Login
It did take me a while to get round to watching 'Hellraiser' and its sequels, despite being on my to watch list for some time. Due to having so much to watch and review, and the list keeps getting longer and longer. Horror is not my favourite genre, but there is the appreciation for it and there are many very good, great and even classic films (as well as a fairly high number of schlock).
The first 'Hellraiser' is by far the best, being a very good film that is scary, original and very atmospheric with a surprising amount of ambition and intelligence. Meanwhile, the sequels were very hit and miss (leaning towards the miss and the latter films particularly are suggestive of the franchise having run its course. The second film is the best of them, while the third and fourth films were watchable if problematic. It was with 'Inferno' where the franchise went down south in quality, though it was with 'Hellseeker' where things became properly bad.
'Hellraiser: Deader' is for me, and quite a number of others it looks like, one of the worst of the series. There are a few good things but they are quickly lost in a sea of very bad, the worst assets being terrible.
The film does start off well, it does have creepiness, intrigue and atmosphere to begin with. Some of the imagery is memorably eerie and looks quite good thankfully rather than schlocky.
Kari Wuhrer is a more than serviceable lead and is committed. Doug Bradley doesn't disappoint, he has little to work with and what he has is beneath him but he makes the most of it and is frightening.
On the other hand, most of 'Hellraiser: Deader' looks cheap, especially the editing, and like it was made hastily and like budget was minimal. The music adds nothing, doesn't fit and is not very appealing on its own. The direction is complacent, and other than Wuhrer and Bradley the acting is dire. Even the usually more than watchable Paul Rhys is bad. Their bland and annoying clichés passing for characters and embarrassingly laughable dialogue (rambling, cheesy and camp) that is impossible to take seriously or to take for what it is does ill-serve them.
A major problem is that once again, it doesn't feel like a 'Hellraiser' film, Pinhead and the Cenobites come over once again as literally shoe-horned in and have so little to do that one questions why they're even there in the first place. At least Pinhead makes a little impression, the Cenobites have completely lost their creepiness and mysteriousness and might as well not been there at all, even the previous sequels didn't waste them this much. The rest of the film completely derails very early on after a promising start, there is no tension, suspense or creativity and the more the film wore on the duller, blander, more vague and more confused it got. The overlong and sometimes unnecessary padding, scenes that go on too long and next to no real atmosphere other than awkwardness and camp are big reasons as to why, everything feels rushed and have not in a long time seen a more incoherent ending.
Concluding, after this the franchise was officially dead. This has all been said with a heavy heart and no maliciousness, just in case anybody's watching. 3/10 Bethany Cox
3/10
