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Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)
Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)
2002 | Crime, Horror
2
4.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The first five Hellraiser movies range from love to like for me, which means that Hellseeker is the first in the series that I downright dislike.
The narrative is purposefully confusing, but not in a clever way. It's frustrating and has an underwhelming payoff, whilst not even trying to make any sense. Something will happen to the painfully bland main dude, and then it's like "lol, that didn't actually happen you mad bastard" over and over again for 90 minutes, whilst every female character inexplicably tries to shag him. Most importantly, it manages to be horrifically boring. It's nice to see Ashley Laurence back, but she's under utilised, as is Pinhead with his 3 seconds of screentime.
An absolute chore of an experience.
  
Hellraiser (1987)
Hellraiser (1987)
1987 | Horror
A wonderfully imaginative and creepy Mythos (1 more)
Doug Bradley becomes a horror icon
The Special Effects are a little dated (1 more)
Sometimes seems confused about what sort of film it is...
We have such Cenobites to show you...
Hellraiser is arguably the finest in the series, creating horror icons in Pinhead, Kirsty, Frank and Julia, whilst giving the viewer some of the most extreme horror scenes ever seen.

The mythos of Clive Barker's Hellraiser series is fascinating, and hints at underworlds, other dimensions, hell and all sorts of demonic entities, and although this first entry is mostly set in an indistinct U.S town, the feeling that hell is just under the surface haunts the movie.

What follows is a tale of morality, lust, love and judgement as our characters seek to fulfill their heart's desires, all whilst trying to make sense of the dark forces that seek to envelope their new home.

Our Heroine, Kirtsy, is played by Ashley Laurence, who has more than a dash of Ripley about her at times, as she snarls and fights the forces of evil, showing more courage than most of us watching the film I am sure.

Pinhead (as he was dubbed by fans) is a fairly minor role in the film, and yet Doug Bradley's ominous delivery lingers long on the memory, giving us lines that echo long after the film has finished.

All in all, Hellraiser is a flawed, but imaginative horror tale, that threatens the viewer with a fantastically demonic realm filled with violence, gore and underdogs, and a plot that is easy to follow, but still feels new.

Sadly, like the Cenobites, the following movies would often fall prey to their mantra of pain & pleasure, but certainly this and the immediate sequel should be considered must-see for fans of physical effects and slow burning horror.