Unseen Terror: Day 3

I...am the way...



The way to mediocrity I suppose.

Well, I guess that's my intro to...



I must confess, I had never seen the third Hellraiser film, but HAVE seen the first, second and the fourth. This is what many consider to be the point in the franchise where it just starts to get silly. And I can't really disagree.

The main plot follows a young reporter named Joey, who one day witnesses a club goer from a popular nightclub ripped to shreds in a hospital, clearly work of the demonic puzzlebox (though she obviously has yet to discover this). She questions the young lady Terri, who came to the hospital with the kid as to what it is that just happened, and some evidence points to said owner of the nightclub, spoiled millionaire J.P. Monroe. Monroe has coincidentally, purchased a rather familiar looking pillar that we may have seen at the end of Hellbound: Hellraiser 2. Soon, we discover that Pinhead wishes to break free from his pillar, with aspirations to take over the world (since apparently, he's been separated into two different entities following the end of #2, one with no sense of order, and the other being his once human side...not kidding).

The first Hellraiser was brilliant, a beautifully macabre, yet quite smart, British horror film. The sequel was nowhere near as good, but still put forth some effort to keep you intrigued. This one just feels a bit silly. The stupid parts sadly outweigh the good, and having to say "stupid" anything after the fact that the first two were so entertaining is kind of sad. The acting ranges from mediocre (Joey) to just plain bad (the actors portraying Doc and Terri). The decision to push Pinhead and the cenobites right into the forefront, whereas they were more supporting characters who weren't necessarily the villains before, is a bit of a mistake if you ask me. You know how some people say "too much of a good thing is bad?" Yeah, that applies here almost perfectly. Oh, and the new cenobites are TERRIBLE. No sense of fear this time around, just a feeling of "man, that looks fucking stupid." BTW, easily the silliest part in the film occurs at the beginning, where our previously mentioned clubgoer's head explodes, and they cut to show him flatlining. Yeah, because we obviously didn't know he died after his HEAD EXPLODED.

If it sounds like I'm doing nothing but bashing this film, don't worry. I DO have to give praise to two things here: the first being Doug Bradley. Yes, there is a bit too much Pinhead here, but he is just way too much fun to watch. Almost everything the guy says is quotable and he looks like he's having a blast as the character. The second thing is the gore/makeup. This series is always known for having some astonishingly grotesque imagery, and they do a good job with it here. The club scene, with Pinhead taking apart god knows how many people, is pretty awesome.

But overall, I really don't think I could recommend the film. I didn't find myself HATING it, but even the parts I liked didn't really save it either. It's for the best that you stick with the first Hellraiser and maybe the second one.

Tomorrow, I go all 80s and whatnot and look at THE LOST BOYS!