#hellraiser deader

[awesomephd]

Watching Through My Collection: Day 39/67

Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

Day 38 / Day 40

Say what you will about so many of the Hellraiser sequels originating as unrelated scripts, it definitely makes me feel less bad for watching them out of order.

This one was pretty egregious still for what a tiny role the cenobites played and how it decided to resolve their involvement in the final act.

CW: Hellraiser-typical gore, body horror, and sexual themes. Child abuse and CSA

Maybe I've just got a soft spot for the grimy 2000's city thriller aesthetic, but I actually did like the non-cenobite focused scenes in crowded slums and subways. The dedicated train car of iniquity full of drugs and naked people was especially fun because it also had the best character in the ensemble.

It's a supernatural psychological thriller that could've been pretty decent if they hadn't decided to shove in everything to do with the puzzle box and cenobites.

The cenobites have no power with the cult for... reasons. Reasons that make the only one who can stop the cult the protagonist, Amy, but stopping the cult still only amounted to throwing down the configuration and letting Pinhead swing in to obliterate everyone in the room. The other cenobites you do see either barely move or are just simply boring to look at, and then their final confrontation with Amy after Pinhead takes out the cult resolves in her killing herself (because that definitely stops the cenobites from taking your soul) and then the place exploding.

There's also a random subplot/aspect where- because a cult ritual made her incapable of dying- Amy gets stabbed in the back and goes through the rest of the movie with a gash in her abdomen. The whole sequence of her discovering the blood first as it pours off her back, flailing to pull the knife out, and patching herself up with a rolled up towel held in place by duct tape is played so straight yet with no pain that makes it almost comedic.

Ultimately, not the absolute worst Hellraiser movie I've seen so far, but will probably not make it onto any marathon lists. If you like the Wishmaster series, this might even be enjoyable to you.

[james-stark-the-writer]

this is like. the platonic ideal of a direct-to-video movie from the perspective of the viewers and the executives. it's passively fun and has very little remarkable about it. it's thankfully WAYYYYYY better than Hellseeker bc this is like actually a decent time and it's somewhat interestingly and competently made but largely it will leave your head as soon as the movie is over. but that's okay, there's room for all kinds of movies. don't know how much there is room for movies that come out with the message "suicide is self-preservation" but. i'm sure there's a niche somewhere.

My ★★★ review of Hellraiser: Deader on Letterboxd

A ★★★ review of Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

[Bucharest is] where all the eurotrash kids looking for a good time are heading these days. Amsterdam is so 90s. this is like. the platonic

[narastories]

In my humble opinion, Deader is genuinely more terrifying than a lot of the other Hellraiser movies. Unfortunately, that doesn't make it good.

[amplesalty]

Halloween 2023 - Day 6 - Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

Still not from the arsehole of Clive Barker...

I'll admit this hasn't been the best year, feels like it's been a few years since I let it slip this badly but we're going out with a bang tomorrow with Halloween Ends and before we get there we need to look at one of our yearly staples; Hellraiser. Yes, after mentioning his potential cameo in Freddy vs Jason, it's time that we visit the world of Pinhead. After taking a detour last year to partake in all the Wokeraiser hot takes, we're back to our regular schedule of linear releases which brings us to part seven which is very much in the territory of crowbarring Pinhead into someone elses unrelated script. Apparently one of the potential names for this one was Jihad which I just dread to imagine what sort of weird exploitation movie that would be. The 9/11 terrorists are promised pleasure indivisible in the afterlife after carrying out their task but get a whole lot more than they bargained for…

What we do get is the story of Amy Klein, played by Kari Wuhrer, as she investigates a cult like entity in Romania before eventually running into the Cenobites. Wuhrer of course will be notable to many for her work in cult sci-fi TV series Sliders. Or perhaps Beastmaster 2, Anaconda, Eight Legged Freaks or some of the later Prophecy sequels. But, to me, she'll always be Agent Tanya in the delightfully cheesy cut scenes of RTS juggernaut Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2. As much as she helped bring life to that character, I think the script and general tone of the thing can claim just as much credit. Nothing like a widescale invasion of the United States and nuking of Chicago to serve as the backdrop for some b-movie level chicanery. They certainly cast for it too with the likes of Wuhrer, Udo Kier and Ray Wise.

I digress because there's really not too much I can say about this one. We've touched upon the fact that the Cenobites are pretty much strangers in their own films at the best of times but these later ones really do become exorcises in drive by Pinheads. Like, it takes 30 minutes for him to show up for the first time and even that is for all of about five seconds. By my count he shows up in about 3 scenes across the whole movie, and whilst not long or anything, this is still a pretty standard 90 minute movie.

Wuhrer plays a reporter who after finishing off her expose on the seedy world of drug use, including what has to be a rather uncessary guide on how to become a crack whore (seems pretty self explanitory to me), her editor sends her to Romania to investigate a man who can seemingly bring people back from the dead.

All of which is hastily tied back into the Hellraiser mythology through exposition towards the end of the movie when it's said the leader of the cult is a descendent of the toymaker from back in part 4. He intends to become ruler of the Cenobites but is unable to open the box himself so is using his followers to do it. But Pinhead promptly shows up five minutes from the end like 'bitch please' and straight up murders everyone. Maybe if you like the sort of oblique storytelling found in Hellseeker this might be for you but I couldn't get on with it. There's some vague intruige in following Klein as she tries to piece everything together but ultimately this cult doesn't really amount to anything feels disconnected from the Hellraiser story despite the movies best efforts to try and tie everything together. Say what you will about these find and replace Hellraiser scripts but I think something like Inferno shows they can work when it still feels in universe. There it was very much an outsider looking in from the outside on all the weird shit that was going on and their reactions to that. This felt more like someones attempt at creative writing that they slapped Pinhead onto in an effort to get more eyes on it by putting 'and then the Cenobites showed up' at the end.

At least it has British actor Marc Warren in for local flavour, he of Hustle fame from the late 00's. Apparently he was in Homer Simpson's favourite movie about piano genius', Shine, as well as 2006's Colour Me Kubrick which is somewhat infamous for a scene in which Jim Davidson flounces down a staircase whilst singing Lionel Richie's 'Hello' to John Malkovich. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is a scene far more bizarre than anything the twisted world of Hellraiser could ever conjure up.

[snuggle-fangs]

🎧🍭Joey Hellifield 90s Trance/Aesthetic Moodboard🎧🍭

Joey totally gives off the 90s Trance Music vibes. Totally listens to Scooter and The Prodigy. And the lollipops? Yeah I can see he has a sweet tooth for them!

🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭

His last name Hellifield isn't canon to Hellraiser Deader, I just gave him his last name cuz well the man needs a last name!

🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭🎧🍭

[snuggle-fangs]

Joey from Hellraiser: Deader🔥

Played by the wonderful Marc Warren💜

Also bonus: God I love his hairstyle in this. It's so unique and cute!😍

[vampirecorleone]

"This world, it obviously disappoints you all. That is why you chose to begin this journey. And since you gave yourselves so willingly, allow me to finish what he started."

Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

[phoenix]

Hellraiser: Deader (2005) — Triskaidekafiles

HELLRAISER: DEADER WRITERS: Neal Marshall Stevens and Tim Day DIRECTOR: Rick Bota STARRING: Kari Wuhrer as Amy Klein Paul Rhys as Winter Simon Kunz as Charles Marc Warren as Joey Georgina Rylance as Marla Doug Bradley as Pinhead QUICK CUT: A reporter receives a mysterious box and opens it up to

My new review is up, and it’s time to tackle the seventh Hellraiser movie, Hellraiser: Deader.

*sighs*

It’s a whole lotta nothing, but it’s not completely devoid of plot.  Click on in and read away.