Clive Barker can do no wrong. His words are chilling, gory, outrageous, and violent. But a major problem exists when it comes to adapting those novels to screen. There have been relatively successful efforts with films like Hellraiser, Nightbreed, Candyman, and Lord of Illusions. And then again, there have been horribly embarrassing movies like Rawhead Rex and a few of the ridiculously dumb Hellraiser sequels including Bloodlines (aka, Pinhead in Space…and France).

Most recently, Hellraiser: Hellseeker has been unleashed upon unsuspecting horror audiences. After the last few disappointing Hellraiser incarnations, I’d found myself disillusioned. Believe it or not, but I fell asleep during 2000’s awful Hellraiser: Inferno. With that said, I hoped that Hellseeker would be decent enough to hold my attention. Blood and guts are good and all, but the fact remains that no movie is of any use without plot.

Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002) is a straight-to-video further adaptation of Barker’s original text The Hellbound Heart (1986). In fact, it is the sixth attempt by various directors to do so. Of course, the best of the series are the first two (Hellraiser and Hellbound), but as always there is some amount of room for growth. Hellseeker reintroduces audiences to Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence). Her character, though pivotal, lasts only moments into the first scene…or so the audience believes.

The story is as follows: Kirsty is married to Trevor (Dean Winters). He knows little of his wife’s past (and as we know, maybe that’s for the best). Anyway, Trevor isn’t the best husband nor is he the ideal person at all. Much of the film takes place within and around poor Trevor who sees things and is losing touch with reality. Little does he know what his wife has done and where he will spend eternity…muahahahaha. Let’s just say that Kirsty returns to the same ploy that she tricked the Cenobites (yes, Pinhead—still played by Doug Bradley—included) with in the first Hellraiser. Although, this time the strategy was a bit cleaner.

It is refreshing to see Kirsty back in action, though she is stiff and uncomfortable. Laurence was a much more natural actress fifteen years ago. Overall, the acting is decent as is the script. The plot line is, while somewhat familiar, innovative as compared to some of the earlier Hellraiser failures.

As far as remakes go, this is a better than average one. In the context of this quickly expanding series, it’s also slightly better than average. The choice of directors is of course a bit shady, but what can one expect from such a used-up idea? Rick Bota takes his first turn as a movie director, though he has in the past acted as cinematographer on films like Valentine, House on Haunted Hill (crappy movie with freaky visuals), Barb Wire, and Demon Knight. Bota is currently lined up to direct the next installment in the Hellraiser franchise, Deader (expected release 2004).

While Barker is still credited with the creation of the Cenobites and Kirsty Cotton, it is Carl V. Dupré and Timothy F. Day who actually wrote this script. Dupré has written films like Prophecy 3 and Detroit Rock City while this is the first writing credit to Day’s name. Day is also returning to write Deader.

Hellraiser: Hellseeker is among the best three Hellraiser films. It’s surpassed only by the first two movies. It will be interesting to see if Bota can pull off another relative success on his next outing with the material. This is a good enough movie to recommend to any fans of Barker or the Hellraiser series. It’s also probably good enough to recommend to horror fans (as long as they can stomach plenty of general ickiness…common to most Hellraiser and Barker films). To individuals not accustomed to horror, please pass. It won’t be in the least bit enjoyable.


Recommended: Yes