Over the past few days, I have watched three classic horror movies - "Halloween", "The Thing" and "Hellraiser". I will deal with the former in a different text because before I write about it, I want to see the second part. In today's text, you can read my opinion about the classic by John Carpenter and Clive Barker.
I heard about "The Thing" from an early age, but I never saw it, nor did I need it. Why? Mostly because I'm not a horror movie fan. For many years of my life, I avoided them and only watched them when the idea intrigued me to such an extent that I felt a strong need to know the title (which happened only a few times). There have been a few single cases, such as "Alien: 8th Passenger Nostromo" or "Alone in the Dark" (speaking of other types of horrors), but these are specific exceptions. In the case of "The Thing" there is another reason, for reasons I do not understand, I did not see anything in it that would interest me. Now I can see how wrong I was. On the other hand, I am as happy as with "Rambo" that I took so long to watch it, which made me appreciate the movie even more.
I appreciated it for three things - plot, atmosphere, and special effects. I do not know Howard Hawks' 1951 film "Essence from Another World", let alone its original book by John W. Campbell, "Who Goes There", so I don't know if the resemblance to "Alien: 8 passenger Nostromo" is coincidental. Although the threat is completely different in both films, you can feel a similarly dense atmosphere of hounding, no escape, and generally a similar atmosphere. For most of the film, I felt that the two pictures were almost identical to each other in many respects, even though the threats our heroes face are different from each other (Alien - a perfect killer, quick, agile, with super reflexes and excellent reaction time, Something - the ability to incarnate into any creature, as well as learn and adapt). It's hard for me to say which one is better at it, because the first part of "Alien" is one of my favorite classics, and "The Thing" just charmed me. Throughout the screening, I felt a similar aura from him as from both parts of "Terminator" or the film about Xenomorph - an image perfectly thought out and realized on every level. An image that is just as fresh and good at the time of its premiere as now, when several decades have passed since its debut.
As for the actors, I don't have much to write about. I will probably expose myself to all fans of "The Thing", but none of the actors impressed me as much as Sigourney Weaver or Ian Holmes. Although I'm not thrilled, I still have any complaints. John Carpenter's film is simply good in this regard. I don't think I will remember the main character or his companions, but in this case, I don't consider it a disadvantage.
I will end this segment with admiration for the creme de la creme of this production. Of course, I'm talking about special effects that have not aged a bit, and the amazing ideas of the creators and their diligence! To this day, they look outstanding, and when I read or hear about how some scenes were made, I can't help but be delighted. Almost everything is moving naturally, I have felt the alternation of horror, delight, disgust and a few other feelings, but I couldn't take my eyes off - it all looked so good! The scene with dogs, loss of hands, for which a real cripple with a similar ailment was hired (for a shot that lasts a second, maximum two), a moving head that looks like one of the opponents from the game "Doom 3", almost all the scenes in which we see title Something ... It all looks beautiful. There is only one short fragment in the film, maybe a few short moments, when the puppet simulating a live actor is too visible. But they were such little things that I don't see why I should be picking on them. A detail that does not detract from genius in the slightest way. I've never seen that remake or prequel or whatever it is. A long time ago I wanted to start with it, but my friends and buddies even forbade me. Back then, I didn't understand all their complaints, but today, after the screening, I already know why they consider this production exceptional trash. I will definitely return to this film a few more times and rediscover it.
As for "Hellraiser" I liked it moderately, it had some really good ideas, but as a whole, it was wasted potential. I know, at the moment I have been exposed to classic horror fans, but oh well, I am not a connoisseur of the genre and although I have known Clive Barker for over a dozen years, no horror film creator has convinced me. With one exception - John Carpenter. Sorry, I saw this movie after "The Thing" and I'm reviewing it after watching "Halloween", so it's like judging a match between two good national soccer teams after sensational semi-finals in e.g. Champions League between top teams played on TV. Each of these 3 matches was of a high standard, but the last two were just better. In terms of the script and, above all, better character creations. It is also important that they got more time and opportunities for development, which made me like them more.
I liked the plot partly, and more specifically its two parts - the plot of the woman who wanted a younger bad boy lover. It wasn't cool that their passionate romance had no opportunity to warm up better, but this anti-heroine deserved such a fate. She killed three nice guys, or at least two because her first victim was probably not very clean. At least that's what it looked like to me after the scene where they were standing on the ground floor of this house. The second part consists of fantastic elements, and more specifically all the things that inspired Kentaro Miura, the author of the manga "Berserk". I mean Behelit turned into a cube here, the demonic dimension (as in the Eclipse in the comic book with Guts and Griffith), demons, a hard fucked up vibe, Hand of God (hereinafter referred to as Cenobites), their looks and outfits, how moving. Perhaps the rape of Casca was inspired by the original plot of "what if Hellraiser tried to realize Julia's fantasies in a slightly different form than she imagined". After all, Griffith was no longer human then either.
Perhaps I will watch the second part, but it will be rather at a later date. For now, I'd rather watch "Friday the 13th" and other classic movies that I have on my list, not necessarily horror movies.