This is R. N. Millward's first chapter of The Hellraiser Chronicles, an estimated £2500 budget short, written by Kieron Hazel (there were 13 earlier treatments, some actually containing Pinhead or some other character from the Hellraiser series) and starring Rob Leetham as Father Farrell, Adrian Palmer as the mysterious Cenobite, and Sinead Maffei as the unfortunate house-seller. Technically the movie sets itself apart from most fan-made movies. The sets, make-up and CGI are impressive. The film is presented in Original Aspect Ratio (OAR) of 4:3.
On to the movie then:
A Question of Faith opens with a stop-motion animation sequence by James Eastope, which for some reason, harmless as it might seem to watch a clay head being stuck with nails, I actually found disturbing. Maybe it was the blood that appeared to flow from it, that heightened the reality (trivia: the animated opening sequence was supposed at one time to have some animated bird skeletons added in --- pity it didn't make it to the final cut).
The house was a great location, and a lot of attention was paid to detail (like the 6 months worth of junk mail slipped under the door to give the illusion of an abandoned house). The flashback sequences also try to use the same kind of white flashes as the ones in Hellraiser, when Frank is telling Julia about the Cenobites; the cenobite's appearance also relies on the same kind of gimmick used in the first Hellraiser: lightning bolts of energy materializing the creature into our Reality.
Father Farrell (Rob Leetham) is the tormented priest haunted by his hedonistic past of Devil-worshiping, that cost him his friend, his love and almost his life. Now he has returned to the place where strange and horrible events have taken place, sanctioned by a higher power in the religious hierarchy to make piece with his phantoms, and find an answer to one of the Vatican's unsolved mysteries, at the same time.
The flashback of the cenobite-summoning scene is moody and well-lit, the fight between Collin and Farrell is very dynamic and well-cut featuring some reverse shots very effective in giving a killer getting up, an eerie appearance, almost as if possessed. Only weak spot in this scene: Danny 'Mullet' Blackstock's wig. Sorry, it just looks weird.
There were a lot of difficulties throughout the production, but watching the movie, almost none of this is apparent. Despite some technical problems in the final scenes, which aren't as crisp as the rest, the film is a very entertaining piece, based on some very interesting storyline premises.
The mythology relies a lot on the writer's imagination to expand on some topics like Leviathan and Catholic Religion, two topics that for more hard-core fans, at first glance might appear to be antagonist concepts, but which work in their dichotomy to some extent, confronting on one hand the repressed sexuality and lust of Catholicism, and on the other hand the unconstrained amoral exploration of Experience that is represented by the Cenobites and Leviathan.
Some very effective directing tricks are used when shooting Father Lombardo's chaining, shot in reverse.
The editing by Antonio Meitin (basic editing completed in the summer of 2005), who also stars in the final scenes of the movie as the Prospective House Buyer, is top notch, disguising some shots like the ripping of the boarded nails from the basement door with a crowbar, (which weren't really nailed to the door, but stuck to it with tape --- kept falling off in the outtakes) in a rather sneaky way to make believe that the boards are actually being ripped from the wood, which might make also you jump in your seat at the same time.
The CGI and animation is also nearly flawless, very convincing and a strong point in the movie, despite the director's choice not to show too much of it.
The best composed shot is, I think a shot depicting a convent in Florence. I had a hard time believing that convent wasn't actually there! Andy Dingley's (Circus of Horrors) special effects were really wonderful. The gore is there, but it serves a purpose. The pulsating, blood-spurting slashed throat looked chilling.
However, the past sequence has its flaws, in the acting department. The characters use an accent one might identify as not very Italian, rather more like an Eastern European accent. A word or two in Italian might have added to the illusion, but anyway it served its purpose. The set for this scene could also have benefited of a better location. Nuns and priests were known to live in reclusion in rather spare rooms, but a basement does look a bit too much, contrasting with the brand new wooden bed that looks straight out of IKEA. But still, one must remember that it's a good and honest effort, and budget constraints will always show through. Like the Cenobite's costume. Despite having some killer make-up on his face and a really interesting design for his headpiece, it appears that all the budget went for the make-up and not enough into his costume. The leather jacket he wears and the black cloth tied around his waist could have, with a few tweaks here and there, have worked better: some cutting and tying (corset-style) in the back of the jacket would have made it less baggy and tighter to the actor's torso, for instance. But still he looks menacing enough. A lost soul who recovers his forgotten humanity in the end.
Matthew Nellis' cinematography looks vivid and crisp throughout most of the movie, the images captured with a lot of vividness. And of course, the music by James Eastope and :Grover also helps create a lot of the mood in those scary scenes.
Another great addition to the Hellraiser community's list of (I hope) ever-growing fan films!
22.04.2006
On to the movie then:
A Question of Faith opens with a stop-motion animation sequence by James Eastope, which for some reason, harmless as it might seem to watch a clay head being stuck with nails, I actually found disturbing. Maybe it was the blood that appeared to flow from it, that heightened the reality (trivia: the animated opening sequence was supposed at one time to have some animated bird skeletons added in --- pity it didn't make it to the final cut).
The house was a great location, and a lot of attention was paid to detail (like the 6 months worth of junk mail slipped under the door to give the illusion of an abandoned house). The flashback sequences also try to use the same kind of white flashes as the ones in Hellraiser, when Frank is telling Julia about the Cenobites; the cenobite's appearance also relies on the same kind of gimmick used in the first Hellraiser: lightning bolts of energy materializing the creature into our Reality.
Father Farrell (Rob Leetham) is the tormented priest haunted by his hedonistic past of Devil-worshiping, that cost him his friend, his love and almost his life. Now he has returned to the place where strange and horrible events have taken place, sanctioned by a higher power in the religious hierarchy to make piece with his phantoms, and find an answer to one of the Vatican's unsolved mysteries, at the same time.
The flashback of the cenobite-summoning scene is moody and well-lit, the fight between Collin and Farrell is very dynamic and well-cut featuring some reverse shots very effective in giving a killer getting up, an eerie appearance, almost as if possessed. Only weak spot in this scene: Danny 'Mullet' Blackstock's wig. Sorry, it just looks weird.
There were a lot of difficulties throughout the production, but watching the movie, almost none of this is apparent. Despite some technical problems in the final scenes, which aren't as crisp as the rest, the film is a very entertaining piece, based on some very interesting storyline premises.
The mythology relies a lot on the writer's imagination to expand on some topics like Leviathan and Catholic Religion, two topics that for more hard-core fans, at first glance might appear to be antagonist concepts, but which work in their dichotomy to some extent, confronting on one hand the repressed sexuality and lust of Catholicism, and on the other hand the unconstrained amoral exploration of Experience that is represented by the Cenobites and Leviathan.
Some very effective directing tricks are used when shooting Father Lombardo's chaining, shot in reverse.
The editing by Antonio Meitin (basic editing completed in the summer of 2005), who also stars in the final scenes of the movie as the Prospective House Buyer, is top notch, disguising some shots like the ripping of the boarded nails from the basement door with a crowbar, (which weren't really nailed to the door, but stuck to it with tape --- kept falling off in the outtakes) in a rather sneaky way to make believe that the boards are actually being ripped from the wood, which might make also you jump in your seat at the same time.
The CGI and animation is also nearly flawless, very convincing and a strong point in the movie, despite the director's choice not to show too much of it.
The best composed shot is, I think a shot depicting a convent in Florence. I had a hard time believing that convent wasn't actually there! Andy Dingley's (Circus of Horrors) special effects were really wonderful. The gore is there, but it serves a purpose. The pulsating, blood-spurting slashed throat looked chilling.
However, the past sequence has its flaws, in the acting department. The characters use an accent one might identify as not very Italian, rather more like an Eastern European accent. A word or two in Italian might have added to the illusion, but anyway it served its purpose. The set for this scene could also have benefited of a better location. Nuns and priests were known to live in reclusion in rather spare rooms, but a basement does look a bit too much, contrasting with the brand new wooden bed that looks straight out of IKEA. But still, one must remember that it's a good and honest effort, and budget constraints will always show through. Like the Cenobite's costume. Despite having some killer make-up on his face and a really interesting design for his headpiece, it appears that all the budget went for the make-up and not enough into his costume. The leather jacket he wears and the black cloth tied around his waist could have, with a few tweaks here and there, have worked better: some cutting and tying (corset-style) in the back of the jacket would have made it less baggy and tighter to the actor's torso, for instance. But still he looks menacing enough. A lost soul who recovers his forgotten humanity in the end.
Matthew Nellis' cinematography looks vivid and crisp throughout most of the movie, the images captured with a lot of vividness. And of course, the music by James Eastope and :Grover also helps create a lot of the mood in those scary scenes.
Another great addition to the Hellraiser community's list of (I hope) ever-growing fan films!
22.04.2006
