MovieChat Forums > Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005) Discussion > The problem with hellraiser sequels

The problem with hellraiser sequels

posted 18 years ago by legacyofknow
3 replies | jump to latest

It's not that they mostly deal in violence and gore. It's not that the plots have changed very little. It's that they have forgotten the human side to the story. When you watch the audio commentery Clive says how the film is very much about people. He's right. Not much different than old greek plays there is a family full of problems and deceit and the supernatural elements serve more or less as a means to an end.

The relationship between Frank and his brother's wife is little more than a love triangle that lacks love. It is a triangle of lust and absolute sexual desire. That sort of thing happens in real life, minus the cenobites.

So if these films bring back the element of people interacting with people and all this hell just surrounding them, then perhaps they will get better.

[–] smkbluns 18 years ago

Well first off i'd say hellraiser went to sh!t after three...
in this one for example, there is no hell, no plot... no hooks and chains... it was as if [which usually is the case] the people who made this have no interest or respect for the franchise [horror movie sequels are rarely ever made by the same people who did the one before... especially when the movies are being sent directly to video, check it out HR7 AND HR8 were released in the same year... think about it] so they think "gee how can i turn this into a good movie..." when the fans allready want more of the same, not what somebody THINKS is an improvement on the based material... like "lets take out all the nasty images and give it a easy to swallow plot... as opposed to a grotesque disturbing movie the general audience finds over the top and we'll even give it a "twist" ending..." not to mention the lack of gore allowed in movies nowadays compared to when hellraiser 1 and 2 were released. Those who were around when the origional three came out are convinced the franchise is dead... i mean when they cut back on the gore usually its so they can achieve an R rating as to cater to the theators that people will be arriving at to watch the movie, simply, mainstream theators will not play anything over an R rating... and an R is getting harder to achieve each decade... if your going strait to video with it [with a 20 year franchised name like hellraiser, where most video distrubitors wont even look at the rating and have an idea whats going to be on the disk/tape] why not disturb people with it again... ah anyway it was pathetic, an i thought they learned 10 years ago NOT to make a franchise horror movie where in the end it turns out the 'bad guy' never existed... friday they 13th part 5... new nightmare... NEVER WORKED. its obvious this was NOT made for hellraiser's fanbase but more for a new audience... yet always another bad move... ah aiight i'ma shup, peace

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] smkbluns 18 years ago

i meant the same tone and source material... people think [from music artists to movie makers] that they gotta do it different and not stay in the same place.... i like to see veriation on the ORIGIONAL SOURCE MATERIAL...the same TONE... not do something completely original w/ it as to where it might as well have a different antoganist and name on the box... hellraiser 1 was obviously "good" enough for them to encourage a sequel with a higher budger...same w/ H2 for H3 to be made [which i personally liked but believe they deviated from the source... making pinhead into more of a lead charactor and a ... psycho who liked to mentally *beep* w/ you [jesus pose] and the butchering in the club [freddy/jason... killing for the sake of showing killing... or for the sake of replacing the cenobites... its been like 10 years since i seen THREE] ... notice after H4 it was all strait to dvd from there... the origional material was more origional... the cenobites perfect and [once again] origional... like the plot... etc... it seemed somebody w/ less of a mind for this kind of thing tried to recreate it... in a blander fashion... after the origional cenobites every proceding one was... lame... bland... and put there for the sake of formula - add the visual formula [as in charactors... gothic demons looking like reanimated corpses of the tortured.... give em hooks, make pinhead speechy... like 'give freddy glove and hat, make him jokey...]and recreate the plot and material as to be appealing to the ticket buyers...[and alot of times franchise films will over time become watered down to appeal to a broader audience, therefor destroying the origionality of the piece and making something nobody can relate to - not that me or anybody should be relating to hellraiser, but you get my point]
its not the same hell, not the same pinhead [motives, speach, actions, etc]...
i dont mean a carbon copy of previous films as i dont feel H1-H3 are clones... i feel H4+ were..lame when compared to the origionals... and even though 'hellbound' wasnt h1, it was still entertaining in the same aspect as the first... H3 [which as i said before i probabily should and actually want to watch again] was probabily for me simply a guilty pleasure... idk i'm rambling and editing... guess my point is [and i dont even remember what i wrote last time] is that what people liked from the first few is completely non existant in the sequels... peace