PopHorror Let's Get Scared
The Hellraiser franchise has been rife with some of the worst, most unwatchable films that have ever been made. The Weinsteins drug it out in the hopes for a reboot that never came, at least not under their supervision. This continued until there were more straight-to-video Hellraiser films than there were theatrical installments. And the majority of them were repurposed scripts in the Dimension Films catalogue. However, Hellraiser: Inferno is the very first Hellraiser straight-to-video film that stands above the rest, and, I would argue, is a pretty effective chiller in its own right.
Hellraiser: Inferno is derivative for sure, being a cross between Jacob’s Ladder (1990) and Se7en (1995). The narrative follows corrupt detective Joseph Thorn (Craig Sheffer: Nightbreed 1990) as he hunts for an enigmatic serial killer known as The Engineer. All the while, he is haunted by strange visions of the Cenobites after opening the Lament Configuration which was found at the crime scene of the first victim. Like most of these bargain bin Hellraiser movies, Hellraiser: Inferno’s inclusion of the Cenobites is certainly awkward and feels a little out of place, yet unlike most of those other films, manages to bring the two story elements together in a satisfying way at the very end.
Hellraiser: Inferno marks the directorial debut of one Scott Derrickson, the man who would later bring us Sinister (2012), and The Black Phone (2022). The film exemplifies early Derrickson style, in that it establishes a dark atmosphere, and compelling hook into the murder mystery where all of the pieces don’t seem to entirely make sense, as is the case in Sinister twelve years later.
Additionally, Hellraiser: Inferno has some of the best Cenobite and supernatural imagery since the first two films, bringing them away from their warrior status in the preceding two installments, and giving them a different role altogether, being more traditional, Hellish judges of the wicked.
Craig Sheffer as Detective Joseph Thorn is properly sleazy, and deserving of the ordeal he is put through, and fits perfectly into the film’s gritty, noir approach in which he descends into even further aggressive behavior as the investigation continues, which is to say it makes no sense to him, and only yields further terrors from Hell that he struggles to cope with. Doug Bradley (Hellraiser: 1987) as Pinhead is menacing as ever, despite his brief appearance in the film. He appears to dole out judgment to sinners, a far cry from his master of experience role in the previous films, yet he is still delightfully creepy and chilling nonetheless.
Hellraiser: Inferno is the third best of the franchise, it takes a refreshing, new direction from the epic scope of the previous four films, and gives us something that is different in a more personal and unique way.
You can rent and own the film on digital platforms now and stream it free on PlutoTV. Be sure to check it out!
