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Sassy Brit (97 KP) rated The Key to Death's Door in Books

Jun 6, 2019  
The Key to Death's Door
The Key to Death's Door
Mark Tilbury | 2018 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
10
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Key To Death’s Door by Mark Tilbury is a tense, mystery, thriller novel interwoven with supernatural and horror aspects, which reminded me of Stephen King style reads.

When Teenager Lee Hunter and his best friend Charlie Finch go on a fishing trip, Lee drowns only to discover that when he awakes he has travelled back in time about 30 years and is now living the life of another lad called Paul Collins. To his horror, he, his family and his best friend are at the mercy of the evil and sadistic Daryl Finch, Charlie Finch’s father and they are all about to be killed.

After being successfully resuscitated by Charlie, Lee comes back as himself – to the current time period – knowing the horrific truth about Charlie’s father, Daryl, and what he is capable of. With his newfound knowledge Lee sets out to avenge the death’s of the Collins’ family. But where to start? Who is going to believe Lee knows what happened all those years ago, when he wasn’t even born then?

The Key to Death’s Door is a clever story, and raises serious issues of child abuse, wife beating, animal cruelty and murder in such vivid detail, I totally wanted justice for what had happened, and for Daryl Finch to get his comeuppance for his past and present atrocities. There’s no way he could be allowed to get away with what he’s done, surely?

I loved the relationship of best friends Lee and Charlie, they were portrayed realistically for their ages, and their characters were fun to read. They might not always have been able to say what they really meant to each other, but they had each other’s back, and at times their conversations were even quite funny and endearing. Contrast this with the scenes in the Collins’ house, which were utterly brutal and horrifying and you’re in for a thrilling ride with a supernatural twist. I certainly enjoyed The Key to Death’s Door and will look for more of Mark Tilbury’s work from now on.
  
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Jimmy Ray Davis (0 KP) created a post

Mar 4, 2018  
My official review of...

HELLRAISER: JUDGMENT (2018)

HJ is not a good movie. It is a flimsy slapped together hodgepodge of crazy almost inane visuals and the notion that Pinhead, the Cenobites and the auditor lounge about in a crumbling house luring folks off the street to analyze and then swallow their souls. What the hell happened to Clive Barker's wild, extreme vision of hell and the broad layering of Pinhead and his cohorts? The movie begins almost laughable as a lumbering creep is lured to the house by, get this, a NOTE slipped under his door. What are we in third grade again? Like a moron, he heeds the written summons and winds up at the house. When he disappears in the door, we hear what sounds like him getting jumped and his ass kicked. I almost laughed out loud for real, is this what Pinhead is reduced to? Paul T. Taylor plays the second replacement Pinhead and while he is better than Stephen Smith Collins he pales compared to the original, Doug Bradley. Pinhead has very little screen time and has just as little to do with the film. Throw in a trio of detectives that could have been lifted from the Saw formula of Arrogant guy, smart chick, timid guy and a storyline that seems so brief and abrupt it makes one wonder why it was even made.

HJ is not a bad movie. Sure it strangles Barker's creation and bastardizes everything we love from the early franchise but man oh man is this a visual feast of bizarro over the top crazy Clive Barker goodness. You have the jury made up of three nearly naked women with skinned faces, the cleaners three more naked women who apply their cleaning skills in a very offputting way, The disgusting assessor who pores childrens tears over paper confessionals and devours them only to puke their contents into a pipe system, The Surgeon, a latex masked monstrosity and a hulking baby-masked butcher who seals the deal. While some of the proceedings repulsed, I could not look away and the balsy output was a welcomed if reckless change. Two noteworthy cameos include the 80's scream queen, Heather Langenkamp in a painfully short scene as a sleazy landlord and Horror director John Guluger as the giggling, gnarly assessor. I also loved the twist at the end which turns the series on its ear and begs for another sequel.

All in all there is little to like if you go into this thinking you are getting a film that does justice to Clive Barker but if you go in as I did without expectations that it would be a homage to Pinhead and some kind of really good commentary on the universe of the characters. Go in low and strap yourself in. So bad it's good? Maybe but either way you will watch in morbid fascination, guaranteed!

2.5 of 5 stars