Hellraiser: Hellworld Review Country : USA Year: 2005 Genre: Horror Format: DVD Running Time: 95min Distributor: Dimension The 8th installment in the Hellraiser franchise, and not even a hint of the original's greatness... Credits Directed by Rick Bota. Written by Joel Soisson. Starring Doug Bradley, Lance Henriksen, Katheryn Winnick, Christopher Jacot, Henry Cavill. After the success of Hellraiser it was somewhat inevitable that sequels would follow. In the eight installment of the neverending franchise, Hellworld, it is indeed the first effort in a long time to make an actual Hellraiser film and it makes quite a fun and nasty one, although sadly it lacks the style of the original. The film begins with five friends and a funeral... Chelsea (Katheryn Winnick), Mike (Henry Cavill), Jake (Christopher Jacot), Derrick (Khary Payton), Allison (Anna Tolputt). They have all been playing a deadly game online called "Hellworld" and Chelsea's boyfriend has commited suicide in a very painful way. The story then picks up 2 years later and they are all invited to a Hellworld reunion party at Leviathan mansion. The mayhem ensues once they arrive at the party and are taken on a private tour of the mansion by 'The Host' (Lance Henriksen). The film was directed by Rick Bota (his third installment) and he does a fine job, nothing spectacular but decent enough. Screenplay by Carl Dupree, from a story by Joel Soisson. The film looks as though it had a fairly decent budget and the effects are good but the use of CGI has no place in a Hellraiser film in my opinion. The Leviathan Mansion is pretty cool and holds a series of oddly lit stage sets and with a huge spinning box in the centre foyer. The cenobites look great and they provide some chilling moments. We are even treated to some gruesome murders by Pinhead himself, Chatterbox, and F/X artist (also for the last three films) Gary J. Tunnicliffe as the Bound Cenobite. Pinhead is always the character associated with Hellraiser, him and his band of cenobites were the most memorable part of the first film, despite the fact that they only appeared for a very short time. This is where Hellworld goes wrong. Pinhead and his cenobite chums are given more screen time but they appear to be a bunch of weaklings compared to the sick Host (Henriksen) who really goes on a rampage. I was expecting the usual - people do bad things, Pinhead shows up at the end, gives his speech, and rips them apart with chains. However, it all makes sense at the end when we are treated to a pretty cool twist that has yet to be done in a Hellraiser film. Props to Carl Dupree. The acting is pretty mixed; yet again we are subjected to a whiny heroine Chelsea (Winnick) who just grates my nerves the whole time she is on the screen. There is even a showcase for her karate talents which has no bearing on the storyline what-so-ever. It is even revealved in the 'making of' that she required a scene showing off her talents. WHY!? This is Hellraiser, who cares? Lance Henriksen as the Host turns in a serious performance which really added to the film, he was very creepy and unpleasant and really makes the film worth watching. Take a look at his last scene and tell me if it reminds you of his fate in Aliens. One has to wonder if that was on purpose. Cool none the less. In a nutshell, this is a fairly uninspiring 95 minute horror effort which is elevated above the average by Barker's backdrop and characters. I wouldn't rush to see it but if you liked the first few Hellraiser films then you should check this out. This is a serious improvement over the last 4 sequels, but compared to Hellraiser and 'Hellbound', it pales...but you already knew that right? HELLRAISER ON PIT OF HORROR Review by John Gray, for Pitofhorror.com