There hasn't be a good HELLRAISER
sequel since HELLRAISER: HELLSEEKER (the sixth entry in the HELLRAISER film series)
HELLRAISER: REVELATIONS (film number nine) continues the trend of another bad HELLRAISER film. To keep a hold on the rights to making HELLRAISER films, the Weinstein Brothers had this sequel written
and put into production while the HELLRAISER remake continues to meet their disapproval (as they through out take after take
on remaking the series). Creator Clive Barker has even publicly disowned
this sequel. HELLRAISER: RVELATIONS is one of the worst entries in the
series due to many factors including a disjointed script, not deciding whether it wanted to be a found footage film or a remake
of the film, the Cenobite make-up is terrible, and Doug Bradley isn't around to play Pinhead in this one. If this sequel is any indication, maybe it is time for the HELLRAISER series to be laid to
rest or have the Weinstein Brothers give up the rights to make further HELLRAISER films.
HELLRAISER: REVELATIONS start with
two annoying teenage boys who are videotaping their road trip to Mexico to get laid.
Soon you see their encounter with the box and Pinhead. The story flashes
forward years later as the parents of the two boys get together for a dinner to remember the missing boys. The parents still can't make sense of the tapes (which somehow got back to them). The sister of one of the two teenage boys starts playing with the infamous Hellraiser cube and soon
one of the missing boys is back. Pinhead and his cenobites are closing
in as the story flashes back and forth between the present and the past.
Lets' look at the places where
HELLRAISER: REVELATIONS went wrong. It had an interesting hook with the
found footage start before switching to the dinner between unlikable parents and a beautiful (but annoying) daughter who reminds
me of the girl who played Jack Bauer's daughter on 24. The daughter is
attracted to the dark pleasures of the box. The film shoots back and forth between
what is on the videotapes, the experiences of the two teenage boys before and after opening the box, and the current day story
at the house. It turns into a badly directed mess with a horrible script
(I know I could write a better HELLRAISER film than this one).
It doesn't help you have the action
of Pinhead hanging in wait for someone to open the box so he can come out and play (it robs the sequel of the mystery of Pinhead). Pinhead has become a caricature of himself as the first four films dissected
who pinhead was and set down the rules of the HELLRAISER universe while HELLRAISER: INFERNO and HELLRAISER: HELLSEEKER set
to tell stories about the characters who encounter the box. Pinhead should
be a figure of mystery- a monster to be unveiled at the right moment while the drama stays focused on what leads people to
stumble upon him. They should keep his screen time to a minimum because
overexposure of Pinhead can prove to be detrimental to the story (in addition to a poorly written script). Also I could tell where the story was going and the film fails on so many levels as it decides
to pull elements from the first film (the discovery of the box in a foreign country and it being handed by a creepy homeless
bearded dude). Any chance to try to cement this film into some type
of logic is done away with blood, bad gore effects, and several annoying character moments.
Also it doesn't help that Pinhead has been turned into a spiteful figure who likes to deal out punishment. Avoid this sequel and stick to watching the first six HELLRAISER films (including the superior first
two).
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The disc features several deleted scenes
as the only extra and the scenes don't add to the film (they would only make the film worse if they were left in).
FINAL ANALYSIS: HELLRAISER; REVELATIONS is another bad HELLRAISER sequel. It
is time to put this series to rest or hand the keys to someone other than the production oversight of the Weinstein Brothers
(who have run this franchise into the ground).
this DVD review is (c)10-21-2011 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com
