Scary Movie Night - Halloween 2020

Halloween isn’t really celebrated here in The Netherlands, but I wished it was. Because I love it and everything about this holiday. I usually have a scary movie night on Halloween, but I never really shared anything about it on my blog. This year I will. And I will do more of these in the future, whenever I have a themed movie night. My favorite kind of ‘party’ to host.
 
This year we chose three films. All horror, but three very different films. I won’t review them here, but will give you links to the reviews of the movies we viewed.
 
My scary movie night partner in crime this year was my brother Frank, who is a horror fan and has seen some of the most obscure films in the genre and is an expert when it comes to scary films.
 

The first film we watched turned out to be the most shocking and heavy one of them all: “Sinister”, starring Ethan Hawke. The film shines because of its suspense and tension build-up and had some really big, effective jump scares. I realized that my heart rate went way up when I watched “Sinister”. Check out my review HERE .
 

Number two was a rewatch and a personal favorite for both of us: “Fright Night”. The original version from 1985, with Chris Sarandon as Jerry Dandridge. This film is not so much scary, but extremely entertaining, funny with horror elements and a great 80s throwback. It was a nice change from the heavy material we saw before. Check out my review for “Fright Night” HERE .
 

We finished with a movie I had never seen, but is one of Frank’s favorite horror movies of all-time. And I think a favorite for most horror fans: “Hellraiser”. This is scary because of the gore. It’s a body horror film with pretty disturbing and bloody images. Also very eighties. You can read my review HERE .
 

I was a fun scary movie night, with some real good scares. What did you watch on Halloween?

80s Movie Review - Hellraiser

Director: Clive Barker
Genre: Horror/ Fantasy
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 1987
Starring: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashely Laurence, Sean Chapman, Oliver Smith, Robert Hines, Anthony Allen, Leon Davis, Michael Cassidy, Frank Baker, Kenneth Nelson, Gay Baynes, Niall Buggy, Dave Atkins, Oliver Parker, Doug Bradley

Description: A woman (Clare Higgins) discovers the newly resurrected, partially formed, body of her brother-in-law. She starts killing for him to revitalize his body so he can escape the demonic beings that are pursuing him after he escaped their sadistic underworld.

Review: Larry and Julia have moved into a new home. He is a dull guy, who believes in the goodness of his wife. However, she is an adulterer who once had a relationship with Frank, Larry’s brother. When Larry injures himself during the move, some blood falls on the wooden floor. This brings Frank back, but his body is only partially resurrected. He once bought a magic cube, which opened the gates to hell. The so-called Cenobites, demons from hell, exit from it and they tortured Frank to death. Blood sacrifices will make Frank human again and Julia is supposed to bring him victims.
When Larry’s daughter Kirsty finds the cube and takes it with her, she also opens the gates to hell. Pinhead and his friends now want to torture her too but because she knows Frank’s soul is trying to escape Pinhead, they make a deal. But you really shouldn’t trust a Cenobite.
“Hellraiser” is known as one of the better horror movies out there. At least for true horror fans. And I understand why. The tension build-up is good, no clichés. The story starts quite calm, but us taken a step further and further, until the gates to hell are opened. Also the somewhat campy, yet dark atmosphere contributes to an oh so pleasant viewing experience. The Cenobites are creatures from nightmares, and Pinhead isn’t even the scariest of them.  
The film has some blood and gore in it, but it never overpowers. The acting isn’t great, but it’s nowhere a point of annoyance. Ever horror fan should see “Hellraiser” at least once in their life.

Rating: 3,5 / 5