The moment Christopher Young's unholy score starts playing you know where you are: at the edge of oblivion a.k.a. watching a HELLRAISER movie. There really is nothing quite like a venture into the further reaches of the horror experience, the place where sin and cenobite meet. The chains, the hooks, the beautifully agonizing rending of flesh. The first two Hellraiser films are nothing short of modern horror masterpieces, from the hellish symphonic score of Christopher Young's, the boundless gore, to the frightful fiends led by Doug Bradley. Hellraiser is a true test of one's horror mettle.
HELLRAISER III: HELL ON EARTH came at an interesting time in cinematic history. The late 80's and early 90's were especially hard on studio horror films. The MPAA was tightening the censorship noose around horror and violent action films. The few horror films that were independently owned or distributed through bigger risk takers were able to circumvent this problem by releasing their films as unrated. The Hellraiser films began with NEW WORLD PICTURES, just such a maverick distributor who had the balls to release these films as unrated without censorship. New World Pictures sadly went out of business and Hellraiser III was picked up by a major studio.
The Good: Another Hellraiser film was made! Another film with Doug Bradley as Pinhead!
The Bad: The Studio watered it down and had to adhere to the censors.
Hellraiser III isn't a bad film, but it displays the vast difference between the first two films in the series and the films that would follow. There are some elements in Hellraiser III I really enjoy and one sequence I daresay I love. And then there's parts of it I just can't stand.
THE PLOT
After finishing a non-newsworthy story at a hospital, aspiring reporter Joey Summerskill was nearly bowled over as paramedics rushed a patient to the E.R. Chains dragging from the victim's body, hooks embedded deep in his flesh, and strange energies coruscating off his form, Joey watched as the patient was torn to pieces by these strange forces. Shocked yet in need of an explanation, Joey tracks down the only other witness to the horrific event, a young woman named Terri. In Terri's possession is a strange puzzle box. Researching the box, Joey unearths records from the Channard Institute, records of a patient named Kirsty Cotton who describes the box as a gateway to Hell. Soon Joey discovers everything Kirsty said was true as a demonic entity emerges and reigns hell down upon the Earth.
WHAT I LIKED
Unexpected Continuation. The ramifications of Hellbound are felt, ramifications that you wouldn't expect. At the end of the previous film Kirsty revived the lead cenobite's original consciousnesses, former British soldier Elliott Spencer. Pinhead and Elliott Spencer were separated, Pinhead's essence sealed away within a demonic statue. I didn't expect this event to be the springboard for the plot of Hellraiser III. I'm sure wiser viewers than I saw this coming but I didn't and as a result I was pleasantly surprised. Really this is the most interesting story they could've mined from the finality of HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II. So, bravo on giving us a story that explores the most interesting character in the franchise: Pinhead. If only Kirsty was once more at the center of the story too.
The Lead Cenobite. I've raved about Doug Bradley's performances in the previous films and he doesn't disappoint. In fact he is the standout performer in this film with a bullet. Pinhead has a Mephisto-like charm and commanding presence over the characters in this film, he's more devilishly alluring than the previous films. Something in his voice commands their attention even though they know they should run, giving them pause, offering dark temptation and wish fulfillment. It's the closest Pinhead has come to channeling a purely satanic figure and Doug Bradley is ever so brilliant.
So amazing that I have to single it out is Pinhead's entrance into the House of God. The church sequence is so incredibly blasphemous and filled with evocative imagery. It is my favorite scene in the film and it still chills me every time I see it. The exploding stained-glass windows, Pinhead performing the sacrament, quoting scripture "thou shall not bow down before any graven image," and the mimicking of the crucifixion while saying, "I am the way." So mindblowingly sacrilegious that I am shocked the sequence even exists, let alone stateside. Understand, I don't like it because it's so blasphemous, but rather because of the depth of darkness it represents. Few horror icons have gone this far and this is an example of why Pinhead is one of the best of the baddies.
Second to the church scene is Boiler Room Massacre. Sadly much of Pinhead's wholesale slaughter of the patrons in the club is off screen (and what we do see isn't too shocking). The aftermath of the club massacre however is a grisly work of art. The number of extras and bodies on display is incredible. It is as if Pinhead recreated a room in Hell. The effects work in general on this film is wonderful. The demon statue, the skinning, and pinhead's emergence from the statue are spectacular.
If there's two reasons to watch this film it's for Pinhead and the gore effects.
NITPICKS
Acting Style. There's something subtly (or not so subtly) tongue n' cheek about this film in the acting. It seems like a directorial choice on the part of Anthony Hickox because every actor in the film is doing it with the exception of Doug Bradley and Ashley Laurence. When Ashley Laurence roars defiantly at Pinhead in the original it feels real or at least convincing. When Terry Farrell does the same thing there's this grin on her face that feels like a wink at the audience. Even when the situation is at its bleakest, when Joey speaks there's this sassy attitude that grates on me. Actor Kevin Bernhardt is a pale comparison to Uncle Frank. And Paula Marshall is so awkward. Again I don't want to call it "bad acting" because everybody in the film is doing it. Instead it feels unreal and nowhere near as powerful as the first two Hellraiser films. It's possible that this was an act to appease the studio and the censors, diluting the severity and reality of it all.
There might also be an ADR issue that's responsible for some of this as Joey's friend, Doc, sounds obviously dubbed over and at times so too does Terry Farrell. Is it a coincidence that this is the first film in the series produced by a major studio? My guess is that the "melodramatic" acting was a direct result of the studio wanting to dampening the reality and seriousness of the story. It's another example of a major studio ruining and/or softening a horror franchise.
I'm not too fond of the new crop of cenobites either. I mean, seriously, Barbie, Dreamer, Camerahead, Pistonhead, and CD... other than Pinhead the only one I remotely like is Barbie, but when Barbie starts shaking the martini I lose it. Of all the Hellraiser movies these are my least favorite cenobites (some of them groan worthy and some downright ridiculous). Motorhead's song over the credit roll is the final nail in the coffin. Lemmy and Ozzy are legit, and I love metal in my horror, but it punctuates how Hellraiser III is completely commercial in comparison to the first two films.
If only NEW WORLD PICTURES had held out long enough to produce Hellraiser III. I'd give anything to see what that film would look like.
THE VERDICT
Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth is the first film in the series produced by a major studio and as a result it is a far cry from the first two films. There's a style of acting and tonal shift here that I just can't stand, especially after watching the first two movies. But even amid this tongue n' cheek approach Doug Bradley is magnificent as Pinhead. And there are multiple amazing set-pieces in the film as well, so it's not a total bomb. There are a few categories of Hellraiser films: the theatrical releases, the direct-to-video releases with Doug Bradley, and the direct-to-video releases without Doug Bradley. Hellraiser III is my least favorite of the theatrical releases.
Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 1 out of 10
For more of my thoughts on the Hellraiser films and others, check out these films below
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