Movie Night! 'Day Off...' Edition

I had the day off yesterday and somehow managed to spend just over half of it asleep. Which was briliant by the way, I thoroughly recommend you give it a go ;o) A large chunk of the rest of it was spent at the hospital (nothing serious, just something that I really needed to get checked out) and by the time I got back, I wasn't in the mood for any reading at all. So down I sat with a pizza and a couple of movies, let me tell you about them...

'Hellraiser: Bloodline' (1996)

In the 22nd century, a scientist attempts to right the wrongs of his ancestor and finally close the portal to hell. Pinhead would much rather that portal remain open though and so the final battle begins.

Well, I say 'final battle'... There have been a few 'Hellraiser' movies since 'Bloodline'. My head canon has this film as the final one though with everything else fitting in just after 'Hell on Earth'. I always enjoy watching 'Bloodline' but never without a little hesitation and this time was exactly the same. I like the ambition that this film has, to tell a tale spanning hundreds of years and finally conclude the series, and Doug Bradley, as ever, is up to the task. It's a shame then that the movie is perhaps a little too ambitious for its runtime (just under an hour and a half) and takes a step further away from the themes which made the first two films so good. Not a bad movie to sit with for an hour and a half, it's still entertaining, but won't feature that highly when I finally rank these movies.

'Phantasm' (1979)

Mike, his brother Jody and their friend Reggie must face off against the grave robbing Tall Man and his followers. Either that, or join them...

This movie was all over the place but in such a great way that I suspect I'll find myself watching the next couple at least. How much of it was a dream and how much was real? I'm still trying to get my head round that (as well as the film's habit of jumping around) so I'm not going to say too much here, only that Angus Scrimm is a brilliant 'Tall Man' (he's creepy before he even opens his mouth...) and I got a lot out of 'Phantasm's' blend of horror and sci-fi. I'm definitely interested to see where this film goes next.

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