Director - Anthony Hickox (Waxwork, Waxwork II: Lost in Time)
Starring - Kevin Bernhardt (The Immortals), Terry Farrell (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), and Ken Carpenter (Terror at Big Bear Lake: Thrillogy)
Release Date - 1992
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "What started in hell will end on Earth" and "He'll offer you the heights of ecstasy, but you'll spend eternity in the depths of hell"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Hellraiser Collection)
Rating (out of 5):
I love horror films that are part of a series. Ninety percent of the time the movies after the first film is complete rubbish and was only made to cash in on the film's name only. With that being said, I only like to watch the later sequels to see where the story takes me. That is why I ventured in to the Hellraiser series. When I was younger I saw the first three films multiple times and during that time I liked this particular film more out of the three. It is funny how time can change your taste in entertainment.
The film begins with spoiled asshole J.P. (Bernhardt) purchasing the pillar of souls that spawned from the mattress at the end of Hellraiser II. J.P. owns a popular nightclub called The Boiler room. Once J.P. has possession of the piece he discovers that it is home to the cenobite Pinhead (once again played by Doug Bradley). Pinhead survived the events that unfolded in part II and is now trapped in the pillar until enough blood has been sacrificed to resurrect him. Also, his human essence has now been stripped from him and walks the dreams of television reporter Joey Summerkill (Farrell). Joey is investigating J.P. after she witnessed a gentleman die from hooks ripping him apart. The young man was with one of J.P.'s many girlfriends and she uses her to get close to him. Joey comes in to possession of the Lament Configuration and discovers that it can be used to send Pinhead back to his soul. After Pinhead has consumed enough people he goes to J.P.'s club to recruit new flesh and rebuild his cenobite followers. Because Pinhead is no longer fused with his humanity he is pure evil, however, after Pinhead has turned the club in to a slaughterhouse his humanity returns. After the two are united, Joey is able to send Pinhead back to hell and places the puzzle box inside the wet cement that is to be the foundation of a new building currently under construction.
Most sequels try to raise the bar that was previously set by it's predecessor and most of the time they lose sight of what made that film so great. That is what happened with this sequel. When I was younger I really liked the way the cenobites looked in this one compared to the first two films. That same reason is why I do not like it as much as the first two films now. The cenobites in the first two films were creatures that has transcended pain and pleasure of the flesh and mutilated their flesh to do so, however, in this film the cenobites are not all flesh and bone. They have been molded with various machines losing a large portion of their flesh. The cenobites in this one reminded me a lot of the Jamie Lee Curtis Film, Virus. The acting is good by the entire cast. Each character is portrayed perfectly and because of this you really feel sorry for the lead actress and really hate the villains. The special effects are just as good as the previous two films, however, we do miss out on some great chances for blood and gore. This film is lacking on the two when compared to the other two films. Finally, this movie does a great job at following the storyline established in the first two films, of course, with the exception of the cenobites. The movie does a great job at picking up where the previous left off. Overall, this is a decent flick to watch one time but does not have any replay value. Rent it or borrow it but do not waste your money on it.
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