I heard someone (Henry Zebroski) say once that all of the Hellraiser movies are worth watching. after the last 2 HELLRAISER movies I have sat through I am starting to doubt if the rest of the series is worth slogging through. After the shit show that was HELLRAISER BLOODLINE, I was curious to see how they would/could continue the story from there. also, this movie came out the year I was born so ya know... that's kinda neat...
this movie focuses on a walking cliche police detective who becomes embroiled in a strange world of murder, sadism and madness after being assigned a murder investigation against a madman known only as The Engineer. No space, no toy makers, no demon princesses. just officer monologue driving around looking for clues and tampering with evidence. oh yeah and because this is a Hellraiser movie he is also equally horny and high as fuck.
this is the first HELLRAISER movie made in the 2000s, and this movie screams the year 2000. the soundtrack, the acting, the costuming, even the SAW-style cop soap opera all scream "we are currently in the 2000s and don't know what we are doing". the lead cop is one of the worst protagonists I have ever seen, and he feels as if Twin Peak's James was the main character of a bad episode of SVU. It's so unoriginal and full of cliches it almost feels like a parody of other Cop shows and movies. but instead of making this whole review me complaining, let's talk about this movie's strengths.
I'm a big fan of the no-face cenobites that seem to haunt or lead man, and all of the Hellraiser movies so far have had great production design and effects. and the dream sequence stuff is... cool I guess..... and... um... OK, I give up trying to be nice this movie sucks.
3/10
REVIEWED REVIEW
Oct 10th, 2023
"Inferno feels less like a Hellraiser movie than a follow-up to Jacob's Ladder (or maybe a predecessor to Silent Hill), floating dream-like through hallucinatory David Lynchian visions and downplaying plot in favour of the surreal"
-Calum Marsh of Esquire
Out of all the HELLRAISER films, I find myself thinking of this one more and more as October moves in. I do my reviews a lot differently now than I did then, and I figured this movie deserved an updated appraisal as a little Halloween treat for myself. I was pretty clear on just how much this movie sucked last time, but perhaps there is some of that so bad it's good charm I missed out on during my first watch.
Hellraiser: Inferno (also known as Hellraiser V: Inferno) is the fifth installment in the Hellraiser series, and the first Hellraiser film to be released direct-to-video. It was directed by Scott Derrickson (Holy shit for real???), in his directorial debut, and released on October 3, 2000. Joseph Thorne is an intelligent, yet shady Denver police detective. One day, he comes across a series of bizarre, brutal, and ritualistic murders and is driven into an obsession with the puzzle box associated with the crimes, known as the Lament Configuration, eventually solving the puzzle. Upon solving the box, he becomes obsessed with unmasking the mysterious figure connected to the crimes, known only as "The Engineer". When discovering that "The Engineer" has kidnapped a child, he begins hunting for the figure, who in turn taunts him, killing off many of his friends, and leaving one of the child's fingers at every crime scene.
On Rotten Tomatoes, 14% of seven critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 2.7/10.
This movie is a bit of a false start for Derrickson's career, considering most folks wouldn't know his name until 2005 when he co-wrote and directed The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Of course the first film of his I think of is SINISTER, despite the more recent success of both Doctor Strange, THE BLACK PHONE and his segment in V/H/S 85. Much like James Gunn, both men started in horror as writers, made their debut in horror movies, and later moved on to MARVEL projects. Whereas Gunn may already be lost to the MARVEL machine, Derrickson is clearly devoted to staying spooky.
oh right, I'm supposed to talk about this movie...
This movie starts with an unapologetic detective noir style, which is lessened a bit by the very obvious 2000 characters and settings. Craig Sheffer's Detective Throne is one of the most bizarre protagonists in horror history. Even before his encounter with the puzzle box, my guy is working up to a mental breakdown. Hot shit handsome detective by day and a drugged-up pervert by night, the man is so unhinged he might as well be played by Nic Cage. Considering this movie entirely revolves around his character, I wish they would have fleshed him out a bit more instead of using a cardboard cut-out cop. despite this movie literally giving Thornes's demons a face, it never really gives you enough pieces for an effective movie. It's a film that focuses way too much on the whole ENGINEER thing and nowhere near enough on James.
the big takeaway when the credits roll is that everything here is basically all Joseph’s fault and that “the acts of his flesh have killed his spirit.” Given the same material today, Scott could have easily made a far more nuanced and interesting film without the word HELLRAISER
(Pinhead's entire screen time is just about 2 and a half minutes) ever being mentioned. What we have instead, is a HELLRAISER film that although a departure, gives us a compelling if mishandled character study with some Lynch surrealist elements and classic Clive Barker gore.
In hindsight, this movie is a lot better made and more ambitious than I gave it credit for at the time. This movie doesn't suck, in fact, I think the ending is pretty damn fun until it isn't. I suppose I'm just bummed because It just could have been something great.
It's HALLOWEEN 4 all over again...
8/10
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