Hellraiser VI - Hellseeker
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Movie Reviews of Hellraiser VI - Hellseeker
Movie Review: Reheated Hell, With Extra Evil
Summary: 4 Stars
Ahhhh. Hellraiser's back! Kinda. The title of this installment is HELLRAISER / HELLSEEKER. Yes. One hellraiser divided by one hellseeker. It turns out, that equals one pretty good movie, but without that much hell getting raised.
The hellseeker here is Trevor, who just so happens to be married to Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence, reprising her role from the first two Hellraisers). They're a little too much in love, because they smooch while highway driving and, oops!, drive straight off a bridge and into a river. Trevor manages get out of the car, but Kirsty isn't so fortunate. She yanks on her seatbelt and bangs her palms on the window, but those things apparantly don't, you know, unlatch seatbelts or doors. Trevor swims back to save her, but since the only thing he does is also bang on the window with his palms, the door never opens, and Kirsty drowns. It's unsettling. And also not a spoiler.
After that, Trevor's life gets weird. You know. HELLRAISER-weird. Kirsty's body is never found. Detectives begin hounding him suspiciously. People at work are acting weird. And dang it if he isn't having some pretty upsetting hallucinations. Dean Winters' Trevor stumbles through it all at a numb remove, too slow-witted to understand anything, but also too poorly acted to be anything more than a figurehead for the audience's own confusion.
Because the movie isn't impatient to make any sense. Scene two (roughly five minutes in) and the roller coaster is already barrelling down the first nauseating drop. At this point, I glumly realized I had the movie figured out. But then, just as quickly, I realized I didn't. Then I did. Then I didn't. And we danced. The movie definitely keeps you on your toes.
Also definite is that the plot of HELLSEEKER is almost too similar to that of the fifth film. In both, flawed protagonists are forced to piece together the jigsaw puzzle of their lives, but the pieces are as dangerous as actual jigsaws. In INFERNO, the picture on that puzzle wasn't hard to get, even long before all the pieces were in place. HELLSEEKER, on the other hand, paints a far more satisfying picture, even if it does so at an indulgent, devil-may-care pace.
No movie since the fourth has really taken full advantage of the possiblities inherent in the Hellraiser mythos (and I'm not counting the third film, a campy misstep that was for Hellraiser what Joel Schumacher was for Batman), and HELLSEEKER is no different. Our resident demon (Cenobite?), Pinhead, is still not much more than a color commentator. When he finally shows up in this film, he is introduced by a glowing crack in the wall that is shaped like an upside-down question mark. Get it? He's the Anti-Question, the answer, the deux ex machina (how ironic!). In other words, he's not really living (or killing) up to his potential. It's convenient. Even a little shameless. But it's also fun, fast, and dark enough to creep out the coroner.
Movie Review: Excellent Entry in the Hellraiser Canon
Summary: 4 Stars
HELLRAISER: HELLSEEKER, the sixth installment in the Hellraiser series, is a fine, taut chiller, handled masterfully by first-time director Rick Bota (cinematographer on DEMON KNIGHT, HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL and VALENTINE and director of the upcoming Hellraiser sequels DEADER and HELLWORLD). This is a nail-biter, especially for newcomers to the series, who will no doubt love this 90-minute amalgam of murder mystery and nightmarish gore pic. Hellraiser faithfuls, however, may be a bit off-put by the similarities to its predecessor, HELLRAISER: INFERNO (still the finest sequel the series has seen).INFERNO aside, there's still plenty for the horror film buff to love in HELLSEEKER. Bota provides incredibly claustrophic framing throughout, so the viewer can never quite see over protagonist Dean Winters' shoulder. Additionally, the film is very well-lit with hospital neon greens and police station blues adding intensity to the dizzying nightmare. Bota's cinematography experience serves him well and what HELLSEEKER lacks in originality is more than made up for in pure atmosphere.
And then there's the return of Kirsty. Series followers were no doubt hoping for a Kirsty/Pinhead showdown, but that's nowhere to be found in HELLSEEKER. Doug Bradley's Pinhead keeps scarce (a la INFERNO) as does Kirsty, both simply popping in and out when twists and/or exposition are called for. While this does come as a sort of letdown, it ultimately provides an interesting direction for Kirsty as a new antihero and leaves the series wide open for the future sequels. Still, it was nice to see the series reconnected to its origins. This reviewer was pleased to hear a few references to Uncle Frank throughout the film (and was that a quick cameo by Kirsty's flayed father in the basement of the police station?!?)
All in all, HELLSEEKER is an admirable - and extremely enjoyable - entry into the Hellraiser series. While the hardcore fan can tell early on that this is INFERNO redux, that's still not necessarily a bad thing. For those of us still reeling from BLOODLINE and HELL ON EARTH, it's downright welcome.
The HELLSEEKER DVD looks great and sounds OK. The 5.1 Surround is underused (especially for a fright flick) and poorly utilized when it does come into play. Bota's commentary is again a welcome addition for fans of the series as recent DVDs have been bare bones affairs. Several alternate scenes are also provided. Highly recommended for fans of the series and B-flicks alike.
Movie Review: Enjoyable if you haven't seen Inferno.
Summary: 4 Stars
With each review I read, it seems that every Hellraiser fan hates Hellseeker. Well, I'm a big fan of the Hellraiser series and this is my third favorite (behind Parts 1 and 2 of course). The main reason why I believe this gets so much negative criticism is because the storyline is almost exactly like the previous Hellraiser movie, Inferno (Pinhead is barely in either movie as well). The first time I watched Hellseeker, I knew exactly what was going to happen after only 5 minutes in. Basically, if you've never seen either movie and have to decide which one to get, it comes down to this: Which actors do you like better? Craig Sheffer and Nicholas Turturro (Inferno) or Dean Winters and Ashley Laurence. Personally, I choose the latter.
This brings me to my next point, the acting. Many people hated Winter's performance and thought he was a terrible actor. While I'll admit that his acting wasn't the best in this film, he is an amazing actor. He did a great job on the show "Oz" and was the best actor in the film "Snipes". Also of note is the fact that Ashley Laurence (from the first three films) is back in the role of Kirsty Cotton. She looks absolutely stunning now and did well in her role.
If you don't over-analyze it, Hellseeker is just an entertaining film. There wasn't very much gore like the previous movies, but it's understandable due to the low budget and they did a good job with what they had. The DVD is nice too. It isn't loaded with special features or anything, but the menus look good, it has commentary with the director, and alternate/deleted scenes (also with optional commentary by the director). There's one deleted scene in particular that most fans of the old movies will like (It's one where Kirsty and Pinhead are alone, discussing the Cotton family). Overall, if you're looking for a nice psychological thriller that provides an original spin on the franchise, Hellseeker is well worth your time.
Movie Review: Best in Series
Summary: 4 Stars
The Hellraiser series is rather sad. I mean, the first Hellraiser had the potential to be one of the scariest films of all time, but failed due to spotty dialouge and some bad/so-so acting. The second installment was a brilliant concept, but was not paced right, and became rather silly towards the end. The third one was rather bad. The fourth, Bloodlines, was actually rather swell, except the story sort of contradicted the previous installments.
"Inferno" gave a whole new look to Hellraiser (and was more in line with the novella, Hellbound Heart), in that it relied less on blood and guts, and more on charcter development and suspense.
"Hellseeker" is an improvement over "Inferno." The film is paced perfectly. The viewer is sucked into the protagonist's twisted personal hell, and is led along many strange encounters. I felt like I was watching an old Twilight Zone episode at times.
The acting is not bad, I thought Dean Winters played his role quite well, as Kirsty's husband and Doug Bradley is brilliant as the always captivating PINHEAD. The director did a fine job in creating a twisted universe, and complementing the characters' anguish with thoughtful camera work.
I'm led to believe, based on previous reviews, that the people who bash this film are the ones who lean more towards Freddy vs. Jason style horror, rather than a, not to sound condescending (I enjoy all types of horror), "deeper" film that explores one's soul (ok, ok, this isn't exactly "deep," but compared to most horror, it could be considered as such).
The only complaint I have is a two minute scene towards the end in which Pinhead and Kirsty exchange some dialouge which seemed very much out of charcter. But still, this is the best of the series thus far. Give it a chance.
Movie Review: Underrated
Summary: 4 Stars
I've never quite understood the negativity thrown at this movie and the other later Hellraiser films. I've seen all of them and this one is my third favorite Hellraiser film behind the first two. I think the main source of criticism comes from the idea that it is not a true Hellraiser film. Well, the Hellraiser series is now about variety. Seriously, who gets excited when a new just-like-the-others "Friday the 13th" movie comes out?
Well, not pure variety. If you've seen both films, it's easy to see the similarities between this film and its predecessor, "Inferno". This is little more than a remake of "Inferno", but this one is much better done. This film emphasizes psychological horror and personal torment over gore and most of the scenes are very creative and memorable. The creepiest scene for me was the one involving the video camera. The images from that scene are forever burned in my mind and many of the other scenes are close to matching its effectiveness. The entire film is genuinely scary and they even mix some nice eroticism into the mix (though little nudity). The costumes and special effects are also well-done (except for the gunshot).
Complaints? Well, some mention that the movie is kind of confusing. It can seem so at first, but all is cleared up at the end. It's not really a movie you have to rewatch to fully understand, although the movie is good enough to inspire you to rewatch it. Also, some complain about Ashley's character (the heroine from the first two films) being turned into a villian. Yeah, I was a little disappointed too, but it's nothing that killed the movie for me.
Check this one out if you're interested in a heady, scary, and unique (ignoring "Inferno") horror movie.