THE NEW AND IMPROVED HACKED TO PIECES: A weekly look back at the news by Review Editor Ross Hughes





ITS NEW AND ITS IMPROVED!

BLADE RUNNER 2: Why it could be a new franchise re-born!

The stunning news this week is that after years of hope, Blade Runner fans may just get their wish and see a sequel to the Sci-Fi classic.  Of course the added news that original director Ridley Scott is attached to direct has had fans foaming at the mouth and now its been two days since this news was released, we are now sseing internet forums awash with speculation in how this sequel can follow on from the original story.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that if this idea does come true then I very much doubt we be seeing the continuing adventures of Rick Deckard, once played by the legend himself Harrison Ford.  Now I am not going to go down the Indy route and say its because he is too old to play the character again, instead I am going to look at the facts and the simple truth is, we are looking more at a franchise re-boot than a down right sequel.

Its hard to forget now that the original film was a flop on its initial release, only becoming the classic it is now because its popularity grew on the old VHS format from fans discovering it for the first time.  The way I look at it the main core base is not enough to get the pulse rate of a sequel going for the mainstream audience.  Yes Sci-Fi fans will be in their element on the opening week but it would be a case of great opening week, massive fall in turn out in the second.  Now before all Blade Runner fans jump down my throat, I am not criticising the original, I am like you, its one of the greatest Sci-Fi films out there, but our generation, the ones who made this “flop!” the classic it has become, are all grown up now and the new generation of film fans, bought up on cheap thrills and endless sequels, probably don’t have a clue about  ‘replicants’ in the futuristic world, so seeing a film with a title Blade Runner 2 will go way over their head.

That is why I won’t be shocked if this new film won’t get the Blade Runner title.  Look at Prometheus, the film Scott is doing now, the signs are that its going to be the long awaited prequel to ALIEN, but having seen “that” franchise burnt by the AvP films, Scott wisely opted for a new title and a new direction, teasing the hard core fans, while giving newcomers a curious glance into what this film could be!

Its a clever ploy, something that I firmly believe he will follow suit with his Blade Runner follow up!  A new film, a new story, new replicants to be found, and hopefully a new franchise to look forward too.  In other words not a sequel, not a re-make, but something new and fresh and with that logic, then all films fans should get excited by this intriguing prospect!

 

  WHY ITS THE END OF FREDDY AND PINHEAD!

Matt has had a bit of a moan this week about the impending Hellraiser sequel Revelations, a horror that has been critically mauled by fans everywhere.  The 9th sequel to the long suffering franchise is everything that is bad about horror at times.  Made in two weeks for the simple reason for the studio to keep the franchise rights, the rushed and no thought at all horror film was made without a care in the world to the fans who love the world of the Cenobites.

But I am going to go deeper into this story and tell you why I feel Hellraiser and Elm Street are two franchise’s that are now dead in the water, where there is no come back, no chance of survival and why both should be put to sleep without any more thought of sequels or re-makes.

Unlike the Jason and the Michael’s of the world, Freddy and Pinhead do not wear a mask, so for fans everywhere we are used to seeing Doug Bradley and Robert Englund in the iconic roles of these two bogymen!  Revelations was the first Hellraiser film to be made without the involvement of Bradley and the role went too Stephan Smith Collins, who already had the whole horror world against him.

I remember sitting there and seeing the first trailer release of the new Elm Street re-make and we saw Jackie Earle Haley for the first time as the child killer.  I instantly had the thought of “that is wrong!” because my innerself had only Englund in the role.  It is the same when I look at the picture above and see Collins in that outfit, it just cries out an instant dislike and proves that for these films in particular unless you have the original guys in the roles then you can forget about any hope of success.

Brutal and harsh? Yeah probably but while anyone can chuck on a mask and visit Haddonfield on Halloween (Even though Nick Castle is still the best Myers), no one can just put pins in their heads and go around has Pinhead.  Its like an imposter invading our memories, its wrong, not right and by doing it you are already alienating the hard core fan base.  With the re-make of Hellraiser still to come, I hope to be proved wrong and whoever takes over the role then, I hope will make me eat my words, but with Elm Street 2 dead in the water thanks to the box office failure of the re-make, what would you prefer, a new film, or a welcome return for Englund in his signature role?  If the answer is Englund then like me, you agree that only certain people can make or break a long running franchise.

 THE ONLY CONAN!

I watched Conan The Barbarian this week, it was awesome, a real classic, a film that needs to be watched and marveled by fans everywhere.  That is why I have no intention of watching the re-make that is currently showing on the big screen.

  NO SENSE TO THIS HUMAN MADNESS

I have been a huge defender of The Human Centipede 2 nonsense in that its stupid for an adult film fan like myself to have the right the watch this film taken from me by some idiot in an office who believes that it may disturb my poor little brain.  In an age where the Film studios are fighting a losing battle against Piracy, this decision just encourages people to download and while its illegal and wrong and we at HCF do not condone our readers to do it, when a decision like this happens, we can understand why fans do it because lets be honest, how else can they get their hands on a copy!

But now comes the news that Tom Six is considering a third film in the franchise and a one that in his words says will “make the last one look like a Disney film,” “We’re going to shoot the third film entirely in America and it’s going to be my favourite…It’s going to upset a lot of people.

I am sorry but any sympathy I had with Six over the treatment of the sequel does not stretch for a third film.  Does this make any sense to you, I mean you have a film already stuck in hell and yet you are going to make a third that probably will also have no chance of getting released.  This smacks of sheer madness and maybe an attempt by Six to further anger the censor board.  What Six should do is step away and forget about this franchise.  The man showed enough glimpse in the original Centipede film to suggest a future in the horror field so lets see some new fresh material than further needless sequels to the already tarnished franchise!

   STILL THE BEST!

Is there a better TV show out there at the moment than the brilliant Dexter!  Season 5 arrivied with a negative vibe from over the shores calling it “a season where  the quality dips!”.  Well with two episodes left of the current one I and many others are still blown away by what we are seeing.  Yes the season  has been bogged down by the aftermath of the stunning climax of the previous season, but there is no denying that it still grips you like no other TV show.  Johhy Lee Miller excells as this season bad guy while Julia Stiles has brought an emotional punch into the life of Dexter who is still played brilliantly by Michael C Hall.  With the Season 6 trailer already out and blowing people away by what its offering, if you have yet jumped on the bandwagon of this wonderful ride, then there is no time like the better!

THE WEEKLY BEST MOVIE IN GAG, (Always worth a giggle)

“There once was a woman who was quite begat. She had three babies named Nat, Pat, and Tat.

She said it was fun in the breeding, but found it was hell in the feeding when she saw there was no tit for Tat.”

Kart Hertz

 EMAILS OF THE WEEK!

Hi HCF, Great Reading and I would like to invest in your website.  Please pass me your bank details so I can put some money in to help you get bigger and better!”

                                                                                                                       Miss L Mafitt

LOL….Thanks but no thanks, besides I think Bat will tell you how skint we all are……

Love the site, but where is the Freddy reviews and the old classics, I am searching and searching to no avail!….

                                                                                                                       JoBo

Yeah, sorry, I did say a few weeks ago that I would start a Freddy feature, so expect one soon.  We are still a newborn on the reviews, but we are working ever so hard behind the scenes in writing reviews to make our database the best there i

  FEATURES TO READ THIS WEEK ON HCF!

 

 The Doc has wrote an exceptional piece on Terry Gilliam, read it here: https://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2011/08/terry-gilliam-master-of-fantasy/

An actor went to see a new agent one day and said, `You must have a look at my act, it really is innovative.’ So saying, he flew up to the ceiling, circled the room a few times and landed smoothly on the agent’s desk. `So you do bird impressions,’ said the agent, `what else can you do?’

AND FINALLY:

Like the new look? Well I would like to thank HCF’s resident artist David Gillespie for the new Hacked To Pieces banner……mate you a brilliant drawer, and I owe you a pint!

Until next time guys!!!

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About Ross Hughes 532 Articles
Since my mother sat me down at the age of five years of age and watched a little called Halloween, I have been hooked on horror. There is no other genre that gets me excited and takes me to the edge of entertainment. I watch everything from old, new, to cheap and blockbusters, but I promise all my readers that I will always give an honest opinion, and I hope whoever reads this review section, will find a film that they too can love as much as I do! Have fun reading, and please DO HAVE NIGHTMARES!!!!!!

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