AtoZ2018 - P is for ... #MovieMonsters #AtoZChallenge

P is for ...

Be warned, today there is a five red skull monster and several others who are up there in scariness value. P seems to be a letter that loves evil :). Hope everyone is still enjoying the AtoZ and all the wonderful posts. I managed to get way behind at visiting at the end of last week, but I am trying to catch up.

Scariness Rating

The little skulls by their name are my scariness rating as to how monstrous and scary I think the creatures are when seen in their films.

•  1 skull (not scary at all) - 5 skulls (very scary)
•  and there is a special rating for a few - 5 red skulls (utterly terrifying)

Pennywise (IT (1990, 2017)

This is one scary monster. Pennywise is a clown, but he's not the kind you would like to invite to a birthday party.

He is the personification of an ancient evil in the town of Derry from Stephen King's book IT. He likes to drag people, especially children, down into the sewers under the town, where they float forever with him.

Once you've been got by Pennywise it never ends because he takes your soul as well as your life.

Tim Curry is brilliant as Pennywise in the 1990 made for TV mini-series of IT, and Bill Skarsgard is superbly scary in last year's It movie. Both are worth watching if you like being scared and I look forward to Bill's return in It 2.

Predator

Predator, the movie with every action hero stereotype crammed into one film.

Predators are the game hunters of the universe. Think rich white men with guns, but with spaceships, cloaking technology, alien armour and energy weapons.

In Predator this hunter is up against Arnie as a special forces commando and his team in the Val Verde jungle. The Predator is after trophies, which to him are the skull and spine of the humans  he kills.

He doesn't care that his prey are sentient, or that he has an unfair advantage. All he cares about is his sport.

Predator and Predator 2 are both worth a watch, but I can't say I go a bundle on any of the Predator's other outings.

Puppets (Puppet Master)

Okay, so you thought dolls were creepy, try puppets.

These puppets are called Blade, Tunneler and Pinhead and they were brought to life by Andre Toulon, the last great alchemist. The Nazis wanted to use his knowledge in their war effort, so he killed himself and put his puppets away.

However, fast forward to 1989 and a group of psychics have gathered in Bodega Bay to uncover Toulon's work. Unfortunately for them, one of them had already figured it out and used it to make himself the new puppet master. The puppets may only be small, but they can be deadly.

Blade has a lethal knife, Tunneler's head is a tunnelling screw which can penetrate flesh easily, Pinhead has two huge hands that pack a large punch and they have more friends as well.

There are actually 11 canon films in the Puppet Master franchise and it is being rebooted. I've only seen the first 2 movies and I enjoyed them both, but beware, these puppets are scary.

Pinhead (Hellraiser)

The original Hellraiser film was written and directed by Clive Barker, so we know the monsters are going to be good.

Pinhead is the head of the Cenobites, a group of inter-dimensional explorers who seek carnal experiences and they can no longer distinguish between pain or pleasure.

There is a puzzle box, which, when opened, allows them access to the dimension of, and the person who, opened the box. The victim is them subjected to extremes of sadomasochism ending in their death.

Once upon a time Pinhead was human, but was transformed after he too opened the puzzle box. As Pinhead he has no memory of who he was and is dedicated to serving the deity Leviathan. Of course, with there being 9 Hellraiser films, things change a lot for him over them, but I suggest you watch them to learn more.

Q: So, which is scarier, Pinhead or Pennywise? Any P monsters I should have had on the list?

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