Hell Raiser: Revelations (2011)

Directed by: Victor Garcia | 72 minutes | horror | Actors: Fred Tatasciore, Steven Brand, Nick Eversman, Jolene Andersen, Stephan Smith Collins, Jay Gillespie, Daniel Buran, Sebastien Roberts, Sanny Van Heteren, Tracey Fairaway, Devon Sorvari, Adel Marie Ruiz, Camelia Dee, Sue Ann Pien

Painful, very painful. Actually, you can stop reading right now, because the first line of this review already sums up this DVD. ‘Hellraiser: Revelations’ is a film that should never be made. The once strong franchise, the first two parts of which have become beloved classics, has slowly turned into a sad affair that has increasingly ruined the good name of the bad Pinhead. In this ninth(!) installment of the franchise, not even Doug Bradley returns. Bradley IS Pinhead and without him the character is an empty shell.

The previous parts were already miserable, but it is a sign on the wall that Bradley thanks for ‘Hellraiser’. The best man trotted in all eight previous parts. So not now. You can’t blame him. This film is therefore a special case. Dimension Films threatened to lose the rights to the franchise if a sequel to the 2005 ‘Hellraiser: Hellworld’ was not canned soon. The film company then took three weeks(!) to make a sequel. The budget was very tight (probably the only reason Bradley didn’t want to participate) and everything had to be done as cheaply as possible. That resulted in a parade of B actors and an inept director. The previous achievement of cinematographer Víctor García was the pitiful ‘Mirrors 2’. Anyway, all the omens were already disastrous and the end result is not very good.

‘Hellraiser: Revelations’ starts as a kind of found footage film. Two crippled teenagers, Nico (Jay Gillespie) and Steven (Nick Eversman), have run away from home and driven to Mexico. There they indulge in alcohol and sex. The muddled images show how the two summon a bald man with nails in his head (Pinhead for intimates) and then scream very loudly. The family of the two has not heard from them since. In the next scene you get to know Nico and Steven’s family. Mother Sarah (Devon Sorvari) is especially struggling with the disappearance of her son Steven. Her grief has driven a wedge between her and her husband Ross (Steven Brand). Sister Emma (Tracey Fairaway) is resigned to the disappearance. Although she does miss her boyfriend Nico. Nico’s parents Kate (Sanny van Heteren) and Peter (Sebastien Roberts) try to make the best of it, even though they have given up hope of their son’s return. Then suddenly Steven is at the door. Bloody and terrified. He’s talking about a puzzle box. Is that the cube Emma is playing with?

The story is a kind of compilation of the best fragments from the first and third ‘Hellraiser’, but then performed by untalented actors. This is a drama, but in the bad sense of the word. No actor knows how to arouse sympathy. The expressionless Steven Brand ‘acts’ like a wooden puppet, Tracey Fairaway’s erotically intended scene (in which she becomes ecstatic from the cube) is extremely embarrassing and Nick Eversman’s hysterical play is downright cringe-inducing. Every actor does an embarrassing job. You will find better acting in soap operas. To make matters worse, the ‘new’ Pinhead – played by Stephan Smith Collins – does not radiate any threat. In fact, he even looks silly. Bradley knew how to make Pinhead radiate authority and power. Smith Collins mainly looks like a drunken village idiot with nails in his head.

In terms of gore, this film also disappoints. The murders are presented in a messy way (and sometimes even recycled. The ‘found footage’ film with which the film opens is later shown again(!) and looks fake. The violence has been toned down. Perhaps Dimension Films is hoping for a new audience But that won’t work with this film. A few modest sex scenes should spice things up, but even the most frustrated pimply teenager will not get warm from these prudish fragments. The special thing about this vehicle is that the film, despite the compact running time (75 minutes) bored. The real Pinhead should grab a hammer after seeing this movie and hit nails with (or is it?) heads. Guys, just stop it…