[chuft]

I have seen and like Hellraiser 1 & 2, but have not seen the others. I am curious for opinions from people who liked the original Hellraiser. The reviews on Amazon seem to be a "love it or hate it" for each one, with people disagreeing on which ones are the best.


So what is your opinion - are these just lame sequels milking the fans and giving diminishing returns, or are some of them good movies for fans of the original? The prices for them seem to be all over the place for some reason.


Also are there any other movies like this (horror movies in a somewhat Lovecraftian vein dealing with other dimensions and people seeking dangerous knowledge of them)? The only other one that springs to mind is "From Beyond" which unfortunately is not on DVD (argh!).

 

[FoxyMulder]

Hellraiser 1 and 2 are both good if you are a horror fan but the sequels are dire, 3 has its moments and might be worth a rent but the others are terrible.


The Beyond a lucio fulci film is excellent, its available uncut now and the picture and sound quality are good for a film of this age.


The Asphyx is also a good film from the seventies.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069738/

 

[ChrisMcCarthy]

Yes hellraiser 2 is by far the only good one.


It has the excellent line


"I used to be the wicked stepmother, but NOW I am the evil queen!!"


Chris

 

[Josh Z]

Quote:

Originally posted by chuft are these just lame sequels milking the fans and giving diminishing returns,

Yes.


Hellraiser - Excellent

Hellraiser 2 - Fairly good

Hellraiser 3 - Bad

Everything else - Unwatchable

 

[Sutter Cane]

I don't really mind any of them; they strayed away from the original theme in the last few. They seemed more like Twilight Zone episodes with the box and Cenobites appearing here and there. Part four is a history of the box and it's maker's bloodline; not bad but not for hardcore fans of the first two.


So, in my opnion, they're all worth a rent for you to find out for yourself.

-sc

 

[Bionic Manaus]

I like the one where the night club owner has some 'f'un with a girl he sent a rose to, then a cenobite came out of something and sucked her dry. He casually said, did you enjoy her.... yes was the reply, well so did I. I can't remember the name of the sequel, but she sure looked nice to me.

 

[TheDesolateOne]

1 and 2 are excellent in my book. The rest are so forgettable, they give you nightmares just thinking about them.


Mark

 

[shakta]

I like the first two only.


On a bizarre note, some people actually think Pinhead is sexy.

 

[chuft]

In the commentary they said that the hooks and chains thing actually spurred on the craze for people engaging in similar practices ("body modification" "ecstatic body rites" "suspension" etc.) to inflict pain on themselves by means of piercings and whatnot.


I recall seeing one such pain artist on an X-Files episode once about a carnival.

 

[Bionic Manaus]

Hellraiser and SALÃ’ ought to get together, that would make the full frontal nudity crowd happy, this time with chains instead of eating s**t.

 

[FredProgGH]

Quote:

Originally posted by Josh Z Yes. Hellraiser - Excellent Hellraiser 2 - Fairly good Hellraiser 3 - Bad Everything else - Unwatchable

I totally agree- or put into a 1-10 rating:


Hellraiser - 8

Hellraiser 2 - 6

Hellraiser 3 - 2

Everything else - negative 3

 

[Hayrab]

I guess I am in the minority. I own all the hellraiser movies and look forward to 7 and 8 which are coming this year. I loved the first two, three didn't really do it for me, 4 was a good history I had been wanting to know, 5 and 6 are really great mindjob movies with gore and horror thrown in. They strayed from the first 2 movies after 3 but I love all things hellraiser and didn't mind the sequels.

 

[Savageone79]

Which was the one in space? I liked that one.

 

[dreamstate]

Bloodline. It's a look back at the creation of the box and destruction? of pinhead in space. The skinless and eyeless dog freaked me out when I saw this in theaters.

 

[FoxyMulder]

Bloodline was altered bigtime by the distributor and was virtually cut from a 2 hour long look at the creation of Pinhead and why he existed to a 90 minute long horror film.

 

[Ronan51]

Hellraiser like Phantasm and Nightmare on E street are great!

All sequels to above movies SSSUUUUUCCCKKK!!!!!!!!

 

[Juboy]

Hellraiser - 9/10

Hellraiser II: Hellbound - 7/10

Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth - 6/10

Hellraiser IV: Bloodline - 2/10


Hellraiser: Inferno - 7/10 (I left the gap, because from Inferno onwards, the series is somewhat different than previously)

Hellraiser: Hellseeker - 5/10


Deader and Hellworld are now apparently unlikely to be released until Q4 of this year, although both fit more with the style of Inferno and Hellseeker.

 

[plain fan]

One and two are good, but I give the slight edge to two. Haven't seen three but I enjoyed four, Bloodlines.


So Bloodlines was chopped by the distributor? Is an uncut available?


Off topic but Clive Barker seems to be ready to turn in his script for Tortured Souls with a movie to follow if it passes muster.

 

[EricD]

2nd one is way better than the first. The first was rather slow, poor picture quality and too dark. The second one went into the pain theme very well with the crazy doctor.

 

[chuft]

Does anyone know if there is any difference in PQ between the version of Hellbound on the standalone package and the version which comes in the twin-pack box which has both Hellraiser and Hellbound in one package (but each on its own disc) ?