Movie Night! 'Hellraiser: Judgment' (2018) & 'The Deadly Mantis' (1957)

I know, it's another 'Movie Night' post... My neighbours, downstairs, had a big ol' party, on Sunday night, that went on until at least three on Monday morning (well, that was when I finally managed to get to sleep) and I really wasn't up for a book post by the time Monday evening came round. I'll try and get something bookish posted tomorrow, promise ;o)

All I really wanted to do was crawl into bed and watch movies, so that's exactly what I did :o) I did give myself a little challenge though... The two movies I picked had to be completely different movies. I've got quite the tower of unwatched DVDs and a couple more or less chose themselves. A horror and a 'creature feature' it was then...

'Hellraiser: Judgment' (2018)

Detectives Sean and David Carter are on the case to find a gruesome serial killer terrorizing the city. Joining forces with Detective Christine Egerton, they dig deeper into a spiraling maze of horror that may not be of this world. The Auditor, the Assessor and the Jury wait to pass judgment and behind them all, the Hellpriest himself, Pinhead.

I've still got a few gaps to fill ('Deader' and 'Hellworld', most of 'Revelations' as well) but have enjoyed all the films that I have managed to watch. I saw 'Judgment' a few years ago but came across the DVD the other day, in Sainsburys, and had to have a copy of my own... so here we are.

I'm a bit of a fan of 'Judgment' as you can see the ambition in the storytelling. This isn't just a tale of Pinhead going after whoever was stupid enough to open the really sinister looking puzzle box. It's a tale that attempts a little bit of world building, to Pinhead's realm, with the introduction of the Auditor and his entourage that judge the wicked before Pinhead himself gets involved. It's also the first of the sequel movies to really look at the question of how Hell must evolve to keep up with a world where the puzzle box has become obsolete and every sin and pleasure can now be found online. You can tell there's some budgetary constraints happening but I think 'Judgment' does a great job of answering these questions with what it has. What goes on in that house will make your skin crawl... Doug Bradley may not be Pinhead here but lessons have been learnt, from 'Revelations', and they've tried to get as close to Bradley as possible. Paul T. Taylor makes for a surprisingly good Pinhead and I'd happily watch him again if there's ever a sequel (and there really should be, given how 'Judgment' ends).

With all this going on, it's easy to forget that there's an actual story happening as well. It's a little too easy to see where the plot is headed but I did enjoy how it is tied into the wider mythos. I'd say that 'Hellraiser: Judgment' is a worthy entry to the franchise. I've got a couple more films to watch before I can compile my list of favourites but it would definitely be above 'Hellraiser: Revelations'... ;o)

'The Deadly Mantis' (1957)

When a giant, thousand-ton, carnivorous praying mantis is released from it's million-year slumber in the frozen Arctic, a determined commander, a paleontologist and a journalist work together to stop it's terrible path of deadly destruction. As it walks, leaps and flies towards Washington DC, the fate of a nation rests on stopping the menacing insect by any means possible.

I bought this on a random browse through Amazon as I have a bit of a soft spot for old 'giant creature' movies and will watch them wherever I find them. 'The Deadly Mantis' gets off to a slow start, thanks to the voiceover man deciding to take some time to tell us viewers all about how radar works and where all the radar is. I'm pretty sure that at some point, the giant mantis escaped from the ice but I missed it because I was too busy being educated. Oh well, I'll have to go back and check again.

Things do pick up a little once the mantis starts chewing it's way towards New York but I wish that things had moved a bit quicker. I guess the nineteen fifties could only do so much with a ropey looking mantis puppet but did the film really need to go the 'mantis fights the military, hides and then eats a bus before fighting the military again' approach? It made the film very linear when an engaging plot could have made all the difference. Having said that though, the climactic scenes in the Manhattan tunnel were great and the whole reason why I will always watch old creature movies. I think they missed a trick though, someone should have said, “but this wasn't the mantis that we hit...' and then have it fade to black. That's just wishful thinking on my part though.

'The Deadly Mantis' wants to be another 'Them!' and if it had stopped being a 'Radar Documentary' for a couple of minutes... who knows, maybe it could have been. As it stands though, 'The Deadly Mantis' is fun but isn't on the same level.

And now, I promised you a bookish post tomorrow didn't I? Let me get on that ;o)