Movie Review - Hellraiser: Deader

Hellraiser:  Deader

2005

The Cast

This had the potential of being a decent Hellraiser sequel.  For one, the story makes this a Hellraiser film.  The trouble is that it doesn't go far enough and the direction is dreadful, the pace is too slow, and the scary atmosphere is non-existent.

Reporter, Amy Klein (Wuhrer), is given a new assignment to track down the deaders.  Her boss, Charles Richmond (Kunz), has been sent a video in which a woman is shot in the head after a strange ritual by a man named Winter (Rhys)... seconds later she's alive once again, with a huge exit wound in the side of her head... and she's immortal.  In the course of her investigation into the new cult, Amy finds out that Winter is a descendant of L'Merchant...

For some reason, Bota, who was responsible for the uneasy feeling throughout the last instalment of the Hellraiser saga, Hellseeker, failed to add the same atmosphere in this chapter.  This is a shame as it would have been so much better with it... the story cries out for a sense of unease and creepiness, with a side order of fear.  It's even forgivable that there are few Cenobites in the story, once again, as the ritual and the immortalisation is based around the L'Merchant configuration.  However, the ritual itself should have been better thought out.  It feels and appears weak and silly.  For me, it was even quite annoying with all the shouting.  This was a missed opportunity, and there are plenty more in the story.

I have to admit, even though I'm not liking the new set of Hellraiser films, I have to give credit to the actors and actresses as they have been the strongest and best part of the movies.  This is still the case in this flick too.  The only flimsy character is Winter.  Rhys gives a poor portrayal of a main character, though this too could be down to the writing and the direction.  I would have tried to get Bruce Ramsey to play Winter as he did such a great job as the trio of Merchant's in Bloodline.

What the film needed was a more detailed and thought out story, better direction with an influx of atmosphere, and slightly more Cenobites...

Again, I would recommend the original four films over this one.

I give this an Immortally Dead 4.25 out of 10.

The Trailer

Movie Review - Hellraiser: Inferno

Hellraiser:  Inferno

2000

The Cast

This is a good idea but a badly structured story... and it's this which lets the film down, greatly.

Detective Joseph Thorne (Sheffer) is not a good man. On the first case, we see him investigate a dead man he bullied in high school, he steals the deadman's drugs and later the cash from his wallet, which he uses to procure a prostitute for the night.  The following morning he leaves her in the motel room... alive.  Later that day, he receives a distressing call from her.  When he and his partner, Tony Nenonen (Turturro),  turn up at the motel they find she's been slaughtered.  Thorne takes it upon himself to frame his partner for the crime... should he decide not to help him find the killer.  A man they later believe to be called "The Engineer".

It's not until the end of the film, when all the twists have unravelled, that you fully understand and realise just how good this story is.  However, you have to suffer some really bad scene construction to get there. 

For the most part, this is basically a thriller with gore, which isn't even up to the standard of the original series.  Another thing that isn't on par with the originals is the imagination or atmosphere.  There's a couple of dream sequences which are badly directed and acted,   There's no tension, which should have been oozing out of the screen at these points, and there's definitely no fear.  Even, when the Cenobites appear (for a Hellraiser film you don't get many Cenobites for your dollar), we are not in awe of them... we are not in fear of them...  These should, at least, have a presence about them, as they did in the first four films, for these are Daemons to some and Angels to others.  Beings to be worshipped and feared.  It's a good thing that Bradley brings his own persona with him as Pinhead is the only eerily creepy daemon on screen.  If it weren't for Pinhead this would be a massive flop.  However, this is down to the straightforward, nothing new, basic direction.    I do believe that the better horror films are the ones where the director tries to create something new.  It's like Derrickson, didn't want to scare anybody.

Sheffer is okay as the bad cop but his acting skills show their flaws every now and again, especially in the dream sequences (as mentioned before).  It's Turturro and Remar that add strength to the cast, along with Bradley.  It's actually nice to see Remar in a more subtle role as the Psychiatrist-come-Reverend.  Though I couldn't help believing, he would have been a much better choice for the lead,  It may even have been good to see Turturro stretch his acting wings in the role, as he's been a solid actor in everything I've seen him in.

What this film needed was to clean up the story, add a better structural skeleton to the story and film, more Cenobites, more atmosphere, more Cenobites, more tension,  more Cenobites, more fear, oh, and did I mention more Cenobites.

I would recommend re-watching the original four movies rather than sitting down with this... though if you really want to...  it's worth one watch... just!

I give this Precocious Blood Letting Failure a Sin of 4 out of 10.

The Trailer

Movie Review - Hellraiser: Bloodline

Hellraiser:  Bloodline

1996

The Cast

This could be called Pinhead in Space or Death of Pinhead or L'Merchant's Revenge.  So I put off watching this one as the thought of Pinhead in Space kinda made me feel nauseous, especially after Jason X - sometimes you shouldn't trust your gut or your precognitive intuition; because I missed probably the best Hellraiser film.  Oh, that has to be controversial as it only scored 5.1 on IMDb.

It's the story that makes this movie. There are three stories for the price of one, to be exact.  We start with the pivotal tale of Dr Paul Merchant, a distant relative to the cube's creator Phillip L'Merchant, who is driven to right the wrongs his ancestor loosed upon man and womankind.  This tale is set in the far future (making it so we can still have Pinhead stories and movies up until 2127 - 109 years to go...).  We then have the tale of Phillip and his role in the release and creation of the Cenobites.  It's this story that introduces us to Hell's princess, Angelique, who is a proper daemon and constricted by rules and commandments, more a puppet than a puppeteer.  Then the third story is set at the end of the third movie where the building at the climax is built by architect John Merchant.  What is so good is the intrinsicalities within the story that leads to a believable final act, tying all four films together to give a credible ending to the saga.

At one point in the late '80's and '90's horror was going orbital.  There was a spate of Sci-Fi Horror flicks.  The one crucial difference here is space being intrinsic to the plot - it's not just the writer going... what now?  Oh, I know - Space!

It's also nice that Kevin Yagher (who directed under the pseudonym of Alan Smithee) used such different lighting methods to create the most suitable atmospheres.  The story of Phillip is more frightening than the rest as it uses firelight and long shadows to enlighten the scenes of debauchery, violence, and bloodletting.  Whereas, the modern day of John uses natural light.  Yagher uses silhouettes and dark corners well to build up the tension.  Then in Paul's future, there's subdued blue electric lighting as there's no natural lighting in a tin-can.  This gives the added feeling of coldness and aloneness.  Add to this, some nice segues and camera shots and you have a very well crafted film.

Add to that the cast, who are all good in their roles.  I didn't even realise that all the Merchant's were played by the same actor, Bruce Ramsey, he was that good at giving them different personas.  Though Bradley is just as brilliant as Pinhead, as usual, I have to give credit to Valentina Vargas who is superb as Angelique.  In the beginning, she appears cool and calculated as she bides her time until she can free herself from the ties that bind her to her puppeteer, Jacques (Scott).  Then when she meets Pinhead, taking a place by his side, she's nearly as fear-inducing as he.

For the most part, the special effects are on par with the previous movies, though the CGI has gotten better it still looks dated.  And why do all robots have to have an element of a human?  Why does this 'bot need a terminator steel skull?

Though you could watch this one as a stand-alone film, I would at least recommend having watched Hell On Earth, just so you get a feel for the Cenobites, and you know the story behind Merchant's building.

I give this Origin Story and "Barker/Atkins" Saga Conclusion a Gore-soaked and Bloody 7.5 out of 10.

The Trailer

Movie Review - Hellraiser

Hellraiser

1987

The Cast

Before Fifty Shades of Grey, there was One Shade of Cenobite... and it was blood red... and it spilt out beautifully.

I have to say that besides Hitchcock's movies this is one decent story adaptation.  This could be that the writer and the director are one in the same - the great Clive Barker.  However, I think where this supercedes all the other writer cum director flicks out there is that each was a separate project.  He wrote the story to be a story, not as a concept to behind making a movie.  And, I think that is where most writer/directors fail... oh, I had a good idea for a film, quick write the script...

So if you don't know the story yet, it's about the Cotton family.  After being willed a house, Larry (Robinson) and Julia (Higgins) decide to check it out, with the possibility of moving in.  Kirsty (Laurence), their daughter, plays the independence card and rents out a room in the town, instead of moving in.  However, something isn't quite right in their new abode.  Julia is having daydreams about her affair with Larry's brother Frank (Chapman), who is the black sheep of the family - and a sexual sadomasochist to boot.  While moving in Larry cuts his hand.  He rushes to Julia for help as he's hemophobic.  His spilt blood soaks into the floor of the attic and starts Frank's rebirth... and hell will follow after...

Another bonus for the film and the audience is that Barker is an all-round artist.  He not only writes but paints and draws, and directs both movies and plays, which allows him to put his art and imagination into his work.  This being his first film you begin to get an inkling of what this guy is capable of.  In Hellraiser he plays with camera shots and angles, manipulates light to create atmosphere, he even gives us some realistic nightmare visions.

The special effects, especially the "wet-work" and Franks rebirth in particular, still look good today and will send a shiver down your spine and make your stomach twitch.  Though truthfully, the computer visuals are dated and now detract the viewer's attention from the film... I literally shook my head and cringed inwardly at how bad these now look.  The thing is, I didn't like them originally, I thought they were nasty and cheap.  They also appear to have been added after the fact as none of the actors even acknowledge the floating stars or the electric blue light (except for when it shocks them).  It would be nice if somebody could remaster this like Star Trek (the original series) and Star Wars, just to update these tired looking CGI.

The acting is okay, though at times the voices seem wrong.  It feels and looks like Franks American voice was overdubbed a millisecond or two out of time and at a different pitch and volume than the others.  There are a few scenes where this also happens with Kirsty and her boyfriend Steve (Hines).  Though, if you've watched plenty of dubbed martial arts movies, like myself, it's not too much of a distraction.

If you've not watched this film yet and you claim to be a horror or a dark fantasy fan then get yourselves a copy and enjoy... If you have a copy and not watched it for a while, dust it off and enjoy.  There's a reason this became an instant horror classic on its release, it was different, innovative, and walked the tightrope of wickedness.  Well worth a watch... again... and again... and again... until you hear the scratching in the walls and creak of timbers and the clunking of chains...

I give this Meaty Splatterpunk of a Love Story an Unchained 7 out of 10.

The Trailer

A Modern Trailer