Hellraiser

Year: 1987
Director: Clive Barker
Writer: Clive Barker
Genre: Horror

I first saw Hellraiser when I was a young teenager so I barely remembered anything about it. Within the last few weeks I decided this would be the next series I tackle for my blog. Interestingly, the first few titles streaming on Netflix expire at the start of July so I figured there was no time to waste. More interestingly, the third film isn't streaming while the rest of the series is. Perhaps it's a licensing issue.

So, back to Hellraiser. I like the move fairly well enough. It starts off with a couple who are moving into a new house. Things are looking okay until the husband cuts his hand on a nail jutting out of a frame and bleeds all over the house. Unfortunately for him, one of the rooms contains an unholy being inside which sucks up his blood and basically reanimates itself. It's pretty disgusting but also very cool.

The husband has a daughter as well, who tries to be accepted by the mother but still feels very nervous around her. Like in many movies, she becomes a snoop later on and gets herself mixed up in a very unfortunate situation. Oh, and did I mention that the being that feeds off blood in the house is the husband's brother who the wife had an affair with in his livelier days? Yep.

The story is all kinds of convoluted but not so much so that you get thrown off. When I was younger I remeber feeling like the movie went crazy once the cenobites were introduced. For the unfamiliar, the most famous cenobite is Pinhead and they're basically demons/angels from another world. Anyway, it's still a pretty wild ride but I certainly feel I could appreciate it this time around. It's basically a sadomasochistic rock-style horror film, if that makes any sense.

If for no other reason, horror fans should view it as this is a "classic". For me, it felt similar to how Phantasm does so if you enjoy that film you might want to give it a look.

Ranking the Puppet Master Series

The Puppet Master franchise is one I have overlooked a very long time. Despite having a love/hate relationship with doll and dummy films I figured this one seemed a little too goofy for my tastes. For better or for worse, one day I decided to just watch them all anyway. Now that I've completed watching 9 films in the series it is time to rank them based on my personal preference.

1. Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge
2. Curse of the Puppet Master
3. Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys
4. Retro Puppet Master
5. Puppet Master
6. Puppet Master II
7. Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter
8. Puppet Master 4
9. Puppet Master: The Legacy

So there is everything ranked from best to worst. Toulon's Revenge is a pretty nice film all by itself if you ever care to dip into the world of living puppets. As for Puppet Master: The Legacy, nobody should watch that one ever. Honestly, from 6-9 they're all pretty dull films. Even the original isn't the most exciting thing out there! Either way, I'm glad I spent time with the movies although I doubt I'll go back anytime soon. 

Actually, there is one newer film in the series which I have yet to watch. That film is Puppet Master: Axis of Evil and came out in 2010. I'm honestly worried to watch it because I can only expect it's horrendous beyond anything else. After that though I think the series is going to be left to die. 

Women in Boxes

Year: 2008
Director: Phil Noyes, Harry Pallenberg
Writer: Blaire Baron
Genre: Documentary

The only reason I really chose to watch this today was due to the fact that it will be removed from Netflix streaming at the start of July. In fact, a couple of my queued items are disappearing that day so I figured I'd give them a watch before then. So if you're so inclined to watch this film and have Netflix then you'd better hurry up.

The documentary focuses on various women who have been magician's assistants at various points in time. Footage is shown of their respective acts and some of the tricks that they discuss in the interviews. There is one magician's secret revealed in the entire documentary but that is because it is very old and nobody ever uses the method anymore. It's the secret to the first "sawing women in half" trick and, personally, I never knew it so that was neat.

What I also found so interesting was that these assistants really are intensely important in shows. They do a ton of work and in fact maybe more than the magicians themselves in most cases. Magicians just have to present and move and wave but the women have to curl up in a box or get themselves in precarious situations. The tricks themselves are dangerous even if they aren't in the outright ways. For example, a woman getting sawed in half never has the danger of actually getting sawed in half but many tricks still are dangerous. In fact, one woman talked about a trick where swords were stuck through a box and that apparently the "trick" thing was set backwards so she did actually get sliced with a sword. It's scary stuff!

In fact, it's when those stories of injury came up that I wished the entire documentary could possibly be about that. It really interested me to realize just how dangerous it is, even though we all usually expect the female performers are in no actual harm. But then the documentary went on to talk about the sexist nature of magician performances and stuff. I also found that really interesting because, again, I never viewed them in that manner. It's weird to think about. Magic acts sprung up with the women being in distress for what reason? It seems because nobody would care to see a man in peril, but to see a woman being "mutilated" on stage is something else entirely. Weird, weird, weird.

The documentary isn't the most exciting thing out there, but it caught my attention. I'm interested in magic acts very much though so that might be part of it. I liked it and that's all there is to it.

Queer Film Blogathon is On

Hey folks!

I just wanted to let you all know that today a Queer Film Blogathon is on and being hosted over at the Garbo Laughs blog. What it is basically is a day, today, where lots of writers are putting out reviews, assessments, essays, and whatever else about films with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi, transgender) content. Because of the fact that "LGBT" is not everyone's favorite acronym and can be extended in so many ways, the host of the blog is preferring to call it "queer" which is meant to encompass everything. So there you go.

So far I managed to put one review in for the blogathon - my Desperate Living review. Even though I won't probably watch any more films today with LGBT content, I've been really exited by the whole idea of the blogathon. In the future, if I come across this sort of content in future films I'd like to explore it in my reviews. As part of the community myself, I feel a sense of pride in sharing these depictions with others, even if they aren't the nicest things ever.

Make-Out With Violence

Year: 2008
Director: Deagol Brothers
Writer: Cody DeVos, Deagol Brothers
Genre: Horror: Black comedy

I like to think I'm not shallow but when it comes to movie choices I often prefer names that grab me to simple one word things like "Demons" or "Blood". However, in the case of this strangely named film I in fact pushed myself away from it. The name conjured up some sort of bikini-girl-running-from-masked-murder sameness that I've not been in the mood for for a while. Either way, out of random selection I chose to finally sit down with the movie. It was much better than I expected.

The basic premise is that there are a group of three brothers (2 older, 1 younger) and the two older ones have crushes on these two best friend girls. It's a perfectly suburban love story until one day that one the girls, Wendy, disappears. Eventually searches are called off and a funeral is held for her because she's presumed dead. A bit after that, the youngest brother runs around and discovers her body in the woods. Also, apparently she did die but she's still living. Undead, you know.

From then on it gets really interesting because the brother who adored her, Patrick, can't live without her it seems. Despite the fact that she's practically a living doll (with a taste for flesh) he takes care of her in their friend's house who is away for the summer. The other brothers are in on it too but certainly don't want to let anyone else know hat is going on.

I'm surprised by how much I liked this movie. It played out so well and I felt really sorry for Patrick's struggle. It made me put myself in his place. If somehow there were some zombie version of someone I loved deeply out there, wouldn't I want to try and keep them? Probably not, but I could see why someone would go so far. It's sadly striking and even more so since Patrick never actually dated her and just adored her so very much.

It's not just Patrick's story though as the other brothers still serve integral roles and have relationships with other characters throughout. The second older brother, Carol, in particular was an interestingly awkward guy. The youngest serves as the narrator and his stark stating of facts is humorous at times. Overall, quite the enjoyable film. If I had to pair it with something I'd say watch it alongside Zombie Honeymoon.

Valmont

Year: 1989
Director: Milos Forman
Writer: Milos Forman, Jean-Claude Carriere
Genre: Drama: Romance

First off, Valmont is yet another adaptation of the book Les Liasions Dangereueses. This was the last of the various adaptations for me to watch and now I've seen them all! Well, unless there's some sort of made-for TV version. Unfortunately, I only reviewed one of the others: Dangerous Liaisons. 


In regards to what Valmont brings to the table it shows a different side of title character Valmont then all the other adaptations. For the most part, we are always the stranger looking in on this very selfish man who wants every woman possible. Somehow, this film managed to make viewers empathize with him and see that he's not bad at all, simply misguided. What's most strange is how as opposed to those other films, it seems much more like a Shakespearian comedy than a devilishly cruel one. The other films were good at being darkly comedic but this just felt bubbly in comparison even though the same exact storyline was playing out. I honestly couldn't tell you how they manged it, but it worked well.

I enjoyed the movie wholeheartedly especially since it wasn't the same old thing. However, I wouldn't go so far as to say I like it more than the other adaptations. Personally, Dangerous Liaisons still remains at the top of my list. Even Cruel Intentions, which is of a much more Hollywood variety is a little higher up than this. Possibly. I'd need to watch it again.

What was most strange about this version of the story is that there was never any outright stating that Valmont  and his sister were the ones engaged in their cruel plan. I'm not sure if the character was just revoked of her sister status so it wouldn't be incestuous or if they really were siblings but you are just supposed to know from the base material. I don't know but it struck me as odd that it was never explicitly declared like in the other versions. It's easy enough to slip in "my dear sister" so why didn't they do it? Or maybe they did and I wasn't paying attention, but none of the other characters seemed to comment on it either. The closest I recall hearing though was when the character said "he's almost like a brother" or something like that. Obviously, it seemed to be hinting to the idea that he IS her brother, but still an obtuse way of going about sharing information.

Beyond that, the film was pretty solid and entertaining. I'm happy this version was Keanu Reeves free. Nothing against him, but his portrayal of the music teacher in Dangerous Liaisons was basically like everything else he did in the 90s - lifeless.

Desperate Living

Year: 1977
Director: John Waters
Writer: John Waters
Genre: Comedy, Crime

This post was written for the Queer Film Blogathon over at Garbo Laughs!

When choosing to watch Desperate Living I had no idea what to expect. A John Waters film is always something out of the ordinary though hence my choosing it. I've seen a few of his works, but none have ever surpassed my first - Pink Flamingos. While this movie didn't pass it up in pure shock, it nearly did and in fact pushed the envelope a lot further.

The entire film is ridiculous. After a woman kills her husband with the aid of her maid (who smothers him to death by sitting on his face) the two race away from the crime scene. They run to the criminal town of Mortville where murderers, rapists, and more live together in apparent peace and harmony. It's a slum, but it's better than jail. Well, maybe not quite as there is a crazy queen who enforces inane rules upon the townsfolk for no good reason.

For the first part of the film it seems like the housewife and her maid would be the main characters, but as the story progresses they fade from the main view as others take the stage. It is a couple that replaces these two. The couple are Mole and Muffy. They've lived in Mortville for a long time and inadvertently become heroes as time passes. What's most interesting about these heroes is how unlikely they are and Mole in particular.

Muffy is an obvious sex kitten and yet only has eyes for her precious Mole. Mole, too, is only interested in Muffy and seems to take relatively good care of her. What's most interesting though is that early into the introduction of Mole's character, he plainly states "I'm a man trapped in a woman's body!". Normally, a trans character would be pushed into a supporting role not straight out into protagonist status, but here he is. Even in this case, typically his "trans" status wouldn't be played off of very much. In Desperate Living, it isn't focused upon but still sees some exposure during the film.

There's a part in the movie where Mole decides he needs to have a "sex change" to please Muffy. After getting new bottom organs, he returns home to surprise her. Muffy is horrified and comes to tell him she was so happy with his body before. But even now, she would continue to love every last bit of it just the same as before (although Mole cuts the new member off as he didn't actually desire it for himself to begin with). Muffy stitches him back up and the story continues. I find it so incredible that this would be in a film from the 70s without trying to be exploitative. Muffy and Mole's relationship is portrayed so honestly. Even though Mole isn't equipped exactly the way he expects to be, Muffy loves him no bit less. Even though the characters themselves are eccentric beyond belief, they still are portrayed very humanly in regards to their emotions.

What also interested me was how everyone else interacted with Mole. Apparently, most everyone he was friends with knew, but nobody cared a bit either way. Mole was a female-bodied he and it was readily acknowledged. The other characters treated him as male, but also never batted an eye even when discussing female things with him (ex: Mole having an abortion). Despite being criminals, the cast was pretty down to earth and open about his situation. His transgender status was never brought up in an insulting fashion where in many other instances it probably could have been.

Mole is a murder. Mole is grimy and skinny and loudmouthed. Mole's character is so many things that the focus is not his trans-ness. Even in more modern film, it seems rare where a trans character will be painted in a well-rounded fashion. If it was possible in the 70s then I'm sure it's possible now... I just need to find those "now" movies.