. Not as interesting when the story moves away from this gimmick. If you’re talking about gateways to hell; The Sentinel (1977) is a favourite. One I haven’t seen, but is on my watch list is the The Burning Moon (1992), which is pretty extreme in its depictions of hell. Agreed about the visual appeal and the cultural intrigue of the movie. Those were the best things going for it. I didn't realize it was based on a short, but that makes a lot of sense, and I can see how it might be a lot more interesting if it didn't stretch out it's generally thin premise. I will look out for the director's other work, as I think he showed some real potential. Those later scenes are indeed uncomfortable and effectively unnerving, but the character and makeup design of the lead bad guy at the end is so bizarre that I don't know if it works to make things more unsettling or if it makes it so odd that it takes you out of it. Still, the surrealism and better-than-most Hellraiser sequels vibe is enjoyable enough. And I also preferred the most stark and straight faced approach here to The Void, which was a little goofy and did less by stretching its modest budget with bigger effects than Baskin did by staying inside what must have been a really tiny budget. Thanks for the other recommendations. I enjoy that subject matter and tone even when it's not done all that well. I haven't seen that many really effective versions so I'm always open to seeing more. And I haven't seen that many f the foreign language entries outside of the Fulci gates of hell movies.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Oct 27, 2023 22:42:29 GMT
I thought I would bump this thread, instead of mentioning on the Challenge discussion thread. Since I re-watched it the other night. Still feel the same way about it. The imagery is striking, especially when the cops enter the house and the Hellraiser dimension erupts. But the story still remains threadbare. Though the ending left me with more questions then I remembered when I first saw it. On YouTube there are numerous videos explaining the cultural significance of what the cops were encountering in the house. So maybe that might help clear up certain details.
There is one scene which for some reason reminded me of Michael Mann’s ‘The Keep’. A striking resemblance in how it was framed, along with the camera placement and lighting. The scene is when the cops get out of the van in the middle of the forest, when they believe a naked man crossed in front of them on the road. For some reason seeing that scene had me thinking of the forest scene when Scott Glenn confronts soldiers at a woodland border crossing. Just popped in my mind during this viewing.
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