Hellraiser Judgment SPOILER FREE review by a long-time Hellraiser fan.
So, I've watched/read a shitload of this story. I've seen all of the movies (even the horrible ones), own the comic series, some action figures, read a lot of Clive Barker (incl. Scarlet Gospels). So I'm kind of a nerd for this film series. So this review is coming from a long time follower (not as a newcomer to the film series).
If you must know, my ranking of the series (best to worst) is:
- Hellraiser 2
- Hellraiser
- Hellraiser Bloodline (4) -- (The story of Lemarchand, creator of the Lament Config.)
- Hellraiser: Hellseeker (6) -- (Return of Kirsty)
- Hellraiser 3 -- (CD disc DJ Cenobite? Rocket-eye cameraman Cenobite? Fuck that)
- Hellraiser: Judgment (10)
- Hellraiser: Deader (7)
- Hellraiser: Hellworld (8) -- (Hellraiser: Internet Edition. WTF)
- Hellraiser: Revelations (9) -- (Found footage on shoestring budget to fluff the IP ownership.)
IT WASN'T THE BEST, BUT THEY DID SOMETHING WITH IT
I enjoyed it. I don't think Hellraiser will ever do better than "The Hellbound Heart" or Hellraiser 1 and 2. I think Clive Barker's expiration date long passed, and I think that unless someone who really loves this series takes it in a new direction, that direction will only be good if it's taken without Clive Barker. Clive Barker's sick of the character, anyway.
THE GOOD: They did something really cool with this Auditor, Assessor, Cleaner, and Surgeon setup. They introduced a new concept when it comes to the concept of Hell-style judgment that works outside of the Lament Configuration (the box). Some of the imagery was wicked cool, and the new guy playing Pinhead isn't so different from Doug Bradley that it's distracting. I think they captured the soul of the genre's feel, the creeptastic gore, and the alien horror of dealing with Hell itself and the psychotic concepts that come with it. The strengths in this movie are from the imagery, some aspects of the ending (can't spoil, but the chick at the end part), and that the filmmakers seemed to have a love for the series enough that it CLEARLY wasn't some throwaway film. There was some love put into it.
THE MEH: The acting was okay and the last couple of seconds of the film were a little contrived. I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending and it looked as if they might have run over budget and had to cut a few corners. I can see why it went direct to video (it clearly didn't have the budget and mastery of modern film making to qualify it for a theater). It definitely FEELS like a decent direct-to-video release. So even though they added in some new concepts and potentially set up the series to go in a new direction (or hopefully breathe new life into it), it feels like a one-and-done. I imagine that unless this direct to video release makes a ton of money, Hellraiser is going back on the IP ownership shelf for another 5 years.
FINAL VERDICT: I'll give it a C- If you're a horror fan who picks through the lower budget stuff on Netflix looking for a horror movie (Gems like Let Us Prey or John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns) you might like it! If you're a fan and have been hoping to see Pinhead again in something that wasn't a "fuck it let's put out a movie just to keep the license", you'll probably like it. It's low budget but uses some cool methods to cut corners on the budget. But ultimately? It's a low budget film and will probably NOT inject new life into the series, thus putting it on the "Reboot, Reboot again, Reboot AGAIN" train that Friday the 13th and Elm Street are on.
