'Hellraiser: Hellworld' is the eighth film in a series of movies (i despise the dreaded word franchise!) that is as undead and unkillable as shambling revenant Uncle Frank from the classic original - something that many people declared creatively dead a long time ago, and yet found the energy from somewhere to keep on twitching.
Released upon an uncaring world in 2005, it took me eight years to get round to sitting down and watching this instalment: having read Doug (Pinhead) Bradley's memoirs "Behind the Mask: Confessions of a Horror Film Actor" (highly recommended, by the way!) quite some time back, Mr Bradley himself did not exactly paint a great or happy picture of the last few Rick Bota helmed instalments in the series - confessing that at the time of writing he had not even watched the film in question. I therefore went in with some trepidation, and suitably lowered expectations.
What we got was a fairly routine if competently made slasher movie / whodunnit, with Hellraiser elements grafted on, which is par for the course with any Hellraiser instalment after part four: Dimension Films seem to have used a few spliced-in scenes of Pinhead and the Lament Configuration Box to spruce up any old script that was lying around the office. As i said, however, it is at least decently crafted, with nice production design and some nice directorial flourishes, but it is the cast that make the film worth watching. I don't just mean the gorgeous Katherine Winnick in her crop top and leather pants: but that certainly didn't have my attention wandering at all (Ms Winnick is, in my estimation, the Hellraiser series' fourth hottest chick: after Ashley Laurence, Paula Marshall and Sasha Barrese. I apologise for my Male Gaze). The standout cast members are undoubtedly the legend that is Lance Henriksen - yet again unphased in the face of drivel, and never knowingly phoning in a performance, and most amusingly of all Henry Cavill, star of 'Man of Steel'. For the concept of Pinhead Vs. Superman alone, this film deserves its place on my DVD shelf! (PS: SPOILERS: Kal-El comes off second best).
Those were the graphics they chose to represent 'going online'? In 2005?!?!?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, evil doesn't need to 'go online'. It's already there. Like darkness, which travels faster than light and is therefore always there, waiting, when the light arrives (h/t Sir Terry Pratchett).
LIES there are no Hellraiser films past Hellbound! Ever get the feeling Lance Herikson chooses his scripts using a tombola? He was the second best thing about Alien Vs. Predator, which you should review, or one of the later Resident Evil films? C'mon, lets have some more noughties schlock :D
ReplyDeleteY' know: i fell asleep watching AvP when it came out, and i've never bothered to try and watch it again. And i loathed the first RE movie so much (mainly for not being the George Romero version which should have happened dammit!) that i've never seen another. Maybe when i've watched everything else ever made, ever.
ReplyDeleteBut Lance Henriksen has made both some brilliant stuff and some hilariously turgic schlock. My favourites of his worst are 'Man's Best Friend' (about a big killer mutant dog) and 'Vampires: Out for Blood'.
ReplyDeleteI love AvP, if only for the "sleigh-ride of friendship" moment. I believe various internet wags say that the W.S in Paul W.S. Anderson's name stands for "Worthless Shit" but I feel that's a bit unfair. I like the second RE film best when his girlfriend's character Mary Sue kung fu fights a Nemesis and wins. Oh how I lol everytime.
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