SLEEPWALKERS (1992)

Horrorless horror movie from the King of Horror, Stephen King, about a mother/son pair of shapeshifting vampire/cat creatures that can turn invisible and make other things change shape.  The secret of their power is the mothers ability to suck the lifeforce out of female virgins.  Okay.

When the film begins they've just fled California and relocated in Indiana.  The son enters high school and sets his sights on the Madchen Amick from "Twin Peaks".  Wise choice, but instead of just killing her when he's over at her crib, he attacks her while out on a date!  Genius.  The attack goes off like a dry wet fart and she she pokes him in the eye and alerts the cops.  Now the police are hot on their tails.  Meow!

Lame action, lightweight violence, zero gore, zero nudity. I wanted to like this film (and it was an okay time-waster), but there's just not a lot going on. Also, the mother/son duo are unlikable with their cat murdering, plus you never get a clear view of what powers they have or what they're capable of or even what their goal even is!  I guess it's just to live another day so they can bang more. If it wasn't for Madchen Amick, the various genre cameos and multiple Stephen King references I probably would have fallen asleep.  Although, Ferris Bueller's parents showing up kinda blew my mind.

 Stephen King and Clive Barker with Tobe Hooper in the background.

Stephen King and Tobe Hooper.

HELLRAISER: BLOODLINE (1996)

The film opens on a space station in the year 2127. There's only one dude, Paul Merchant, on the station and he's using a remote controlled robot to open up The Lament Configuration. He's doing this in order to call up Pinhead and then destroy him with his specially made trap. Right as this is about to happen some military dudes bust in and take him prisoner. During his interview he warns them that Pinhead is loose on the ship and tells them his backstory about how back 400 years ago a relative of his innocently created the box for this secretly evil dude who conjured forth the demon Angelique who is a buddy of Pinhead. Evil shit happens and blood is splattered all over the joint. Fast-forward to 1996 and another guy in Merchant's bloodline was an architect who designed the building seen at the end of Part 3. Angelique pieces together that this is where the cube is (remember the concrete at the end of 3?). This sets off a chain of events where it's the architect dude versus Pinhead, Angelique and their dog. Back in 2127, the army guys are quickly killed off by the Pinhead gang, so now it's up to Merchant to kill Pinhead once and for all...or whatever.

One refreshing thing about the HELLRAISER series is you never know what you're gonna get. I remember seeing HELLRAISER: BLOODLINE at the theater on opening day at the very first morning showing and being confused during the opening scene...a space station! What the fuck? But then when the story set in I really got into it and even bought that poster above. I still have it. I was so young that I even remember getting scared. Haha. Watching it again now, it's pretty dated and not scary at all, but still a fun ride. Pinhead talks a lot, Angelique is pretty awesome, the Chatter Dog is cool and the story is so out there you can't help but pay attention. It would've been nice if there had been more nudity, gore and a higher budget, but hey whatever. For a mid-90's horror flick I think H:B is a good movie and a nice addition to the HELLRAISER series. Definitely worth watching if you're a fan.

Also, according to IMDb Kenneth Tobey is listed as "Hologram-Priest (uncredited)" but I didn't see him.

Part 1 - Hellraiser (1987)
Part 2 - Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
Part 3 - Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)
Part 5 - Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)
Part 6 - Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)
Part 7 - Hellraiser: Deader (2005)
Part 8 - Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005)
Part 9 - Hellraiser: Revelations (2011)
Part 10 - Hellraiser: Judgement (2018)
Remake - Hellraiser (2022)