Oct 052000
 
toxic

Corrupt cop Joseph Thorne (Craig Sheffer) investigates a series of murders that seem to be connected to him.  Soon, he is seeing monsters and it is no longer clear what is real.

Quick Review: Hellraiser V? Pin Head has less then five minutes of screen time and could easily have been pulled from this film that has none of the mythology, none of the themes, and none of the virtues of the first two films. The main character is a thoroughly unlikable man who takes drugs, cheats on his wife, and beats suspects. Now a film doesn’t have to have a likable protagonist, but if it doesn’t, it needs to give me some reason to follow the character. Hellraiser: Inferno gives me nothing. Not that there is anything to follow as the events in this film are random. Joseph goes here, sees some demonic images, and then goes somewhere else. It plays out like a bad mystery, but there is no mystery (and I’m not saying it’s easy to figure out; there literally is no mystery as nothing actually happens). Yes, we’ve got a cheap plot cheat here. It’s not quite as bad as it all being a dream, but it’s close. It is a low-rent version of Jacobs Ladder, not exactly a stellar film either, but if you need to see a version of this story, see Jacobs Ladder. Clive Barker has labeled this movie “an abomination” and I have no reason to disagree.

The other films in the series are: Hellraiser, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Hellraiser: Bloodline, Hellraiser: Hellseeker, Hellraiser: Deader, Hellraiser: Hellworld.

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