Hellraiser: Inferno (2000) DVD Reviews

Starring	Craig Sheffer, Nicholas Turturro, James Remar
Director	Scott Derrickson
Genres	Horror

Most helpful members' reviews (3) of Hellraiser: Inferno
View all
13 out of 14 people found this review helpful

Surprisingly effective

The signs dont look good for Hellraiser: Inferno - although not titled as such this straight to video release is effectively Hellraiser 5, and now the only remaining link to the original films is Doug Bradley as Pinhead. Rather suprisingly then, this actually turns out to be the best Hellraiser film since Hellraiser 2:Hellbound. Wisely the film is very continuity light, so can be enjoyed without knowing the ins and outs of the previous 4 films. The basic storyline concerns a morally dubious detective investigating a murder, and his quest to save the life of a child takes him on a trail from the Lament Configuration puzzle box to a mysterious entity known as 'The Engineer'. The first half of the film is well shot but rather slow for series regulars, as the detectives investigations only uncover material about the Cenobites that we already know. The second half is better though, as the story gradually turns from a run of the mill serial killer investigation into a character study of the detective himself: this film is less about Pinhead and co slicing through a bunch of teens, and more an examination of one man's journey into hell - a cautionary tale that cuts to the heart of the Cenobites philosophy of physical gratification at the expense of humanity. It's not perfect, but it's refreshingly un-formulaic for a low budget horror sequel, has some great cinematography, effective new Cenobites, and a distinctly David Lynch (notably Lost Highway) feel. A worthy sequel.
- - Lawrence Conquest from siberia
  - Posted 23 Feb 2005 23:52
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful

Is this a step too far?

I was a great fan of the original Hellraiser which was sufficiently different and scary to capture my imagination. Over the years there has been a series of follow on films - non which have really added to the story but just confused it. This latest film really has very little to do with the Hellraiser story - pinhead makes a brief appearance, but apart from that (and a few new cenobites) it could be any film about a man descending into his own Hell. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad film; it's just that I feel a bit cheated that it did not really build upon the whole Hellraiser franchise.
- - Stephen from Brackley
  - Posted 23 Dec 2005 11:27
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful

Pinhead marches on

Having read several reviews and coming on the back of the appalling Bloodline I expected this to be absolute pants... What a surprise!

The storyline is a little basic and if you expect the blood and gore of previous outings - don't bother.

Rather than the rip 'em to shreds format of the previous films this is more concerned with what happens when you let Pinhead mess with your brain.

There are some genuine scary moments and felt entertained at the end!

Not your usual Hellraiser outing but still worth a watch.
- - Alan Dobson from Manchester
  - Posted 26 Aug 2005 10:34
Most recent members' reviews (2) of Hellraiser: Inferno
View all
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Hellraiser meets CSI

I'm a big fan of the Hellraiser films especally the first 3. This film is not like the others and as a stand alone film is not bad, however it's more like an episode of CSI than a member of a horror series like hellraiser.

The film focuses on a corupt but very intelligent detective and his struggle with the darker side of himself. Pin Head makes a brief apperance but his role is not that crucial to the plot its more the fact that he is not there, but still controlling the terror thats the important part.

I like the direrction of this film as its something new and not just repeating the same ideas from the Hellraiser films before it. Worth a watch even if your not a Pin Head fan.
- - Sam1980 from Cheshire
  - Posted 17 Nov 2005 08:52
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful

Pinhead marches on

Having read several reviews and coming on the back of the appalling Bloodline I expected this to be absolute pants... What a surprise!

The storyline is a little basic and if you expect the blood and gore of previous outings - don't bother.

Rather than the rip 'em to shreds format of the previous films this is more concerned with what happens when you let Pinhead mess with your brain.

There are some genuine scary moments and felt entertained at the end!

Not your usual Hellraiser outing but still worth a watch.
- - Alan Dobson from Manchester
  - Posted 26 Aug 2005 10:34

13 out of 14 people found this review helpful

Surprisingly effective

The signs dont look good for Hellraiser: Inferno - although not titled as such this straight to video release is effectively Hellraiser 5, and now the only remaining link to the original films is Doug Bradley as Pinhead. Rather suprisingly then, this actually turns out to be the best Hellraiser film since Hellraiser 2:Hellbound. Wisely the film is very continuity light, so can be enjoyed without knowing the ins and outs of the previous 4 films. The basic storyline concerns a morally dubious detective investigating a murder, and his quest to save the life of a child takes him on a trail from the Lament Configuration puzzle box to a mysterious entity known as 'The Engineer'. The first half of the film is well shot but rather slow for series regulars, as the detectives investigations only uncover material about the Cenobites that we already know. The second half is better though, as the story gradually turns from a run of the mill serial killer investigation into a character study of the detective himself: this film is less about Pinhead and co slicing through a bunch of teens, and more an examination of one man's journey into hell - a cautionary tale that cuts to the heart of the Cenobites philosophy of physical gratification at the expense of humanity. It's not perfect, but it's refreshingly un-formulaic for a low budget horror sequel, has some great cinematography, effective new Cenobites, and a distinctly David Lynch (notably Lost Highway) feel. A worthy sequel.
- - Lawrence Conquest from siberia
  - Posted 23 Feb 2005 23:52
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful

Is this a step too far?

I was a great fan of the original Hellraiser which was sufficiently different and scary to capture my imagination. Over the years there has been a series of follow on films - non which have really added to the story but just confused it. This latest film really has very little to do with the Hellraiser story - pinhead makes a brief appearance, but apart from that (and a few new cenobites) it could be any film about a man descending into his own Hell. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad film; it's just that I feel a bit cheated that it did not really build upon the whole Hellraiser franchise.
- - Stephen from Brackley
  - Posted 23 Dec 2005 11:27
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful

Pinhead marches on

Having read several reviews and coming on the back of the appalling Bloodline I expected this to be absolute pants... What a surprise!

The storyline is a little basic and if you expect the blood and gore of previous outings - don't bother.

Rather than the rip 'em to shreds format of the previous films this is more concerned with what happens when you let Pinhead mess with your brain.

There are some genuine scary moments and felt entertained at the end!

Not your usual Hellraiser outing but still worth a watch.
- - Alan Dobson from Manchester
  - Posted 26 Aug 2005 10:34
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful

Surprisingly damn good film!

OK, forget everything you think about the Hellraiser series, blot it out of your mind totaly. Now think about the series CSI (any of them). Now think about a couple of well crafted looking demons. Now picture a damn good story with good acting, good script, excellent special effects - mix it together and this movie is what you get.

I rented this as I am a bit of a fan of crap horror movies (Hellraiser series being one of them) so sat back expecting to watch a cheesy flick... and was totaly blown away by a movie that took it self seriously!

This is NOTHING like the first 4 films, this is a gutsy, character based story that feels like a BIG movie, throw in the twist with the demons and it makes this well WELL worth watching.

Surprisingly Damn good film.
- - Matt Walford from Oxford
  - Posted 16 Nov 2005 09:54
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

Max Payne meets Jacobs Ladder

This movie could have easily been a script for Max Payne (the video game) that was superficially converted into a hellraiser spinoff. Scheffer even LOOKS like Max Payne. Besides that it IS a pretty good Miramax movie, well shot, well written (for this sort of thing) and more importantly, engaging. I only meant to see if there was any good opening scene, but watched the whole thing. The film is heavily weighted towards its own story and plot rather than the Hellraiser franchise, and in my mind would have been better without the Hellraiser link, as a separate Jacobs Ladder David Lynchy type film. Still convinced the director played Max Payne too much (or perhaps I did?)
- - Wyatt Thunderbuck from Steeton, Yorkshire
  - Posted 06 Aug 2005 12:14
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Not so Dark

I have to admit I like the Hellraiser series of films, but this one has me disappointed with a feeling "What happened". The first 3 movies had a darker deeper side to the macarbe and the lust for the pleasures of eternal pain. This one just didn't. I question if they are running out of ideas?
- - Dreamweaver from Worcestershire
  - Posted 05 Apr 2005 21:16
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

What, no Pinhead???

I have to admit to being abit of a Hellraiser fan, so it's with sadness that I have to write about how bad this latest sequel turned out, in my opinion.

It looks like we have about run the series course, as, in a similar vein to the Hammer/Dracula series, where you saw less & less of old Drac' with each film, so we have the same situation here.

Despite him appearing on the cover, I think Pinhead only appears about 2 or 3 time thru-out the film. The producers seem to have totally forgotten that we went into the future with the previous film, this one mainly concerns a bent copper coming up against a new crop of Cenobytes, which he sees from time to time...or is he just imagining them? It's one of those irritating kinds of storylines.

It's all kind of explained in the end, but all in all, this is not very satisfying. I don't know if there are any more of these in the pipeline, if there are, they will have to do a lot better. It wouldn't have surprised me if this didn't go straight to video/DVD when it was released here.
- - Neil1961 from Berkshire
  - Posted 31 May 2005 18:02
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Hellraiser meets CSI

I'm a big fan of the Hellraiser films especally the first 3. This film is not like the others and as a stand alone film is not bad, however it's more like an episode of CSI than a member of a horror series like hellraiser.

The film focuses on a corupt but very intelligent detective and his struggle with the darker side of himself. Pin Head makes a brief apperance but his role is not that crucial to the plot its more the fact that he is not there, but still controlling the terror thats the important part.

I like the direrction of this film as its something new and not just repeating the same ideas from the Hellraiser films before it. Worth a watch even if your not a Pin Head fan.
- - Sam1980 from Cheshire
  - Posted 17 Nov 2005 08:52
Hellraiser Spin Off

OK, so this has little to do with the Hellraiser story so far.

It's more of a crime thriller, that combines elements such as the Lament Configuration and of course Pinhead.

It's worth a watch, even if it's only to see Craig Sheffer (who I think looks remarkably like Angel out of Buffy), back in a horror role (see Nightbreed).
- - A customer from Blackpool, England
  - Posted 20 Dec 2004 09:23
hmmmmm...

As a film on it's own it's pretty good. Some decent effects and a vaguely entertaining storyline.

As a continuation of the Hellraiser story, utter utter pants i'm afraid.
- - A customer from huddersfield
  - Posted 17 May 2005 21:13