15 out of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Surprisingly effective
Lawrence Conquest from siberia,
23rd February, 2005
The signs dont look good for Hellraiser: Inferno - although not titled as such this straight to video release is effectively Hellraiser 5, and now the only remaining link to the original films is Doug Bradley as Pinhead. Rather suprisingly then, this actually turns out to be the best Hellraiser film since Hellraiser 2:Hellbound. Wisely the film is very continuity light, so can be enjoyed without knowing the ins and outs of the previous 4 films. The basic storyline concerns a morally dubious detective investigating a murder, and his quest to save the life of a child takes him on a trail from the Lament Configuration puzzle box to a mysterious entity known as 'The Engineer'. The first half of the film is well shot but rather slow for series regulars, as the detectives investigations only uncover material about the Cenobites that we already know. The second half is better though, as the story gradually turns from a run of the mill serial killer investigation into a character study of the detective himself: this film is less about Pinhead and co slicing through a bunch of teens, and more an examination of one man's journey into hell - a cautionary tale that cuts to the heart of the Cenobites philosophy of physical gratification at the expense of humanity. It's not perfect, but it's refreshingly un-formulaic for a low budget horror sequel, has some great cinematography, effective new Cenobites, and a distinctly David Lynch (notably Lost Highway) feel. A worthy sequel.
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