Hellraiser: Deader (DVD)

Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, with seven movies in the franchise so far, was starting to become “Heckraiser” so diluted was the impact that the first two movies made. Therefore, I’m pleased to report that Hellraiser: Deader is a pretty good horror flick with plenty of atmosphere, great sets and locations, good acting, and sharp dialogue.

One caveat: The Pinhead posse maybe a bit disappointed that their hellish hero is barely in the film at all. Apparently, the script was written as a non-Hellraiser movie, then adapted. It does show. And it probably goes without saying that Barker hasn’t been on board for years (but if you buy the DVD, you’ll be putting a few residuals bucks in his pocket since he is credited with creating the characters) so his touch is definitely absent.

Kari Wuhrer plays Amy Klein, a nihilist undercover reporter who will do anything to get the story from the inside out. When her assignment editor tells her she’s got a plane ticket to Romania, hotel and per diem, she almost balks until she finds out what the story is: To infiltrate a group of heavily made-up goths who call themselves “the Deaders” and claim to be able to bring the deceased back to everlasting life. Off Amy goes, and into terrible trouble she gets.

As directed by Rick Bota, a former special effects wizard, Hellraiser: Deader does have excellent visuals — the corpses and death makeups are incredibly well done and certainly detailed enough to make most viewers cringe. There are also effective “jump scares” and at first the film is quite creepy and mysterious... Eventually, it does tumble into horror movie cliché, but that OK too — it’s all good, as long as you go in not expecting a classic. While the script lacks originality, especially story-wise, I must admit that I found the quippy dialogue above-par; I laughed more than once.

The DVD has a ton of additional release material, surely designed to sway those on-the-fence buyers. And they’re pretty worthwhile — there’s an entertaining Making-Of featurette, funny and irreverent commentary (with Bota, special effects supervisor Gary Tunnicliffe, and Doug "Pinhead" Bradley), plus a plethora of deleted and extended scenes with optional director commentary. There’s also some extra info about the visual effects and practical effects, a gag-reel, and storyboards.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson