Hellraisers tend to have a code that each film fallows. Though the plots often have nothing to do with each other, you can still always tell it's a hellraiser movie because it fallows the formula of one. What is the formula? An original and smart plot(the series main highlight) a very dark, but artistic tone, and gore used as an art form (this may make some people sick. How can death be an art? Well, Hellraiser films tend to show death at its worse, which shows all the more why it's wrong, so I see nothing bad about these films being artistic with death. In fact, I think of it as another highlight.) Well anyways, this movie brakes all of the golden rules. The plot has been done before (all the movies were just movies, but we're in the real world now!) in films like New Nightmare, and to a lesser extent Seed of Chucky. The dark tone is frown right out the window. Dare I say it, but this Hellraiser has comedy elements. A thing unheard of in this series.It's stuck full of one liners.
"You want to see my Lament Configeration?"
LMAO!
Luckily the comedy is dropped whenever somebody dies and there are still quite a few serious and even one or two creepy scenes to be had.
The third and last rule is also broken. The gore, though there is a tone of it, is not artistic, it's just splatter. Hellraiser would show you a man's skin be ripped off let's say, while this just has blood spray everywhere. Nothing really visually impressive about it. And the trademark is gone. Sorry guys, no chains coming out of the wall to rip a man apart.
But, there are still some things that stay the same. Pinhead is once again, like always, not the main bad guy and is kind of just along for the ride, but thankfully this time he gets a tone of screen time. No, pinhead is almost never the main bad guy in these films, but he always gets his say and often oddly ends up saving the day.
With all the changes this movie almost seems like it is a spoof of the horror gener. With it's one liners and sense of humor it does seem to be making fun of itself, and doing a darn good job of it. This makes the thing oddly very enjoyable. It's a lighthearted slasher. Imagine Scream meets Hellraiser, that's this film in a nut shell. We even have some bad acting and horror clichés thrown in. Oh, you just had sex, YOU MUST DIE! All of this is out of place in a Hellraiser film. I'm sure Clive Barker is out throwing up right now in fact, but by golly, it's just so fun and cheesy it's hard not to love. I laughed, cheered, and loved the rather clichéd multiple twist ending.
This is more like a fan film, so keep an open mind while seeing it and just enjoy the thing.
"You want to see my Lament Configeration?"
LMAO!
Luckily the comedy is dropped whenever somebody dies and there are still quite a few serious and even one or two creepy scenes to be had.
The third and last rule is also broken. The gore, though there is a tone of it, is not artistic, it's just splatter. Hellraiser would show you a man's skin be ripped off let's say, while this just has blood spray everywhere. Nothing really visually impressive about it. And the trademark is gone. Sorry guys, no chains coming out of the wall to rip a man apart.
But, there are still some things that stay the same. Pinhead is once again, like always, not the main bad guy and is kind of just along for the ride, but thankfully this time he gets a tone of screen time. No, pinhead is almost never the main bad guy in these films, but he always gets his say and often oddly ends up saving the day.
With all the changes this movie almost seems like it is a spoof of the horror gener. With it's one liners and sense of humor it does seem to be making fun of itself, and doing a darn good job of it. This makes the thing oddly very enjoyable. It's a lighthearted slasher. Imagine Scream meets Hellraiser, that's this film in a nut shell. We even have some bad acting and horror clichés thrown in. Oh, you just had sex, YOU MUST DIE! All of this is out of place in a Hellraiser film. I'm sure Clive Barker is out throwing up right now in fact, but by golly, it's just so fun and cheesy it's hard not to love. I laughed, cheered, and loved the rather clichéd multiple twist ending.
This is more like a fan film, so keep an open mind while seeing it and just enjoy the thing.