Seriously!? Review: Hellraiser & Alien

I've been wanting to do this type of review ever since my co-workers kept picking on me about never seeing these 2 movies I'm about to review. I was already going through my own list of movies I've never seen, so...here we are! I'm slowly going through a list of my own and some I've found online of movies I've never seen that supposedly most have. This could range from classics, influential movies, certain directors or actors I enjoy, or even popular movies I've neglected. Think of "Tamara's Never Seen". I actually wanted to call this new addition "Miko's Never Seen", until I found (and later subscribed) to her YouTube series. So, that's part of the delay of putting this review together. If you've seen any of these movies, please leave a comment below on your thoughts!



Starring: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence
Directed by: Clive Barker
Language: English
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hr 34 mins
Since I already mentioned that I've been criticized for not seeing these two films, especially being a film major or a horror fan, I have my reasons for not seeing them for all this time. I'll probably reiterate this reason in future posts, but a lot of the time I'm simply not interested in seeing it...or they're just really low on my priority watch list. Hellraiser is one that I kinda wanted to see at some point, but was in no rush to jump right into it.


When Kirsty's father, Larry, and stepmother, Julia, move into Larry's childhood home, Kirsty and her boyfriend take a room nearby. Unfortunately for all involved, Larry's house is already occupied: before the family's arrival, Larry's disreputable brother, Frank, used a supernatural puzzle box to summon a gang of other-dimensional demon sadists. Now, Frank requires a series of blood sacrifices to escape the clutches of Pinhead and the cenobites. [source: mrosesteed on IMDb]

Going into this movie, I knew about the iconic Pinhead, the cenobites, the puzzle box, and the body horror elements. Body horror movies are a bit of a hit or miss for me. I don't think I've actively sought them out. Other than what I mentioned, there wasn't much I knew about this movie going into it. Some positives I can say about this movie is that it kept my interest with its story and the practical effects were really impressive for its time. Honestly, I think it still holds up to today's standards. Occasionally, the gore teetered on the edge of being too much for me. Personally, I'm more into psychological horror, but some blood and gore here and there is fine, but too much of it can be unappealing. On the other hand, there were moments I had a hard time connecting to the characters and wanting them to survive. I also had a bit of difficulty understanding the whole mythos of the cenobites and the puzzle box. Perhaps I need to rewatch the movie or look into some commentary to understand it all. Overall, I did enjoy it and will be checking out another entry in the franchise.

Rating: 3/5


Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Language: English
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hr 56 mins
When it comes to Alien, I've never been super interested in seeing it. No hate or anything. Much like the body horror genre, sci-fi is another genre that I'm selective about. To get the "judges" off me, I decided to get this one out the way too.


In the distant future, the crew of the commercial spaceship Nostromo are on their way home when they pick up a distress call from a distant moon. The crew are under obligation to investigate and the spaceship descends on the moon afterwards. After a rough landing, three crew members leave the spaceship to explore the area on the moon. At the same time as they discover a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship's computer deciphers the message to be a warning, not a distress call. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew realizes that they are not alone on the spaceship and they must deal with the consequences. [Source: blazesnakes9 on IMDb]

Before anyone assumes that I hated this movie, I didn't. I really didn't. I thought it was enjoyable and, much like Hellraiser, I understand its impact on cinema and their evolution in their respective genres. Once again, I thought the story and characters were interesting. The suspense and pacing was very well done, although some scenes impact were slightly lessen from being exposed to certain iconic scenes many times over the years. Ripley is an amazing female character and I understand why she is such a legendary character for a lot of women. Once again, I was impressed with the practical effects and that they also hold up. So, negatives, hm...I guess there were some moments I tuned out. Am I going to watch more entries? Probably not. I've heard some mixed reviews, beyond Aliens, and it still doesn't interest me. Nonetheless, I'm happy I saw both of these movies and I can't wait to share more reviews in this category.


Rating: 3/5

If there's something you want me to review, check out Muddy Cult's Patreon on how to submit requests.