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Hellraiser: Judgment

Hellraiser is a franchise that’s been in the making since 1988 and has gained a cult status ever since. The original trilogy of films introduced a world of demons and pleasure that was like nothing that came before and it’s blend of S&M with Cronenberg horror was a feast for the eyes. Over the years the series has been hit and miss with highlights in DEADER and HELLSEEKER but apart from that a relatively low key existence (although an early Henry Cavill can be seen in HELLWORLD). Fortunately the series has maintained mostly the same cast and continues to delve into a story that has foregone the series. That was until 2011 where the iconic Doug Bradley hung up his pin head in protest to a story that was literally scraped from the depths of hell. HELLRAISER: REVELATIONS was a disaster and certified the end to the series but not so, as a new entry has been announced, and with it a new Pinhead.

 

Taking from the likes of SAW and HOSTEL, HELLRAISER: JUDGMENT is a series of deaths pieced together to a wider story wherein the Cenobites have become punishers of the bad through varying contraptions of death. Unlike previous instalments, JUDGMENT puts Pinhead to the background and instead deals with The Accountant, a Cenobite who deals out the deserved death of those who come in reach.

 

There is some resonance of a deeper story but once you get past the first third of the film it quickly becomes apparent that this is a revised version of characters we used to love. The whole premise of HELLRAISER was to boundaries of pleasure and pain as those who sought the box, paid for the ultimate pleasures with their soul however here the Cenobites are just regular murderers righting the wrongs through way of execution. No rhyme nor reason for their being other than to show countless amounts of brutal death sequences amidst the tight budgeted “sequel”. JUDGMENT feels so abstract from the HELLRAISER universe that it is blasphemy to reference it as such.

 

There are some redeeming factors, the character design is brilliant and there are some fantastic sights to show you. The scenes with The Accountant are satisfyingly gory and some of the best death sequences in the franchise, unfortunately they are so well executed that they make the narrative a drag and when Pinhead does finally show up, it’s a disappointing mess of a conclusion.

 

As a standalone film, JUDGMENT has some redeeming factors and there are worse ways to spend the time indulged in this however watching as a HELLRAISER fan, it is a disappointment and disjointed effort to bring something new to the series that it forgets what it was about in the first place.

Director: Coz Greenop

Released:  2018

Running Time: 75 minutes

Age Rating: TBC

 

Reviewer: Martyn Wakefield

RATING


Plot: 2
Fear: 2
Gore: 4


R2/5​

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