Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

Directed by Rick Bota [Other horror films: Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002), Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005)]

It’s been quite some time since I’ve last seen this sequel – anywhere from ten to 18 years, I’d guess – and after watching it with fresh eyes, well, I can say that it’s not that good at all, in my view.

Both Inferno and Hellseeker brought the series into a more psychological realm, and while the execution of such a tonal shift is certainly debatable, the very fact that they changed things up doesn’t need to be a negative. However, in the case of Hellseeker, and certainly in the case of this movie, things just don’t work out.

My main issues with Deader is largely the same issues I had with Hellseeker – it’s an absolute narrative mess. In the second half of the film, I have almost zero idea of what’s actually going on. See, when the main character (Kari Wuhrer) accidentally “opens” the Lament Configuration, not to mention having a run-in with Deaders (I’ll touch on them in a bit), she starts having a bunch of things that may or may not be visions.

First she’s struggling to get through a thin walkway, which I’m inclined to think wasn’t really happening. She gets stabbed, but wakes up in her hotel room. She’s still stabbed, but alive – perhaps the ritual that seemed like a dream in which she was killed but still lives – and then runs into Pinhead on a train. After that, she wakes up in a mental institute, but that’s definitely not real, because she shortly thereafter goes into her past to face her demons and then appears back on the table she was on in that dream that wasn’t a dream and then Pinhead.

I have no idea what Wuhrer’s character actually encounters past a certain point in the movie. Zero. There’s a cult of people who intentionally kill themselves, because the leader can bring them back to life – I don’t know why they’d bother joining, as it doesn’t seem to me being a member of this group comes with any perks – and it was sort of interesting seeing the conflict between the cult leader and Pinhead (because as the cult leader brings them back from the dead, he ‘steals’ them from Pinhead) – but again, the execution sucked hard.

Kari Wuhrer (Eight Legged Freaks, The Hitcher II: I’ve Been Waiting, Final Examination) didn’t really impress me much, but I really think it’s more the story that frustrated me as opposed to her performance. Simon Kunz (The Bunker, Eight for Silver) was quite a bit of fun during his few scenes. Paul Rhys’ character should have had more depth, but it’s always a pleasure seeing Doug Bradley, of course.

The issue here is that the story strikes me as a mess. I don’t entirely understand the goals of Rhys’ character. I don’t understand Pinhead’s goals. There’s another character here who seems to want to destroy Rhys’ character, but she goes about it in such a vague way. It’s just not an easy story to follow, given the narrative structure, and it’s just not that pleasurable either. Trippy at times, sure, but not pleasurable.

Of the first seven Hellraiser movies, I do think this is the worst one. Both Bloodline and Hellseeker had some problems, but this one was just a mess. Sure, it has some quality hook action at time (though at other times, the effects look quite poor), and Bradley’s Pinhead is always fun to see, but overall, this is a rather poor entry, which is disappointing given the somewhat interesting ideas we’re presented with.

4.5/10