Rating: Summary: Better than Hell On Earth, but not as good as the first two. Review: This movie was better than Hellraiser III, which did have some good parts, but was definitely lacking something. The biggest problem I have is that the makeup effects for the last two movies, while elaborate, don't look quite as realistic as those for the first two. Sure, some of the stuff in the first two looked a little rubbery, but the coloring wasn't unrealistically bright, and the Cenobites were supposed to look like they were powdered, not plastic and shiny, like their skin was naturally that white.The story on this one did NOT come from nowhere. There was a comic series that was released a several years ago called Clive Barker's Book of the Damned (I, II, III, and I think there was a IV), and I believe Clive Barker had some input in some form as to the content. They actually told the backstory for the series, including the origin of the box in III. While the story was twisted a bit in Bloodline, it is still very recognizable. I've heard this movie was originally a lot different, and would like to see an earlier cut, but all of them except the first were changed significantly in post-production.. just listen to the commentary on the Hellbound DVD, at least the one from the boxed set. Some interesting ideas there, too.. :) While I don't expect Hellraiser: Inferno to be as good as the first two, I hope it's at least no worse than this one.. Parting comment.. a friend pointed something interesting out to me. This is Hellraiser IV. I.V... which you might call a "bloodline"..
Rating: Summary: Hellraiser: Bloodline: Great Movie Review: Howdy folks! I need to set something straight about the fourth installment of the Hellraiser series. This movie blows away Hellraiser II by far. Hellraiser III was better than the second one. Its plot as well as Doug Bradley's spectacular acting ability tend to keep the viewer awake. The problem with Hellraiser three is that several portions of the film watch almost like a cheesy eighties metal video. Many of the cenobites were also dissapointing. Hellraiser: Bloodline was supposed to close this book for good. Finally, Director Kevin Yagher takes the reins of this mighty series and steers Barker's conception back onto the path. Unfortunately, the studio decided to get involved and snatched the project from the director's hands, hence why Alan Smithee appears as the director's name. As a result, Kevin Yagher found the results of the film unsatisfactory. Unlike directors previously assigned to project: Hellraiser, Yagher ignores the storyline involving the Kirsty Cotton character. Instead, he offers us the enticing origin of the LeMerchant Configuration mentioned in Clive Barker's novella The Hellbound Heart. In old France, a highly respected toymaker undertakes his most painstaking project. As a result, LeMerchant constructs the magnificent puzzle box specifically for a wealthy client who practices the art of black magic. By chanting Satanic spells over the box, this warped magician transforms a simple box into a gateway to an eternal dimension in which lies intense pleasure and excruciating pain! Through the centuries the LeMerchant clan is plagued by nightmares of demons and mysterious occurrences. The movie is very well written and has an equally suspenseful plot. Many people are confused by the storyline because they refuse to let go of the plots of Hellraiser I, II, and III. So before you sit down to watch this flick, you the viewer must disregard everything you thought you knew from the first three pieces to Clive Barker's sadistically entertaining masterpiece! Enjoy!
Rating: Summary: don't even bother. Review: nowadays it seems as if every horror series has installments that just don't make par with the rest of the series. maybe it's just that some series are better off left as a trilogy and nothing more. hellraiser 3 may not have been a 'perfect fit' with the first two, but it was entertaining enough and a decent enough of a movie to have been an appropriate conclusion to what would've been a great horror trilogy. but then they had to go back and try to take the franchise a step further, now that might not sound like a bad idea to begin with but they made a huge mistake...they tried to do it without clive barker. now clive began the whole thing when he wrote 'the hellbound heart' and then wrote/directed the first movie. he was involved with parts 2 & 3 also but they didn't want him back for the 4th installment. he should've been involved in at least some capacity but no...they said no. the producers came up with the ridiculous idea of having pinhead in space. now i don't know who in their right mind came up with that idea but to me space just don't seem like the right setting for pinhead. since everyone knew from past installments how the cenobites came to be the producers decided they'd try to explain the origin of the puzzle box made centuries ago. now the concept might've worked but the script was just the worst thing ever written. i mean it began in space where pinhead got loose and then decided to go back centuries ago to explain about the toymaker who created the box and how the same family has been haunted for generations by the same demon known as pinhead. the script was so awful that director kevin yagher was so ashamed of it that he was forced to use the alan smithee label just so people wouldn't know it was his movie. i mean by the time they made hellraiser 4 it was just pointless. he had already been sent back at the end of part 3 and therefore there was really no more story to be told. it was meant to be a trilogy. i mean everyone knew about the box, pinhead, and the cenobites from the first 3 movies and especially without original creator clive barker every ounce of the genious from the first two films was gone. part 3 didn't even really live up to the first two but at least it was more than passable but bloodline can't even see passable. all that bloodline is is a slasher basically. in the first hellraiser, it was known as true horror but now they've condescended pinhead down to the likes of jason and michael myers and that's not what the series was about. i sit here trying to think of something positive to say about this movie but nothing comes to mind. even doug bradley's performance as pinhead wasn't quite as good as it was in the first two, even though he's the only one who can play the role. in the end, hellraiser 4: bloodline isn't even worth the price of rental let alone purchase. just stick to the first three and don't even waste time on this failed experiment of a movie.
Rating: Summary: A huge dissapointment! Review: Pinhead in spave you say? No...not really. Only 20 minutes of the film is located in space. The rest is a prequel to the Hellraiser series, how the box was made, and how it recieved it's power. So I have to say, I miss Pinhead. John Merchant, whose Bloodline has stood in the way for Hell to be released, is the so called victim in the film. And now Pinhead and his friends are going for revenge. Right now, another sequel is awaiting...but judging by the rumours, it doesn't sound good. It will only include Pinhead for 5-10 minutes. Maybe it would a kinda of film like "Hellraiser - Bloodline". If so, it won't be able to compare with the first 3 installments. If you're a fan of the Hellraiser films, it's great to have this one as a collectionfiller, but if you aren't familiar with the series. Watch the first 3 instead!
Rating: Summary: The Worst In The Series Review: Not that I was expecting something good. I saw some of the previews for this film and already knew what was coming. But this one is atrocious. More of a schlock Hollywood sci-fi film than a Hellraiser movie. I forgot about the whole movie right after I saw it.
Rating: Summary: O.K but not a true Hellraiser film! Review: In every way I tried to look at this film to give it a higher rating, but there is just something wrong. This movie doesn't have the feel or atmosphere of a Hellraiser film and it's pretty boring. Don't get me wrong, it does have it's highlights but they are rare. The end space sequence left with saying: " What the.." because it was to short and it moved along to fast. Is this a true way to end the Hellraiser series? They better come out with another one so this one is not the final. I would rent it or watch it on t.v.
Rating: Summary: Not the best in the series, but still good... Review: ....What is up with Space? Why have so many Horror movie characters ended up in space? Let's review. This one has Pinhead in Space, in the future no less, and there is a #5 coming this year...Leprechaun 4 put the little green guy in space. Critters 4 did the same, Jason 10 puts The Camp Blood Killer in orbit...I mean, come on. This, however, was a good movie, like i said in the title, not the best in the series, but certainly not the worst. This one follows the story of the creator of the little wooden box. From its creation in france many years ago...all the way to the future in space. Pinhead has killed each decendant, and will continue to do so.....part 5 doesn't seem to follow this one...but we will see
Rating: Summary: Hellraiser fans - avoid it. Review: First of all I'd like to say that I am a huge fan of Pinhead and I love the Hellraiser mythos. But this film is really poor. The first three films of the series are probably one of the best splatter horror trilogies, and this sequel should never be made. The plot is silly, the actors (except Doug - Pinhead - Bradley) out of place, the make-up of the other cenobites (the twins, the female, the dog) ridiculous. All in all, this movie is to the Hellraiser series exactly what Batman & Robin (1997) is to the Batman series. A poor homage rather than a real sequel. I just hope that Hellraiser V : Inferno will have the dark magic of the first two films, or the excitement of the third. The single star I gave is for the music score which is pretty good (the Hellraiser films had always a good score). The fact that this film was 'directed' by the 'infamous' Mr. Alan Smithee says it all...
Rating: Summary: Promising concept that never lives up to its potential Review: More like 1.5 stars. I've been a big fan of the Hellraiser series for awhile now. It's unfortunate that "Hellraiser: Bloodline" is the worst of the series. The story of "Bloodline" centers on the creation of the infamous puzzle box bearing the Lament Configuration. We are introduced to Phillip Lemarchand, the 18th century French toy maker responsible for the box's creation, and two of his descendants, one a 20th century architect named John Merchant and the other a 22nd century astrophysicist and space station designer named Paul Merchant. All the members of the Lemarchand bloodline try to destroy the Lament Configuration puzzle box with something known as the Elysium Configuration. The problem I had with this film was its inability to fully develop any of the three stories contained within. If the film makers had centered on a specific time frame and developed the story from there, this film would have been much better. It's still watchable, though not really worth watching. It's really disappointing because when I heard the concept of this film a few years back I thought it had great potential. When one views this film, it becomes apparent why director Kevin Yagher took his name off the picture. Sadder still, screenwriter Peter Atkins says "I received sole writing credit but, in retrospect, should probably have followed Kevin's example and taken refuge behind an invented name."
Rating: Summary: Great movie Review: I loved this movie. It had a great cast, memorable phrases, tons of blood and gore. All in all, perfect movie to watch late at night with the lights turned off... as long as you have a strong stomach.
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