Reviews

When this show was featured on the 'I Love 1982' show recently,

my dear old mum turned to me and said, "Oh, there's Michael

Knight - he was your hero, wasn't he?" "No," I said, "KITT was my

hero." And its true - I never had childish dreams of being Michael

Knight - I just wanted to cane KITT across the Salt Lake plains like

he did in the opening credits. For me, the thing I always looked out

for was not Hasselhoff blundering his way to success - it was

when KITT got a new modification(watching the gradual upgrades

of his funky 'graphic equalizer' voicebox was just phenomenal) And

when he was fitted with Super Pursuit Mode, well... This show needs to be updated 'Next Generation' style - I've

actually had rows where instead of recording the 1 o'clock slot on

Bravo, someone's recorded Teletubbies instead. BRING IT BACK

NOOOOOOOOOW...

Be honest - when was the last time in recent years you saw ANY villain in a cartoon series who put the breeze up your kilt like Mumm-Ra used to? That 9' frame, those sinister trailing red-and-black bandages and of course a voice like bubbling tar and grated glass. Even now, hearing that terrifying 'HHRRRRAAAAAAA!!!' that he bellowed in the opening credits still sends a shudder down my spine. And whats it up against? Let me think... umm - NOTHING. EVER. DVD!! DVD, again I say!!! Show the next generation that cel villains CAN be scary!

Wow. Sugary though it is, it only takes a few bars of Limahl's theme from this film to bring you roaring back to when you first witnessed this dreamlike masterpiece - for me it was the Christmas film in primary school. I had never experienced anything like it before - this was long before I saw films like Willow and Krull - and I can still remember the staggering range of emotions that it generated: from nail-biting fear at the poltergeist intangibility of The Nothing; heart-wrenching sadness at the death of Artax (I was literally in tears as the Swamps of Sadness swallowed him; not good form for a rugged little brat) to a strange... something at the sight of the gorgeous Tami Stronach as the Child Like Empress. And, of course, what self-respecting 8-year-old was not spitting with jealousy at Bastian's triumphant ride of Falkor at the film's climax? There really is no denying that this film was a benchmark in its genre; in fact I think I could probably hold it responsible for my up-to-the present love of swords and sorcery in both film and literature. It remains both heartwarming and fast-paced, and a timeless reminder of youthful imagination. Sheer magic.

Thus far and no further is how I view this film - while 'Hellraiser' was a smooth and well-handled interpretation of 'The Hellbound Heart', this serves as an interesting extension to that story. OK, the acting is largly dire - but is this not a horror movie tradition? The film excels in its MENTAL imagery, not physical: Tiffany's disturbing visions of babies with their mouth's sewn shut as Leviathan plays with her fears; Channards violent, acid flashback-style memories... they are all insightful and well-thought out as they deal with that which cannot be tamed easily - the human psyche. Director Tony Randall has a lot to live up to following Clive Barker's '87 epic, but he takes the reigns of the story with good grace and presents a slick and progressive tale - although I do agree with the general consensus that the Cenobites should NOT have been humanised.

All in all though a great film, fantastic visuals - the fall of Leviathan at the climax has to be one of the most gripping and explosive deaths of a movie monster in horror film history - and one which should have ended the tale.