In a break from normal Saturday tradition I get up early and write, finishing off the third draft of the haunted carousel story–it’s not yet finished, but it’s getting much closer to a state of me being mostly happy with it.

I dither for the rest of the morning, resulting in me not being remotely ready to accompany Rach into town for a cut-price ear piercing (her ear, not mine). This proves fortuitous as the salon is hideously overbooked and she ends up spending the rest of the morning in the city. I, alternatively, watch Gremlins 2 with the kids. It remains a perplexing film: perfectly enjoyable, but such a tonal contrast with the first film that it’s amazing the same people were behind it.

Rach and the Elderbeast head off to the cricket later in the afternoon. The Kinderbeast and I watch The Little Mermaid and then Toy Story 2, interrupted occasionally by some card games.

Having deprived myself of wine the night before (see: being sick) I have a couple of glasses once the Kinderbeast has retired (Ingoldby Shiraz Grenache – much better than the $10 price tag suggests) and attack some blue cheese too for good measure.

For my evening’s entertainment I have already determined to watch one of the later Hellraiser sequels (having just finished Paul Kane’s book all about the Hellraiser series). I settle on Hellraiser: Hellseeker (which sounds like it should be an AC/DC album by rights). This choice is mostly determined by the return of Kirsty Cotton, which at least gives the entry some sense of continuity. The marginally positive reviews also offer a compelling reason to indulge my apathy and avoid the effort of making any other decision.

In the end the film is reasonable. Reasonably well made, reasonably well acted, and tells a reasonable story. There is little to damn it with, but little to suggest non-Hellraiser fans should go out of their way. Ironic, given this entry started life as a non-Hellraiser script.

I try to stay awake until the other half of the family return, but eventually have to accept defeat.