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[It Came from the ‘80s] Summoning Cenobites and Engineers in ‘Hellraiser’

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With horror industry heavy hitters already in place from the 1970s, the 1980s built upon that with the rise of brilliant minds in makeup and effects artists, as well as advances in technology. Artists like Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., Tom Savini, Stan Winston, and countless other artists that delivered groundbreaking, mind-blowing practical effects that ushered in the pre-CGI Golden Age of Cinema. Which meant a glorious glut of creatures in horror. More than just a technical marvel, the creatures on display in ‘80s horror meant tangible texture that still holds up decades laterGrotesque slimy skin to brutal transformation sequences, there wasn’t anything the artists couldn’t create. It Came From the ‘80s is a series that will pay homage to the monstrous, deadly, and often slimy creatures that made the ‘80s such a fantastic decade in horror.

Horror author Clive Barker didn’t initially have any intention to direct films, but the cinematic adaptations of Underworld and Rawhead Rex left him dissatisfied and feeling the need to take control. When trying to determine what it would take for someone to hire a first-time director, his producer Christopher Figg suggested something relegated to a single location with unknown actors and monsters to keep the budget small. Barker thought of his novella The Hellbound Heart, which fit the criteria. Roger Corman’s New World Pictures agreed to fund Hellraiser for just under a million dollars, and thus began the birth of one of horror’s major franchises.

It was Figg who introduced special makeup effects designer Bob Keen to Barker, and the pair hit it off immediately. The two spent weeks exchanging ideas that would still adhere to the small budget. Between Barker and Keen, they eventually settled on the design of the cenobites, with Barker drawing inspiration from punk fashion and the S&M clubs he visited. Their lengthy planning paid off. Butterball, Pinhead (though credited as Lead Cenobite), Chatterer, and the Female only appear on screen for a scant few minutes and still became instantly iconic. It wasn’t just the designs, but the performances that made horror audiences fall hard for the cenobites. Barker insisted on hiring actors when the studio felt stunt performers would have been cheaper. It allowed the cenobites’ personality to shine through when the heavy makeup and prosthetics meant the actors couldn’t even see where they were going.  As cool as Pinhead looks, he wouldn’t be nearly as iconic without Doug Bradley in the role.

Keen’s work on this film extends far beyond the cenobites, though. As menacing as the cenobites are there’s still some semblance of humanity to them, and Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) is able to bargain with Pinhead when she accidentally summons them. That’s not the case with the Engineer, a monstrous demon that prowls the corridors of Hell. Kirsty Cotton barely survives her first run-in with the Engineer when she solves the Lament Configuration in her hospital room. This scene was a beast to shoot, though, as the hall the effects team had to work with was only 15 feet long. The Engineer took up 7 feet. The monster was built and mounted on a platform with wheels, with a group of guys behind it to push it forward and puppet its movements. It left Lawrence without much space left to run, so she had to run very slowly. They also had to film this several times over to help create the illusion of a much longer hallway.

The crowning achievement of Keen and the special effects team’s work on this film isn’t the extradimensional realm (though they’re great), but the gruesome and gory resurrection of Frank Cotton. When Kirsty’s father Larry (Andrew Robinson) cuts his hand on a nail, the blood seeps into the floors of the attic that begins one slimy, goopy, bloody sequence that brings Frank back from the dead as a living, skinless corpse. Rigged mechanisms were built under the floorboard to have them move while pumps poured goo through the holes. The beating heart was made from a condom, tubing, and glue to make it look like a real human heart.

Barker shot the film in order, and the budget ran out by the finale. The winged creature that takes off with the lament configuration isn’t nearly as grand as it was envisioned. The gory intensity and sexual themes meant issues with censorship, too, causing scenes to be cut. Despite all of this, the story, special effects work, and characters carved out a space in pop culture memory. For his first-time directorial effort, Barker unleashed a unique world that hadn’t been seen before. His vision and Keen’s spectacular designs delivered the beginning of one of horror’s most memorable franchises.

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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