Book Review: Hellbound Hearts edited by Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan

Hellbound Hearts, edited by Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan, is an eerie anthology based on the Hellraiser films and the original novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker. Inside the pages of Hellbound Hearts you’ll find short stories from such famous names as Neil Gaiman, Steve Niles, Sarah Langan, Mick Garris, Kelly Armstrong, Christopher Golden and many, many more.

The book begins with an introduction from the man himself, Clive Barker, who without none of this would be possible. He goes on to speak of the legacy his novella and ensuing Hellraiser films have left in their wake, but is wary to take credit for creating a “mythos”. And yet, here we are, with countless well-known writers eager to feed from this mythos and produce their own tales of pain and pleasure. As Pinhead might say, the Hellraiser mythos will be legendary, even in HELL (where it’s probably already quite popular!)!

All of the short stories contained within the anthology are truly splattacular, but I do have a few favorites that stuck out as noticeably as Pinhead’s nails sticking out of his cranium. My absolute favorite of the bunch was Sister Cilice by Barbie Wilde. Wilde is best known for her portrayal of the female Cenobite in Hellbound: Hellraiser II, but she is also an accomplished dancer, performer and writer. Her short story absolutely stunned me with its simplicity yet complex character. It tells of Sister Nikoletta, who though appears devout, has violent sexual fantasies and is slipping further and further away from the faith. She one day discovers an old tome called the Grimorium Enochia that tells how to call the Cenobites and enter their world of exquisite pain. The story sounds simple enough, but the character of Sister Nikoletta is so conflicted and perverse that I was just drawn into the story and it stuck with me long after I had finished the anthology.

Another of my favorites was Only the Blind Survive by Yvonne Navarro. This tale really stuck out because it is steeped in Native American lore. It tells of a Native American warrior that stumbles across an odd sand painting in the desert and runs back to his village to tell the elders as it is one of the signs that a gate to evil will soon be opened. Spirit warriors must face off against the evil that slithers from the gate, and the tribe’s people can only be saved if they cannot see the creature, which is known to feed on fear after someone sees it. This take on the demonic was probably the most unique of all the stories considering its far removed setting and Native American setting.

I also wholeheartedly enjoyed Kelly Armstrong’s The Collector, about a puzzle solver who gets herself involved with an online puzzle contest whose final test is solving a very peculiar puzzle box. The delicious twist at the end definitely made this one of my favorites! Other standouts included The Confessor’s Tale by Sarah Pinborough, Every Wrong Turn by Tim Lebbon, A Little Piece of Hell by Steve Niles and The Dark Materials Project by Sarah Langan.

It is truly amazing how Clive Barker’s work could go on to inspire so many different terrifying tales. Each and every one is worth reading and it was painful to try and pick out just a few to talk about when all of the stories are so stellar. Each of the authors captures the aesthetic and themes of the Hellraiser mythos, all the while tweaking it just enough to make it their own. What truly makes this anthology so exciting is how many different directions authors can go with Barker’s legacy. From Native American lore to the future of science behind “Shadow DNA”, there is really no limit to how writers can reinterpret and retell the Hellraiser mythos. And, yes, I disagree with Mr. Barker because he truly HAS created a mythos with distinct stories, rules and characters that are instantly recognizable and that I think will stand the test of time.

Horror fans that relish shocking literature as well as Cliver Barker and Hellraiser fans are sure to enjoy Hellbound Hearts. Don’t torture yourself, get your copy today!

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Just One Night (2008)

In this short film a cheating husband gets more than he bargains for when he leaves a bar with a beautiful woman, only to discover things are not what they seem. Think you know the story? Be prepared to be surprised because things are not what they seem to the viewer, either!

Just One Night is a short film where expectations are turned topsy-turvy and things just keep getting more complicated, even after the credits have rolled! This well-made low-budget short is a fun film to watch because nothing turns out like you expect it to!

Writer/director Mike West has created a drama/murder mystery that, while not exactly horror, kept my attention because of its twists and turns. This short film is professionally done, well-acted and has many surprises laying in wait. Keep watching through the credits, because it isn’t all over yet…

The actors all did a fantastic job here and I believed each and every one in their roles. They brought their characters, all filled with secrets, lies and yes, videotape, to life and really gave motivation to their characters’ actions. It is unfortunate that the most detestable character ends up surviving, though! I wanted to see this person suffer for their flippant attitude towards their marriage, but it just doesn’t end up quite as a I expected. Nonetheless, that just adds to the fact that Just One Night keeps you on your toes and nothing really goes as you assume it would.

I also thought the direction by Mike West was very competent for a low-budget short. To tell you the truth, the film looked and sounded very professional. One complaint, though, is that the film is marketed as an erotic thriller, but it was more PG-rated than anything else. I’m not asking for full-frontal or anything like that, I just think that if you bill yourself as “erotic” you should have something to show for it…but Just One Night really doesn’t, just a foggy shower scene and a light S and M session. Again, it also isn’t really a horror flick as it doesn’t show much blood, except for a cool bathtub-filled-with-bloody-water scene, so that was kind of a let down as well.

Despite these small complaints, Just One Night is a great effort from Road Rage Films and really surpassed my expectations of just being a cheap exploitation film. On the contrary, it is actually boasts a surprising plotline that doesn’t stick to regular genre conventions.

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Red Room (1999)

Gore? Gore? Where did all the gore go?!

Touted as a nasty, gory torture flick, I rushed out to watch Red Room only to be vastly disappointed with this strictly unentertaining, misogynistic film.

Straight outta Japan from director Daisuke Yamanouchi's twisted mind, Red Room is pretty nasty, but scenes of repeated and violent rape, annoying characters and a thin storyline had me reaching for the fast forward button multiple times. Four people, a 17 year old, a young woman and a married couple, play the King Game for a chance to win 10 million yen. They are locked in a dingy, red-lit room and made to play a card game where whomever pulls the king card gets to have the other players commit horrible acts upon one another. The object is to be the last person standing, therefore winning the 10 million. Things start innocently enough, with a girl being spun around and around in a chair for five minutes straight until she pukes. From there, things escalate and we get multiple violent rapes, including one where the man shoves a lightbulb into a woman's vagina until it breaks inside of her, a woman having to drink pee as one of the players pisses on her, the couple beating the stuffing out of each other, a penis being bitten off and tons more depravity.

Now, I like my depravity as much as the next horror fan, but I just couldn't enjoy myself during this flick. Shot on video, it already looks like an amateur porno, and that's what it felt like for the most part. The thin storyline and the exposition scenes involving the card game felt like they were just there to connect the scenes of rape and torture. It's just too much "shock for shock value," which I find incredibly cheap and just plain boring. Also, it was mostly a splatter flick, using lottsa blood, but kinda lacking in the gore department.

Many fans of the Guinea Pig films or other extreme Japanese cinema will enjoy this, however. If your interest was piqued by the synopsis, by all means check out the Unearthed release of Red Room, but don't say I didn't warn ya!

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Next Door (aka Naboer) (2005)

Some doors should never be opened...

John (Kristoffer Joner) and his long-time girlfriend Ingrid (Anna Bache-Wiig) have recently broken up and the break-up has left John vulnerable and broken-hearted. One day, his neighbor, Anne (Cecilie Mosli), asks him for a hand in moving some furniture in her apartment. It seems that her roommate Kim (Julia Schacht) was assaulted and now insists that a large armoire be moved in the front of the door. The women know of John's split with Ingrid, saying they heard everything through the wall, which makes John feel very uncomfortable. The next day he is asked by Anne to watch Kim while she runs some errands. John begrudgingly agrees but soon finds himself locked in the large and labyrinth-like apartment with Kim. He is continually drawn to the two women, who seem to know a disturbing secret from his past...

This brutal Norwegian flick plays beautifully and disturbingly from beginning to end. Though John seems like a normal, albeit heartbroken guy, we soon learn that he may like things a bit rough and kinky.After a tryst with Kim in which both she and John repeatedly punch, claw and violently fuck each other, John returns to his tidy apartment, only to be shocked at the amount of blood covering his shirt and face. Through some moments of déjà vu and flashbacks, we see that John has a sadomasochistic side which contributed to Ingrid’s split from him for another man.

Overall, I was quite impressed with this nasty little film from its story to the cinematography to the wonderful acting. Though I felt it was somewhat predictable, it still had me guessing up to the shocking ending.

The story, written by director Pal Sletaune, was well-written, emulating a Hitchcock style with a twist of Polanski’s The Tenant thrown in for good measure. It’s one of those is-this-all-real mysteries that, like I said before, had me guessing up to the end. The cinematography, along with the set design, was wonderful and I appreciated and enjoyed the visual cues that director Pal Sletaune employed. The film mostly takes place in only two locations, one being John’s apartment and the other being Anne and Kim’s place. The contrast between John’s bright, airy and organized apartment and Anne and Kim’s dark, cavernous and messy one is quite symbolic for the state of affairs but also adds to the growing dread as the film progresses.

The acting, especially by Joner, was extremely well-done. Joner captures John’s loneliness and isolation in the beginning of the film, which progress into confusion, anger and disorientation as the film continues. The three women in the film, Mosli as Anne, Schacht as Kim and Bache-Wiig as Ingrid, all do a stunning job in their respective roles. Mosli and Schacht play especially well as the manipulating and seductive next door neighbors.

Clocking in at a short 75 minutes, Next Door is chock full of violent eroticism, psychological mind games and sordid pasts. I highly recommend this film for people who enjoy films that question a character’s reality, such as Memento, The Machinist, The Tenant or Hitchcock films.

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Ichi the Killer (2001)

Last week I finally got to watch this Takashi Miike film and of course was equal parts horrified and intrigued. This is a film notorious for it's brutal violence, gore, disturbing images and sadomasochism, so of course Ichi the Killer is a cult favorite of many people. Well, it definitely had all the above, and then some!

A yakuza boss goes missing and his protege Kakihara vows to find him and seeks revenge on his kidnappers. Kakihara revels in violence, equating it to love. He is a sadomasochist and throughout the movie we see how extreme he can be, whether he is cutting out part of his own tongue or jabbing long, sharp needles into a yakuza member that hangs suspended by many hooks through his skin. Kakihara loves torture, both giving and receiving it, and we learn later that his missing boss was the only one he truly enjoyed this from.

Kakihara eventually discovers that Ichi, an infamous sadistic killer, has killed his boss. Kakihara awaits the day that he and Ichi will meet, as Ichi may be the only one who can satisfy Kakihara's need for pain. What Kakihara doesn't know is that Ichi is a confused and frightened boyish young man, not the great sadist Kakihara imagines. Ichi is being manipulated by Jijii, who would like to take out as many yakuza gangs as possible, though his motives are a mystery. He utilized Ichi for his fast and brutal slayings, though Ichi always falls into a blubbering mass of tears afterward and must always be persuaded to kill again.

There are many twists and turns in the film, and while sometimes it's hard to keep up with Miike, it's well worth it in the end. His characters, as usual, are interesting and over the top. Black humor is used liberally throughout the film along with strong violence. This film is not for the faint-of-heart, though gorehounds will absolutely eat this up. It is bloody, it is disturbing and it is very uncomfortable to watch some of the scenes. Yet the clever twists and turns and the quick action make for a very entertaining film.

If you haven't already, check this film out if you like Asian cinema with lots of violence!

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