leebutler Horror, Review, Thriller

Halloween Ends (2022) – One Last Scare

Released: 13th October
Seen: 12th October

In 1978, John Carpenter changed the world of horror films and indeed cinema as a whole when he released Halloween. A simple but intense slasher film, Carpenter’s film was not only a technological triumph, thanks to its use of what would become known as the Steadicam shot, but one of the most tension-filled horror films to ever exist. Naturally, it spawned sequels, some good and some god-awful before eventually being revitalised in 2018 with another film called Halloween that asked the simple question “What would Laurie be like in the aftermath of such a traumatic night” and it was a genuinely great re-entry to the franchise. 

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leebutler Horror, Mystery, Review, Thriller

Hellraiser (2022) – Raises Hell

Released: 8th October
Seen: 9th October

Hellraiser Image

The Hellraiser franchise is one of the weirder major entries in the horror genre. Built around the idea of mixing sexuality and torture long before the phrase ‘torture porn’ was created as a pejorative for the more extreme kinds of horror, Hellraiser was always a series that sat just on the edge of the mainstream. You certainly knew about it thanks to the iconic image of Pinhead but it’s such a wild set of movies that even some horror fans might have issues with it (and also it kind of infamously started sucking around the 4th-5th movie, depending on which fan you ask). It’s also been the major horror franchise that’s avoided being rebooted longer than pretty much everything else… until now. It also is on the shortlist of “80s horror reboots that don’t suck”, a prestigious list if ever there was one.

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leebutler Horror, Review

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (2022) – Call Waiting

Released: 5th October
Seen: 5th October

Mr. Harrigan's Phone Info

Considering how ubiquitous they are now, it’s kind of fascinating to realise that the modern cell phone is actually not that old. The first smartphone hit the market back in 1994 and was a technical revolution, soon going from a plaything of the wealthy to something that you literally cannot exist without in the modern world. We now exist with the entire history of human knowledge on an electronic device that fits right in our pocket, it’s nothing short of a miracle device. Of course, as happens to all technologies that become popular, the cell phone is a prime tool to be used in fiction and if there’s anyone who is good at taking mundane everyday objects and making them terrifying, it’s Stephen King… usually, with Mr. Harrigan’s Phone there’s nothing actually terrifying going on.

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leebutler Comedy, Horror, Review

My Best Friend’s Exorcism (2022) – Possessed

Released: 30th September
Seen: 2nd October

My Best Friend's Exorcism Info

1973 saw the release of The Exorcist, a film that’s still regularly considered the scariest film of all time. The stories of what would happen during the screenings of that film are legendary, people throwing up in the aisles, fainting in their seats, running from the theatre screaming in terror. It was an absolute phenomenon and it also effectively created the modern demon possession film as we know it. All the tropes of the genre basically originate from here and everyone since has tried desperately to match the effectiveness of the undeniable classic. The latest attempt to join the genre is a little teen comedy spin on the concept, My Best Friend’s Exorcism which could’ve been fun but like most teenagers, it feels unsure of itself.

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Hocus Pocus 2 Promo Image
leebutler Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Review

Hocus Pocus 2 (2022) – Wonderful Witchcraft

Released: 30th September
Seen: 30th September

In 1993 the film Hocus Pocus was released to an audience that really didn’t want anything to do with it. At the time it was critically thrashed and the box office wasn’t exactly glowing which is a little understandable when you consider it was released on the same day as the juggernaut that was Free Willy and not too long after Jurassic Park, so audiences were somewhat distracted. Of course, as time went on, thanks to regular screenings around Halloween and the home video market, Hocus Pocus eventually found its audience and became a massive cult hit and has been subsequently reevaluated by many as a pretty damn good family movie with more than enough charm to delight most audiences, along with possibly the best cover version of I Put A Spell On You to ever be recorded. 

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