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Review: ‘Clive Barker’s Hellraiser’ Comic is the Third Installment Fans Deserve

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Clive Barker’s Hellraiser brings the master of the Stygian lore back to his dark roots to explore the demonic mythos that made him legendary. And how very fitting, dear reader, that we – after celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the original film – now dare to unlock further revelations into this hellish saga and explore deeper into the undiscovered depths of the Carnal House of Pain.

Hell awaits us in Clive Barker’s Hellraiser

 

Image via Comics Alliance

The dimension of horror is no stranger to the searing visions of Clive Barker’s resplendent imagination. When we think of his work we typically get a visceral display of crimson images. Torn flesh strung wetly across dripping chains. Long passages leading to perpetual depths of yet-to-be discovered agony. And standing in the sickening glow of sweet decay are the misshapen visages of graceful beings disfigured beyond recognition but ripe with repulsive elegance. This is a peek into Hellraiser, Clive Barker’s most successful contribution to horror

 

Image via popmatters

 

After its initial success the little independent project became a franchise that’s spawned a throng of sequels, many of which I’ve seen, but admittedly they all get lost in each other. Mainly because their stories are embarrassingly too similar. With very little distinction, the Hellraiser franchise became all about – “oh no! We’ve found the Box! Oh no! We’ve opened it! Oh no! Pinhead! Oh fuck, now I’m dead” and that was as deep as it got.

 

Lacking in each succeeding film – from Hell on Earth onward – was the primal philosophies introduced to audiences by Clive Barker. Those being – the terrors of the flesh, and the price of carnal demands. Pinhead was gradually degraded into another slasher villain, rather than the Hell Priest who looked on with dull indifference to the fetid affairs of Mr. and Mrs. Everyday Man. It was a far cry from the original inspiration, and was not the vision Clive Barker had in store for his obsidian creation.

 

Image via In The Mouth of Dorkness

 

Clive Barker’s idea for the third-film installment was expected to take a grand departure from the franchise we already knew.

 

Image via Wicked Horror

 

The third segment of the trilogy would have taken us back into the ancient past. To the times of mystic Egypt. In Clive Barker’s Hellraiser III we would have been introduced to the first Cenobite, the mighty Pharaoh, a man obsessed with the secrets of the dead and seeking the key to immortality. In that movie-that-never-was the first Lament Configuration would have been the great pyramid itself. Its entire structure being a magnanimous construction of the Occult, making it a conduit of enormous supernatural energy. Enough energy to split open the fabric of reality and pry open the forbidden lairs of the Underworld.

 

Image via flickering myth

 

The scale of such imagination for a horror film is titanic, as would have been its undertaking. In a perfect world Clive Barker would have been given a budget befitting to Lord of the Rings and this movie would have happened. No doubt going on to be a master-class horror trilogy worthy of the name Hellraiser.

 

We do not live in a perfect world though. What we were given instead was Hell on Earth, a decent enough slasher, but nowhere near the depth of Barker’s genesis concepts. What then followed was Pinhead in space and a myriad of sequels that lost both fans and respect for the original lore along the way.

 

Image via Art Abyss

 

The fans deserved far better, and Clive Barker knew this. That’s why he treated us to Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, the continuation of Kirsty Cotton’s battle against the pale denizens of the Labyrinth. And the true third installment to the trilogy according to many.

 

Image via comixology

 

This time around Kirsty – together with Tiffany (survivor of Hellbound) – has formed a group known as The Harrowers, an esoteric team dedicated to ridding the world of the Lament Configuration and all of its many differing forms. That in itself is one of the many incredible insights this comic series offers us. The Lament Configuration is not limited to the box alone, but has several different incarnations, each one opening a new door to an altered dimension in the many levels of Hell.

 

Image via popmatters

 

Yet Kirsty is not the only one with followers. The Hell Priest has disciples of his own on Earth. Lost souls locked away inside the decaying husk of humanity, desperate and eager to gain the favors of Hell and serve its masters by shedding as many liters of innocent blood the Beast may require. If you’re wanting gore, look no further. This comic delivers.

 

Image via popmatters

 

This story also continues the peculiar dynamic between Kirsty Cotton and the Hell Priest which was established in the original two films. Overall this comic-book run genuinely feels like a more fitting third installment to the dark saga we’ve always wanted. It ties the beautiful cord between both Kirsty and Pinhead, entwining their bizarre connection even tighter.

 

Image via wall.alphacoders

 

If you’re a Hellraiser fan or if you love horror comics Clive Barker’s Hellraiser is a must read. This has been Manic Exorcism, and once again thank you for joining me in Hell

To preorder your copy of the upcoming Clive Barker’s Hellraiser Omnibus be sure to click here. You won’t regret it.

Or – if you have a little Manic in you too – you can visit your local comic book stores and collect each of the individual comic issues just like I did. The stunning cover art alone is worth the price.

 

 

 

 

 

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Melissa Barrera Says ‘Scary Movie VI’ Would Be “Fun To Do”

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Melissa Barrera might literally get the last laugh on Spyglass thanks to a possible Scary Movie sequel. Paramount and Miramax are seeing the right opportunity to bring the satirical franchise back into the fold and announced last week one might be in production as early as this fall.

The last chapter of the Scary Movie franchise was almost a decade ago and since the series lampoons thematic horror movies and pop culture trends, it would seem they have a lot of content to draw ideas from, including the recent reboot of slasher series Scream.

Barerra, who starred as final girl Samantha in those movies was abruptly fired from the latest chapter, Scream VII, for expressing what Spyglass interpreted as “antisemitism,” after the actress came out in support of Palestine on social media.

Even though the drama wasn’t a laughing matter, Barrera might get her chance to parody Sam in Scary Movie VI. That is if the opportunity arises. In an interview with Inverse, the 33-year-old actress was asked about Scary Movie VI, and her reply was intriguing.

“I always loved those movies,” the actress told Inverse. “When I saw it announced, I was like, ‘Oh, that would be fun. That would be so fun to do.’”

That “fun to do” part could be construed as a passive pitch to Paramount, but that’s open to interpretation.

Just like in her franchise, Scary Movie also has a legacy cast including Anna Faris and Regina Hall. There is no word yet on if either of those actors will appear in the reboot. With or without them, Barrera is still a fan of the comedies. “They have the iconic cast that did it, so we’ll see what goes on with that. I’m just excited to see a new one,” she told the publication.

Barrera is currently celebrating the box office success of her latest horror movie Abigail.

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Thrills and Chills: Ranking ‘Radio Silence’ Films from Bloody Brilliant to Just Bloody

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Radio Silence Films

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella are all filmmakers under the collective label called Radio Silence. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are the primary directors under that moniker while Villella produces.

They have gained popularity over the past 13 years and their films have become known as having a certain Radio Silence “signature.” They are bloody, usually contain monsters, and have breakneck action sequences. Their recent film Abigail exemplifies that signature and is perhaps their best film yet. They are currently working on a reboot of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York.

We thought we would go through the list of projects they have directed and rank them from high to low. None of the movies and shorts on this list are bad, they all have their merits. These rankings from top to bottom are just ones we felt showcased their talents the best.

We didn’t include movies they produced but didn’t direct.

#1. Abigail

An update to the second film on this list, Abagail is the natural progression of Radio Silence’s love of lockdown horror. It follows in pretty much the same footsteps of Ready or Not, but manages to go one better — make it about vampires.

Abigail

#2. Ready or Not

This film put Radio Silence on the map. While not as successful at the box office as some of their other films, Ready or Not proved that the team could step outside their limited anthology space and create a fun, thrilling, and bloody adventure-length film.

Ready or Not

#3. Scream (2022)

While Scream will always be a polarizing franchise, this prequel, sequel, reboot — however you want to label it showed just how much Radio Silence knew the source material. It wasn’t lazy or cash-grabby, just a good time with legendary characters we love and new ones who grew on us.

Scream (2022)

#4 Southbound (The Way Out)

Radio Silence tosses their found footage modus operandi for this anthology film. Responsible for the bookend stories, they create a terrifying world in their segment titled The Way Out, which involves strange floating beings and some sort of time loop. It’s kind of the first time we see their work without a shaky cam. If we were to rank this entire film, it would remain at this position on the list.

Southbound

#5. V/H/S (10/31/98)

The film that started it all for Radio Silence. Or should we say the segment that started it all. Even though this isn’t feature-length what they managed to do with the time they had was very good. Their chapter was titled 10/31/98, a found-footage short involving a group of friends who crash what they think is a staged exorcism only to learn not to assume things on Halloween night.

V/H/S

#6. Scream VI

Cranking up the action, moving to the big city and letting Ghostface use a shotgun, Scream VI turned the franchise on its head. Like their first one, this film played with canon and managed to win over a lot of fans in its direction, but alienated others for coloring too far outside the lines of Wes Craven’s beloved series. If any sequel was showing how the trope was going stale it was Scream VI, but it managed to squeeze some fresh blood out of this nearly three-decade mainstay.

Scream VI

#7. Devil’s Due

Fairly underrated, this, Radio Silence’s first feature-length film, is a sampler of things they took from V/H/S. It was filmed in an omnipresent found footage style, showcasing a form of possession, and features clueless men. Since this was their first bonafide major studio job it’s a wonderful touchstone to see how far they have come with their storytelling.

Devil’s Due

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Perhaps the Scariest, Most Disturbing Series of The Year

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You may have never heard of Richard Gadd, but that will probably change after this month. His mini-series Baby Reindeer just hit Netflix and it’s a terrifying deep dive into abuse, addiction, and mental illness. What is even scarier is that it’s based on Gadd’s real-life hardships.

The crux of the story is about a man named Donny Dunn played by Gadd who wants to be a stand-up comedian, but it’s not working out so well thanks to stage fright stemming from his insecurity.

One day at his day job he meets a woman named Martha, played to unhinged perfection by Jessica Gunning, who is instantly charmed by Donny’s kindness and good looks. It doesn’t take long before she nicknames him “Baby Reindeer” and begins to relentlessly stalk him. But that is just the apex of Donny’s problems, he has his own incredibly disturbing issues.

This mini-series should come with a lot of triggers, so just be warned it is not for the faint of heart. The horrors here don’t come from blood and gore, but from physical and mental abuse that go beyond any physiological thriller you may have ever seen.

“It’s very emotionally true, obviously: I was severely stalked and severely abused,” Gadd said to People, explaining why he changed some aspects of the story. “But we wanted it to exist in the sphere of art, as well as protect the people it’s based on.”

The series has gained momentum thanks to positive word-of-mouth, and Gadd is getting used to the notoriety.

“It’s clearly struck a chord,” he told The Guardian. “I really did believe in it, but it’s taken off so quickly that I do feel a bit windswept.”

You can stream Baby Reindeer on Netflix right now.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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