In keeping with the Hellraiser theme we have going on—our deep dive through the franchise is currently up to Bloodline—I thought it would be worth considering the reboot which is currently filming. When we looked at Bloodline on the podcast, Matt asked me how I would reboot the franchise. My answer was that, in a money-doesn’t-matter hypothetical world, I would focus on The Scarlet Gospels novel that came out in 2015 and saw Harry D’Amour taking on Pinhead. At the helm would

Hellraiser Bloodline (1996): Hellraiser in Space…and France. Matt: Ed and I did a whole podcast talking about this one and if you want to hear us arguing polar opposite views it’s not hard to search out. Ed, as a fan of the series, lays into this film and it still stacks as the lowest ratings he’s ever given (1.5/10). Personally I don’t think it is the worst film he’s reviewed with me or Nick, but they say you can’t really hate something you didn’t care about in the first pla

When Horror met Metal: a Hermanos of Horror pairing series. Part two of our horror pairings list, where music meets massacre in the sweetest symphony of destruction. Last time out we were pairing a playlist with films associated with the Satanic Panic and if that's the thing tickling your fancy, you can go back to it here… Today's pairing is a style, call it a sub-genre, of horror that is dear to my blackened heart, much like the music that has been paired with it....the earl

It rises again; a shuffling, monstrous figure bringing death and destruction and horror (oh, such horror) in its wake. That’s right, FrightFest is returning in the flesh (and blood) on Thursday 27th August through to Sunday 30th, after last year’s online version. Earlier this month, FrightFest announced the first wave of films featuring in this year’s festival and, as ever, it’s a mighty fine looking array of horror. The festival opener is Demonic from Neil Blomkamp—director

Hell on Earth (1992): What’s in the b…Pillar of Souls? Matt: Where the popular opinion is mixed (incorrectly) on the merits of Hellbound, critically and commercially its only trending south of heaven for Hell on Earth. All change at the pumps for the third instalment, Kirsty is but a cameo, the Chatterer and Butterball Cenobites are replaced by 90s Cenobites (handcrafted by Pinhead) and The Box has become embedded (along with Pinhead’s face…a warning sign if every one was nee

When Horror met Metal: a Hermanos of Horror pairing series. To say that the mediums of Horror and Metal go together is to say that salt and vinegar go together, politician and scandal go together, pleasure and pain go together, angel and demon, cenobite and exquisite suffering....you get the drift. It was during the recording of the Trick or Treat podcast that Ed's talk about the satanic panic and subliminal messages started me off down this path of exploring horror soundtrac

Hellbound (1988) – The difficult second album or underappreciated genius? Time to play… Matt: The difficulty with following up an original piece of art is that if you’re too close to what you’ve done before it’s a re-tread and the excitement of the new has gone. Similarly, if you try a radical departure you’re likely to confuse those who fell in love with the original work. If you produce something that splits the difference you’ve got Hellbound. That is the only theory I can

The hermanos take a deep dive into the wonderful world of Clive Barker's Hellraiser, they have such sights to show you...

Sinister is the most terrifying horror film of all time. There’s no argument. Science has decided. Yes. I’m being facetious—welcome to the Hermanos of Horror. A study measured the heart rates of viewers watching a series of horror films to see which one got hearts pumping the most. Let’s look at the top ten: 10. The Visit 9. The Descent 8. The Babdook 7. The Conjuring 2 6. It Follows 5. Paranormal Activity 4. Hereditary 3. The Conjuring 2. Insidious 1. Sinister I’m not going

Nothing here is vegetarian, quoth the Hannibal (I might be paraphrasing). Hungry Ghosts from the late Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose is, if