The Hellraiser series......movie by movie
Hellraiser: I love this film. I think it is very original and imaginative. One of my favorite horror films ever.
Hellbound: This film could have been better.......but still a great flick. They did what any respectable sequel does, they picked up the story where the first movie left off. They didn't just take the same character and throw them into a different situation.
Hell on Earth: Good concept.....low point of the series. Not only the writing but also much of the acting was sub par. The most redeeming factor is the backstory on Elliot Spencer a.k.a. Pinhead.
Bloodline: I liked it, many do not. I believe it is highly under rated. For three movies we have seen the events that unfold when this magical puzzle box is solved and the gateway to hell is opened. I think it was necissary to tell us the origins of this box. It fleshes out the story of the series.
Inferno: Probably the most under rated Hellraiser of all. I think it is the best sequel in the series. This movie underscores what the entire premise of the original film was.....lust, greed, the search for pleasure and the ultimate consequences for those who do so.
Hellseeker: Would have been really good.......if it wasn't completely predictable because they had already used the same concept and formula for Inferno. It was nothing more than a cheap, unimaginative knock off of Inferno. By far the worst movie of the series......even though we do get to see what ultimately became of Kristi.
My biggest gripe about this series' fan base is that I believe many misunderstand the series. The movies are not about Pinhead. These aren't Nightmare on Elm St. or Friday the 13th slasher flicks people. These movies are about a very well displayed message, not a character. Pinhead is not the star of the series.........the evil ways of man are. The cenobites are merely a consequence caused by the premise of the series. People gripe about the last three films......all say the same thing, "not enough Pinhead". To that I reply, "if you had a brain in your head, you'd know that the Hellraiser series is not about Pinhead and just throwing him in needlessly is lowering the standards of the film to that of the slasher genre".
I hope in either Deader or Hellworld, Pinhead is gone for good....they find some way to remove this character from the series altogether. This will separate the fans of good horror from those of gore/slasher flicks........and will leave the door open for more imaginative sequels with well written story lines without having to gratuitously throw in an un-needed character to satisfy the dolts of the audience.
Your thoughts?