Hellraising !!!

Hellraiser: Inferno [Hellraiser 5] (2000): written by Paul Harris Boardman and Scott Derrickson; directed by Scott Derrickson; starring Craig Sheffer (Det. Thorn), Nicholas Turturro (Det. Nenonen), James Remar (Dr. Gregory), and Doug Bradey (Pinhead): 

Straight-to-video entry in the Hellraiser series is a competent bit of low-budget horror starring Craig Sheffer as a dirty, hard-boiled cop who runs afoul of Pinhead and the Cenobites, who are as akin to the three spirits of A Christmas Carol in this as they are to their normally fetishy, hyperviolent selves. 

Writer-director Scott Derrickson would go on to helm Marvel's first Dr. Strange movie. Sheffer is competent. The movie itself was an original script into which Dimension Films (the genre offshoot of Miramax) inserted characters and situations from the Hellraiser universe. It's not terrible, and its dreamier/more nightmarish sections certainly do point towards the mystical shenanigans of Dr. Strange. Lightly recommended.

Hellraiser: Hellworld [Hellraiser 8](2005): written by Joel Soisson and Carl Dupre; directed by Rick Bota; starring Lance Henriksen (The Host), Katheryn Winnick (Chelsea), Christpher Jacot (Jake), Henry Cavill (Mike), and Doug Bradley (Pinhead): An original story into which Dimension Films (the genre offshoot of Miramax) inserted characters and situations from the Hellraiser universe. Katheryn Winnick (Vikings), Lance Henriksen (everything) and Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) headline the cast, though only Henriksen was a known quantity at the time. 

This time around, the Hellraiser universe figures in a massively popular, massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Several years after their friend committed suicide 'because of' the game, five friends find themselves with invitations to the annual Hellworld convention, held at some creepy giant house in Los Angeles. Hellraiser is just a game in this movie. Or is it? So of course the remaining friends go to the convention. And everything goes fine!

Of course not. This is a relatively clever entry in the Hellraiser series, even if Henry Cavill's British accent seems to be present in the first scene and absent for the rest of the film. The movie isn't anti-video-games (smart move!). It also wisely, given its low budget, avoids actually showing footage of the fictional game. 

Katheryn Winnick is fetching and competent as a character who is intermittently kick-ass. The other four gamers are pretty annoying, which is no fault of the actors. Lance Henriksen exudes morbid, sardonic menace throughout regardless of how goofy his lines get. Surprisingly enjoyable. The last Hellraiser with Doug Bradley as Pinhead. Recommended.

Don't Look Down

As Above, So Below: written by John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle; directed by John Erick Dowdle; starring Perdita Weeks (Scarlett), Ben Feldman (George), Edwin Hodge (Benji), Francois Civil (Papillon), Marion Lambert (Susie), and Ali Marhyar (Zed) (2014): Minor but enjoyable horror movie that would have benefited from not being 'found footage.' But I've got a soft spot for any movie that involves a descent into the Paris Catacombs in search of that Moby Dick of alchemists, the Philosopher's Stone. 

And they're the real catacombs! And there's almost as much graffiti down there as there are human remains! Also, in case you've got a bet going, the black guy does not die first, though he does attract an inordinate amount of attention from whatever's down there. Demerit points for referring to something from Dante's Inferno as being something from "legend"; bonus points for actually incorporating a number of concepts from the Inferno into the descent. My biggest complaint is that they don't end up surfacing in Australia. Lightly recommended.