Hellraiser

Directed by David Bruckner, Hellraiser follows Odessa A’zion’s Riley as she (and several other characters) find themselves pursued by Pinhead (Jamie Clayton) and the Cenobites after opening the series’ infamous puzzle box. Filmmaker Bruckner, working from Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski’s script, kicks Hellraiser off with a tremendously promising opening that grabs the viewer’s interest and attention right from the get-go, and it’s clear, certainly, that the movie benefits from its smattering of persistently compelling, above-average attributes and elements – with this especially true of Eli Born’s atmospheric cinematography and the mostly top-notch performances. It’s clear, then, that Hellraiser’s overall impact is hampered by a sluggish midsection devoted primarily to Riley’s investigation into the aforementioned puzzle box, with the somewhat lackluster atmosphere compounded by a needlessly padded-out, overlong running time (ie the movie ultimately feels like a first cut in dire need of judicious editing). And although Clayton does a superb job of stepping into Doug Bradley’s iconic shoes, Hellraiser builds towards a hit and miss climax that does, perhaps unsurprisingly, feel much longer than one might’ve preferred – which ultimately cements the film’s place as a decent-enough endeavor that unquestionably, at the very least, fares better than all of the original movie’s awful sequels.

**1/2 out of ****