Far from a revelation

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). 'Hellraiser' is an example of a very good horror film, and one that introduced the world to a horror icon. It wasn't perfect, but to this day it's still very scary and creepy with surprising originality, ambition and intelligence that one does not see much in horror these days.

Its sequels were very hit and miss, leaning towards the miss. The second film for me is easily the best of the sequels and the last watchable film in the franchise being 'Bloodline'. 'Inferno' was the least bad of the post-'Bloodline' films where the 'Hellraiser' franchise jumped the shark in quality, having little of what made the original so good and not feeling like 'Hellraiser' films, where Pinhead and the Cenobites increasingly became underused and pointless.

The general consensus is that 'Hellraiser: Revelations' is the worst of the series. Although it does try to be feel more of a 'Hellraiser' film, in terms of mythos not really in tone, than the previous sequels post-'Bloodline', none of the other films were this poor quality on its own terms. Doug Bradley was right to stay away from this and one sympathises with Clive Barker totally in his want to distance himself away from it and he sums it up perfectly.

Visually, 'Revelations' is one of the cheapest looking films seen recently. So chaotic and sloppy in especially the editing. The effects make under-budgeted made-for-television horrors look good in comparisons, because even with the hasty time constraints and low budget they look like no care went into them at all. Pinhead and the Cenobites look awful, instead of looking creepy they look bargain-bin-like goofy. Pinhead couldn't look or act less menacing if he tried. The music is unappealing on its own and just feels inappropriate in placement and tonally.

Direction is pretty inept, while the dialogue is so laughable it's embarrassing, not only being unintentionally hilarious and rambling it even fails to make sense. 'Revelations' was clearly intended to be a longer film, there is a constant feel of jumping around and like a lot of material were edited out to meet deadlines. The film is far too short and feels rushed and incomplete, which severely affects the coherence, most of the sequels had issues with coherence but not like this.

Furthermore, because 'Revelations' is completely deprived of tension or suspense, or even atmosphere, it feels dull and bland too. Too much campness, confusion and silliness and nothing remotely creeped me out, instead it was non-stop cringe and no creativity whatsoever. The ambition and intelligence were long missing in the franchise but here both are completely gone and makes one forget they even existed in the first place. The characters are both bland and obnoxious with vague motivations and implausible decision-making that makes it impossible to endear to them let alone root for them.

Although Pinhead and the Cenobites have more screen time than in the later sequels and don't feel pointless or shoe-horned in this time, this time it was not for the better. The Cenobites on top of looking awful have completely lost their mystery and creepiness that made them memorable in the original, while Pinhead is here an amateurish-looking villain more suitable to a 'Hellraiser' mock-buster, it was said very well on a website that the whole film feels like a franchise mock-buster and that is a perfect summation. Then there is the acting which is all-round diabolical, everybody forgot their acting lessons providing they had any or had any acting talent in the first place. Nick Eversman and Jay Gillepsie are charisma-deprived and irritating and Pinhead sounded and looked throughout severely under-rehearsed and like he was having constant bladder problems, the menace just isn't there.

Overall, far from a revelation and actually an intelligence-insulting mess. 1/10 Bethany Cox

1/10