Originally Published on Set The Tape
With a franchise spanning 30 years, Hellraiser is one of the most enduring horror series in part because its very concept lends well to telling new and interesting stories over films that have a human antagonist. With nine films (so far) in the series, it’s time to look back at the scary – and the scary awful – films of this iconic franchise.
9. Hellraiser: Revelations (2011)
The most recent addition to the Hellraiser franchise is also easily the worst. The film’s story, one of the first in a long time that was written specifically to be a Hellraiser sequel, is boring and moves at a slow pace; and no amount of call-backs and nods to the previous films can help to alleviate the tedium.
However, the biggest problem is the lack of Doug Bradley as Pinhead. There is enough scope in the Hellraiser mythology for the series to be able to work without Pinhead, but Pinhead can only be played by Bradley. If the Hellraiser franchise is to continue, it has a huge amount of damage control to do after this terrible entry.
8. Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005)
Hellworld is what you’d get if you mixed a teen slasher film with Hellraiser; and it’s as awful as that idea sounds. It feels like another project completely that ended up having the Hellraiser franchise crammed in at the end (which is actually what happened). As such, you can get through most of the film forgetting that it’s supposed to be part of the franchise.
Not even the appearance of horror veteran Lance Henriksen can help to elevate what is at best a mediocre slasher film.
7. Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
Bloodline is the entry in the series that I’m most disappointed with. Horror and sci-fi go so well together, and the prospect of setting a Hellraiser film on a space station is genuinely intriguing and disturbing as it’s an ultimate inescapable haunted house.
Unfortunately, Bloodline tried to cram too much into one film. Telling three interconnected stories over multiple locations and time periods, it became too bloated under its ambition and ultimately failed to excite.
Stories of extensive studio interference and both the writer and director claiming that they’re disappointed with the final product not being what they intended explains a great deal of the problems the film experienced.
6. Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)
Hellseeker should have been bigger and better than it turned out to be, having the return of Ashley Lawrence as Kirsty for the first time since Hellraiser 3. Sadly, the decision to make Kirsty a spurned lover using the Lament Configuration as revenge against her husband felt so out of character for her. If the film didn’t involve Kirsty then it would probably be further up the list. As it is, it suffers for her inclusion.
5. Hellraiser: Deader (2005)
Released the same year as Hellworld, Deader feels much more like a Hellraiser film. The story follows an investigative journalist who is looking into a cult that is killing and resurrecting people so that their leader, a descendant of the the designer of the Lament Configuration, can vanquish Pinhead.
Despite not beginning as a Hellraiser film, it works well as a part of the franchise; one that manages to build upon and use the pre existing mythology without trying to shake up the status-quo.
4. Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)
Inferno was the first Hellraiser film that made me scared of the Cenobites from a psychological point of view. The hooks and chains take a back seat in this entry as Pinhead and his minions play a game of psychological torture against a highly unlikable detective who stumbles across the Lament Configuration at a crime scene.
It’s easy to see how this film started off as another project before the Hellraiser elements were added later on, but it’s one that works incredibly well and will stick with you in a way that some of the others won't.
3. Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth (1992)
The third instalment in the Hellraiser series is perhaps one of the most ‘Hollywood’ entries; one that very much feels like a product of the time it was made. It was the first of the films that felt more like a franchise sequel, being more over-the-top and flashy than its predecessors.
Despite this, it still managed to present Pinhead as a chilling villain, one capable of playing both intricate mind games and going on kill crazy rampages.
2. Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 (1988)
The first sequel is still the best. With a direct continuation of the events of the first, you can easily watch the two of them back to back as one piece. The film continues to build upon the mythology and horrors of the previous film, yet feels like its own entity.
Hellbound is the film that explores the inner workings of the Hellraiser universe more than any others, yet leaves viewers with as many questions as answers. Dark, disturbing and horrifically beautiful, Hellbound shows how good a Hellraiser sequel can be.
1. Hellraiser (1987)
Hellraiser is still easily the best entry in the entire franchise. A game-changing film upon its release, Hellraiser shocked audiences as it showed that horror could be gory and disgusting, yet thought provoking and deep.
The film changed the way that people looked at horror, made an instant icon in Pinhead, and launched the film career of Clive Barker. 30 years later, Hellraiser continues to terrify, enthral, and thrill.
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