On the weekend, Hear My Eyes, an Australian project that contracts contemporary artists to redesign scores for classic films, brought Clive Barker’s visceral 1987 classic, Hellraiser, to the Melbourne Town Hall. Reimagining the soundtrack to the horny horror paragon were Hieroglyphic Being, alias of Chicago underground electronic artist Jamal Moss, and Australian laser artist Robin Fox. Both artists performed live to the film, which opened and closed to a five-minute avant-garde laser performance by Fox, soundtracked by Hieroglyphic Being’s frenetic, driving house music.
Part concert, part film screening, Hear My Eyes isn’t known to disappoint. How’d it do?
Videos by VICE
THE FILM
FIVE STARS
Hear My Eyes are extremely talented at selecting classic films for film lovers. Their past choices, Pan’s Labyrinth, Suspiria (1977), Drive and Chopper among them, fit the bill: cult artefacts, widely beloved. Hellraiser’s notes of taboo, horror, sexual deviancy and sadomasochism, as well as its gratuitous gore, make it the perfect film to watch or rewatch with friends, loved ones, foes, or Melbourne’s entire millennial and Gen X population. Horny and gory… It doesn’t get better.
THE CROWD
THREE POINT FIVE STARS
RISING isn’t beating the “made for Gen Xers and other people over 30” allegations. That’s ok, though. Because we have the 80s and 90s to thank for plenty of cult films. And cult films are forever.
The crowd was noisy! The lasers, and film itself, apparently weren’t enough of a draw to keep people in their seats: the 2hr duration featured a constant flow of people getting up and going to the bar to buy drinks. People were yelling and yelping and exclaiming at every splat of blood and sclera up on screen, which was either annoying or endearing, depending on your disposition.
THE VENUE
ZERO STARS
If I wanted to pay $70 to sit on a fold-out chair in a hollow auditorium like I’m at a B-grade high school production then I would check myself into the hospital immediately because what person in their right mind would want that?
Actually, I take it back, I’ve been to high school productions in better venues. I’m so sorry but the Town Hall??? A disappointing choice in venue, especially as the Capitol Theatre is directly across the road. Especially as last year’s Hear My Eyes was cushioned in the astonishing beauty and sonic excellence of the Recital Centre. For my money, give me a seat with an armrest, a carpeted row, and surround sound? No..?
The gimmick of Hear My Eyes is sound. And the sound at the Town Hall is shit. It’s huge, so the emptiness is felt. The wings, which could have sat more bodies to cushion the cacophony, were not filled, inexplicably. Why not fill the wings? If I were a sound nerd I’d flip about the infernal clamour between the film’s dialogue and Hieroglyphic Being’s crescendos, the peaks being too peaky and the lows being inaudible, and the horror of that melding with the constant rustling and creaking and cracking as patrons shuffled out of their seats and out the door. I’m not a sound nerd, though, just a bitch.
THE MUSIC
FIVE STARS
Hieroglyphic Being’s dreamy psychedelic score was an evocative match for Hellraiser. The pings and doots and boings elevated the film’s campiness, delivering a sci-fi element that aligned exquisitely with the film. I wish I could watch Hieroglyphic Being’s version again, and only that, forever. But it’s the ephemerality that makes it so special. The score was immersive, percussive, titillating, hallucinatory and grounding, melding seamlessly with the foley as well as the narrative and setting. Electronic body music and body horror… what isn’t to love.
THE LASERS
FOUR STARS
Lasers. Awesome. Audio-visual artist Robin Fox (who we must praise because what sort of fabulous mind one day wakes up and chooses sonic laser art) has been docked a star purely on the grounds there weren’t enough lasers. Give us more Mr Fox. The lasers appeared sporadically throughout the film, accentuating electric moments, heightening tension and oftentimes, unfortunately, slightly obscuring the screen in moments of dread… While the lasers complemented the film, it wasn’t laser-forward. To give grace, there was a mini laser show in the first and final five minutes of the session, but for the former, people were still pouring in, and for the latter, the attendants flung the doors agape and patrons immediately began pouring out, missing the very thing that was half the goddamn bill. Terrible business.
OVERALL
FOUR POINT FIVE STARS
It’s Hellraiser. With a new, reimagined soundtrack, played live, by Hieroglyphic Being. With lasers. From THE Robin Fox. Even in that poor excuse for a theatre, it was amazing. The experience of watching this titillating classic on the big screen, reimagined by exemplary artists of our times, was spectacular. Hear My Eyes will forever be the curators of an exciting, fresh wave of appreciation for contemporary music and film. And for that, I can’t fault them.
Arielle Richards is the multimedia reporter at VICE Australia, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
