Although Hellraiser: Deader is better than previous sequels of the franchise, the movie falls short of capturing the gore and scares that Pinhead and friends delivered in the first film.
Deader is the seventh film in the Hellraiser franchise and follows the same pattern that has been established since the first sequel hit theaters in 1988.
The film, which is a straight to DVD release, is directed by Rick Bota and stars Kari Wuhrer. Doug Bradley returns as Pinhead, created by writer Clive Barker, and delivers the same demonic presence that made the character a favorite among horror fans.
Deader’s plot follows a reporter, played by Wuhrer, as she investigates an underground cult, called the Deaders, with a leader that can resurrect those who die of their own choice.
Along the way, Wuhrer stumbles upon Pinhead’s puzzle box and accidentally becomes the key that the cult’s leader, Winter (played by Paul Rhys), needs to unlock the box’s mysteries. She also becomes Pinhead’s key to being released so that he can teach Winter and his cult the true meaning of death and suffering.
Hellraiser: Deader is one of the better sequels that has come out of the franchise, and has several elements that make it a good horror movie. It has some really great filming – with fast edits and odd angles, it has a dark and moody story – that fits right in with the theme of other Hellraiser tales, and it has plenty of gore – a requirement that was established by the first film in 1987.
It also has all the requirements you can expect from a Hellraiser movie including lots of hooks and chains, an unsuspecting soul that opens the puzzle box to release Pinhead, and several dream sequences that involve lots of blood. The film also has several problems that take away from the overall enjoyment.
Since Deader is part of the Hellraiser franchise, the biggest problem, for me, was the fact that Pinhead and the other Cenobites are not given enough screen time. The movie runs for roughly thirty minutes before we get our first glimpse of Pinhead in all his glory, and it is about another thirty minutes before he reappears.
Deader meets the blood and gore requirements for a Hellraiser film
When Pinhead and company do arrive to educate the Deaders on the true meaning of death, the lesson is short, gory, and leaves you feeling a little ripped-off. It almost seems like the director finally figured out the film was running too long and just had Pinhead kill them all quickly.
Other problems include a weak plot that tends to wander away from itself at times, too many dream sequences that make you start question if you are just dreaming the whole movie, and some acting that is truly bad.<!--page-->
Main Menu Screen
Hellraiser: Deader comes with a ton of special features including deleted and extended scenes with commentary, a gag reel, a making of feature, a behind the visual effects feature, a practical effects feature, storyboard to film comparisons, location scouting, photo galleries, and two feature commentaries.There are eleven deleted scenes that offer more screen time for Pinhead and expand on the Deaders. Even with the extra appearances by the Cenobites and their leader, the deleted footage doesn’t make up for the lack of their presence in the actual film. The gag reel is funny thanks to a couple of shots of Bradley breaking character or goofing a line.
The making of Deader feature gives an interesting look at the process of bringing Deader, which was shot in 25 days, to DVD. Bota discusses how the script, written by Neal Marshall Stevens and Tim Day, was scaled down to meet the shoot schedule and changed from its original form to fit into the Hellraiser mythology. Many times, the changes were made right before they would shoot the scene – which Bota said helped cut down on the need to rehearse before filming.
The behind the visual effects feature shows how they constructed the scene where Wuhrer first unlocks Pinhead’s puzzle box and is attacked by the hooks and chains. It is an interesting look at how much time went into making an effect that lasted a few seconds on screen.
Special Features screen
Although not as good as the original, Hellraiser: Deader has enough gore and jumps needed to fit into the franchise. It has a halfway interesting plot and the filming adds to the mood to keep it from being a bad movie. Fans of Pinhead and his Cenobite friends might be let down by the small amount of screen time given to them, but the movie is still better than previous sequels.
I would recommend it to any fan of the series. Also, Hellraiser followers who feel let down by Deader won’t have to wait long to see Pinhead again. Dimension Home Video has already announced that the eighth sequel, Hellraiser: Hellworld, will be released on September 6.
Hellraiser: Deader will be released June 7 and is available for pre-order at Amazon . Visit our database for more information about the movie.
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