Little (VHS) Movie Review: Trick ‘R Treat and Hellraiser
November 3rd, 2009 by Colin Panetta in Arts, Film, Sarasota-Manatee
Can you believe Little Movie Review skipped Halloween? Well, it was for good reason: Tragedy struck during the last week of VHS Month. As happens from time to time with this arcane method of home entertainment, we were the sad victims of the infamous “technical difficulties.” The slated film, often referred to as the “grossest movie ever,” Street Trash, refused to rewind and was handed off only halfway rewound (or maybe, rather, half-watched by someone with a weak constitution). So instead we’re making it up with a double review: the finally released and promised-to-be-classic Trick ‘R Treat and the definite classic Hellraiser, VHS month cohort Jessie Archambault’s favorite movie (I think), which I watched on… Blu-ray! Oy!
Directed by Michael Dougherty
Starring Dylan Baker, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox
USA, 2008
R, 82 min
live action, color
Trick ‘R Treat doesn’t quite live up to it’s potential, what with having been mythologized for years while it was stuck in release purgatory and not being anything too special in the writing or scare departments, but it’s fun to watch and makes for charming seasonal viewing. One really embarrassingly awful montage is outweighed by a number of fun sequences and some fun acting. 3 stars
Directed by Clive Barker
Starring Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Oliver Smith
United Kingdom, 1987
R, 94 min
live action, color
One of the great ’80s horror films, Hellraiser features a number of truly disturbing and weird images and sequences. The writing and acting are fine and suit the work well, and some mind-bending practical (i.e. made by hand) special effects make the film really special.
It was an interesting experience watching Hellraiser on Blu-ray. On one hand, there were a number of shots that the filmmakers were clearly banking on the audience seeing as a lower quality image. Some fake skin being ripped to shreds looked awfully… well, fake. But some of the other stellar effects work only benefited from being seen with more clarity. On the average, though, films of this nature are probably better watched on the VHS format for which they were intended. 4 stars
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Hellraiser does remain a favorite film of mine. I don’t know about it being top of the list, but definitely a favorite coming from the mind of Clive Barker. Blu-ray is so foreign to me. I’ve only seen clips from movies like King Kong and Field of Dreams at Best Buy. I’m curious about your observations on the special effects in Hellraiser seen on Blu-ray. I’ll have to send you the next three Hellraiser films, on VHS of course.