Listen. The Hellraiser series? It’s not good.
There’s 9 movies before this one, and 3 of them are worth watching. Now, with 10 movies in the series… there are 3.5 worth watching.
Over the years, New Line Cinema has done the bare minimum to keep the rights to Hellraiser. They take random scripts, get an absolutely terrible director *cough Rick Bota* and sprinkle in a cenobite or two so they can say “Job well done, Hellraiser lives to fight another day.”
Hellraiser: Judgement could have easily been one of these. In fact, it basically is, existing simply to retain the rights.
At its core though, at least Hellraiser: Judgement is a Hellraiser movie. I believe that this was written for this series, and not cobbled together from something laying around New Line’s office. And who knows what it could have been with more budget?
There’s decent imagery. The effects they blew the budget on (like pulling the skin off a flayed guy) are above average. There are some references to the original movie that really work, and actors who are trying.
And yet, for every aspect of the movie that I enjoy, there’s something groan worthy. They still wouldn’t spring to bring Doug Bradley back as Pinhead. It’s a paint-by-the-numbers plot. There’s very little gore because they clearly couldn’t afford it. Clichés like “hard-boiled detective” and “kooky medical examiner.” References that DON’T work, like a ham-fisted Clockwork Orange address. Heather Langenkamp being a huge credit at the beginning only to appear for 10 seconds and vanish.
So if you’re a fan of the series, sure. Give Hellraiser: Judgement a watch. It’s easily the best one in a long time. But if you don’t really feel any attachment to the series, feel free to give this one a skip.
Rating: 7 out of 10 (for fans) | 4 out of 10 (for everyone else)
PS: HELL YEAH CHATTERER IS BACK, BABY!
PPS :Whomever is writing these please stop making it so easy to open the Lament Configuration.
Hellraiser: Judgement is now available on home video, and VOD.
-George Heftler
