[Sinister]

In the second round of the Quarter-Finals, we once again face-off denizens of The Pit against each other. Will Pazuzu and his possessed charge, Regan be able to withstand the unholy blood-letting of Clive Barker's S&M clad Cenobites; or will Pinhead and his cronies get their collective butts kicked in a beating very little seen since the Dr. Chinard Cenobite opened up a can of ass-whoop on The Frightful Four in Hellbound?

The polls are now open.

 

[Doctorthingit]

This is an interesting pair. What a choice to have to make, to. I am usually partial to the low budget film because it always has to work harder to be quality, so when you get a great low budget film, you know you're lucky. But there are flaws in Hellraiser and The Exorcist is a leader in big budget Hollywood films, as well as one of the most influential horror films of all time. Thought just because the Exorcist has that advantage, doesn't mean that I will vote for it. Both films are one-in-a-thousand unique. I'll have to try weighing pros and cons with each.

Hellraiser - Editing choice/con: The fight for the box between Kirsty and the orange worm at the end, not suspenseful after the first 4 or 5 back and forth shots. Pro: Excellent cast. Scene/con: Exactly who is that face underneath the white sheet in Kirsty's "feather/baby crying" dream? Not familiar and fake-looking. Story/pro: Civilized, sophisticated Julia turns into a serial killer for the sake of savage lust and eventually, a love of carnage. Production/con: Clive Barker is a first time director and makes a few mistakes, sometimes they feel pretty big. Pro: Really interesting ending. FX/con: Shots of skin being pierced by hooks have too many exaggerated pores and the texture looks really fake, like the surface of a lemon. Development/pro: Doug Bradley's Pinhead doesn't steal the movie until more than halfway through, leaving a lot of room for the story to focus on Julia and Kirsty. Perfect scene/pro: The Cenobites proper reveal is a masterpiece. From all the little touches leading up to their materialization inside the room, to the lighting and atmosphere effects, to the dialogue, and voice tones and inflections, to the last thing Pinhead leaves us to think about. Production/pro: Clive Barker's experience as a writer has the film being littered with amazing literal references inside of the characters and of cultures we may have no idea about.

The Exorcist - Pro: Top-notch performances. Con: None that I can think of.

So while The Exorcist just might be perfect, Hellraiser is better than average. I'm going to need more time to think this over.

 

[RAXL]

Oh boy. Here it goes.
I think I may be the only person around who doesn't think Exorcist is the greatest thing ever. It bores me to death. The movie is two good scenes and one line of shock dialogue wrapped around an incredibly slow package.
Snoozerama.

Hellraiser, while far from perfect gives us Pinhead.

I vote for Hellraiser.

 

[Sinister]

You forgot that perfect score for Hellraiser, Thingit; but you pretty much hit a lot of the high-points right on the proverbial head.

In Kirsty's dream where she removes the sheet to reveal the person slathered all in feathers and KY, I believe that's supposed to be Larry. Remember: She calls him to see if he's okay right after. I don't believe she would have done something so unusual in the middle of the night if this had been your average run-of-the-mill nightmare.

The only thing I was having a problem with and it was a minor one in this film was the bum/skeletal demon that made its presence known throughout the film and at the end when they tried to destroy the Lament Configuration Box. Some theories: A demon of the old order that came before the Cenobites, A physical manisfestation of Leviathan, or Satan himself taking the box where it needed to go for the next unfortunate sucker that wanted a shot for pain and pleasure inseperable. Either theory sounds plausible to me.

As much as I like The Exorcist and readily acknowledge that it is a masterpiece of cinema magic, I'm going to roll with the Dark Fairytale on this one.

Hellraiser: 2

The Exorcist: 0

 

[dougspaulding]

Well, then I might as well cast a vote now: Pinhead and company bore me. "The Exorcist" is not only one of the most frightening films of all time, it's also one of the most well made horror films ever. Easily in the top ten horror films list. Even though I don't subscribe to the devil as such, the mythology of said devil as presented by the church of Rome certainly has elicited a fine and scary movie. This is one of those movies I would not watch alone. (That would be a good idea for a new thread - movies so frightening you will not watch them alone)

 

[Zombie-F]

This is a tough decision for me to make as I find both movies to be genuinely scary.

Hellraiser: The entire concept of the lament configuration box is pretty awesome. The idea that some sap is looking to gain ultimate pleasure and finds nothing but pain and torutre is a mighty fine one.

Unfortunately, I think Hellraiser starts to fall apart at the end of the movie. I always felt like the last 10 -15 miuntes of the movie was a little rushed, like there was an unnecessary urgency added to the mix.

The Exorcist is a movie I put off seeing for most of my life. I'd seen clips of it in Horror movie clip shows and other various specials. I thought it was going to be a completely laughable experience based on seeing things like the head spinning scene and vomiting scene because, taken out of context, they are quite laughable.

However, when I finally did see it, I could full well understand why a lot of people consider it the scariest movie of all time. If I were of Catholic beliefs, I too would call it such.

The Exorcist is top-notch in my opinion, bearing absolutely no faults. Great acting, great story, great effects, great everything.

My vote goes with The Exorcist.

The Exorcist - 2
Hellraiser - 2

 

[Doctorthingit]

I think I may be the only person around who doesn't think Exorcist is the greatest thing ever. It bores me to death. The movie is two good scenes and one line of shock dialogue wrapped around an incredibly slow package. Snoozerama.

No, you're not the only one. It's another film that humbles me, but it's just not the type of movie I like to watch for fun. Neither is Hellraiser, really. Which is of course where my main conflict originates. It seems like all the great emotional ground covered by The Exorcist was done better in Rosemary's Baby. Only The Exorcist upps the anty of shock, and it really goes to places that disturb the hell out of people. It's like a complete externalization of the sort of thing we saw in Rosemary's Baby, and where there are no hormones, The Exorcist gives us an equal amount of sophisticaton and outright crudeness. Also, it seems like it originated the formula for movies that push then pull, push then pull again. It's the kind of movie that shocks you than lets you catch your breath and does it again. It's pretty ruthless in some scenes, very intense.

You forgot that perfect score for Hellraiser, Thingit; but you pretty much hit a lot of the high-points right on the proverbial head.

The only thing I was having a problem with and it was a minor one in this film was the bum/skeletal demon that made its presence known throughout the film and at the end when they tried to destroy the Lament Configuration Box. Some theories: A demon of the old order that came before the Cenobites, A physical manisfestation of Leviathan, or Satan himself taking the box where it needed to go for the next unfortunate sucker that wanted a shot for pain and pleasure inseperable. Either theory sounds plausible to me.

I'm going to roll with the Dark Fairytale on this one.

Damn, that's exactly what I like about Hellraiser. It IS a dark fairytale. About the bum, I never really thought about it. But to some degree, he was ominous and took viewers off their guard, and keeps the mystery factor going. I hate movies that explain everything in sometimes-excruciatingly finite detail. The movie just feels more complete with him there. I don't try to make sense of everything. Did you?

Then about the music, that's one of the reasons I didn't like Hellraiser much when I first saw it. That music is so boring. I do like the demented musicbox quality about it, now that I've gone back to the movie more and looked at it closer. But it all seems so stiff to me. Like there are conservative elements in this movie despite the fact that it gives us a liberal dose of terror. The music just seems like it held in. But I recognize that the film wouldn't be the same without it.

I'm still coming up with a TIE in my book. Hopefully I'll be able to make a decision with a little more input from others.

 

[Doctorthingit]

Nevermind, I've made up my mind : The Exorcist.

 

[Sinister]

I don't try to make sense of everything in any movie. If I did, I would have had one helluva time with my favorite movie of all-time Pulp Fiction. I watch flicks to be entertained by a good story unfolding before me on the screen. I would be in the madhouse right now if I tried to make sense of every thing that crossed my path, especially where movies are concerned.

The Exorcist is now in the lead by one vote.

 

[dougspaulding]

I thought it was going to be a completely laughable experience based on seeing things like the head spinning scene and vomiting scene because, taken out of context, they are quite laughable.

However, when I finally did see it, I could full well understand why a lot of people consider it the scariest movie of all time. If I were of Catholic beliefs, I too would call it such.

The Exorcist is top-notch in my opinion, bearing absolutely no faults. Great acting, great story, great effects, great everything.

My vote goes with The Exorcist.

The Exorcist - 2
Hellraiser - 2

Good job!

 

[dougspaulding]

Nevermind, I've made up my mind : The Exorcist.

Justice is served!

 

[dougspaulding]

The movie is two good scenes and one line of shock dialogue wrapped around an incredibly slow package.
Snoozerama.

The spider crawl down the stairs is one of the most original, shocking, and scariest things I've ever seen in a film.

 

[RAXL]

The spider crawl and the head twist were the two good scenes I referred to.
The dialouge was of course " Your mother sucks cocks in hell". :jol: :devil:

 

[Omega]

Hellraiser maintains high authority in my list of horror films. No pun intended of course to Linda Blair, Clive Barkers dark fairytale takes all and decides this rounds fate for me.

 

[Omega]

Many years of my life were spent listening to people tell me that this film was the scariest ever and if I were to watch it i'd have nightmares for weeks to come, well when I tested this theory and finally watched it I found the Exorcist to be mediocre at best.

 

[Sinister]

Omega's comment about The Exorcist notwithstanding, we now have a tie game. We just await a tie-breaker before moving onto the next match of this contest.

 

[dougspaulding]

The dialouge was of course " Your mother sucks cocks in hell". :jol: :devil:

Sounds like something the devil might say - if there were a devil, that is!

 

[dougspaulding]

We just await a tie-breaker before moving onto the next match of this contest.

Can I vote twice?

 

[Sinister]

You may not vote twice. We either get a tie-breaker, or if no one else posts and a length of time passes, then I or maybe Zombie-F will flip a coin and move on. Can't be stuck forever in the same spot.

 

[Sinister]

With a best "Two-Out-Of-Three" coin flip, Hellraiser wins the round. The Cenobites face off against David Kessler in the Semi-Final Round. This thread is now closed for posting.