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NEWS UPDATE:

Midnight Meat Train Review.

If you're a fan of horror films then it is very likely you've followed the progress of Midnight Meat Train, the first of Clive Barker's new series of films based off his Books of Blood, a collection of macabre, disturbing and downright bizarre short stories. A change in producers at production company, Lionsgate saw the film pulled from being a major release and put into only a hundred dollar-theatres across America. This was a major blow to horror fans fed up with constant remakes and the endless gorenography films, especially to foreign fans who worried the film would never make it to cinemas at all. Well, there may be a light at the end of a tunnel, and it's not a train. The Midnight Meat Train got a special screening at the London horror film festival, FrightFest on August 23rd where it was announced the film was getting a lot of support from foreign distributors, so there's still hope for British horror fans to see it on the big screen, where it belongs.

The question now becomes, is it worth it? This reviewer would, without a doubt, say the answer is yes. The story sees photographer Leon Kauffman (Bradley Cooper, Alias) attempting to capture the dark underside of the city, encouraged by Gallery owner Susan Hoff (Brooke Shields, That 70's Show). However, he soon crosses paths with a mysterious butcher, Mahogany (Vinnie Jones, X-Men: The Last Stand), who stalks the subways late at night, slaughtering those unfortunately enough to ride the wrong train. Leon becomes increasingly obsessed with uncovering the mystery behind the killer, his relationship with his girlfriend, Maya (Leslie Bibb, Iron Man), suffering as he becomes involved deeper and deeper in a grotesque conspiracy.

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As with Barker's short story, the film manages to balance well-written character, grotesque violence and intriguing ideas. This is no film for the squeamish, from the very beginning blood flows freely and copiously. Gorehounds have a lot to get their teeth into, although there are a few moments of CG blood-letting that are perhaps a little too over the top and not entirely realistic. Watched with the FrightFest crowd, however, even these moments were met with cheers of delight and it's not difficult to see why. As a face explodes outwards in slow motion, blood showing down, the sheer indulgence of the event is clear, and is bound to warm the heart of any dedicated horror fan.

This is not to say the film is shallow, quite the opposite. As the title suggests, meat plays a vital role in the story, and there's a strong thematic thread throughout the movie. The major locations of the film are tied together, a meat packing planet, the subway train, a diner, by the cooked or prepared flesh on offer. Leon, a dedicated vegetarian, does not come out unscathed, as if the mere presence of so much meat if brining out a bestial side, perhaps most notable in a sex scene that starts romantically but suddenly descends into a darker, more violent sequence.

Midnight Meat Train is the Hollywood debut of Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus, Azumi) and he doesn't disappoint, grabbing the opportunity to create a unique visual style for the film. He perhaps seems an unusual choice for such a straight horror film, but it's a gamble that rewards the viewer with a highly kinetic and stylish experience. A climatic fight on a moving subway train sees the camera swing all the way round the car, in and out of the windows, as the combatants appear to destroy it around them. His eye for detail, and creative use of the camera makes even the slower scenes have an interesting visual quality but in the violent and horrific sequences, Kitamura excels.

Although I won't spoil the ending here, I will say it's simultaneously faithful to the short story but also very much scaled down. It's perhaps a shame they weren't a little braver in presenting some of the big ideas Barker had originally written, and if a little more time had been spent on the revelations, it may have felt a little less abrupt. The balance is important though, and the film tells its story in a way that shouldn't confuse new viewers or threaten a mainstream audience unused to the surreal horror Barker often revels in.

The Midnight Meat Train is an excellent modern horror film, with a exotic mixture of violence, scares, interesting characters and a fascinating storyline. Whilst at times the use of CGI or the rushed explanations threaten to remove some of the horror, the film retains its hold on the viewer with stylish cinematography and intelligently explored themes. This is one train any horror fan ought to catch.

For information on FrightFest visit Film4 FrightFest.

Review by Scarecrow.

The Hellbound Web aims to bring you a definitive guide to upcoming showings of Hellraiser, whether on TV, at conventions or in a cinema. If you have any information of upcoming screenings please send them to the usual address.

ZONE HORROR
Zone Horror is a channel dedicated to horror films and television shows in the UK. It can be found on SKY channel 321. The official site for the channel can be found here.

 # There are currently no known screenings.

If you have any information on upcoming screenings of any Hellraiser, Clive Barker or other related film then contact The Hellbound Web at the address at the bottom of the page.

- Scarecrow

The Fanfilm page of this site (under construction) can be found here. Details and links for completed fanfilms can be found on this page whislt this article will list ones currently in any stage of production.

Fanfilms are far from a new idea, Star Wars fanfilms have been around for years, some of them gaining a cult status all of there own. However, horror is only now seemingly catching on and finally the craze has spread to Hellraiser. Following the previous report on "A Question of Faith", the fanfilm crossover "Hellraiser: Prophecy" has premiered. Putting aside Hellraiser make-up artist Gary J. Tunnicliffe's "No More Souls" there are at least another two that are currently in development and others still in the planning stages. What follows is a brief round up of the current projects and where to find more details on either the films or those involved.

UPDATED: 18th June 2007

1. THE HELLRAISER CHRONICLES: LIFEBRINGER

An original Hellraiser story that will come under the umbrella title of "The Hellraiser Chronicles", "Lifebringer" is the first Hellbound Web collaborative film. Scarecrow (that would be me) has written the script and will be directing whilst further forum members Eggshen, frosty, Pyramid Gallery and curlycub wil be providing music, masks and effects, props and acting skills.

Aside form the forum members the film crew include Huwi Frazer as the Director of Photography, Amy Cummins on Sound, as well as producing and appearing in the film, and Christine Harrison providing some excellent make-up effects.

Filming began on June 6th 2006 and was completed later in July. A basic cut has been edited together and post-production is now concentrating on special effects and sound design.

More details can be found on the forum in this thread, including an image of the Cenobite that will feature.

2. HELLRAISER: DEADER - WINTER'S LAMENT

Jonnhyq, the writer, director and producer of Hellraiser: Prophecy, is following up his successful fanfilm with a prequel to "Hellraiser: Deader", the sixth sequel in the main series. This time he'll be using professional actors and equipment to build on the skills and techniques he learnt on his first project.

Jonnyq's site gives the following details on the story of the film:

"In 2005, a mysterious cult leader known only as Winter died in an attempt to summon and control the Cenobites with the assistance of his resurrected followers, the Deaders.

Now, his identity and his history will be revealed in the upcoming HELLRAISER: DEADER fan film WINTER'S LAMENT."

Filming is due to begin in February 2008 and casting and auditions are currently under-way. To see how you could help support the film and gain a credit on the finished work visit this page.

More details can be found on the forum in this thread.

Winter's Lament's official webpage can be found here.

3. UNTITLED

This film is currently on hold with the possibility of being cancelled for good. The Hellbound Web will keep up to date on the situation.

Forum member Lament has informed us that his company kre8-fx will be following up their Alien/Predator fanfilm S.E.E.D. with a Hellraiser entry. Though there are no details as yet Lament tells us that Pinhead will appear on screen though he will have no dialogue due to the difficulty in matching up to Doug Bradley.

Below is an image of the Pinhead costume being used in the film:

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More images can be found on this thread.

4. HELLOWEEN

A Pinhead vs Michael Myers fanfilm still in the early stages of development. Being put together by forum member HelloweenFan, there isn't too much news on this at the moment. The main thread for the film can be found here.

Thanks to Fart_Lighter, jonnyq & Lament.

Article compiled by Scarecrow.

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Late in 2006 The Hellbound Web Forum member davidtoy made an amazing discovery, an alternative cut of Hellraiser: Bloodline containing a large number of deleted and alternative scenes that were removed by the studio and director Joe Chappell. The cut is not the original version as filmed by Kevin Yagher but the first attempt at re-editing the film to bring Pinhead in sooner.

davidtoy:
"I was in contact with a person who was a friend of a friend of Peter Atkin's when he lived in LA in the late 90's. Atkin's showed them Yahger's rough cut of the film on a video tape he had, and I've been trying to find a way to get a copy of that for a while now."

The original version of Bloodline ran for almost two hours and was an anthology film set in the past, present and future. Pinhead did not appear until about forty minutes in leading to the studio panicing and requesting the film to be re-cut in order to bring him in sooner. After failing to please the studio Yagher left the project and Joe Chappell took over, this being his first alternative cut. Still failing to please everyone, he did further cuts resulting in the final released film that lacks over half an hour of material, if not more.

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davidtoy:
"The film looks rough and isn't color timed, has no music, and most of the places where effects would be have cards that say 'Insert shot of body here' and stuff like that. The cut I just watched has 'Directed by Kevin Yagher' at the front, but it starts with the dinner scene as the peasant girl is killed to call Angelique. From that scene it cuts to present day with Merchant waking up screaming. He later has a dream where he sees Angelique kill De L'Isle as Lemarchand looks on. De L'Isle wanted to kill Lemarchand because the puzzle was going to replace his magic with science. Angelique then kills De L'Isle because he was going to stand in Hell's way and she saves Lemarchand. John Merchant also has a flashback of his Grandma telling him he is the one they've been waiting for."

"The ending on the Minos is changed quite a bit and I’d say that part is better. You can see that Ramsay was trying to make his performance match Doug's and it has a scene where Paul wakes from a dream of Pinhead and he shaves his head. There are other pieces added in here and there that would have helped the film a bit. One other thing, Valentina Vargas had her voice totally redubbed for the theatrical cut. She sounds much sexier with an accent and Doug Bradley's voice is unaltered by movie magic.

Though still not a complete film, this cut gives fans access to material thought lost forever and, when combined with material in the theatrical version, could potentially present the majority of material shot. THW is embarking on a project to edit as much of the two versions together in order to get as close as possible to Yagher's orginal vision. The script for the complete Yagher-version of Bloodline can be found in the library.

For more information visit the Bloodline Thread on the forum.