So, this is my first post on the site. Frankly, I've resisted because of the stupidity that I see on almost every board here. So I'll just post my opinions on the Hellraiser films here, and if you want to rip them to shreds, fine. I'll reply if good conversation happens, but not for anything I consider stupid.
I've seen all the original eight movies (still haven't seen Revelations), and I'll say that, for the most part, I'm actually not that huge a fan of the first two Hellraiser movies. Are they the closest to Clive Barker's original vision? Probably, though since I haven't read The Hellbound Heart, I couldn't conclusively say. By all means, the first two movies aren't bad, and they contain some of my favorite Pinhead lines, but for some reason I've just never been a huge fan of those movies.
I need to re-watch Hell on Earth again, so I won't comment on that one.
As for this movie, Bloodline, I just watched it, and I can't say it's completely terrible, but I also don't think it's amazingly good. While I like the aspect of weaving the origin of the box into a movie, I never liked the character of Angelique (found her annoying, more often then not), and the motives of Pinhead just didn't jive with what I generally consider his motives to be.
I'll be honest (and lose credibility with a lot of Hellraiser fans): I love Inferno. Absolutely love it. It's much more of a psychological horror/thriller movie than an outright supernatural horror like the first two, but I think it fits in well with Pinhead and what he offers. Does it really make sense and connect to previous movies? No, not really. I'm still confused about the parts talking about the Engineer, for example, but I thought the movie was genuinely creepy during a lot of scenes, and overall I think it's probably one of the best movies after the first two.
I really need to see Hellseeker and Deader again, so I won't comment on those two.
Finally, again, at risk to my credibility, I also quite liked Hellworld for the meta movie it was. Spoilers in case someone hasn't watched it, but I loved how throughout most of the movie it was actually not supernatural at all, just a revenge plot on the main characters, and the real Pinhead only appearing at the very end. I thought it was a pretty good plot twist, which I'm a sucker for, and while I don't like it as much as Inferno, I did think it was a positive entry in the series.
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HellboundHero
10 years ago
My biggest beef with Inferno is it ends with Pinhead condemning someone for sinning. The cenobites are not Christians, the experiences they offer are sexual and depraved in nature and are far more extreme than snorting coke and having sex with hookers. If you want to make a Hellraiser story that's a morality tale, fine(the original can be interpreted this way), but don't mischaracterize the cenobites in the process.
Really, when you take away the sadomasochistic and hedonistic aspects of the cenobites, they aren't cenobites anymore. It takes more than some pins in the head and chattering teeth to make a cenobite a cenobite.
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tcme-482-77533
10 years ago
Sorry, I didn't see your reply until now. I can understand your point, and I honestly never took it as punishment for sinning exactly. I never looked at it that way. More of a punishment for something like being a bad person, which I suppose could be characterized as the same as sinning. Next time I watch Inferno I'll consider this point, because you're right. The Cenobites shouldn't really care about someone's personality, good or bad. It kind of reminds me how John Kramer from the Saw series would trap someone for, sometimes, the most minor offenses, yet he was, basically, a murderer himself.
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HellboundHero
10 years ago
You're right, "sin" is just another word for "evil", "bad", or "wrong" that just happens to have a religious slant to it. In Inferno, Pinhead punishes Joseph for his transgressions against friends, family, and strangers alike. Previous movies had hinted that bad people still went to this version of Hell, but the cenobites never acted like they had the moral high ground over the people they tortured. There's no way you could characterize Pinhead as a moral crusader after the way he acted in Bloodline, basically killing everyone he crossed paths with in horrific ways.
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