Hellraiser! The complete series!!

[Chicago Jake]

So I noticed recently that all NINE of the Hellraiser movies are available on Netflix Streaming. Cool! I thought. Time to watch them all in order.

I started, of course, with the original, Clive Barker’s “Hellraiser” from 1987. It started the tradition of featuring mostly women as the protagonists, casting Claire Higgins and Ashley Laurence as the second wife and first-marriage daughter of hapless hero Larry. Larry was played by the incomparable Andrew Robinson, who astute viewers will recognize as the tailor/spy Garack from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” and before that, as the serial killer Scorpio from the original “Dirty Harry.” He is inexplicably cast as a good guy in this movie, but the reason is soon made clear when his status takes a sudden ch-ch-change for the more interesting.

Anyway, the movie is primarily famous for several things: One, stunning visual imagery, both profane and horrific, with a dash of humor on the side. Some of these images will just not leave your head. Two, the “puzzle box” which goes by various names in the various movies, but basically is a portal to Hell. And Three, for introducing us to “Pinhead,” a demon from Hell who can be recognized by his resemblance to a human pin-cushion. He wasn’t a very big part of this first movie, but his role soon expands in subsequent films.

One of the women is good, one is evil, and Pinhead himself seems to tread the line in between. I won’t dwell on the plot, assuming that most good horror fans have already seen it, but suffice it to say that we get to explore how everyone has a good and evil nature, and curiosity can kill more than just the cat!

More Hellraiser movie reviews to come. Meanwhile, what did YOU think of this first one?

[Chicago Jake]

The second in our Hellraiser series is Tony Randel’s “Hellbound: Hellraiser II” from 1988.

This picks up where the first installment left off, with the only survivor, Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) locked up in a loony bin after her ordeal. But soon she meets up with Julia, the very bad chick (and her stepmother) who was supposedly killed in the previous film, and Tiffany, a mute but good-hearted young girl who is good at solving puzzles, particularly puzzle boxes. The head of the looney bin, Dr. Channard, is an occult aficionado, and finds Kirsty’s case fascinating. He soon finds the puzzle box, and leads them all on an expedition into Hell where he plans to achieve both immortality and awesome powers. He is very nearly successful, too, and manages to trap Pinhead and his compatriot “Cenobites” in a pillar of souls, much like Han Solo at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. Kirsty and Tiffany escape with their lives, but the evil Julia is not so lucky.

Again, we get stunningly horrific visuals and images of Hell that can leave you in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, if you are the sensitive type. One particularly haunting image is Julia coming back to life, but sans her skin. The plot is much more complex and convoluted than the first movie. But the main contribution of this film to the series is that we learn a little bit about Pinhead’s origin. He was originally a British military officer during World War I who yearned to know a little too much about life and death, pain and pleasure, Heaven and Hell, and eventually found himself turned into a demon.

  

[Exildo Wonsetler Briggs III]

Too damn funny!! Tony is a friend of mine!!

Tony Randel

Rhonda and I had lunch with him a couple of weeks ago when he was this side of the country shooting a movie. He lives in LA. It's a small world!!

[Chicago Jake]

Cool! Tell him I'm a fan.

[Chicago Jake]

The third installment in our Hellraiser series is Anthony Hickox’s “Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth” from 1992. Continuing the tradition of strong female leads, this one stars Terry Farrell, who astute viewers will recognize as Jadzia Dax from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (the second DS9 actor in a Hellraiser movie; you do remember the first one, right?), as well as Paula Marshall, possibly better known as Cuddy’s sister from “House M.D.” and as the reporter who “outs” Jerry and George on “Seinfeld.” Anyway, Farrell plays a TV reporter, yearning to get a big story (spoiler alert: she does), and Marshall plays a goth/punk chick just looking for a place to crash.

The major contribution of this film to the series is that we learn a lot more about Pinhead and his origin as Captain Elliott Spenser. But now, Pinhead has broken away from Spencer, and they are no longer two sides, good and evil, of the same dual personality. Now Pinhead has become an agent of pure chaos, and Spenser has chosen to recruit Farrell’s character to help him send Pinhead back to Hell once and for all.

Fortunately for Pinhead, a hedonistic night club owner has purchased the Pillar of Souls where he was imprisoned in the previous movie, and managed to release the Cenobites from its grasp. Pinhead goes on a rampage of mayhem and destruction that would make Charles Manson blush, and we get some of the funniest demons since The Evil Dead. Our intrepid reporter does her best to use the puzzle box to banish them from the world of the living and into eternal enthrallment in Hell. Does she succeed? Well, no spoilers here. You’ll just have to stream it and see!


Note: Click here - tnmc.proboards.com/thread/13124 - to read previous installments and to comment.

  

[Chicago Jake]

Our fourth installment in this series, Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1996), is a very different kind of Hellraiser movie. For one thing, it starts in outer space, far in the future. And it soon jumps back into the distant past! It traces the history of the famous puzzle box from its creation in eighteenth century France, though modern times, and on into the future. In all of these timelines, it interacts with descendants of its creator (hence the subtitle Bloodline), conveniently played by the same actor, eventually to the scientist of the future who is hell-bent on destroying Pinhead and the evil box once and for all!

This is also the first movie without a strong female protagonist, although it does introduce us to a strong female villain, a demon named Angelique, who makes a worthy foil for Pinhead. She is so evil, in fact, that she even makes him appear sympathetic!

There are no actors I’ve ever heard of in this installment, but it does have a very famous director: the one and only Alan Smithee! Film buffs will recognize that name as implying vast creative differences between the original director and the studio, although for the life of me I can’t see a director getting all bent out of shape over creative vision on a silly horror film sequel like this one. But that’s the way it goes.

Note: Click here - tnmc.proboards.com/thread/13124 - to read previous installments and to comment.

[Chicago Jake]

Hellraiser V: Inferno (2000). This was another very different kind of Hellraiser. For one thing, it was released direct to video. For another, it was not written originally to be a Hellraiser movie at all! (that became a trend for several movies after this one, too.) But the studio owned it, and decided to shoe-horn in a Hellraiser setting at the last minute.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster, no? But it didn’t turn out all that badly, and is actually a quite enjoyable movie. It is the story of a dirty LA cop, running around living a dirty life, and things start going really badly for him. He starts using all his skills and deviousness to figure out what the Hell is going on. Eventually he finds out that… well, I don’t want to give things away, but you’ll probably figure it out before he does.

The whole movie has a sort of Twilight Zone feel to it. More of a psychological supernatural thriller than a horror movie. Even Pinhead only shows up at the end, to deliver the Moral To The Story, like some sort of demented Rod Serling.

There is nobody particularly famous in this one. The main character’s mother is briefly played by Kathryn Joosten (the women’s prison warden in an episode of Seinfeld) and his partner is played by Nicholas Turturro, but that’s about it.

Overall, it was very much a ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-change of pace, and might piss off certain hard-core fans, but I thought it was well worth the time to watch it. Especially for free on Netflix streaming.

Note: Click here - tnmc.proboards.com/thread/13124 - to read previous installments and to comment.

[Chicago Jake]

And now we come to Rick Bota’s “Hellraiser 6: Hellseeker” (2002) – another direct to video release, again not originally written to be a Hellraiser movie. But it still turned out to be a good one, though. And it marked the return of Ashley Laurence as Kirsty from the first two movies! She is inexplicably married to a total douche named Trevor, played by Dean Winters, probably better known as the “Mayhem” character from the Allstate commercials! (and one of the detectives in the early seasons of “Law & Order: SVU.”) Great to see him in a feature-length production.

I have to admit, this was the first Hellraiser movie that kind of annoyed me – at first. It seemed to be overusing the old “is it real or is it a dream?” cliché. A little of that is fine, but a lot of it gets old in a hurry. But, I have to admit, by the end of the movie I realized that it wasn't just a cheesy overused cliché; in this case it was actually an integral part of the plot, and it totally made sense after all and redeemed itself and I liked it.

Basically, without giving too much away, Kirsty and Pinhead are playing a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, and Trevor, her cheating scumbag of a husband who was plotting to kill her for her money, ends up getting his come-uppance in the long run.

Unlike the last few movies, Pinhead has a slightly larger role than just the Rod Serling wrap-up at the end, but still doesn't completely dominate the proceedings. A nice balance. Overall, I recommend this movie without reservation. Just stick with it.

Note: Click here - tnmc.proboards.com/thread/13124 - to read previous installments and to comment.

[Chicago Jake]

And now we come to the seventh installment in the series, Rick Bota’s “Hellraiser: Deader” from 2005; another direct to video release based on a script not originally written to be a Hellraiser movie. No actors that I recognized, but they were all pretty good.

This movie had a very different vibe than most of the previous ones; darker, more serious, more realistic and much grittier. In fact, I thought it was scarier than all the other ones, precisely because it seemed less occult and supernatural, and more realistic and actually possible! That always gets to me more than movies that are obviously unrealistic phantasies. It dealt with a reporter in London, sent to Romania to cover a story about a cult that seems to kill their members (the titular "Deaders"), and then somehow brings them back from the dead, or at least creates that illusion. The reporter, Amy, investigates, but soon gets in way too deep. And I mean WAY too deep. This Amy has a certain earthiness to her that makes you really care about her; her fear is YOUR fear; her danger is YOUR danger! She meets the leader of the cult, Winter, a descendent of LeMarchand (creator of the original Puzzle Box), and eventually tangles with Pinhead himself, as she and the Cult of Deaders are horning in on his territory. Soon things go sideways in a way that only a Hellraiser movie can accomplish. I’m sure you know what I mean!

Also, and maybe it’s just me, but eastern European settings always freak me the hell out, man, and this one is no exception! It’s just so gritty and dirty and freaky different from all that is holy and it really makes me glad that I live on THIS side of the Atlantic! That kind of foreignness really works in this film.

Note: Click here - tnmc.proboards.com/thread/13124 - to read previous installments and to comment.

[Chicago Jake]

Next up: Rick Bota’s “Hellraiser: Hellworld” from 2005 – the eight installment, and another direct to video release. It was filmed in Romania at the same time as HR7, although the setting this time seems to be generic USA. Again. this movie features a strong female lead and a cast of unknowns, except for a delightful appearance by Lance Henriksen as the main bad guy, and Henry Cavill who would later play the Man Of Steel.

Plot-wise, it had to happen sooner or later: a Hellraiser movie where the main characters are all Hellraiser fans! Only in this movie’s universe, Hellraiser is an internet role-playing game, rather than a movie series, and the characters are all fans of the game. Back story: One of their own was so committed to the game that he committed suicide (or did he?), and the rest are guilt-stricken. But not too guilt-stricken to attend a Hellraiser party, two years later, for fans of the game. It turns out to be set in an ancient mansion, designed by Lemarchand himself, and full of gruesome props right out of Pinhead’s imagination. But, in the proud haunted-mansion-movie tradition, the characters start dying, one by one. Is Pinhead involved? Are the scenes real, or hallucinations? And will anyone survive? Rest assured that Pinhead shows up in time to deliver the moral to the story, and everyone gets their just desserts, at the very least. Good, self-referential fun that shows the series isn’t taking itself too seriously. I enjoyed this one a lot. Good music, too!

Note: Click here - tnmc.proboards.com/thread/13124 - to read previous installments and to comment.

[Chicago Jake]

Hellraiser: Revelations. The ninth film, from 2011. I saw this a while ago, and have been holding off on reviewing it, because it SUCKED so bad. 2.8 stars (out of 10) on IMDb. I have watched all the other films twice before writing a review, and wanted to do the same with this one, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to watch this piece of shit again. And I realize that I probably never will, so I just want to get this review finally over with.

Most fans think all the films after the first three suck. I'm pretty liberal, though, and enjoyed them all, on their own terms. Until this one. It was HORRIBLE! In terms of production values, pacing, directing, acting, story, all of it. And, worst of all, it was the first one to replace Doug Bradley as Pinhead with some other jamoke. Egad, did this new Pinhead suck. From what I read, Bradley saw the script and refused to do it. That's telling.

So, until they make another Hellraiser film, this little sojourn of mine is at an end. It's been fun. I urge you all (if you are horror fans) to go out and enjoy the first eight Hellraiser films; they all have merit in their own ways. But shun #9 as if it has herpes. Because, basically, it does.