Clive Barker's original Hellraiser is a seminal horror film. Even Hellraiser Four (directed by Kevin Yagher as Alan Smithee) is a distant memory of heaven compared to Rick Bota's three dreadful sequels, Hellseeker, Deader and Hellworld.
Hellraiser:Hellworld sets the bar even lower than I imagined possible after the abysmal example set by Deader, the seventh film in the series. Dimension throws this beloved franchise to the dogs with another Eastern European disaster that lacks any tension or style whatsoever. Each of these sequels started life as an unrelated script with the Hellraiser elements grafted on in Frankenstein fashion, and Hellworld is no exception.
Like too many recent films, Hellworld relies on the metafiction structure pioneered in horror films by Wes Craven's New Nightmare and Scream, but it is a halfhearted attempt as the computer game of the title is barely explained. The clichéd teen protagonists are absolutely predictable, the dialog is dreadful and the resulting mess is painful to watch. Pinhead is an empty caricature about as menacing as Thomas the Tank Engine. The film feels like it was made on autopilot, from the 'rave' scenes through to the jarring music mix and rapid edits and finishing with a cheesy montage. If there was any justice in the world, Doug Bradley and Lance Henriksen would get better movie gigs, Rick Bota would stick to directing bad TV movies and Clive Barker would come to his senses and force them to remove his name from this garbage.
The sad truth is the Hellraiser franchise has been deader than Uncle Frank for over a decade, but Dimension are determined to hammer more nails into the coffin until they have rung the last cent out of it. Less original series like Friday the 13th, and Halloween have wavered but ultimately recovered over the years. Sadly it appears the Hellraiser series is completely doomed despite its original promise and flair.
Hellraiser:Hellworld sets the bar even lower than I imagined possible after the abysmal example set by Deader, the seventh film in the series. Dimension throws this beloved franchise to the dogs with another Eastern European disaster that lacks any tension or style whatsoever. Each of these sequels started life as an unrelated script with the Hellraiser elements grafted on in Frankenstein fashion, and Hellworld is no exception.
Like too many recent films, Hellworld relies on the metafiction structure pioneered in horror films by Wes Craven's New Nightmare and Scream, but it is a halfhearted attempt as the computer game of the title is barely explained. The clichéd teen protagonists are absolutely predictable, the dialog is dreadful and the resulting mess is painful to watch. Pinhead is an empty caricature about as menacing as Thomas the Tank Engine. The film feels like it was made on autopilot, from the 'rave' scenes through to the jarring music mix and rapid edits and finishing with a cheesy montage. If there was any justice in the world, Doug Bradley and Lance Henriksen would get better movie gigs, Rick Bota would stick to directing bad TV movies and Clive Barker would come to his senses and force them to remove his name from this garbage.
The sad truth is the Hellraiser franchise has been deader than Uncle Frank for over a decade, but Dimension are determined to hammer more nails into the coffin until they have rung the last cent out of it. Less original series like Friday the 13th, and Halloween have wavered but ultimately recovered over the years. Sadly it appears the Hellraiser series is completely doomed despite its original promise and flair.