☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
(Liked It)
Netflix Synopsis: When playboy club owner J.P. buys a mysterious-looking puzzle box and mistakes it for a work of art, he has no idea that Pinhead is trapped inside.
The Peeps: Anthony Hickox (director); Peter Atkins (writer); Doug Bradley, Kevin Bernhardt, Terry Farrell
Quick Run Down: Violent, B-rated, Ridiculous, Fun
Worth the Watch?: Sure, why not? I mean, it is #3...
Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth follows reporter Joey Summerskill (Terry Farrell) as she struggles to find a story that will help jumpstart her career. Finding nothing but duds, suddenly a young man badly bleeding with chains hanging off his body is brought into a hospital, and Joey's there to see him suddenly explode on the operating table. Shizer! This strange event urges Joey to search for answers, eventually leading her to JP Munroe - a wealthy, jerk club owner played by Kevin Bernhardt - and his ex-girlfriend, Terri (Paula Marshall), who was with the exploding young man at the hospital. Joey asks questions about what happened at the hospital, and Terri finally pulls out the Lament Configuration (the
Hellraiser box), saying the exploding hospital guy stole it off Munroe's painting, and then the thing came to life. Meanwhile, JP has managed to get a little blood on the sculpture, which resurrects Pinhead. He persuades Munroe to provide him with flesh and, in return, he'll give Munroe a 'right hand seat' in a Paradise of wicked pleasures. Munroe accepts, and the ground is set for Pinhead to establish Hell on Earth, With the box in her possession, Joey may be the only person that can stop him!
By this point, Barker's influence on
Hellraiser is long gone. He produced #2 and this flick, #3, but it's just to capitalize on his name. There's no sign of him for miles of celluloid. This inevitably means that tense, atmospheric psychological and imaginative horror has been traded in for B-rated and silly straight to DVD horror. It's the natural trend of franchises, and, while
Hellraiser III is often VERY silly and B-rated, if not, campy, it has some sequences that really work. The story is often a stretch (weeding in a Vietnam war bit that's extremely random but manages to prove useful) and there are a lot of 'that's bullshit' and 'yeah, right!' moments, but at least the writer, Atkins, was able to work with someone more competent behind the camera this time. But all that is beside the point. We're on flick #3, right? We're not really in it for story. So, howsa 'bout the gore and horror? There's a lot of gore, mostly mangled and ripped up bodies (esp. in a club scene full of carnage), a pretty good bit of blood, and a few minor tense moments, possibly even a good scare or two. What really stands out, though, is Pinhead. This is the first time we really get to see Pinhead (and, therefore, Doug Bradley) in action. We finally get to see just how depraved and evil he really is, and it's fun. Moreover, Doug Bradley is fun. This story gives us a chance to see Pinhead and then who Pinhead USED to be - Captain Elliot Spencer. So, it ultimately comes down to good Doug versus bad Doug! Again, it's a lot of fun and cool to watch. Bradley proves a much better actor than I would have imagined, and you can tell that he's loving the opportunity to finally chew up some scenery by his lonesome. He has some good, dark dialogue too.
The creature additions are fun, all of which are tongue-in-cheek renditions of characters within the movie - a DJ becomes a CD throwing Cenobite; a camera man transforms into a Cenabite with a camera as half of his face. Silly but entertaining. There's really nothing else worth talking about except for one awful sequence following some random bimbo JP Munroe picks up at his club. She's featured in the trailer, WHICH IS LINKED ABOVE (click on the title under the poster), and it makes you cringe just hearing her. She is a dreadful, dreadful actress, to the point that it's embarrassing every time she talks, and you can't wait for her to die. Fortunately, you get to see her mostly naked and then get skinned and eaten alive. Thank God it doesn't take too long.
So, if you're in the mood for something violent, B-rated, and silly but fun, check out
Hellrasier III: Hell On Earth. It's not great by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not a bad watch for a random horror movie night. Check it out - It's on Netflix!
"I'm here... to press the stinking face of humanity into the dark blood of its own secret heart!"
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