Customer Reviews

Hellraiser III

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I hate to be one of those people that gripes endlessly when a horror sequel changes things up and doesn't stick to the formula/rules that the original set-up, but this is ridiculous. Following up two mind-blowing and unique horror movies, "Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth" is limp on all accounts. In this installment, the film-makers opted to turn Pinhead into the star of the movie. These movies were never supposed to focus on Pinhead, rather, they revolved around ordinary people and how their decisions and lifestyles affect and destroy the lives of themselves and those around them. The story of Frank and Julia was compelling, because their severe selfishness and evil basically unleashed Hell on half a dozen innocent people. But I digress. Here, Pinhead is pushed into the spotlight and comes across as a Freddy Krueger clone. Obviously with the success of films like "A Nightmare On Elm Street" and "Friday The 13th" and their notorious villains, the people behind this flick had the mindset that they could do the same for Pinhead. Well folks, I have to say, it just did not work. For starters, Pinhead isn't funny, and shouldn't be funny. And don't even get me started on the mindless, droning speeches he would give throughout the film. Very frustrating and obnoxious to watch. And should I even bring up the CD spitting cenobite? The characters are way too cartoony and have no life in them. I didn't feel convinced or sympathic towards anyone. Whenever a plot-point would be presented that was supposed to enhance certain characters, it was never built upon correctly and was just presented very clumsily. A major slide from the first two flicks, which gave you colorful characters to love and hate as you wished. Another point that the movie fails on is it relies to heavily on gore. And I don't mind gore. I'm obsessed with horror movies, but gore is useless if it isn't accompained by suspense. Here, it just seems gratuitous and the effects themselves leave much to be desired. Towards the end, I started to fall asleep and didn't care too much to see how the movie ended up, the sign of a truly bad horror movie. "Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth" can be enjoyed on a somewhat superficial level. As a fan of slasher movies, I found this to be somewhat entertaining in bits, but overall, it's an utter failure. The DVD is pathetic. Special Edition? Hardly. There is not a single extra to be found on here. No trailer, no production notes, nothing. The only thing "Special" about this "Edition" is that it is hard to track down -- my copy is a Canadian import.

My problem with this movie isn't the hokey cenobites...in fact, I dont mind them at all. My problem is that this movie was nothing more than an attempt to expoit the slasher genre, thus cheapening Pinhead and the gang.

Its actually kind of a fun movie to watch. Ive noticed with the first two (that have Clive Barker written all over it) you need to be in a specific mood to watch. Hellraiser 3 can be watched under any mood since it isnt necessarily to be taken seriously. Still, not one of the best in the series. The 4th gets more back to the series' roots

I love Hellraiser, I love the Lead Cenobite/Pinhead, I love Clive Barker and the work he influences, I love the mythology of the Hellraiser series....I hate this movie. Mind you the intentions behind it were clearly good. Pete Atkins wrote it so you know the guy was in it for fun and love of horror...but the ultimate carryout is terrible.
THe acting is by far the worst of the entire series...I mean, yikes did they even try to get a good cast? The Cenobites have crap conceptualization behind them (the Terry Cenobite burns people with her cigarettes ...pointless, the Camerahead Cenobite has a ....camera...head...and sucks because of it). The effects are shoddy and the whole picture looks like it was staged and carried out in a matter of days. Amateur work at best. Its a shame to say it but this is not a good picture.
Hellraiser gave us solid story and characters and a creepy concept of a hell taken over by this new breed of demons. The Cenobites (the aforementioned demons) are geniunely creepy and awe-inspiring. Overall a geniune masterpiece of horror. Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 gave us an expanded mythology of hell and the elements within it, a history of the Cenobites, a study of an infatuation with the occult and strange visuals that despite their "eighties" feel still work wonderfully in context to the picture. Part Three...stunk and ruined the concept. I suspect its mostly due to inappropriate budget, bad actors, and the fact that the franchise had moved on to another studio. Add to that overuse of the Cenobites, a plot for those afflicted with ADD, and just laughable production values and you get this tripe. Mind you i have been known to love cheesy movies also..but not when they are supposed to continue a serious and weird vein of films. Bad movie with a good heart, buy it if you a fan of Hellraiser. STEER clear is you are not!

this is one of the worst films ever!
its childish and full of silly ideas that no one could possibly find scary.
is it just me or do the hellraisers just get more and more dumber?
its a complete waste of money, but still buy it if you want to....

In my opinion, "Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth" is just as good as the original 1987 cult classic and carries quite the resemblance to it with all the original blood and gore, excellent acting, and the beautiful city scenery that the first also had. (not to mention we see MORE of Pinhead compared to "Hellbound: Hellraiser II") And unlike the first two films, there is a new set of Cenobites with all the freaky accesories and surprises that the Chatterer, Butterball, and the Female Cenobite did not have. (My favorite in this film being the "Disk Jockey" Cenobite!) Doug Bradley also still has the touch to play the diabolical demon who is imprisoned in a cursed stone pillar (see the shocking ending of part 2), but is soon freed where once again all hell breaks loose! Now, a famous news reporter, Joey comes across the mysterious Lament Configuration puzzle box and must use it to send Pinhead and his minions back to hell forever! But with Pinhead getting closer to her every step of the way, it won't be easy! I thought this was a very creative and brilliant installment to the Hellraiser films and I don't understand why some of these reviews are bashing it! Yes, it's no better than the original, but compared to the second it's just about as good! The scene where Joey is chased through the city by the Cenobites (led by Pinhead himself!) had the most dazzling and spectacular special effects out of all the previous films! I only wish I could've seen this masterpiece in the theaters when it came out back in 1992, but unfortunately I was obviously too young at the time. I waited anxiously to see this movie back in the 5th grade and finally I got the chance to first see it when it premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel in '97. (sadly, alot of material was cut out due to that it was edited for Television!) Then I got to see this movie again once on HBO, and it was better than ever! BTW, if you're looking for the best version of this film be sure to pick up the UNRATED version which may be hard to find, but is far better than the R-Rated version. (A lot of the blood & gore was taken out of the original cut) Don't worry about what the other people say (let alone the critics), give this gem a try and you might see what I mean! IT WILL BLOW YOU AWAY!

Pinhead is back! After escaping the Pillar of Souls he heads to a happening nightclud where the ole chains & hooks come out to play! Terry Farrell is great as Joey the TV news reporter. After having his cenobite army destroyed in the last film, it is time for some friends to play with. Here we get Barbie the arsonist bartender, CD Spinner the mechanical cenobite who can throw CDs into your skull, the TV News Guy who shoots his camera into your skull, teh Club Owner who has weird things going in & out of hsi head, and my favorite...Terry the Smoker. The Smoker is awesome cause she has a lit cigarette hanging out of her exposed larynx and burns you with another lit cancer stick! Smokin' will kill ya!

This is a great gory sequal to one of the best Horror movies franchises ever!! get your's now!

So, while many viewers are revolted by these films, looking beyond the blood and gore, another class of fan wants very much to like the Hellraiser series, because it tries so damn hard to be a real saga. Despite the brutal and very specific traumatic/anatomical violence in Hellraiser, there is a lot of philsophy here if you look closely. The images of each Cenobite, perpetually bearing the objects of their torment, are at once disturbing and familiar to viewers who have read Dante. The puzzle boxes that open a portal to Hell once you finally solve them propose an interesting argument about the search for wisdom and its consequences. These movies explore the lasting psychological effects of warfare as well as the anguish of mental illness. Comparisons of sex and death are here too, but hasn't everyone written about that by now?

When I finally saw "part III", I was totally familiar with the Hellraiser mythology, and that may be a necessary prerequisite to appreciating this flick.

Even though this was not the best sequel of the bunch,it's still pretty good when you think about it.The script was some what simplistic but the action and gore really grab you by your feet.The special effects are good and the acting is decent.I really like the different cenobites in this movie because they are really original looking.Over all,I would recommend this to any fan of the series.I WILL TEAR YOUR SOUL APART!!!

THIS TIME, A CLUB OWNER BUYS A SCULPTURE THAT HAS THE FACE OF THE PINHEAD ON IT. SOON, PINHEAD BREAKS FREE FROM THE SCULPTURE AND GOES ON A RAMPAGE AND THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN STOP HIM IS A NEWS REPORTER WHO HOLDS THE BOX THAT CAN SEND HIM BACK TO HELL. WELL, THIS IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST TWO, BUT THIS WAS AN OK SEQUEL AND THIS MAY BE THE BEST HELLRAISER SEQUEL OF THEM ALL. THE LAST 30 MINUTES OF THIS FILM IS INCREDIBLE.