MovieChat Forums > Hellraiser: Inferno (2000) Discussion > It IS a Hellraiser film, and a near perf...

It IS a Hellraiser film, and a near perfect one at that

posted 15 years ago by keith123300-1
9 replies | jump to latest

I've just watched this for the first time and I have to say, I really don't understand where the hate comes from.

This film epitomised Hellraiser. Spoilers below:

Joe opened the puzzle box and the Cenobites came for him, tore him apart and took him to Hell. The whole rest of the film is him in his own personal Hell and he just doesn't realise it (this makes sense, as part 2 states that every person is in their own personal Hell). Then at the end he finds out that this is happening to him and that he's doomed to repeat it over and over again. How this plot can not be considered Hellraiser is beyond me. I can only assume that people didn't understand it or didn't have the patience to watch a film that wasn't full of action. That or they are on the bandwagon that Pinhead must have as much screentime as possible.

It was a much more mature and psychological film than the last couple before it in the series and, imo, it got back to Hellraiser basics.

It pushed Pinhead back in to the background, which was the best move the series could have taken - Pinhead was never supposed to be a central character, he was always more of a referee of Hell and the reason he was so effective in the first 2 films was because he had limited screen time, making his appearances much more powerful. Having him at centre stage in 3 and 4 lessened his impact.

Hellraiser 5 isn't perfect, but it was a very nice surprise and very underrated.

[–] UthaSideR 15 years ago

I couldn't agree more. You hit it right on the head. As far as the people who say "This movie is stupid... since when did Hellraiser movies have anything to do with bad people getting tortured by Pinhead? This is suppose to be about: You opened the box, now you are going to be torn apart." -- Well... Hell is where bad people go as we all have heard and thus, Pinhead would be there to torture those evil doers in the afterlife, yes? So this movie is great in that it reminds you that there is more to Hell than just the innocents opening a box and being terrorized by demons.

Probably my 2nd favorite Hellraiser (but nothing beats the first!).

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] NecroNikolai13 15 years ago

I think a lot of people hate this one because Cenobites are supposed to be explorers of pleasure and pain through flesh. This was very much a psychological movie and there's nothing to really indicate that the cenobites care about the psyche, just the flesh.

I still love the movie, it's one of my favorites, I kind of like the idea that Pinhead has moved beyond taking people to Hell to rip them apart and everything, now he's moving onto ripping apart their mind, which is far more disturbing than having your body ripped apart.

[–] TylerTheHellbilly89 14 years ago

Totally agree! To me, this a perfect film, great atmosphere, and excellent performances too!

I'm the ultimate Rob Zombie fan

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] rwburnham 13 years ago

I think it was hard for people to like because of the limited use of Cenobites. But it's still a very entertaining horror movie and does work well within the Hellraiser mythos.

[–] Blake4014 13 years ago

Its really a matter of preference, but its certainly my fav hellraiser in the series, simply because of the atmosphere and psychological torture. The noir style gave it a great feel. Loved it so much Im still trying to find other movies like this, and Max Payne.
tips would be good thanks :P

[–] 13 years ago

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