Spanning past, present, and future; creator of the Lament Configuration, Phillip L’Merchant and his ancestors (each played by Bruce Ramsay), are plagued by the demons he unleashed - Angelique (Valentina Vargas) and later Pinhead (Doug Bradley).
This was no doubt the most troubled of the Hellraiser films. It was meant to be Kevin Yagher’s directorial debut, but he chose to remove his name from the project entirely, when Dimension Films began to heavily tamper with it. And just like Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, the results of said tampering, were less than flattering. After viewing the work print, the studio decided to hack out a significant portion of the 18th century segment, in order to get Pinhead on screen faster. They also lessened Angelique’s role along the way, in order to make Pinhead the star. Rand Ravich was hired to rewrite scenes and Joe Chapelle was brought in to handle re-shoots.
Having read Peter Atkins’ original script, it really is astounding how many important character and story points they stripped out. Unfortunate too. But, that’s not to say that the original version didn’t have some problems. There are points during the present day story, just as there are in the final film, where things felt a bit tired. And while the concept of an Anthology-type film (Clive Barker’s addition) is, in my view, the biggest feather in this outing’s cap; it does contain one of my biggest problems with the story, which is that it ends up on a space station. I stick by my feeling, that any Horror icon that does not have its origins in space, shouldn’t be taken there.
On to the actual film, the first problem I had was the newly added framing device, which featured Paul Merchant in 2127, narrating the story. The space setting should not have been the first thing you saw. At least initially, it was the last, and even though I still think it didn’t work fully; it may have been a little easier to swallow, given the whole lineage concept. The new approach leaves it nagging in the back of your mind the whole time. And if you aren’t thrilled with that aspect; it’s not a good thing.
There will be quite a few character critiques in this, but stick with me. Bruce Ramsay had a pretty difficult job; playing three characters of the same family, but somehow making each one different. I think he was moderately successful; Phillip (18th century) being his best performance, John (1996) being his weakest, and Paul (2127) falling in between. The 18th century portion, even in its truncated form, is still the highlight. Very Gothic and atmospheric; it’s also a nice breath of fresh air, since it’s a unique setting to the Hellraiser films.
It’s clear from this first section, that Valentina Vargas had the whole seductress part down; and she does have a certain presence that adds a new, much needed sense of mystery to the film. Some of the secondary characters have been scaled back to only one or two scenes, so it’s unfair to try and gage them. Of these, I’d say the magician De L'Isle (Mickey Cottrell) is the standout. If only, because he has a very strong scene early on that establishes his character. His assistant, Jacques (Adam Scott), was passable. This was the biggest loss due to the tampering, for me, because I really liked this section of the film, and wished to have had the longer version.
By the point of the present day setting, the film goes from good to mediocre. Here, it picks up pretty much where Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth left off. I found this part to be really no better than that film. In it's direction, it actually has less style in some ways. At times, it’s probably the most bland of the segments in this one. Featured here are John’s family, his wife Bobbi (Kim Myers) and his son, Jack (Courtland Mead). The kid isn’t annoying at least, because they kept his lines to a minimum. There is a certain sweetness to the Bobbi character, however the spark to really bring her to life is lacking.
Additionally, we have two goofy security guards (Jimmy Schuelke and David Schuelke) who, if they had a little more screen time, could be mentioned in the same breath as the two awful cops from Halloween 5. These two were another product of the re-shooting process. By far my the least favorite special effect in the film is the Chatterer Beast. This creation might have seemed like a good idea in theory, but when it becomes mobile, it looks pretty silly. They must have known it too, because they did everything they could to make those shots, fleeting.
The main thrust of this section was supposed to be the natural conflict between Angelique and Pinhead. While they still bicker, it’s incoherent as to where all the tension is coming from. The idea was that Angelique resented the fact that Hell had changed over the years from a more carefree environment to the more ordered one of the Cenobites; and she planned to do something about it. All references to this are gone in the final film. This takes some edge off the thought behind her role in the third part.
Speaking of; even though they didn’t go the Jason X route of overdoing the space station interiors, they still look cheap and setty. They clearly had some budget limitations on this section. It must be a rule that you can’t do a Horror story in space without Marines, because we’re introduced to a batch of them. Rimmer (Christine Harnos), Edwards (Paul Perri), Carducci (Pat Skipper), Parker (Wren Brown), and Chamberlain (Tom Dugan). Rimmer is the only one passable, and the only one given enough time to have anything resembling character development. The others are essentially your traditional, hard-boiled stereotypes.
Like the previous film, much of the Cenobite action in this part is carried out in serial killer film fashion. Doug Bradley doesn't change how he plays Pinhead in a new environment. He even has some strong, poetic dialog to work with. But, man, do he and his minions look out of place. The story here, is what it is - Pinhead on a space station. If that idea bothers you, the film will most likely end on a down note. If it doesn’t bother you, then you might enjoy some of the things they did. Admittedly, I can’t look past the setting.
At the end of the day, I admire this film for the broad scope it had and, like I said before, it’s Anthology structure. But, I would have to rate it slightly below the third installment, due to it’s significant unevenness. Had it not been messed with by Dimension, it would have been a big improvement over Hell On Earth. But, as it stands, that isn’t the case. It wouldn’t be right to base my rating on what it could have been.
Directed by: Alan Smithee (Kevin Yagher)
Starring: Doug Bradley, Bruce Ramsay, Valentina Vargas, Kim Myers, Christine Harnos
Released by: Dimension Films
Of all the features they could have provided for this release, the disc contains no special features pertaining to the actual film.
