Rating: Summary: Someone has gotten in right....finally Review: Being a fan of "The Hellbound Heart", Clive Barker's novella that "Hellraiser" was based off of, I thoroughly enjoyed "Hellraiser: Inferno". We follow the everyday life of a man who is quite the scumbag. We see how he treats his friends, his family, and himself, but the funny thing is we shrug since we probably know someone like this. Taking the cues from "The Helbound Heart", we don't even deal with Pinhead or the other cenobites (which amazingly, someone got right too). We instead deal with how sad and decrepit this man is and before we know it, we're living out his Hell. Everytime he thinks that he's got it right, Hell pulls the rug out from under him. Now, I've never been a fan of "Let's go and find a way to kill Pinhead!" Why can a person kill a denizen of Hell, and why should they be allowed to? They're only doing their job. Hands called them, they deal out pleasure and pain. This reads more like a tale of the Hellraiser mythos, and in doing that works very well. This director and this script writer did their research. Funny thing is, I hear that in "Fangora" magazine, Clive Barker panned the movie....cause they didn't want him involved. I think in doing that, they finally got back to what made this a very compelling idea.
Rating: Summary: FOR TRUE FANS OF HELLRAISER.............READ THIS. Review: First off, the last two Hellraiser parts did not even correlate with the story. Bloodline seemed to have the coolest concept, (Hellraiser in space) but ruined everything by spending the entire movie in the past, (not in space) giving away the secret of the box before finally showing us space for the last 5 minutes of the movie. TERRIBLE. After Hellraiser I-III, who ...has been ... making these sequels where Pinhead is in them for not even 5 minutes?! Hellraiser 1+2 were great for their time. The third one was most insane, yet decent over all. The most recent so-called sequel was titled "Inferno." In this fifth part, Pinhead was not even in it for more than two minutes, and both story and visual effects sucked. The only interesting part in "Inferno" was the last 10 minutes. The whole point of Hellraiser is Pinhead. He is one of the most awesome horror characters of all time. With each sequel, (not including HellBound and Hell On Earth), fans are being forced to see much less of Pinhead! This is both ruining and destroying the quality and interest of the Hellraiser title and originals. A Hellraiser sequel (most respect to HellBound), has always been (before parts 4+5) very creative, interesting, evil, violent, crazy, and dark! It's is not supposed to be cheesy, dull, and silly, like "Hellraiser 4 - Bloodline." It is not supposed to be off-subject, burnt-out detective-cop cliche', like "Inferno was."WHY HAVE THE SEQUELS GONE LOW-BUDGET AFTER THE THIRD INSTALLMENT??? The series has become very low-budget, straight to video ...! My suggestion is that they involve Clive Barker back into the plot, story, and directing, and let him play with 10-15 million, thus making a completely awesome sequel. All the theatrical Hellraisers profitted nicely, so whats the problem? It's as if no one in Hollywood cares anymore about Pinhead, yet they keep making (I hate to say..) sequels. The series has REALLY gone down-hill like the "Phantasm" and "Child's Play" sequels. I'm sorry, but I will never appreciate Hellraiser: Bloodline, it was THAT BAD! If no one is going to spend the money marketing it in theaters, at least put the time into it to make it truly worthy to all the fans who care, or don't make it at all! A quality film usually means more money invested = higher reviews = higher profit. If Hellraiser is commercially revived in such style, (forget parts 4 & 5) it could indeed be one of the most profitable and popular franchise's as far as horror flicks go in the 21st century. Get someone like David Fincher or Clive Barker to direct the next Hellraiser. (after HellSeeker) Make an intelligent complex or captivating script. (Pinhead is always known for being wise with good plots) Clive Barker was outstanding. I wish he listened to his fans and got back in the jist of things again, because it seems to be he has no control over the latest horrible sequels. I believe it would be an honar for most studio's to have Clive Barker working on their team. Hellraiser should always take place ON EARTH, because the whole outer-space and Pandora's Box thing just isn't working. Will someone please show Pinhead for much more duration of the film? This new Hellraiser, "HellSeeker" supposedly comes out as straight-video-rental-release at the end of October, 2002. I hope someone gets this message who is either in, or even outside the industry (regarding Hellreaiser) and spreads the word. The last two sequels were just plain terrible to both the first two parts, and to what they could have been had someone actually put time into them and brought true justice to the Hellraiser story, like Hellbound did! Inferno was like a side detective story. It could have been about any villain, because Pinhead was not even in it until the last 2 minutes! Pinhead was not even talked about as being Pinhead! The whole time, this burnt-out cop was looking for this so-called Engineer?! (turned out to be Pinhead in the last two minutes) The only reference was the "box." It was an insulting, poor excuse to even think of considering it as a HellRaiser part. It was totally off-subject and did nothing to intelligently progress the series. It's like, "why don't we make a movie about fish and call it Hellraiser!" ...
Rating: Summary: Decent, but not really a Hellraiser film Review: I honestly think this film would have been recieved better if the Hellraiser title been taken off, and Pinhead removed (he is hardly in the film as is). As the film stands now, it is a good little horror film with a lot of nice twists. The acting is pretty good, and the production values are decent for a direct to video film. I would recomend this more as a rental, but don't expect Hellraiser, but still something freaky.
Rating: Summary: a great entry in the hellraiser series Review: This Hellraiser was awesome.I don't see how anybody could give it bad reviews.This entry was a breath of fresh air after the awful 3rd and 4th entries.The bottom line is if you want to see good acting,special effects,and directing get this movie.If your expecting to see a lot of pinhead and the cenobites you'll be let down,this movie is more of a suspense/thriller,but it is still a great movie.I can't wait to see Hellseeker,it sounds awesome! Rated R for Strong violence/Gore,some sexuality,and strong language
Rating: Summary: Closer to the original than the past 2 Review: People have whined and cried that this entry in the Hellraiser series lacked the gore and Pinhead factor that the past two films held. I don't know where...these Die HArd Fans come from (are they really such huge fans of 3 and 4) that they forget one key factor, Pinhead as well as his fellow Cenobites played a relativly small role in both Hellriaser 1 and 2, around a half hour apiece if I remember right. So it was no surprise that in this entry to the series that they go back to roots, Pinhead playing a small role and the tortures of MAn taking control. The movie stars Craig Sheffer as a crooked cop who at a crime scene steels the Box (as well as some Cocaine). After spending the night with a hooker he opens the box. From there his world is turned upside down as a mysteriouse killer takes out people he knows, to include the hooker... This movie basically shows what Pinhead is all about, not World Domination or a Grudge MAtch against a specific family, but torturing those who open the box, as was his purpose. This is truely closer to the first film than the past two entries and lets hope it stays that way.
Rating: Summary: "Welcome to Hell" - Pinhead Review: This is the best film in the series besides the first 2 films! I rate this five stars out of 5
Rating: Summary: DARK ENTRIES Review: Lets get it over with. Hellraiser 4 - Bloodlines was bl**dy awful no pun intended. A film that was butchered and clearly cut to ribbons. And now we have Hellraiser 5 - Inferno - abandon hope all ye who enter. But what? A decent film you say? Yes Pinhead is not overused in this one and face it if it wasn't for perhaps the third film you wouldn't think this a bad thing. Perhaps the gore count isn't on overload although far more plentiful than Bloodlines but then gore in abundance does not always a good horror film make. Craig Sheffer is a marvel as the lead character and proves that Nightbreed wasn't the only Barker related project he could pull off. (And ladies doesn't he remind you of the Buffy spin off Angel?). So to sum up we have a movie that is a little bit Angel Heart, a little bit Hellraiser and either way a not bad movie. Clearly the thinking mans choice for best Barker faithful flick after the first two and the ending although having echoes (I'm not the first to say it) of A Christmas Carol does nevertheless maintain a morale intergrity. Give it a go.
Rating: Summary: "Inferno" takes "Hellraiser" series into new territory... Review: Dark, grisly, and ruthlessly intelligent. While this fifth installment to the weird Clive Barker series does not in any way relate to the other four, it is definitely the best, both visually and literally. Instead of the excessive gore and horrid dialogue from the previous film, we get a gloomy tale about a sinful cop who chances upon the mysterious cube that unlocks the gates of hell and unleashes utter terror. But instead of walls opening up and Cenobites running in with chains tearing apart anything that moves, we get a horrific murder mystery that the cop must reluctantly solves. And when we finally get to the end, where the famous Pinhead is at last revealed, we learn that the monster is in fact not the Cenobites, but something far more surprising. This may be only one of a kind, as I hear "Hellseeker" goes back to the original formula, but it was a great experiment and I'm glad it was made.
Rating: Summary: A good Hellraiser story, a pretty good film Review: This film is nothing if not controversial among Hellraiser fanatics. First off, there's no Clive Barker Presents, there's no licensed Hellraiser theme, there's nothing here except for Doug Bradley from the previous four installments. Looks like the Weinstein brothers took over on this one and lo and behold, we get a completely different kind of Hellraiser. Pinhead has gone from the chattier incarnation in Hellraiser: Bloodline to but a cameo in a Hellraiser film. His onscreen time MIGHT total two or three minutes, but fear not. This is essentially the story of a damned man who winds up in his own personal eternal hell. Craig Sheffer (he of Nightbreed) is Joseph Thorne, a corrupt Denver cop whose life and sanity appear to unravel after he comes across the box at a crime scene. Later when the box opens on its own after Joseph takes it from evidence, Joseph finds himself damned to hell but unaware of his own plight. Hellraiser Inferno went straight-to-video, but it doesn't feel like a cheap 'bang-em-out' horror installment. Essentially a moody police thriller it has elements of noir, horror, gore, and psychological thrillers. The photography is appropriately dark and shadowy with muted skies. Sheffer is very good as Joseph, bringing a tired, deteriorating feel to the seedy character. Think of this as a kind of Bad Lieutenant meets Hellraiser. Essentially it's the story of the personal hell Joseph creates for himself. And presiding over the entire affair is Pinhead. Pinhead delivers today's moral at the end. This is a solid effort, a good idea to do a completely separate story as a one-off. Dimension is returning to the Hellraiser elements of the first three films in Fall 2002 with Hellraiser: Hellsinker. But Inferno stands as a good outing--not only Hellraiser fans, but for those looking for a dark and twisted thriller.
Rating: Summary: I love it but.... Review: 2nd Hellraiser unrated is the best Hellraiser ever.
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