Friday, 20 October 2017

In Defence Of… Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles



Originally published on Set The Tape

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was the first (and so far only) television series to be based upon the popular sci-fi franchise, Terminator, and ran for two seasons from 2008 to 2009 before its cancellation. The series follows on from the events of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, ignoring Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator Salvation, which was released during the series run.

The show begins in 1997 with the titular Sarah Connor (played by Game of Thrones actress Lena Headey) and her son John Connor (Thomas Dekker) living below the radar, trying to avoid authorities whilst she prepares him to be the future leader of the resistance. When the Terminator Cromartie arrives in John’s school and tries to kill him, he discovers that his new friend Cameron (Summer Glau) is also a Terminator, though one sent to protect him. Sarah, John and Cameron use technology set up by members of the future resistance to travel forward through time to 2007, where they hope to track down the beginnings of Skynet and destroy it.

From here the series would go on to explore the relationships between the lead characters, introduce new elements to the mythology, and expand upon the world in new and interesting ways. Unfortunately, due to low ratings the series was cancelled after the end of its second season, leaving the show on a cliffhanger that will never be resolved. But was it really as bad a show as people made it out to be?

One of the show’s major criticisms is that it wasn’t what viewers were expecting, especially as it is a series based upon a film franchise filled with explosions, shootouts, and robot fights. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles had all of these things, but it spaced them out over its seasons. It took the time to focus on character and story rather than the violence and action; and a lot of people didn’t like this direction.

By shifting the focus away from action, the series was able to devote more time to the characters than the films ever could. It went deeper into Sarah Connor’s psyche, making her more than just a woman obsessed with protecting her son. She had her flaws, she doubted herself, and the show even showed her weak and human at times.


Sarah Connor is easily one of the best female action heroes of all times. Linda Hamilton played her wonderfully, but Lena Headey brought a whole new depth and intricacy to the character that made her more interesting. She was still the bad-ass action hero, quick to pull out a shotgun and put herself between her son and a killer robot, but now she felt more real and well-rounded.

John Connor was also a massive improvement with the show focusing on showing the progress from whiny teen into a young man who would go on to lead humanity. It took the time to evolve him over the course of its two seasons to the point where he was willing to step up and become a hero, even going against his mother at the end of the series. He ends so far from where he began that it has to be the best depiction of the character the franchise has given.

The series also added a new and interesting element to the mythology. It explored the idea that the future resistance was sending back more people than just those who were assigned to protect John Connor. Throughout the course of the show we would discover small cells of resistance fighters who were sent back to help develop tech to fight the Terminators, including some who were there to gather intel, and others who were tasked with trying to stop the machines.

The show expanded this even further in its second season with the introduction on Shirley Manson’s Catherine Weaver; a liquid metal Terminator sent back in time to develop an A.I. to fight against Skynet. With glimpses to the future war, it’s revealed that the liquid metal Terminators are more self aware than the regular machines and can go against their initial programming to choose to fight alongside humanity. Sadly, this was a brilliant plot thread that was never concluded due to the cancellation.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ended on an amazing cliffhanger as John and Weaver travel into the future war to save Cameron, only to find themselves in a time where John Connor was never there to lead the resistance. Season three would have explored these exciting new developments, but sadly never can now.

Despite ending on a cliffhanger that will leave you angry that the show never got to finish its story, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is still an amazing series worth checking out.


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Thursday, 19 October 2017

Hellraiser Review



Originally published on Set The Tape

STARRING: Doug Bradley, Sean Chapman, Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence

DIRECTED BY: Clive Barker
WRITTEN BY: Clive Barker

Hellraiser, the film that would make Pinhead a household name and cement the career of horror writer Clive Barker, is being re-released in cinemas to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its release.

Clive Barker is a British novelist who had previous bad experiences of his writing being adapted to film. So much so that the 1987 adaptation of his novella The Hellbound Heart turned out to be his directorial debut. Hellraiser was made in England for the relatively small budget of $1 million. Despite no previous experience as a film director, and the low budget, Barker was able to deliver Hellraiser as a phenomenal success, and one of the stand out horror films of all time.

Hellraiser follows the Cotton family, beginning with Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) tracking down the mysterious Lament Configuration, a puzzle box that is supposed to grant pleasures unknown to those who solve it. When Frank solves the puzzle hooked chains emerge from inside and tear him apart. Later, when Frank’s brother Larry (Andrew Robinson), his wife Julia (Clare Higgins), and Larry’s daughter Kirsty (Ashley Laurence), move into the old family home in England, the spirit of Frank is awoken when Larry cuts himself, leading to a drop of his blood falling on a piece of Franks remains beneath the floorboards. Frank returns to the world of the living as a ghastly creature, devoid of flesh, who enlists the help of his former lover and sister-in-law Julia to return him fully, having her lure victims up to the attic so that he can kill them and drain their body of what he needs.

Meanwhile, a group of interdimensional creatures known as the Cenobites, monsters that mix pleasure and pain, “angels to some, demons to others”, are searching for Frank, who has escaped their confines within the Lament Configuration. Drawn into the horrors that unfold, Kirsty must fight for her life against her undead uncle, and the demonic Cenobites.

Hellraiser isn’t a long film; its run time is barely over 90 minutes. However, it’s a film that understands that horror isn’t something that can be just thrown into people’s faces. It needs to build over time, slowly unfolding as tension builds. Because of this, the film feels like it’s a lot longer than its short run time, though in a good way. It gives the audience a chance to get to know Frank, Julia and Kirsty by creating its own world within the confines of the Cotton family home, before the introduction of the monsters from another world.

Hellraiser deals with a number of themes, none more obvious than the idea of pleasure and pain being linked, with clear allusions to the S&M community reflected in the black leather and PVC costumes of the Cenobites. Whilst this may be the most obvious of the film’s themes, and can be disturbing to many people as the line between sexual pleasure and torture blurs, the film also deals with obsession, infidelity, betrayal, and even incest.

It makes sure that even before the Cenobites arrive – even before Frank returns as a rotting corpse – the film feels slightly wrong. We see through flashbacks that Julia was unfaithful to Larry, that Kirsty and Julia don’t get along, and that the family isn’t in the best place in their lives. As such, audiences aren’t given time to feel comfortable before the horror begins; this isn’t a happy family that gets dragged into horror, but a family with some very rotten apples within it.

The human cast may not be the best actors as the producers were unable to afford A-list stars, but they manage to do a good job with the roles that they are given. Clare Higgins immediately stands out as the thoroughly unlikeable Julia, a character that audiences loved to hate so much that she returned for the first sequel of the franchise. The most iconic cast member, though many people wouldn’t be able to recognise him out of costume, is Doug Bradley as Pinhead, the leader of the Cenobites. Despite having less than 10 minutes of screen time, Pinhead would go on to become one of the most iconic horror movie monsters of all time.

Though a little rough around the edges, you can see the lack of budget and the lack of directorial experience from Barker, but despite this he works wonders. It uses practical effects that still look disturbing today, makes use of a confined set to build tension, and has some small touches in scenes that once you notice them make things even better than you first thought.

Inspiring a generation of horror fans, filmmakers, eight sequels, and multiple comic series, Hellraiser remains one of the most iconic and interesting genre films of all time. If you’ve never seen it before, make good use of the re-release and book tickets for an experience you’ll not soon forget.


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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, Volume 2: The New Strangeness Review



Originally published on Set The Tape

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe Volume 2: The New Strangeness collects together issues #6 – #10 of the ongoing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe comic published by IDW, featuring four exciting stories.

The book’s first story, ‘The Rot In The Shell’, written by Nick Pitarra and John Lees, focuses on Michelangelo as he discovers a new foe, Wyrm. Though he has never appeared in the IDW comics before, Wyrm appears to be a recreation of the original character based upon the 1991 action figure.

A mass of mutant worms that come together to form a horrific monster, filled with junk tossed into the sewers, Wyrm is a visually striking character, one that can shift its limbs into deadly weapons, and can incorporate objects into body parts, such as his saw teeth, and rubber duck eye.

The Wyrm story is a strange affair, and whilst it does put Michelangelo to the test as a lone hero it feels like he’s the best of the turtles to go up against the monster. Wyrm is insane and wacky in a way that Michelangelo could never be, and it forces him to be the straight man of the pairing, something that’s nice to see the character do for once.

The second story, ‘What Is Ninja’, written by Brahm Revel, looks at both the turtles and the Foot Clan whilst exploring the history and nature of the ninja way. Whilst interesting, this single issue feels like it’s lacking in a way that the others don’t, chiefly because the narrative doesn’t follow any one character, and doesn’t focus on any one particular set of events. Because of this, this chapter feels somewhat weak when weighed up against the others, all of which have some emotional stake within their stories.

The third story, ‘Metalhead 2.0’ by Ryan Ferrier, is easily the best in the book, and takes up two issues. Following on from previous events within the IDW series where Donatello was injured and inhabited the robotic turtle Metalhead, when fixing the machine Donatello discovers that a copy of his conscious still resides inside the memory banks.

What follows is an engaging and emotional story that looks at the emotional distress that Donatello went through when he almost died, and looks to address what it means to be a real living person (turtle).

As this is a comic, and because nothing ever goes well for the turtles, things soon go out of hand, leading to a somewhat devastating conclusion that leaves the story open to continue in future issues, something that I hope the series will do.

The book’s final story, ‘Toad Barron’s Ball’ by Sophie Campbell, is probably one of the weirdest comics that I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a lot of Grant Morrison!). Leaving the turtles and New York behind, we join Angel Bridge and Alopex; a character that has to be a favourite of furry fans.

When the two of them are swallowed by a giant toad they find themselves in the court of the mystical Toad Barron, who wants them to join his never ending party. What follows in one of the trippiest stories that I’ve seen.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe Volume 2: The New Strangeness feels less coherent than the first volume, which had a story that encompassed the majority of the book, allowing time for more character development and intrigue. Thankfully, the ‘Metalhead 2.0’ story captures a lot of this feel; otherwise this volume would simply be a collection of unconnected one-shots.

Despite feeling more like a standalone book there are a number of story elements introduced in this book that remain unresolved by the end of their individual issues, leaving the possibility of future exploration in the future.


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What is… LEGO’s Ninjago?



Originally published on Set The Tape

Ninjago is the latest Lego franchise to be produced into a new feature film following The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie. Whilst former featured a lot of characters from pop culture to ease audiences in, and Batman was just a wackier version of the character we all know and love, Ninjago is something that many people will never of heard of before, or will have little knowledge of.

So, what exactly is it?

Ninjago is a line of LEGO products that has been running since 2010, with over 100 sets having been released in addition to a popular children’s animated series. The Ninjago universe is a mixture of the modern world, ancient villages, mythology, and robots.


The world of Ninjago is split between the peaceful land of Ninjago and the Dark Island, home of the evil ninja Master Garmadon and his dark army hell bent on world conquest. Standing against the forces of evil is Sensei Wu, an old ninja master, and his students, Kai, Jay, Zane, Nya, Cole, and Lloyd. Wu trains his students in the art of Spinjitzu, and each of his students master one of the elemental powers granted to them by their magical golden weapons.

Kai is the red Ninja of Fire. Jay is the blue Ninja of Lightning. Zane is the white Ninja of Ice. Nya is the gray Ninja of Water. Cole is the black Ninja of Earth. Lloyd is the green ninja, the Master of Energy. Together the six ninjas protect the land of Ninjago from Master Garmadon using their powerful weapons, elemental powers, and their robotic mechs.

Over the course of the life of Ninjago, the franchise has added new heroes, villains and evil factions, and new creatures to aid the ninja’s with their mission.


If some of this sounds somewhat familiar, that’s probably because Ninjago is very much a LEGO version of Power Rangers, a group of teenage heroes brought together by a mentor to fight against the forces of darkness using enhanced abilities and giant robots. Which is possibly a factor for the longevity and popularity of the Ninjago line.

The new Ninjago film isn’t the first time the franchise has been adapted, however, with a television series having been around since the launch of Ninjago in 2010. To date Ninjago has had several seasons and a number of specials, with no current plans in place to end the show.

The series has incorporated elements of the toy line, as well as inspiring new play sets and taking on a life of its own. The television show has built upon the initial mythology created for the first line of LEGO sets to the point where the new motion picture has an incredibly solid foundation. Whilst watching the Ninjago series will add to the viewing experience for the new film, it’s not essential to understand the basic premise and plot elements.


The series has also had a number of video games, though as they have been on handheld platforms, such as the 3DS and Playstation Vita, they haven’t been as well known or as popular as other LEGO games.

LEGO have produced more than 100 Ninjago sets, as well as a variety of other Ninjago merchandise, such as the ninja’s weapons. With the long life and popularity of Ninjago, the new film has been a long time coming.

Whilst Ninjago has been a steady franchise for LEGO, it’s never been a series that has been the first port of call for LEGO plans. Hopefully the new film will help to raise the popularity, enabling Ninjago to continue on for many more years to come.


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Looking Back At… Resident Evil: Extinction



Originally published on Set The Tape

Resident Evil: Extinction is the third film in the Paul W.S. Anderson Resident Evil series (not to be confused with the vastly superior Sony Pictures series that actually ties into the game series), and is possibly one of the worst of the series.

The Resident Evil films are a hugely mixed bag, with some films working, and most often those that do not very well, but Resident Evil: Extinction suffers because it’s at that point in the series where it still wants to make a halfway serious film, before just embracing the ridiculous in the much more enjoyable Resident Evil: Afterlife and Resident Evil: Retribution.

Resident Evil: Extinction picks up several years after the events of the second film, in a world where the T-Virus spread beyond Raccoon City, destroying civilisation as we know it. The virus has not only turned most people into the undead, but has killed off plant life, and dried up lakes and rivers. Whilst this makes no sense what so ever, it does enable the film to set itself in a new desert location.

Due to this dramatic shift in the setting the film does at least have a look and feel that sets is apart from the rest of the series, with dark claustrophobic environments replaced with settings that look more at home in a Mad Max film.

Because of this shift to bright outdoor locations that film does sadly lack in the horror department, relying instead on action in order to keep the audience entertained. Thankfully, this is something that the film does very well, with a number of well crafted and visually impressive set pieces spread throughout. One of the downsides of this focus on action is Milla Jovovich, however, who returns yet again as Alice, though now with superhuman abilities.


Building on the end of the second film, where Alice had begun to exhibit psychic powers due to her exposure to the virus, she is now seen using telekinetic and pyrokinetic powers throughout, performing actions that no ordinary human could accomplish. Sadly this adds little to the film, making Alice less of a character and more of a story device.

The film does bring back some other series characters in Oded Fehr’s Carlos Olivera and Mike Epps’ L.J., though no mention is made of Jill Valentine or Angella or what might have happened to them since the last film. Resident Evil: Extinction would also be the first appearance of game favourite character Claire Redfield, who would go on to appear in the series multiple times.

Due to the short run time of the film, and the need to include extensive action sequences these characters are largely underserved, with little extra characterisation being given to Carlos and L.J. before their deaths, and Claire being so underutilised that she may as well not have been Claire Redfield at all.

Despite this, the cast does manage to do well with what little they are given, and all of the performances are fairly strong, though Iain Glen is probably the most enjoyable, clearly relishing playing an over the top villain.


Sadly, he’s less interesting once he becomes the Tyrant monster from the original Resident Evil game in order to fight Alice, a fight that feels too short and lacklustre.

Possibly due to the film originally being designed as an end to the series (though it would go on for another three films) it does feel that it tries to cram too much content into too short a run time, trying to end everything in a satisfying way. Ideally, the film would either have been longer, though that may not be the best choice, or it would have benefitted from tighter writing.

Like every other film in the Resident Evil series there are some good points, though they’re often lost amidst the bad decisions. Fans of action films will be sure to get enjoyment out of the flashy spectacle, and general viewers may be entertained. Unfortunately, those in the audience that are fans of the source material will find little of the series that they enjoy in the final product.


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The Evil Within 2: 5 Other Survival Horror Games



Originally published on Set The Tape

The Evil Within 2 might be the newest kid on the block as far as survival horror games go, but the genre has been around for many years now, and has given some great horror experiences. So what games are worth playing if you enjoy survival horror? Here’s a list of five of the best.


 Resident Evil VII: Biohazard (PS4, Xbox One, Windows)

Whilst Resident Evil might be one of the oldest franchises in the survival horror genre, the latest game in the series is one of the most frightening entries. Taking on a first-person perspective, Resident Evil VII shifts the focus from gunplay and action to one that focuses on sneaking through dark corridors, avoiding detection, and desperate survival.

The introduction of found-footage style sections also added an extra element of horror to the game that was missing in other recent Resident Evil titles. Resident Evil VII puts you in the shoes of Ethan, a man searching for his missing wife, who ends up stumbling across a horrific mystery that connects back to the Umbrella Corporation, one that will have him fighting for his very life.


 Alien: Isolation (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows)

 After the disappointment of Aliens: Colonial Marines, Sega shocked gamers with an Alien game that managed to perfectly capture the aesthetic and horror of the original movie, in what is possibly the best Alien game to ever be produced.

Playing as Amanda Ripley, daughter of the Alien protagonist Ellen Ripley, you travel to the Sevestopol space station to search for clues to her mother’s disappearance. Unfortunately, the station is under siege from the same creature that hunted her mother years before.

The Pulse Rifles, Smart Guns, and other weapons iconic with the series were stripped away, changing the game from an experience where you hunt the xenomorph, to one where you must avoid the monster at all cost. Alien: Isolation reminds gamers just how frightening an enemy you can’t fight can be, and just why Alien should still be recognised as one of the best horror films.


 Silent Hill 2 (PS2, Xbox, Windows)

 The second entry into the Silent Hill franchise is still one of the best to date, with a big focus on character and psychological horror. Whilst other series focused on shock and moments of surprise to induce horror, Silent Hill 2 focuses on atmosphere to deliver much of its fear.

The story follows James Sunderland, a man haunted by the death of his wife, who becomes drawn to the mysterious town of Silent Hill, where he must not only face his own inner demons, but the truth of the death of his wife. Despite being an older game, Silent Hill 2 can still shock and scare as well as when it was first released. Plus, the recent HD re-release means that the game is now available on newer consoles with a glossier look.


Outlast (PS4, Xbox One, Windows)

Whilst many games in the survival horror genre will pit you against foes much stronger than you with few ways to defend yourself, Outlast gives you absolutely no way to do so. Outlast has you running and hiding instead of fighting as you investigate your way through an asylum full of terrors.

You play as a freelance journalist, armed with only a video camera, who decides to investigate the mysterious Mount Massive Asylum, and the inhumane experiments taking place there. A mixture of jump scares and atmosphere, Outlast will have you jumping out of your skin as you try to stay alive in a setting that maintains the terror between foes and jump scares.


 Dead Space 2 (PS3, Xbox 360, Windows)

Dead Space 2 builds upon the solid foundation of the first game and improves upon it in almost every way. The game expands its mythology and story, gives us a bigger and scarier setting, introduces new enemies, and even allows Isaac to speak.

Following the events of the first game, Isaac awakens in an asylum on the Sprawl, a densely populated space station on one of Saturn’s moons. Unfortunately, a Necromorph outbreak has already hit the station, decimating the population. What follows is a game that explores the madness that Isaac is now experiencing, the conspiracy behind the Necromorph outbreak, and one of survival.


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Wednesday, 18 October 2017

Psycho Rangers Come To BOOM! Studios Power Rangers Comic



The iconic Psycho Rangers, who first appeared in the 1998 series Power Rangers in Space, will be coming to the ongoing Boom! Studios Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic with issue #20, on sale 25th October.

The preview page released by BOOM! reveals that the Psycho Rangers will tie into the introduction of the original team of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, a team before Jason, Kimberly, Billy, Zach, Trini, and Tommy, way back in 1969.


The preview page not only reveals that the Psycho Rangers will in some way be connected to the moon landing, but will also introduce a Green Psycho Ranger for the first time.


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Hellraiser: Ranking The Cult Horror Franchise



Originally Published on Set The Tape

With a franchise spanning 30 years, Hellraiser is one of the most enduring horror series in part because its very concept lends well to telling new and interesting stories over films that have a human antagonist. With nine films (so far) in the series, it’s time to look back at the scary – and the scary awful – films of this iconic franchise.


9. Hellraiser: Revelations (2011)

 The most recent addition to the Hellraiser franchise is also easily the worst. The film’s story, one of the first in a long time that was written specifically to be a Hellraiser sequel, is boring and moves at a slow pace; and no amount of call-backs and nods to the previous films can help to alleviate the tedium.

However, the biggest problem is the lack of Doug Bradley as Pinhead. There is enough scope in the Hellraiser mythology for the series to be able to work without Pinhead, but Pinhead can only be played by Bradley. If the Hellraiser franchise is to continue, it has a huge amount of damage control to do after this terrible entry.


8. Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005)

 Hellworld is what you’d get if you mixed a teen slasher film with Hellraiser; and it’s as awful as that idea sounds. It feels like another project completely that ended up having the Hellraiser franchise crammed in at the end (which is actually what happened). As such, you can get through most of the film forgetting that it’s supposed to be part of the franchise.

Not even the appearance of horror veteran Lance Henriksen can help to elevate what is at best a mediocre slasher film.


7. Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)

 Bloodline is the entry in the series that I’m most disappointed with. Horror and sci-fi go so well together, and the prospect of setting a Hellraiser film on a space station is genuinely intriguing and disturbing as it’s an ultimate inescapable haunted house.

Unfortunately, Bloodline tried to cram too much into one film. Telling three interconnected stories over multiple locations and time periods, it became too bloated under its ambition and ultimately failed to excite.

Stories of extensive studio interference and both the writer and director claiming that they’re disappointed with the final product not being what they intended explains a great deal of the problems the film experienced.


6. Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)

 Hellseeker should have been bigger and better than it turned out to be, having the return of Ashley Lawrence as Kirsty for the first time since Hellraiser 3. Sadly, the decision to make Kirsty a spurned lover using the Lament Configuration as revenge against her husband felt so out of character for her. If the film didn’t involve Kirsty then it would probably be further up the list. As it is, it suffers for her inclusion.


5. Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

 Released the same year as Hellworld, Deader feels much more like a Hellraiser film. The story follows an investigative journalist who is looking into a cult that is killing and resurrecting people so that their leader, a descendant of the the designer of the Lament Configuration, can vanquish Pinhead.

Despite not beginning as a Hellraiser film, it works well as a part of the franchise; one that manages to build upon and use the pre existing mythology without trying to shake up the status-quo.


4. Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)

 Inferno was the first Hellraiser film that made me scared of the Cenobites from a psychological point of view. The hooks and chains take a back seat in this entry as Pinhead and his minions play a game of psychological torture against a highly unlikable detective who stumbles across the Lament Configuration at a crime scene.

It’s easy to see how this film started off as another project before the Hellraiser elements were added later on, but it’s one that works incredibly well and will stick with you in a way that some of the others won't.


3. Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth (1992)

 The third instalment in the Hellraiser series is perhaps one of the most ‘Hollywood’ entries; one that very much feels like a product of the time it was made. It was the first of the films that felt more like a franchise sequel, being more over-the-top and flashy than its predecessors.

Despite this, it still managed to present Pinhead as a chilling villain, one capable of playing both intricate mind games and going on kill crazy rampages.


2. Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 (1988)

 The first sequel is still the best. With a direct continuation of the events of the first, you can easily watch the two of them back to back as one piece. The film continues to build upon the mythology and horrors of the previous film, yet feels like its own entity.

Hellbound is the film that explores the inner workings of the Hellraiser universe more than any others, yet leaves viewers with as many questions as answers. Dark, disturbing and horrifically beautiful, Hellbound shows how good a Hellraiser sequel can be.


1. Hellraiser (1987)

Hellraiser is still easily the best entry in the entire franchise. A game-changing film upon its release, Hellraiser shocked audiences as it showed that horror could be gory and disgusting, yet thought provoking and deep.

The film changed the way that people looked at horror, made an instant icon in Pinhead, and launched the film career of Clive Barker. 30 years later, Hellraiser continues to terrify, enthral, and thrill.


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Ghostbusters: Interdimensional Cross-Rip Review



Originally published on Set The Tape

Ghostbusters: Interdimensional Cross-Rip is my first Ghostbusters comic read in a long time; and it’s an absolutely brilliant way to jump back into the series, collecting together all 11 issues of the third volume of the ongoing series, the 2015 annual, and four issues of the Ghostbusters: Get Real mini-series; all in one gorgeous hardcover collection.

Ghostbusters: Interdimensional Cross-Rip begins with the Ghostbusters: Get Real mini-series, with the Ghostbusters of the 1980’s cartoon series The Real Ghostbusters tackling a vengeful elder god Proteus. When this group of ghostbusters are transported across dimensions to the world of the Ghostbuster comics the two teams must work together to stop Proteus, and find a way to get the other team home.

As someone who holds fond memories of The Real Ghostbusters show from my childhood, it’s brilliant to see the show so faithfully recreated within the pages of this book. The character designs not only stand out in stark contrast to the regular Ghostbusters, all big hair and bright colours, but the sections set within their dimension have a completely different look to it, like a filter has been applied to the artwork to make it look like an episode on VHS.

The choice to keep the two styles so distinct and different means that you always know which version of the characters you’re dealing with in any particular scene, and which world they’re in. It’s a bold choice, but one that serves the story well.

The mini-series also manages to pack in a lot of fun references and cameo appearances too, including a brief scene with the Extreme Ghostbusters. This helps to flesh out the idea of a massive Ghostbusters multiverse, something which is explored a little later on in the book where the possible reasons for the creation of the multiverse is explored.

Once the hijinks with the multiple teams is resolved the rest of the book follows the Ghostbusters as they’re recruited by a mysterious businessman to clear ghosts out of locations all around the world so that they can be redeveloped. Queue a globe trekking adventure that sees our heroes visit some of the iconic haunted locations around the world, including Poveglia Island, Paris, and Aokigahara Suicide Forest.

Seeing the Ghostbusters outside of New York makes for a great change, one in which the characters not only get to visit new locations, but also fight creatures of other mythology, such as Japanese Yurei, and Irish Banshee’s. Some of these creatures have some brilliant designs, with the skinless ghost of Jean L’ecorcheur in particular jumping out of the pages as a very memorable and disturbing image.

When a particularly powerful threat rears its head the Ghostbusters have to call upon their allies to help them, including their counterparts from The Real Ghostbusters universe, in order to save the world, and one of their own.

Ghostbusters: Interdimensional Cross-Rip packs a lot of issues within its pages, and whilst it’s a big read it manages to include several well told stories, dozens of great character moments, emotion and heartache, and humour that makes it an easy read.

With beautiful artwork, great monster design, and cameos and easter eggs aplenty, this is an essential read for any fan of the franchise, whether they’ve read any of the comics before or not.


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Power Rangers Ninja Steel ‘Grave Robber’ Review



Originally published on Set The Tape

The latest episode of Power Rangers Ninja Steel, ‘Grave Robber’, is this season’s Halloween special. Whilst not a clip show like Power Rangers Dino Charge episodes, it fails to capture the charm or fun that previous iterations have managed so well.

When given a spooky board game to play, the Rangers (minus Levi) find themselves having to fight against formerly defeated foes returning from the grave. This in itself isn’t a bad concept, and it means that the series is able to utilise more Super Sentai footage that didn’t appear in the previous encounters with these monsters.

Whilst the action sequences of the Rangers are well made and entertaining, the episode is let down by the interconnecting scenes being quite flat and boring. The most charming moment of the episode involving the American cast is easily Sarah prancing through the set dressed as a fluffy unicorn, but everything else very much lacks the charm and humour that I’ve come to expect of a Halloween episode. Though, lacking charm and humour is probably a good way to describe much of Power Rangers Ninja Steel.

Thankfully, by including several fights against monsters that we’ve already encountered in the series, the episode is able to give us some things that we’ve not seen before; some of which you can imagine were cut from the original monster appearances because they were too bizarre to appear anywhere else but in a Halloween show. Calvin being tied to the side of a speeding truck with the unconscious driver about to send the vehicle off the edge of a cliff stands out as particularly special, and contains some very impressive stunt work; and is easily the best action sequence of the episode.

Sadly, the episode lacks in a lot of areas. The bizarre and over the top Ranger sequences really hammer home that the American side of the series is really not up to par. The characters still don’t feel developed so close to the end of the season, the stories feel barely thought through and lack any spark, and the cast aren’t given the chance to do anything to challenge themselves or win the audience over. Fingers crossed that things will improve on the way to the finale and going into Power Ranger Super Ninja Steel next year.


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