Customer Reviews

Hellraiser - Hellworld

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

For whatever it's worth, I am a big fan of the series. And if this film wasn't associated with the franchise, then the review would be gauged differently. Unfortunately, this film simply does not belong under the same title. It is simply a low-budget generic horror flick which borrows the name HELLRAISER, but does not merit further comparison. This film is a big disappointment on several levels. Most notably, it has very little to do with the Hellraiser story, and even Pinhead has a small role, his limited presence relegated to an explanation too stupid and lame to indulge, though I won't spoil the plot for those still curious. Secondly, the draw of the storyline was a website/web-based VR game called Hellworld, which draws in the players to their own doom. I like the premise of a website or video game with supernatural overtones, and even will get a look at movies which turn out not to be so good. Again, the premise of Hellworld will prove to be a considerable disappointment.

Like I said, this would have been a middling, unimpressive though tolerable film if it had just been of a nondescript generic origin. Since it tries to milk the HELLRAISER franchise for audience, then it also has a standard it should and will be held to, and should be judged accordingly (2 stars instead of 3). So instead of spoiling the movie, I will give my opinion in hopes of preventing your waste of time & money.

You know what? Forget that. You seem like nice people so I will do you a favor (if you are interested) WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD...

... Hellworld is fake (just a rumor started), and Pinhead is a hallucination triggered by a drug. Also, the main male lead is a incessantly whiny, mopey, and irritating douche who we were hoping would get offed, but instead he survives and ends up with the hot female lead. 1 star instead of 2.

It is a shame that Lance Heinrickson is becoming the icon for movies that made one too many sequels (HELLRAISER, PUMPKINHEAD, PREDATOR, ALIEN). It does not bode well that Kari Wuhrer, lovely though she is, is now the icon for movies whose sequels come to an inglorious end (PROPHECY), and who is starring in the latest/last HELLRAISER installment (HELLRASIER: DEADER). Though good judgment tells me to avoid that one also, like the puzzle box it allows our intrigue and curiosity to draws us into an unpleasant situation.

This is a tough one. Hellraiser: Hellworld is a Hellraiser movie, but it's not really a Hellraiser movie, except that it sort of is. You know something's just not right when Pinhead shows up and just lops off a dude's head without uttering a single one of his gleefully evil aphorisms, not even a quick "Time to play." The Cenobites are all about the sweet pleasure of pain, the beautiful anguish of suffering, the exquisite knowledge that comes with the most intimate exploration of the flesh - but Hellraiser: Hellworld is about death - pure and simple death. And let's face it - there's just no fun in that. Basically, this is a slasher film - until the end, when the filmmakers sort of make a mess of things by redefining the nature of everything we have just seen. It doesn't really work, and - despite a last-minute palliative - sort of leaves a bad taste in the mouth of us Cenobite fanatics. Clearly, the Hellraiser series has lost its focus.

It's not exactly original, but I like the basic storyline. Imagine that there is an addictive, online game called Hellworld, and it's based on the Cenobites we know and love, the puzzle box, etc. A group of friends - who lost one of their other friends two years ago when his obsession with the game consumed him - can't resist the temptation when they win a ticket to a private Hellworld party. Their host is a wonderfully creepy fellow played by Lance Henriksen, who adds a much-needed sense of menace to events as they unfold. After a gnarly tour of the place, the friends wander off to themselves and explore the big Leviathan House - and you know what happens to horror film characters who wander off on their own. The deaths aren't all that satisfying, though, as that's all they are - deaths, messy but much too quick. Eventually, we're left with two characters (one of whom, fortunately, is the film's designated hot chick) who try to figure out what exactly is going on and just try to survive. Then comes the ending, when everything is thrown on its ear, some justification for Pinhead's odd behavior is offered, and a final attempt to appease Hellraiser fans falls a little flat.

You don't need to have seen all of the sequels to understand what is going on here - as long as you have a basic understanding of the Cenobites, you're good to go. As a slasher film, Hellraiser: Hellworld isn't all that bad and does feature a decent amount of blood and gore. As a Hellraiser film, though, this is just a real oddity. It doesn't exactly hurt the series all that much, but it certainly does nothing to enhance and build upon the Hellraiser legacy.

I am a huge fan of Hellraiser and it pained me to watch Bloodline. But after seeing Inferno (a person favorite), Hellseeker (just as good), and Deader (confusing, but decent nonetheless) I had a lot of hope for the continuation of the series. Enter Hellworld. I didnt think it was possible, but this is worse than Bloodline. The characters are so horrible you cant wait to see them die (I mean there's a token black guy for Christ's sake), and their deaths are not satisfying enough considering the awful proformances they put you through. The soundtrack was so bad that it'll make your ears bleed (at least thats what crappy hard rock music does to me). The movie is not so much scary as it is laughable. I'm almost ashamed to call myself a Hellraiser fan after this movie. I was looking forward to a sequel after Deader. The only thing scary about Hellworld would be a sequel similar to this movie.

It is sad that these new movies went the wrong way. Pinhead is only 60 seconds in the movie. All actors are really bad, specially Chelsea(Ms.Katheryn Winnick) she is so bad, the movie feels like a home made movie.

PLEASE SAVE YOUR MONEY !!!!!

Fans of the Hellraiser series had a glimmer of hope with the fifth and sixth installments in the series, INFERNO and HELLSEEKER, as both hearkened back to the series' origins and captured at least some of the quiet dread and terror of the original HELLRAISER.

Part Seven, DEADER, was a turn for the worse with the rapidly-tiring formula dragged down by an incomprehensible storyline adapted from another screenplay. This brings us to HELLWORLD, finally an original story yet by far the worst of the bunch since BLOODLINES. Not at all unlike another "Part 8," HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION, HELLWORLD follows an immemorable group of teenagers around a party based upon an online version of a Hellraiser video game.

HELLWORLD starts off with a bit of promise, acknowledging the series within the film and tossing off bits of inside trivia at every opportunity. Fans who adore the Lemarchand mythology will take some pleasure in Lance Henriksen's tour around the site of the party, the Leviathan House (if you think that's bad, try not to groan when you discover it sits on "Hellbound Lane"), during which he and the protagonists spout off the entire Hellraiser backstory for those arriving late to this series. What follows is a lame descent into nightmares and murders and cenobites, the latter of whose latex is looking at little dull at this point. This entry into the series doesn't play by the Hellraiser rules (who needs a box to summon Pinhead anyway?), something even the characters point out more than once, reducing the film to just another teenage slasher flick.

The cast is forgettable, the direction uninspired (a real letdown after Bota's previous installments), Pinhead an outright cliche (his scenes could have easily been recycled footage from any of the previous films) and Lance Henriksen phones in a performance he could have (and very well may have) done in his sleep - yet the biggest disappointment in this series lies in its climax, which reminds this viewer of the rotten revelation at the end of Friday the 13th Part V. Even a last-minute Henriksen-Pinhead encounter doesn't make up for this train wreck of a film which all but destroys a franchise that was on the brink of reinvigoration. I used to believe that "in Space" episodes of horror films (e.g., BLOODLINES, JASON X, LEPRECHAUN 4) signaled the nadir of the series. The eighth installment of Hellraiser, like Halloween, provides a convincing argument that "in Cyberspace" may be a more appropriate indicator of doom.

I think I still have one Hellraiser to see, the one before this. I hope for my sake that by enduring this installment "Hellworld" I have witnessed the low end of the franchise. I'll keep it simple;

* Too campy for scary or atmosphere, not campy enough for a Saturday Night Live feel.

* Characters are shallow and are billed as hardcore gamers, but come across as being technological Luddites.

* Story has holes you could drive a bus through, end result, you just don't care.

* I'm a photographer and so am sensitive to camera work in a film, this had poor composition, amateurish and garish lighting and was uninspired in use of props and environments.

* How many CDs does it take to hold the soundtrack on? Several, I'd guess as the songs changed every 30 seconds. Yet another splinter to remind you that you are wasting your time on this poor product.

That's what I felt coming into this episode with no expectations. This is the "The Crow - Wicked Prayer" for the Hellraiser series. There is always a low point in everything and this like that Crow movie, very low from the high point of it's respective series. I suggest you avoid this movie. One star.

You really can't blame Rick Bota for his last 3 Hellraiser installments. After all, he manages to add a true air of creepy grittiness and nice visuals despite miniscule budgets and overall lame scripts.

That being said, the screenplay to the 8th Hellraiser installment is far from a continuation of the original Clive Barker concept from the first 2 (or 4, if you're generous) movies. In order to halfway enjoy this movie you have to go into it expecting a typical slasher horror flick. Once you accept that, the movie is decent considering its budget.

One reviewer said that there was nothing redeemable about this movie - I disagree. 3 stars for the smoking hot chick that leads one of the dudes to his doom. ;)

The Pinhead we all love is back in the 8th installment of the Hellraiser movies called Hellraiser: Hellworld. This time a group of kids are invited to a Hellworld party full of partying, drinking, dancing and all out fun but their fun soon turns out for the worst as one by one they start to die. Lance Henriksen (Hard Target, Near Dark) plays The Host of the party. Doug Bradley (Hellraiser 1 & 2) is still going strong as Pinhead but he's the only thing good in this movie. Henriksen should stop doing this kind of stuff. Katheryn Winnick (Failure To Launch, 50 First Dates) plays the screaming girl this time but she's laughably bad here and her screaming is annoying. She either needs lessons or it was the script. Also starring Henry Cavilll (Tristan & Isolde, Laguna), Christopher Jacot (Degrassi, Get Over It) and Khary Payton. Another forgettable horror sequel

As a dedicated Hellraiser fan, I was constantly ripping Dimension for sitting on the last two sequels, Deader and Hellworld. After sitting on them for a year they were released right together as if Dimension was saying get them out of here and let's be done with them.

Deader was by far the best of the last 4 installments while Hellworld is by far the worst of the entire series. Rick Bota has done a classic job of destroying a horror classic. When you take a classic horror film like Hellraiser and try to turn them in to mysteries or thrillers, you destroy the foundation of the legacy. Rick Bota needs to have a personal date with Pinhead. Let the chains tear his soul apart. Thanks Rick for destroying a classic.

This movie hasn't even been released yet. It won't until Sept.!!! This is a place for reviews of the movie people. Nobody cares what you think the movie is going to be like, or that you are a huge fan of the Hellraiser series and are looking forward to it. Go post a review for Deader....that's out. Hellworld is not!!

Note to Amazon: Stop allowing people to review movies until AFTER the official release date of the product!!!