snoozejonc

If you are a fan of body horror, psychological dread, and stories featuring themes of sadomasochism, Hellraiser is a must-see.

Being a young boy in the 80s, with friends who were horror movie junkies and who frequently preached its merits, I initially watched it out of curiosity. On a recent rewatch, I can see it is an impressive low-budget production, thanks to solid practical effects and a continually unsettling atmosphere.

Although the cenobites were (and still are) the product marketed by the filmmakers, it is the human characters who are the most memorable, with the Cottons being one of the quintessential "disturbed families" in movie history. Many recognisable, underlying, repressed desires come to the surface, driving the characters to extreme behaviour, and it feels pretty shocking throughout.

I think the plot unfolds at a measured pace, which works well, building up to the most spectacularly visual moments.

Andrew Robinson feels unhinged at the best of times and suits his roles well. Claire Higgins is tremendous throughout, and Ashley Lawrence carries the latter portions of the film pretty well. Doug Bradley is the iconic face of the franchise and is worth much more than his 8 minutes of screen time.

It is not perfect. I dislike the studio's post prodcution setting change to the US, which is distracting. Plus some of the practical effects, such as the engineer have not aged well, taking you out of certain key moments.

The main reason to watch an Avatar movie is to be transported to a convincing-looking alien world and experience the action spectacle in 3D IMAX. Fire and Ash does provides this in spades. However, if you want interesting story development, keep your expectations grounded.

As you would expect, the Na'Vi face another threat, prompting Sully and the clan into action. Cue the baddies and heroes facing off numerous times. There are new characters to give some variation, but most are used in the same way as in the previous movies by the filmmakers. For me, the antagonists are again fairly one-note. It still feels like the writers play it safe by sticking to the formula.

Visually, it is another jaw-dropper from a technical perspective. The environments we have already seen continue to impress, and the new ones are great. The Mangkwan designs are excellent and contrast with the established designs.

All the action is as spectacular as you would expect. Dragons swoop, machines thunder, waves crash, gunfire rumbles, whales breach, and the characters continue to mostly fight and give speeches for three and a quarter hours.

Is it too long?

Definitely!