MovieChat Forums > Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) Discussion > Had the potential to be brilliant.

Had the potential to be brilliant.

posted 18 years ago by King-Grim
15 replies | jump to latest

This film had so much potential - a centuries-spanning horror epic, tying up the whole Hellraiser series in spectacular style, and a quick read of the original script and views of photographs from deleted scenes show that it was nearly there.

Unfortunately, through a combination of lack of budget, an unnecessary emphasis on Pinhead, the film being told in flashback and being hacked back to a running time barely over an hour, it falls far short, although even in the released version there are glimpses of what might have been...

[–] BlackWolfRising 18 years ago

I could tell you nightmares about the production. My associate editor and I covered it for our 'zine.

Basically the production company just wanted to cash in on the franchise. They assigned a publicist to it that was more interested in making it to temple for Rosh Hoshanah than in setting up a decent press junket. We sat in a motel room in Burbank waiting for them to call and say "Meet us at such-and-such" place for five days.

Finally, we put in a call to Clive's office and got Clive. We told him the runaround we'd been getting from the publicist and he said, "I'll talk to 'em. Hold on." We hung up and about twenty minutes later, an extremely flustered and extremely apologetic publicity manager called us back and said he could get us onset for the article coverage and cast/crew interviews that afternoon. We visualized Clive opening up and giving him a good old-fashioned Liverpudlian Irishman earful.

Once we got onset, we were only supposed to be there for an hour because the publicity guy had to go to Temple. But we knew most of the crew and some of the cast and they vouched for us, so we got to stay there until pretty much wraptime. The rushes of course were closed to director and assistant director and editor, but we got a lot of good material and two or three decent interviews in the machine.

We were there during the scenes with Angeline's clowns and the Doctor's face turning into a drum. I was sitting a few feet behind the camera when it rolled down the hall towards the camera.

TRUST THE TOAD!!

[–] TheNosumiBlues 18 years ago

Having only scanned over the above brief, and writing this after perhaps too much alcohol!!....

But I always liked Bloodline..

Sure, there were parts missing, and obvious too much studio interference...

But the bulk of the story, despite everything, I think, is still very strong...

Trouble is, the whole of the Hellraiser series, has been playing to an American audience, whereas it seems that we, ie, the British public, have a stronger stomach for such things...

I just hope that they refer back to "The Hellbound Heart" for the remake of Hellraiser..

Anyone with me?!

[–] BlackWolfRising 18 years ago

That's definitely my hope as well. I'd love it if they got four actors, of any gender, that could pull off that gender-occult ambiguity and the "both repulsive and alluring" air the original Cenobites put out.

I saw a poster of Frank being tormented by the Cenobites. It was a very interesting and interpretive piece, nothing like the movie. Frank was sitting in a lotus position, head back and face set in a mask that was that weird point between ecstatic agony and serene suffering. The Cenobites themselves were...humanoid in that they had torsos, legs and arms, heads, but that was as far as the similarities went. And you couldn't tell if they were male or female. Their skin was ash-grey, their wounds were dry, no leather, and not a lot in the way of facial features anyway. Yet they still exuded a recognizable sensuality.

Remember the Engineer? As cool as the 1987 Engineer was, its counterpart in the book wasn't anywhere near that in terms of visual. The Engineer was a visual touchstone to the Cenobites' namesakes, clad in robes, and a face wreathed in blinding bright light. Not saying the origial movie was bad...Clive wanted to make a Grand Guignol monster movie, Bob Keen and Company gave it to him and I'm a sucker for a cooool monster! And Hellraiser '87 gave us TWO! (I don't consider the Cenobites monsters...or even villains...Frank 'n Julia were the villians)

TRUST THE TOAD!!

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Darnadoe 17 years ago

It would have been better, it was even filmed mostly instead they said oh lets make it the pinhead show and it went down the pan even the endings a bit too happy ending.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] papi88 17 years ago

yeah it does have some great lines

like

how dare you use that word at me- pinhead

the box, a pathway to hell- pinhead

earth, a garden of eden, could become a garden of flesh- pinhead

and more but

this movie had soooo much potential but those damn producers had to *beep* it all up, ive seen most of the scenes that were taking out and if they stayed in the film would of explained alot and would of been a way better film, as it stands now its only like a 6/10 but would of been a 9/10 or even a 10 if they only let the director keep his vision in the film

CALL ME SNAKE-snake plissken
ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] papi88 17 years ago

yeah man those are some great lines

but yeah if only they would release it in its true form on dvd, then that would make this movie soo good even great if they can do it right

CALL ME SNAKE-snake plissken
ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

[–] ScarecrowX 17 years ago

Though many of those lines weren't in the original version. They were added to add more "Pinhead talking" scenes where he seems to chat to Paul lots. Style over substance really...

- Scarecrow

[–] papi88 17 years ago

oh, but still those are some great lines though

but still waiting for the full movie to come out on dvd

CALL ME SNAKE-snake plissken
ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ScarecrowX 17 years ago

There's been tlak for years. The main trouble is production was halted before everythign was fully completed. Though the facts are unclear it seems the Clown footage wasn't done although pretty much everything else seems toi have been comeplted.

The alternative cut that we discovered a few years back isn't the original. It's one of the first re-edits done for the studio. However it contains many of the lost footage, albeit with unfinished effects. Thus we get Jacques aging to death but only Angelique's shots, the aging effects not done. We also have Angelique trying to kill Pinhead with the Elysian in the present which, even with the unfinished effects, is far more dramatic than the final cut.

I'm hoping to get this workprint back on stage6 soon after it was taken down a while back.

I'd love for the original to be finished as much as possible but I don't think there is any studio interest, sadly.

- Scarecrow

[–] papi88 17 years ago

yeah its a shame isnt it

but hey were did you get yours from, can you pm me it if you want to sir scarecrow

CALL ME SNAKE-snake plissken
ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

[–] Rena_Mahone 14 years ago

This movie indeed can be described as wasted potential.
If it was not so low-budget, with better actors and special effects, and a better explained story, it would have been great.
It had the chance to be special, but something went wrong.

"There are few things as fetching as a bruised ego on a beautiful angel."