Ah, yes: contraption-based horror. If the editor had trimmed half of the closeups of whirling mechanisms from the final cut, perhaps this movie would be half an hour shorter.
That's a joke, but this tedious film certainly never justifies its two-hour running time. The characters remain undeveloped stereotypes throughout, which makes caring about their fates during action sequences difficult. The chutes-and-ladders plot quickly speeds characters from place to place with little rhyme or reason placed on establishing their motivation or psychology for being there, yet the movie's languid pacing then leaves them to linger in these spaces having the same conversation for much too long. Every time I paused the movie, I was always astonished by how little had passed and devastated by how much was remaining. Hulu's greatest success with this film was turning the progress meter into its own Lament Configuration.
The Cenobites are of course the best part of any entry in this franchise. Their design in this film is top notch, and the few moments of creepiness that this reboot does deliver are a direct result of their appearance. Nevertheless, they come across in this film as bored bureaucrats awaiting confirmation from an email. They are too willing to negotiate, which defangs their threat. This reboot also seems to have made up its mind that they are in fact evil, manipulative, lying torturers. What made the original film most unsettling was their clear, persuasive conviction in the holiness of their horrifying mission. It's easier to reject that possibility here, which essentially removes any possibility that you'll have difficulty sleeping later that night. I also personally miss Pinhead's original, basso profondo voice.
Don't bother with this one. The final sequence has some interesting imagery, but there's almost nothing worthwhile in this movie to justify all the long stretches of boredom.
That's a joke, but this tedious film certainly never justifies its two-hour running time. The characters remain undeveloped stereotypes throughout, which makes caring about their fates during action sequences difficult. The chutes-and-ladders plot quickly speeds characters from place to place with little rhyme or reason placed on establishing their motivation or psychology for being there, yet the movie's languid pacing then leaves them to linger in these spaces having the same conversation for much too long. Every time I paused the movie, I was always astonished by how little had passed and devastated by how much was remaining. Hulu's greatest success with this film was turning the progress meter into its own Lament Configuration.
The Cenobites are of course the best part of any entry in this franchise. Their design in this film is top notch, and the few moments of creepiness that this reboot does deliver are a direct result of their appearance. Nevertheless, they come across in this film as bored bureaucrats awaiting confirmation from an email. They are too willing to negotiate, which defangs their threat. This reboot also seems to have made up its mind that they are in fact evil, manipulative, lying torturers. What made the original film most unsettling was their clear, persuasive conviction in the holiness of their horrifying mission. It's easier to reject that possibility here, which essentially removes any possibility that you'll have difficulty sleeping later that night. I also personally miss Pinhead's original, basso profondo voice.
Don't bother with this one. The final sequence has some interesting imagery, but there's almost nothing worthwhile in this movie to justify all the long stretches of boredom.