Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth
1992, USA, Directed by Anthony Hickox
Colour, Running Time: 92 minutes
VHS, PAL, High Flyers, Video: 1.33:1, Audio: Ultra Stereo
Taking its lead from the conclusion of Hellbound the pillar that incarcerated Pinhead is purchased by JP Monroe, the decadent owner of a New York nightclub. Elsewhere a luckless reporter, Joey, is searching for her breakthrough story when she witnesses a ghastly and inexplicable death while at the hospital prompting her to hook up with the only person who might have any idea what‘s going on, JP’s homeless ex-girlfriend, who also happens to be in possession of the Lament Configuration puzzle box. Accidentally splashing blood on the pillar JP inadvertently reawakens Pinhead who needs bodies to manifest himself freely in the corporeal world. Consuming one of JP’s one-night-stands Pinhead persuades him to bring another. One death later Pinhead is released from his prison, proceeding to slaughter the entire population of the nightclub and escaping on to the streets accompanied by a newly acquired army of Cenobites. But now he wants the box that Joey has taken in order to eliminate any risk of him being summoned back to the hell from which he came.
Far removed in ambience from the preceding two films, the Cenobites have finally been reduced to mere cartoon characters, spouting one-liners that are even more inane than those that were introduced in Hellbound. Pete Atkins, writing the screenplays for both films, has a lot to answer for. Pinhead takes centre stage this time and Doug Bradley is also given more to do in his human form, now spiritually separated from his darker side, but Pinhead is noticeably less imposing here, his dialogue quickly becoming tiresome. Plus, something that had not previously occurred, he repeatedly laughs maniacally as if the producers were trying to transform him into another Freddy K. Terry Farrell as the lead female is remarkably boring, this reflecting most of the cast generally. Some early computer morphing doesn’t adequately do the job it was intended to although gore effects as a rule are superb and distinctly imaginative in places, these really showcasing during the film‘s only worthwhile sequence, the club massacre. Studios had clearly recognised a franchise by this point and their motivation resulted in a lacklustre and tiresome project that elicits virtually no emotional response in the viewer. The series continued with the infamous Bloodline in 1996 (one of the messiest production histories ever, the director ending up being ‘Alan Smithee’; it actually wasn‘t as bad as I expected), Inferno in 2000, Hellseeker in 2002 (Ashley Laurence making a transient return to the series), Deader and Hellworld (both 2005 and Deader wasn‘t even supposed to be a Hellraiser film until they decided to tag on a couple of Pinhead scenes specifically to qualify it - obviously they thought it was worthless otherwise), and a short film called Prophecy in 2006. Please, guys, enough is enough…
Every now and again I get out my old video machine and watch a bunch of tapes that I haven’t seen for years, this being one of them. As can be expected, the full-frame picture of this extended version (it contained extra gore over the theatrical release) exhibits colour bleed and blurred details but that was VHS for you. It’s available from Anchor Bay on DVD in the UK if you want it. I keep the cassette lying around because Doug Bradley himself, a great bloke who is articulate and unfairly typecast, was kind enough to sign the cover for me when I met him in the nineties. I saw Hell on Earth at the cinema in ‘93 and, as a 21 year old, I quite enjoyed it. Nowadays it simply doesn’t satisfy one’s urge to see a great film. With Hell on Earth the degradation of the original concept was complete.