#Hellraiser: Deader

[weirdlookindog]

Doug Bradley as Pinhead in Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

[horrororman]

#Horror films that were released on June 7th...

#TheCurseoftheWerewolf (1961)(US).

#TheShadowoftheCat (1961)(US).

#TastetheBloodofDracula (1970)(US).

#TheLegendofBoggyCreek (1973)(Canada).

#HellraiserDeader (2005)(DVD).

#ThePurge (2013).

[deuterosapiens]

Well, since I've obviously buggered up any semblance of keeping with the schedule, it's now time to look at Hellraiser: Deader. And I don't really think there's much in the way of unique, original, or, really, good things to say about it.

I'm going to be honest, I actually kind of wanted to like this one. The beginning set-up seemed interesting: a reporter receives a lead about a cult of resurrectionists from a video depicting a ritual suicide. And to a degree, I'll admit, this one pulls off the reporter angle considerably better than Hell on Earth (why do I keep trash-talking that one when Inferno exists? Who knows, not me).

The investigation takes her to Romania, inhabited entirely by English speakers, of course, where the intrigue kicks up. Our reporter searches the apartment of one of her leads where she discovers a video tape and a curious box. This tape gives us another lead to investigate further, and a warning to not open the Box. The Caligula Effect kicks in and I get to make a joke I've repressed since Bloodline.

What does the Lemarchand Box have in common with this Cube?

Both can be solved in two moves.

Lame joke. Don't care. I'm annoyed that no effort is spent showing the Box being opened. Obviously Hellraiser and the sequel put a bit of effort in depicting the thing being solved. And yes, I get it, the props used aren't exactly designed as functioning puzzles and therefore don't really work as functioning puzzles and therefore can't be acted with as though they are functioning puzzles. However, I could spray paint a Square One- or any other shape-shifting cube puzzle for that matter- gold and produce a slightly more interesting prop.

It bothers me, okay??

Anyway, we are lead to a cool BDSM train which gives us the information we need to discover the whereabouts of our Resurrectionist Cult.

Then the movie begins to annoy me.

The investigative reporter plot was cool. Now we spend the rest of the movie with our lead going insane because she's been murdered and brought back, but because she opened the Box, her soul can't be claimed by the villain because it belongs to the nail-headed Hell Priest because of the aforementioned Box Opening.

So we instead jump around constantly as she is driven crazy by her past or something. Turns out she murdered her father when she was younger because he did the thing that caused Kathy Bates to push her husband down a well in Dolores Claiborne.

There's a nifty bit in an Asylum involving a young girl drawing a really cool creepy drawing which I was too lazy to screen grab for this post. Otherwise, we randomly wake up, back safely in the custody of the murder cult.

The Box is opened again and we have apparently a reveal that our villain Winters is a descendent of Philip Lemarchand. This adds nothing to the stakes, except explains why our villain is so weird about the Lemarchand Box.

Because this movie again plays really, really loose with what constitutes the Cenobites' domain of Hell, our reporter committing Death by Knifey-Stabby does not earn her a one-way to Hell. The movie actually treats her suicide as the winning move, a defeat of the Cenobites because her soul is still hers, or something. I guess it's a slightly less painful death, at any rate, than the one she would have suffered via Enhookening.

I'm actually a bit pissed off with this one, because there was actually a good Hellraiser movie in here somewhere. The beginning is solid, the deaths are cool. Doug Bradley gets to be weird and hammy (I am The Way!).

Maybe it's the editing, the decision to film all the flashback scenes in black and white. Actually, I should have foreseen annoyance at the very beginning: anyone have a decent explanation for the obsessive number of cuts during the Deader video segment?

You know what? I liked it more than the previous two. That's a low bar, it was better than either Inferno or Hellseeker.

So, Hellworld's next:

I'm sorry, it's about what. There's no way this one is legitimately about fucking video games.

[james-stark-the-writer]

since i'm done with the Hellraisers outside of the reboot, here ya go, here's my rankings (with reviews) of all the Hellraiser movies.

[ninawolv3rina]

More Spine

OC: Cenobite, the Spine (they/them)

[amplesalty]

Halloween 2023 - Day 6 - Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

Still not from the arsehole of Clive Barker...

I'll admit this hasn't been the best year, feels like it's been a few years since I let it slip this badly but we're going out with a bang tomorrow with Halloween Ends and before we get there we need to look at one of our yearly staples; Hellraiser. Yes, after mentioning his potential cameo in Freddy vs Jason, it's time that we visit the world of Pinhead. After taking a detour last year to partake in all the Wokeraiser hot takes, we're back to our regular schedule of linear releases which brings us to part seven which is very much in the territory of crowbarring Pinhead into someone elses unrelated script. Apparently one of the potential names for this one was Jihad which I just dread to imagine what sort of weird exploitation movie that would be. The 9/11 terrorists are promised pleasure indivisible in the afterlife after carrying out their task but get a whole lot more than they bargained for…

What we do get is the story of Amy Klein, played by Kari Wuhrer, as she investigates a cult like entity in Romania before eventually running into the Cenobites. Wuhrer of course will be notable to many for her work in cult sci-fi TV series Sliders. Or perhaps Beastmaster 2, Anaconda, Eight Legged Freaks or some of the later Prophecy sequels. But, to me, she'll always be Agent Tanya in the delightfully cheesy cut scenes of RTS juggernaut Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2. As much as she helped bring life to that character, I think the script and general tone of the thing can claim just as much credit. Nothing like a widescale invasion of the United States and nuking of Chicago to serve as the backdrop for some b-movie level chicanery. They certainly cast for it too with the likes of Wuhrer, Udo Kier and Ray Wise.

I digress because there's really not too much I can say about this one. We've touched upon the fact that the Cenobites are pretty much strangers in their own films at the best of times but these later ones really do become exorcises in drive by Pinheads. Like, it takes 30 minutes for him to show up for the first time and even that is for all of about five seconds. By my count he shows up in about 3 scenes across the whole movie, and whilst not long or anything, this is still a pretty standard 90 minute movie.

Wuhrer plays a reporter who after finishing off her expose on the seedy world of drug use, including what has to be a rather uncessary guide on how to become a crack whore (seems pretty self explanitory to me), her editor sends her to Romania to investigate a man who can seemingly bring people back from the dead.

All of which is hastily tied back into the Hellraiser mythology through exposition towards the end of the movie when it's said the leader of the cult is a descendent of the toymaker from back in part 4. He intends to become ruler of the Cenobites but is unable to open the box himself so is using his followers to do it. But Pinhead promptly shows up five minutes from the end like 'bitch please' and straight up murders everyone. Maybe if you like the sort of oblique storytelling found in Hellseeker this might be for you but I couldn't get on with it. There's some vague intruige in following Klein as she tries to piece everything together but ultimately this cult doesn't really amount to anything feels disconnected from the Hellraiser story despite the movies best efforts to try and tie everything together. Say what you will about these find and replace Hellraiser scripts but I think something like Inferno shows they can work when it still feels in universe. There it was very much an outsider looking in from the outside on all the weird shit that was going on and their reactions to that. This felt more like someones attempt at creative writing that they slapped Pinhead onto in an effort to get more eyes on it by putting 'and then the Cenobites showed up' at the end.

At least it has British actor Marc Warren in for local flavour, he of Hustle fame from the late 00's. Apparently he was in Homer Simpson's favourite movie about piano genius', Shine, as well as 2006's Colour Me Kubrick which is somewhat infamous for a scene in which Jim Davidson flounces down a staircase whilst singing Lionel Richie's 'Hello' to John Malkovich. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is a scene far more bizarre than anything the twisted world of Hellraiser could ever conjure up.

[pikkugootti]

okay so

i had to make a post

im stuck doing schoolwork and suffering, so i thought it would be funny to watch ALL hellraisers. I WASN’T READY FOR THE HELL WHICH I RAISED

i will do in detail movie review later, but to sum up,

hellraiser I, II and III are fine, but with the bloodline it takes one of the most fucking bizarre turn i have seen. OKAY BUT AT LEAST IT TRIES TO HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE ORIGINAL STORY

i wasn’t ready when i started up hellraiser inferno. where the last one had something to do with original THE REST JUST KAJDFLKLAKDFJajdsfhfdsfhhjsfddhjsduhj>KjHJhLISDHFAEJHW(>T)(QRJIERHFJDHDJAhGHFADHUjk

like where as the first three and four are fantasy horror sci fi, THIS FUCKING MOVIE DECIDES THAT WE NEED A COP THRILLER

IT HAS ABSOLUTELY 0 CONNECTION WITH THE ORIGINAL STORY AND ONLY HAS PINHEAD SO PEOPLE CAN GO “OMG THAT’S THE GUY!!!!!!!! ::DDDDDDDDDDDDD” 

hellseeker tries to kinda piggyback from last movie using the same effects, but it tries to add something from the original movies; kirsty

but like......................

SHE DOESN’T DO ANYTHING :sob:

SHE DOESN’T TALK ABOUT THE CENOBITES OR THE LAMENT CONFUGIRATIONS OR LABYRINTH SHE IS JUST THERE TO BE DEAD WIFE PROP - OR NOT EVEN THAT

THIS MOVIE IS LIKE 40% SOFTCORE PORN :sob:

what i find the most bizarre, is that doug bradley, the actor from the first movies still played pinhead in these later movies, even though they CLEARLY HAD NOTHING TO OFFER TO THE FRANCHISE PLUS THESE MOVIES HAVE ONLY CREDITS TO CLIVE BARKER AS “BASeD ON CHARACTERS CREATED BY CLIVE BARKER” AKA HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOVIES so why would doug bradley willingly participate in their creation???? 

AND THIS IS NOT ALL

THE CURRENT IM WATCHING NOW REVELATIONS HAS SOME OTHER ACTOR TRYING TO COPY WHAT DOUG BRADLEY DID AND WAS :sob: :sob: :Sob: 

WHAT IS THIS PLEAS IM SOBBIN G TR RN????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[housefreak]

women named marla will get themselves into these sorts of situations. withoutfail

[ghoulsister1]

Marc Warren Characters & Their Reaction To You Owning Squishmallows/Squishables Part 1.

🔫Clint (Bring Me The Head Of Mavis Davis)🔫

●Is not too shocked. "Girls like that soft, cutesy stuff" is what Clint's thought is. I mean, he's not wrong. So it's no biggie to him, no matter how big or small your collection is.🩵

●If he's sleeping over with you, he'll try and not knock them off the bed if they are on there. If he does, he quickly picks it up and puts it closer to you or just holds on to it as he sleeps.🥰

●Eventually ends up cuddling it and admits that he likes how soft they are. Good for any aches he has if he had to jump around or doing some stunts on the job.☺️

●You eventually give him a Squishmallow as a gift. The Squishmallow is Leon The Monster. Clint loves it and even takes it out on jobs with him for a bit of company.

●Clint of course buys you more of the soft plushies.🥰

●He loves seeing the smile you have when he brings him a new Squishmallow/Squishable to the ever growing plushie family.😊

●This hitman may be a little crazy but he's softy at heart. I mean, Leon The Monster Squishmallow is considered his best mate in his eyes. 🩵

🗡Jonathan Teatime (Hogfather)🗡

●"Did the Hogfather gift you half of these?" Is Jonathan Teatime's question upon seeing the large collection of soft squish plushies. 🖤

●He's not weirded out by it. I mean, it's Jonathan Teatime we are talking about! I think we know what he's like!🤪

●May "accidentally" cut one of the plushies during his knife practices. Which of course is unacceptable and you do scold him for it. 😡

●Gets sulky over it. "I didn't mean to" is his response. Does try to either fix the cut with stitching or gets a proper experienced fixer to fix it. Will apologise if he really cares for you. 🖤

●Does buy you some, especially for your birthday or whenever he's out doing errands or assassinating, he usually returns home to you with one.🥰

●Does eventually get one himself. For a Squishmallow, he has Otto The Grim Reaper. For a Squishable, it's an Undead Unicorn. 🦄

●Don't expect him to share his beloved plushies though. The man is in touch with his inner child after all, expect him to be pouty if you take his plushies for a quick cuddle without asking!😠

⛓️Joey (Hellraiser: Deader)⛓️

●Finds it strange but more in a curious way. Does ask questions, you know to understand more about it.🤔

●Doesn't think much of them. "Yeah, they're cool I guess" is Joey's comment on them. Nothing more. Sorry.

●Will knock some off the bed if sleeping over. Says it's "too crowded" or "too hot" due to how soft and plush they are. 😕

●Pouts when you pick them up again.😏

●You talked to one of your plushies one time and Joey saw it. Now Joey sometimes looks at the plushies as if they are listening in on his comments about them. 🫢

●Does buy you one from time to time though despite his hesitation with them. Just comes in, holds out the plushie and just says "Here. It's for you". You of course squeal and hug him, which he plays off coolly but deep down is happy he made you smile. 😊

●Doesn't really buy one himself. But you get him one, a Squishmallow Squish-Doo Cheetah, because of it's cool hairstyle so it would fit Joey since he has a unique hairstyle too.☺️

💸Danny Blue (Hustle💸)

●Looks at the plushie collection with a confused look, does ask questions but after all that, he's alright with it.

●Will knock some of them off the bed but will feign picking them up only to drop them again when you turn over in bed and you're not looking. Cheeky!🤭

●However he does place them back on the bed in the morning for you. Sweet!☺️

●However, he does have a soft spot for your dog Squishmallows/Squishables though. I mean, he's obviously a dog person.🐶

●Cuddles with Reginald the Hug Me Squishmallow in bed or on the couch when he has a nap. Will literally take one from your collection and just hoard it for a while.💙

●One time he used one in a con and got worried when he thought he left it somewhere in the city but thankfully Stacey placed the plush in the backpack he was carrying, knowing you'd be upset if it was lost. Danny was grateful for Stacey doing that.😅

●Any money left from a con will go to a jar in the bedroom for shopping days and of course plushies, particularly hard to get ones so online ordering is required.💷

●Gets a big boost when he finds a Squishmallow named Danny and takes him home to give you. "Now Danny Jr. Will keep you company while I'm out on a con love" were his words, making you giggle. Expect him to tell Mickey and the Gang about the Squishmallow that shares his name.😏

●Will get a Squishmallow that shares your name so Danny Squishmallow has a Y/N Squishmallow too. Awww!🥰

🪖Albert Blithe (Band Of Brothers)🪖

●This soft man is impressed by your collection! He loves how you picked each plushie out, creating a cute gorgeous squad of dark, pastel and bright colours.🌈

●Is drawn to the cute hedgehog Squishmallow with pastel coloured fluff on the back. Loves that one.🩷

●If sleeping over, he will cuddle some of them in his sleep and holds them so they don't fall off the bed. He understands how much they mean to you as a source of comfort. Hell, he finds comfort in them too!🥰

●Will take one or two to cuddle with when napping!😉

●Loves getting to know each plushies name, particularly if they are Squishmallows. If they are Squishables, sometimes he'll name one or two himself. Like "Sergeant Cuddles" or "Major Snugs".🥰

●Is also protective of them, no rough housing is allowed with the plushies.💥

●Any damage the plushies get, he will take care of them by stitching and patching them up. He's good at sewing and stitching so it's no problem for him to fix up your beloved plushies🏥

●Will buy himself one and happily shows the plushie to you and shares it. If it's a Squishmallow, he will have Ziv the Sugar Glider. If it's a Squishable, he'll have the Fluffy Lunar Moth.🤍

🩷Stay tuned for Part 2!🩷

[awesomephd]

Watching Through My Collection: Day 39/67

Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

Day 38 / Day 40

Say what you will about so many of the Hellraiser sequels originating as unrelated scripts, it definitely makes me feel less bad for watching them out of order.

This one was pretty egregious still for what a tiny role the cenobites played and how it decided to resolve their involvement in the final act.

CW: Hellraiser-typical gore, body horror, and sexual themes. Child abuse and CSA

Maybe I've just got a soft spot for the grimy 2000's city thriller aesthetic, but I actually did like the non-cenobite focused scenes in crowded slums and subways. The dedicated train car of iniquity full of drugs and naked people was especially fun because it also had the best character in the ensemble.

It's a supernatural psychological thriller that could've been pretty decent if they hadn't decided to shove in everything to do with the puzzle box and cenobites.

The cenobites have no power with the cult for... reasons. Reasons that make the only one who can stop the cult the protagonist, Amy, but stopping the cult still only amounted to throwing down the configuration and letting Pinhead swing in to obliterate everyone in the room. The other cenobites you do see either barely move or are just simply boring to look at, and then their final confrontation with Amy after Pinhead takes out the cult resolves in her killing herself (because that definitely stops the cenobites from taking your soul) and then the place exploding.

There's also a random subplot/aspect where- because a cult ritual made her incapable of dying- Amy gets stabbed in the back and goes through the rest of the movie with a gash in her abdomen. The whole sequence of her discovering the blood first as it pours off her back, flailing to pull the knife out, and patching herself up with a rolled up towel held in place by duct tape is played so straight yet with no pain that makes it almost comedic.

Ultimately, not the absolute worst Hellraiser movie I've seen so far, but will probably not make it onto any marathon lists. If you like the Wishmaster series, this might even be enjoyable to you.

[housefreak]

[id: tweet by funkeekatt that reads:

guy who's watched 100 horror movies: Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an absolute masterpiece, the height of slasher films and realistic, textured horror.

guy who's watched 1000 horror movies: dude you gotta hop on Basket Case 3 /end id]

[roxysretrodrive-in]

Poll: Horror Movie Rentals 7: The New Rentals

After finally talking with the clerk, you are informed that the reason you've been cursed with repeatedly returning to this movie rental store is because you never actually got around to returning any previous rentals. You ask her why she kept letting you rent new movies and she just shrugs and goes back to playing on her phone.

You frown. All the outstanding VHSs are still at home and you really don't feel like leaving and coming back. You'll just have to remember to bring them next week.

But while you're here...

Nine VHS tapes sit before you, ready for renting. Maybe you feel like revisiting a beloved favorite. Maybe you want to check out something you've never seen before...

All are the seventh entry in their respective franchises. Again, a handful of these were never on VHS but whatever.

Part 1, Part 2: Return of the VHS, Part III: The Weird One, Part 4: The Final Return, Part 5: Where'd This Kid Come From?, Part 6: Curse of the Blockbuster

[james-stark-the-writer]

March is off to a terrible fucking start lmao

[bambitheslave]

It's making a kinky heist movie!

So it's studying kinky movies, to figure out how to depict kink on film better

Here's its list:

Justine (1969) The Night Porter (1974) The Image (1975) Mistress (1976) Caligula (1979) Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986) Hellraiser (1987) Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) Tokyo Decadence (1992) Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992) Exit to Eden (1994) The Last Seduction (1994) Crash (1996) Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) Preaching to the Perverted (1997) Quills (2000) Hellraiser: Inferno (2000) The Piano Teacher (2001) Secretary (2002) Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002) Hellraiser: Deader (2005) Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005) S&M Judge (2009) A Dangerous Method (2011) Hellraiser: Revelations (2011) Magic Mike (2012) Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1 (2013) Nymphomaniac: Vol. 2 (2013) American Mary (2013) The Duke of Burgundy (2014) Cruisin (2014) Magic Mike XXL (2015) 50 Shades of Grey (2015) The Ceremony (2015) Hellraiser: Evolutions (2015) The Handmaiden (2016) 50 Shades Darker (2017) Kakegurui (TV 2017-2019) Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (2017) Gerald's Game (2017) 50 Shades Freed (2018) 2 in the Bush: A Love Story (2018) Hellraiser: Judgment (2018) Dogs Don't Wear Pants (2019) Bonding (TV 2019-2021) 365 Days (2020) Sanctuary (2022) Love and Leashes (2022) Crimes of the Future (2022) The Next 365 Days (2022) 365 Days: This Day (2022) How to Build a Sex Room (2022) Hellraiser (2022) Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023) Infinity Pool (2023) Fall of the House of Usher (TV 2023)

NOTE: it is intentionally skipping Eyes Wide Shut (1999) because fuck Kubrick

It will see if it can watch all 58 of those in the next 6 months

It will be posting about each of these

(If you want to help support its kinky heist movie, it's posting sneak peeks for $1-$5 at Patreon.com/MoviesAndHeists)

[haveyouseenthishorrormovie]

Given the sudden rush of Hellraiser polls, might I suggest a worst Hellraiser movie poll? Not much point doing a best one but a worst might be entertaining.

[amplesalty]

Halloween 2024 - Day 6 - Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005)

If you die in the game, you die in real life...

If this wasn't at all obvious with movies 6 and 7, we're definitely into the 'sunk cost' stage of this franchise. The first four all had their charms despite tapering off and I'm on record as a fan of Inferno but Hellseeker and Deader felt like a bit of a chore. But, as much as my lack of keeping to a schedule might dispute this, I am a creature of habit and the end is in sight. And, if anything, we're really due to go off a cliff next year so all the more reason to stick it out and see what depths we can plumb with this series. Hellworld was filmed back to back with Deader all the way back in 2002 but sat largely unused, saved for a few showings over the years, until the pair were released direct to DVD in 2005. It's always stood out on the horizon for me as I've worked my way through the franchise given the plot ties into the world of online gaming. A strange turn for the franchise, sure, but given we're 8 movies in now I think any subject matter is fair game in order to freshen things up. Plus, this would have been right around the time of a boom in online gaming and, given the film pitches Hellraiser as an MMO, you would have had things like Ultima Online, Everquest, Runescape and even Final Fantasy XI (World of Warcraft wouldn't have existed at the time of filming but would have been out by the time the films actually released) so I can sort of see the potential in touching upon the dangers of addiction, both as an analogue to the pleasure seeking that is so prevalent in Hellraiser but also to tie in to the hot topic parent scaremongering of the day.

Nevermind all those other games though, who remembers Graal?!

The video game stuff though is largely glossed over. A friend of our main characters is said to have killed himself following his addiction to the game but it's all very vague and skimmed over during an exposition dump during his funeral.

Even the game itself is shown only briefly and I was going to compare it to a Flash game from the time but I'm pretty sure I was playing Flash games on the school computers at the time that had more gameplay than this. The Lament Configuration doesn't exactly feel like the kind of thing you would adapt into a video game either, it strips away that tactile feeling of handiling the cube, twisting and prodding to try and open it up.

What little we do see of the game is little more than a means to shuttle our main characters off to the meat and potatoes of the movie, an exclusive Hellraiser themed party taking place at Leviathan house. This is something that irked me early on with the movie, it's often said that these later movies are just a case of slapping the Cenobites onto someone else's screenplay and that they barely even show up but these fet a bit tryhard in trying to shoehorn a bunch of references in early as if to say 'See, we're a REAL Hellraiser movie'. Very quickly you get mentions of Hellraiser, Hellworld, Pinhead, Leviathan, LeMarchand, the Engineer…it's like the other extreme of not showing them at all but just trying to cram mentions in within the first few minutes.

Among our crew of party goers is none other than Superman himself (well, one of them at least) Henry Cavill.

Plus Lance Henriksen as the party host, a man with a storied past in the horror genre and notable for me at least for his role in Pumpkinhead, though I think that may have gone undocumented on this here blog.

Our friends are shown around the house but all start to experience strange visions, usually very brief and sometimes involving Pinhead making thinly veiled threats.

Spoiler alert, the twist of the movie is that Lance Henriksen's Host character is actually the father of the friend that commited suicide and he's out for revenge for what he percieves as their actions in enabling his addiction that resulted in his death. It's revealed that upon their arrival to the party, the Host drugged them with a very strong psychodelic drug and buried them in shallow graves outside with an airtube to keep them alive and prolong their suffering. The events of the movie have been playing out in their heads with cell phones left in their coffins through which the Host has been using suggestion to influence their visions. Now, this actually does bring some degree of interest to the film which had been largely boring up to this point and I did appreciate the idea of how this could play into the overarching story of addiction. If these kids are so immersed in this game then these monsters from within it could be making their way into their visions in a very violent way. The problem is that because they made pretty much zero attempt to re-contextualize this film's world and to potray the Cenobites as characters within this game, plus the fact that this movie does the exact same drive by Pinhead scenes (to borrow my own phrase from last year), these interactions just feel like more shoehorned references to justify the film bearing the Hellraiser name. If they had actually taken the time to show these kids playing the game and some digital versions of the Cenobites from which they would have formed these assocations, the whole idea might have worked better.

It would have been all moot anyway though as it's revealed at the end that the Cenobites are in fact actually real when they show up and tear the Host to shreds. Thanks for ruining my shades of grey for me, lads. Whilst I can appreciate the efforts to make the series a little more contemporary by taking this video game angle, it does also strip away a small aspect I've always liked in that all of these movies felt like they took place in the same universe. It's always come across as an anthology piece to me, the Lament Configuration managing to find it's way into someone elses hands who have these delusions of how this is going to lead them to pleasure undivisible whilst we get to sit back and watch as several hooks and chains promptly tear those delusions asunder. Ultimately, it's one of those films where I can see the genesis of a decent idea that goes unfufilled. And whilst I'm all for taking wild departures this deep into a franchise, it does feel like too big of a disconnect from the series to have ever been successful.

And so, given that this is the last appreance of Doug Bradley in this famous role, it's a run that ends in a whimper rather than a bang. Somehow I doubt his successors have much chance of living up to his mantle, especially when our next stop, Revelations, is the film that drew Clive Barker's ire and led to that very infamous tweet I have been mentioning all these years…