Customer Reviews

Hellraiser: Bloodline [VHS]

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

For all that I like the Hellraiser series it has never set the bar in horror films. There is a lot of imagination behind tham, but more often than not acting or effects have acted as limitations. 'Bloodline' is a bit different though, and while still laboring a bit under a casting shortage (the evil count is one of the worst characterizations I've ever seen) the story is genuinely interesting, there's just enough gruesome and gothic, and the script is sometimes quite intelligent.

The plot focuses on the l'Merchant family (the makers of the original box/doorway to hell). The story starts on what seems to be a derelict space station, where the latest Merchant (played by Bruce Ramsey) is doing something mysterious with the proverbial little puzzle box. He is interrupted by an team come to investigate the apparent hijacking of the station. His efforts to explain the history of the box and the reason for his actions take us first to 18th Century Paris where the box is first made and Angelique (demon #1) invoked. Then we head for 1996 where a young architect nearly makes a monumental box and Pinhead (demon #2) makes his entry.

Finally, we return to the station in 2127, where the latest Merchant is trying to destroy both the box, and the demons it summons. While the Paris episode is mostly just plain bloody, the remaining stories have real plots, and Pinhead (played by Doug Bradley) does a bang up job of being both horrible and intelligent. Thus you get all your basic urges satisfied, learn some of the background story behind all the films, and get a bit of demonic philosophy as well.

I'm tempted to say that this could very easily be the best of the Hellraisers. This is due primarily to Bradley's job as Pinhead. Grotesque, but with an austere nobility, he fascinates and repels at the same time. He delights in his soulless state ("Do I look like someone who cares about what God thinks?"), wielding pain the same way Angelique tries to seduce, but with considerably more effect. Just for a moment you may find yourself tempted by the emptiness he represents.

You know there's trouble a-brewin' not when Pinhead's on the box, but when you see "Directed by Alan Smithee". This is basically a pseudonym that directors use when they don't want their real name associated with a film due to some creative disagreement, producer changes that offended the director, or if the film is just [not good].

In this case director Kevin Yagher (a respected makeup effects artist) disowned the film after Dimension made cuts to it. Hellraiser creator and original Hellraiser director Clive Barker has pretty much been written out of the series by now. You only see Clive Barker Presents (since they're his characters) but
that's it. Apparently Barker is too expensive and he has his own ideas of where the Hellraiser mythos should be going.

That said, Hellraiser: Bloodline is a weaker effort than the previous three appearances of The Box. (I actually liked Part III a lot).

This is an ambitious story, as far as horror series go, and certainly as far as Part IVs go in any series. While the first three eventually led to more insight into Pinhead and his origin, including the separation of his human and demon side in Part III, Bloodline tries to trace the history of the famous box. The Lament Configuration, as its known, was designed by a toymaker named Merchant in 18th century France. It was commissioned by a particularly crazy Duke (or Duc) who somehow is able to raise hell with the thing. (It's never made clear why the box has these powers, or, for that matter, what the heck is going on with his Latin incantations and skinning at the beginning).

The film opens in the year 2127 on a giant spaceship (yes, folks, Pinhead in space). The ship is, in fact, a giant trap designed by Merchant's last descendant in an effort to finally summon Pinhead and destroy him. Then the film flashes back to the 18th century, then forward to 1996 Paris, then to 1996 New York where the Merchant of 2127's father is an architect. Throughout we see a stunning Frenchwoman named Angelique who becomes some kind of demon (I think), though this, like many things in Bloodline, is never made clear.

If you're a Hellraiser fan, you'll enjoy more Hellraising action. However, you'll be disappointed by the fact that much of the plot makes very little sense. Who is Angelique? Is she a Cenobite? Can you really kill Pinhead? How many boxes are there?

As for the gore, well, we do get some quality bits. However, this is easily the weakest film as far as Cenobites go. Pinhead takes 2 twin brothers and does something involving drills and twisting their faces together and a lot of blood and screaming and they're joined at the head. Then there's a Cenobite dog, or
whatever that thing is, which is resigned to only brief shots of it's front or teeth or in shadows since, frankly, the thing looks downright low-budget. And I think that's Angelique in space at the end with her skull exposed under pinned scalp-flesh, which actually looks great, but she's given precious little time in that bloody form.

There's a lot owed to the Alien films here, including a group of Marines who exist for the sole reason to get whacked out by Pinhead. And speaking of Pinhead, I'm not crazy about him either in this installment. For one, we almost get too much of him(!) We see him brightly lit and walking around and spouting some almost overwhelming Pinhead-isms about human acquiesence, blah blah blah and stroking a pigeon(!). In the earlier films he was resigned to dark, shadowy sets and was, of course, a creepier character. But, give a movie maniac too many sequels and soon enough he'll be the hero, cracking jokes and making far too many appearances (see: Freddy Krueger).

However, the film is photographed well, and the makeup in general is very good. (I give credit for at least trying something new with the dog).

All in all, this isn't terrible. I'm a huge fan of the series, so I welcome new additions. I just wish that with the scope of the story and the playing around with the mythos so much that they would have done a better job. I wish we could get a director's cut--the film runs a scant 86 minutes(!) Wonder how much was cut, given that this movie spans a few centuries.

What else do we get on this DVD? Nothing. Not even a trailer. The picture and sound are both good. Nothing incredible, but certainly fine. Wish they could get a decent transfer of Part III out.

Recommended for Hellraiser fans simply because it's Hellraiser, and Pinhead, and the Box. But as for others, this is definitely NOT a good starting point for the series and is not indicative of the gothic horror of the original story and 2 films.

When I first watched this movie, I felt the director was quite justified in choosing the Alan Smithee moniker for himself. After a second viewing, I find myself much more favorably inclined toward this fourth film in the Hellraiser series. It's still somewhat disappointing, but it is not unwatchable; if nothing else, Pinhead gets more great lines than ever before. Long before Jason journeyed into space, Pinhead was there. Bloodlines opens in the year 2127; Dr. Merchant, descendant of the man who created the diabolical puzzle box, has hijacked the space station he designed and has just summoned Pinhead and his diabolical minions into his trap when the station is boarded by the military and the doctor taken prisoner. With demons roaming free on the station and time running out for Merchant to complete his plans, he tells the story of his family to a young female soldier named Rimmer in an effort to convince her to let him finish his work.

We are transported back to what I assume to be 18th century France, where a toy maker named L'Merchant has been commissioned to design a puzzle box for famed magician/occultist M. de L'isle. The toy maker watches from outside as de L'isle and an assistant kill and skin a young woman and use her, in conjunction with the powerful box, to summon a demon. Realizing that he is responsible for creating a means of opening the gates of hell, L'Merchant sets about designing a machine to destroy demons such as the beguilingly beautiful enchantress Angelique. He does not live long enough to succeed, but the curse and the memories of what he has done are imbedded in his bloodline. The story then jumps to 1996, where architect John Merchant has designed a huge room intriguingly similar to the puzzle box. Angelique soon arrives and summons Pinhead. The Merchant bloodline is doubly important to the Cenobites-while it holds the danger of building a machine to defeat the demons, it also holds the secret for opening a permanent doorway to hell. Now things start to get interesting, as Pinhead soon tires of Angelique's reliance on temptation; to him human acquiescence is much more easily obtained by terror. The culmination of this part of the history is quite satisfying; declaring that "I am pain," Pinhead goes about proving the deep truth of his assertion. Finally, we return back to the future space station and watch the ultimate culmination of events set in motion hundreds of years earlier, the final showdown between the L'Merchant bloodline and the demons the family unwittingly invoked.

Although the story has multiple weak spots, some delectable gore somewhat offsets it. One of the two decapitations here is particularly impressive, as is the blood that flows freely in the home of the mad M. de L'isle. The demon princess Angelique is a captivating counterpart to the familiar Pinhead, although I agree with Pinhead that terror is much more effective (not to mention entertaining) than temptation. Bruce Ramsey plays three members of the Merchant family, but I think the roles would have been better played by three actors. Doug Bradley is, of course, wonderful as Pinhead, and I was quite glad to see him get so many lines this time around. His musings on suffering and pain are music to my horror-attuned ears, none more so than his impassioned reaction to the pitiful pleas for divine mercy of ridiculously cast and incredibly annoying identical twin security guards: "Do I look like someone who cares what God thinks?" One almost feels compelled to applaud when Pinhead states the obvious fact that "I am so exquisitely empty."

This movie is much less carnally gripping than the first two Hellraiser films, but do not dismiss it out of hand. I actually find it more enjoyable than Hellraiser 3. What initially seemed to me to be quite awful has now become a film I appreciate and take delight in. Just don't take this movie too seriously; after all, it is just a game, and it is most definitely time to play.

What I don't understand is why horror fans have complained about this sequal when the ones that were released after this were even worse I mean this film is a masterpiece compared to those crappy straight to video sequals Inferno and Hellworld. The film is about the horrifying struggles of a family bloodline who created the puzzle box (thats how I got my nickname hehe) that opens the doors of hell and let the diabolical Pinhead free to wreak havok on earth and then in the 22nd century a scientist in a space station is trying to solve the puzzle and finaly wants to defeat Pinhead and the other cenobites and break the curse that his family has been suffering through. The film shows us the history and background behind the puzzle box that was created by the La Marchant family line beginning in France in the 18th century, the film also introduces a new villian the demonic Angelique which was very nice and interesting it also had a nice amount of gore including a very nasty looking decapatation and the twin cenobites that get there heads screwed on together which was also hilarious so overall the film was not that bad even though it did have some very cheesy and corny moments and some special fx looked bad and outdated I still enjoyed this film alot and I highly recommend this to hellraiser fans.

I enjoyed this film immensely. Sometimes the reviews by so called fans of a franchise just make me wonder if I saw the same film.
Anyways, the wrap around sequence occurs in a space outpost, where a descendent of the creator of the Puzzle box ( the "Gateway") is determined to implement a solution to the gateway box, which was also designed by the creator of the box.
However, the solution cannot be implemented since the technology does not allow it. It is only when computers come about, that the advent of the solution occurs.
I am at a loss to understand why people have called this film plotless, since the film has probably the second most complicated film plot in the series next to the second film HELLBOUND.
This film opens up enough mythos to have a large pool of resources for future stories in many forms. In fact, Clive Barker has said that the franchise is largely in the hands of other people, since it basically has assumed a life of its own. Clive Barker was not unavailable due to costs, but ( as I understand it) for creative reasons.
The story, I would suggest, maintains a high standard, and maybe it could be improved on some points, but since I find the film very enjoyable, it seems the wrong attitude.
The "Evil" which is now separate from the original spirit ( as depicted in the third film) ranges through time, and provides a view of hell as it was, and hell as it is. For example, it is shown that Hell was much less ordered in the time of "Angelique"... the demon created in the original time frame of the "birth" of the box. And it is fascinating that the young disciple who assumes command of "Angelique" lives for many centuries up unto the time of the Architect. And the Architect creates what Pinhead calls an Apocalypse waiting to happen. And in the final space sequence, we see Pinheads "essence" exposed in a "death" statement... where Pinhead says " I am so exquisitely empty".
The structure and demonology of this film is first rate.
Enjoy.

First of all, I do not agreee with those fools who tell you to forget the plots of Hellraiser 1, 2 and 3. Hellraiser movies were never meant for rocket scientists and it is not hard to follow this plot from the others. Bloodline delves into the history of the LeMerchant Configuration. There are three different stories that all come together in the end. Much gore and much Pinhead is present in Bloodline and that's why it is the best of all the Hellraisers. Also, Valentina Vargas, who plays Angelique, is damn good looking. If she tried to terrorize me, I'd let her! Pinhead(Doug Bradley) has great lines as usual and the new cenobites are great. Also, there is a great decapitation seen that I could watch for hours on end. So like I said, even though this does not deal with Kirsty Cotton or any of her family, you must keep in mind where the LaMerchant configuration has been to know where it is going. Buy it to complete your Hellraiser collection, buy it for hours of gutbusting fun!

Of course, this could have been a much better movie. They had the ideas to make another master-piece for the final installment of the Hellraiser Series. But they failed, because the visions of director Kevin Yagher, producers and the new director Joe Chappelle haven't been the same. What the final cut of the movie is: Sometimes pure genius, sometimes laughable or the story is not enough developed, it often seems to me that some scenes are too short for what they have to tell. Most of the effects are great, make-up is wonderful (Mr. Bradley looks better than ever as Pinhead), and everything is beautifully shot. I'm shure this is enough to recommend this film for everyone who likes original movies.

When I first found out this movie had a space theme to it I cringed and refused to watch the movie. Jason X anyone? Leprechaun 4? Not to mention I hated Hellraiser 3 and vowed I would not torture myself by watching anymore of the series. I finally gave in and watched and turns out this movie is much better then anticipated. Only part of Bloodline takes part in space. The majority of the movie actually gives us the origin of the box. Dr. Paul Merchant is trying to destroy the box before it can cause more damage and continue to curse his bloodline. Some military board the ship to take Merchant into custody. Merchant starts to tell the story of how the box came to be and why he must destroy the box. Turns out this box has been a curse to his family and if the hands of time could be turned back the dreadful box would never had been created. Merchants ancestor Phillipe Merchant designed the box for a decadent of French nobleman who wished to use the box for evil. After the Frenchman does some kind of ceremony, a demon named Angelique appears and starts to kill people. This box becomes the curse of the Merchant bloodline and suffer each descendant of the clan will suffer the consequences.

As the movie progresses we meet John Merchant who is the next to be cursed by the box. Angelique shows up, but so does pinhead. When Angelique tries to showdown with Pinhead she looses and is turned into a cenobite. By the time the movies ends many of the soldiers that boarded the ship are murdered by a dog like cenobite and fused pair of security guards (this effect is amazing!!!) before the final showdown, but I won't give away what happens. Part of the appeal for me with the Hellraiser series is Pinhead and you don't get to see much of him in this film. Hellraiser and Hellraiser 2: Hellbound will always be the best in the series. The most you can hope for watching further installments of the Hellraiser series are peeks of Pinhead, some newer cenobites and the gore.

This movie is better than Hellraiser 3, but not better then Hellraiser or Hellbound. In my opinion Bloodline is a worth a rental, but should not be considered a title you add to your home collection.

The Hellraiser franchise holds a special place in my heart. I will never forget the first time I saw the opening chapter in the series of films inspired by Clive Barker's nightmarish visions. Watching the original "Hellraiser" now is a mixed bag-some of those special effects look a bit hokey, but others still come across as chillingly effective. Who can forget the glistening visage of Uncle Frank? The lascivious Julia? Or the first appearance of the ominous and verbose Pinhead? The second installment improved on the first, as the film whisked the viewer away to the abode of Pinhead and the Cenobites. A gruesome, perverse picture, "Hellbound: Hellraiser 2" raised the expectations about future entries to a fever pitch. Up next came "Hellraiser 3," a personal favorite of mine even though legions of fans have subsequently disowned it. The series moved into the latter stages of its career from this point forward, taking bold steps in an attempt to expand far beyond what viewers had come to expect. The series continues today with at least two further sequels in the works. Will they find an audience or will the new arrivals fall flat on their faces? Fans will probably grumble even as they queue up to watch.

"Hellraiser: Bloodline" took the risky step of moving the storyline into space, a cringe inducing idea at first until you actually watch the movie. Who can forget the nightmare that was "Leprechaun 4"? Fortunately, only certain segments take place on a spaceship. The majority of the film heads back to the past to explain the origins of the Lament Configuration, that dreaded box which hundreds of seekers have opened only to find the Cenobites waiting for them. Dr. Paul Merchant (Bruce Ramsey) locked himself away on the spaceship because he wants to destroy this infernal device once and for all. A group of marines arrives on the ship to take the "mad" doctor into custody. During his detainment he tells a dark story about his family's history, about how his ancestor Phillipe Merchant designed the box in the eighteenth century for a decadent French nobleman who wished to plumb the dark depths. The box does its job, horribly so, conjuring up a demon named Angelique (Valentina Vargas) who promptly carves up people left and right. Unfortunately for Merchant, the box somehow curses his bloodline. Every one of his descendants will suffer because of the Lament Configuration.

The movie moves to the modern day-our modern day, not the year 2127 on the spaceship-to focus on John Merchant (again, Bruce Ramsey; he plays all three Merchants), an architect fascinated with the drawings passed down through the family from Phillipe Merchant. Again, Angelique turns up. But this time so does good old Pinhead, and he's bringing along some reinforcements. A huge battle ensues over the Lament Configuration, with the underworld's minions seemingly banished for good. We, having seen the events on that spaceship, laugh at such optimistic thinking. The finale to "Hellraiser: Bloodline" moves us back to the ship for a final showdown between Merchant, the marines, and the Cenobites. More gooey gore shows up to turn the stomach before the film slides quietly into the credits. Even if you end up hating this movie, you have to admit that the gore quotient reaches nauseating new heights.

"Hellraiser: Bloodline" is an uneven film anyway you slice it. Director Kevin Yagher withdrew from the production after his studio heavily interfered in the project. Thus, the film carries the dreaded "Alan Smithee" label, a moniker all too familiar to moviegoers in the know. The result of this turmoil behind the scenes set the movie adrift, so someone decided to just slap the whole thing together and dump the final result in the video stores. That's a real shame as "Bloodlines" has at its center an interesting premise for fans of the series: how the box came about and how it was first used to conjure up evil. The movie boasts a few new Cenobites in the form of a clacking toothed dog and a fused pair of security guards (Watch and see how this comes about. Gross.). Pinhead even turns up to toss off a few new witticisms. I especially enjoyed the line that goes something like "Do I look like someone who cares what God thinks?" You can always rely on Pinhead to say something memorable. Unfortunately, he doesn't show up in this movie nearly as much as we would like, a problem that only gets worse in parts five and six. Still, some Pinhead is better than no Pinhead at all, don't you think?

Give up on the idea of the series ever returning to the original themes so eloquently portrayed in the first and second films. Those days are gone forever as sequel mania long ago destroyed any hope of maintaining Barker's original inspiration. I generally watch new Hellraiser films for the glimpses of Pinhead and the jaw dropping gore effects. I found the "Bloodline" DVD a bit disappointing in the extras department. There aren't any, actually, beyond a trailer for "Children of the Corn 666" (yet another horror series deteriorating into utter banality) and a promo for the "Scream" box set. An Alan Smithee commentary track would have been nice-we could have finally heard from this mysterious man after all these years! Seriously, give "Bloodline" a chance. It's not great cinema, but it sure beats a lot of the dreck floating around out there.

I just want to be clear that director "Alan Smithee" is a pseudonym. For who? Who knows? It is used when a director is ASHAMED of the movie they did. For instance, David Lynch used "Alan Smithee" on the TV version of DUNE. If you see a director with this name STAY AWAY! I will only give BLOODLINE a 2, and that is only because it's part of the HELLRAISER series, and is worth watching with the volume down to get a good look at the nasty Cenobites. Buy this if you've got some extra spending money and everything else in the world that you already want. Otherwise, wait until your friend happens to rent it, and watch it in an altered state of consiousness.