Hellraiser 3 - Hell On Earth (DVD)

Hellraiser 3 - Hell On Earth

I first watched this back in 1994 after watching the first two Hellraisers and recently found it again on Ebay so bought it. Thought it deserved a quick review.

At the end of Hellraiser 2 we see Pinhead appear to be destroyed and mummified in that big Statue. In Hellraiser 3 we see him make a welcome return after some chick is killed and her blood splatters the statue that an evil club owner ...
...you'd expect from a good Hellraiser and this film takes it to the next level. The special effects in this film are awesome with little CGI.

There's also a small scene where we see Kirsty (Ashley Lawrence from Hellraiser 1 and 2) talking about "The Box" from her stint in the mental asylum.

The Cenobites (pinheads lackeys) in this film are alot more modern too. We see Joeys camera man with a camera ploughed through ... more

Hellraiser 3 - Hell On Earth

I first watched this back in 1994 after watching the first two Hellraisers and recently found it again on Ebay so bought it. Thought it deserved a quick review.

At the end of Hellraiser 2 we see Pinhead appear to be destroyed and mummified in that big Statue. In Hellraiser 3 we see him make a welcome return after some chick is killed and her blood splatters the statue that an evil club owner Brad has brought from an antique/art shop.

Pinhead recruits Brad to get him more blood so he can be free, after a little pursuasion by Pinhead he agrees.

Joey(played by Terry Farrell of Star Trek DS9 ) is a struggling TV reporter who can't seem to get a break. Whilst reporting on a slow night in the hospital, a man is rushed into A&E with chains hanging off his skin. Joey follows the doctors into the ward where she sees this guy get torn apart by the chains. When Joey asks the young girl that came in with the guy, Terri, what happens, it leads Joey to the nightclub owned by Brad and to "The Box" which is the Gateway to Hell and the source of Pinheads power.

After Pinheads has gotten Brad to feed him enough souls including the lovely Terry, he is released from his prison causing genocide at the club, killing everyone there. A pretty gruesome scene but well directed. You see a man sprawled on a pool table with about 6 pool balls in his mouth. The usual chains and ripping people apart is what you'd expect from a good Hellraiser and this film takes it to the next level. The special effects in this film are awesome with little CGI.

There's also a small scene where we see Kirsty (Ashley Lawrence from Hellraiser 1 and 2) talking about "The Box" from her stint in the mental asylum.

The Cenobites (pinheads lackeys) in this film are alot more modern too. We see Joeys camera man with a camera ploughed through his head, and Joey now has a smoking cigarette through her open throat. And finally a Cenobite who was a DJ at the club and now protrudes CDs from his head which he fires at his victims (awesome!)

The film also sees Pinheads original self, Captain Elliot Spencer, who tries to help Joey in guiding Pinhead back to Hell so his original self can kill him once and for all. It's good to see Doug Bradley play a human for a change and shows he is a versatile actor and not just stereotyped to play a demon.

The imagination Peter Atkins and Clive Barker had whilst writing this film is exemplary and also a little disturbing.

The Directing is good as is the acting (for a change). I'd reccomend this film to anyone who likes gore. Although there are no DVD extras yet again on this Hellraiser film it is well worth watching.

Of all 8 Hellraiser films, this is still my favorite. As the series progresses they tend to lose the imagination a little and rely too much on the slasher style movie associated with modern day and have the plot as a sideline.

Thanks for reading! 

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