Hellraiser: Inferno on DVD (2000)

Lawrence Conquest from siberia , 23/02/2005

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.

  10 out of 11 people found this review helpful

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Stephen from Brackley , 23/12/2005

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.

  5 out of 5 people found this review helpful

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Alan Dobson from Manchester , 26/08/2005

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.

  4 out of 5 people found this review helpful

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Wyatt Thunderbuck from Steeton, Yorkshire , 06/08/2005

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?)

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

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Stephen from Brackley , 23/12/2005

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.

  5 out of 5 people found this review helpful

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Lawrence Conquest from siberia , 23/02/2005

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.

  10 out of 11 people found this review helpful

Read all highest rated reviews