Hellraiser:
Hellseeker
NEGATIVE STARS
by D.M. McCormick
Let's face it, folks. There are no more Hellraiser movies. They stopped making
'em after 3, and the sooner you get used to it, the better off all of us are.
Bondage freaks and Pinheadites may scream "But NO! NO! You just haven't seen
the original cut of BLOODLINE! Heathen scum!" Bollocks to that. Just like
Halloween, there's a cut off point and begging to include a crap sequel doesn't
sit well with me. But since there's a suggestion I ought to finish this "review",
let us discuss the relative merits (or lack thereof) of Hellseeker:
At first glance, this is THE Hellraiser sequel people have been looking for. Bringing
Ashley Laurence back into the mix as Kirsty for the first time since "Hell
on Earth" would in theory be the jolt this series needs to get back on track,
but wait.... she's on screen about as much as Pinhead was in Hellraiser: Inferno
(which is only barely a Hellraiser movie, but gory as hell). For the rest of Hellseeker,
we follow the helplessly emotionless Dean Winters (of Oz fame) who seems incapable
of playing his scenes any way other than snarky. And when you're the bereaved
husband of the supposedly drowned Kirsty, snarky doesn't cut it. But wait, did
she drown? Scenes bleed together from painfully unerotic encounters to baffling
and pointless work and police interrogations (and that's no typo. every point
he enters his cubicle, the obnoxious "co-worker" asks the same stupid
questions the same stupid ways over and over) I suppose we're meant to question
his reality, but this reviewer stopped caring about twenty minutes in. Vanilla
Sky this isn't, although Vanilla Hell does aptly describe watching Hellseeker.
To spare you the curiousity of what the "twist" is:
Idiot buys the Lament Configuration for Kirsty on their anniversary, she opens
it and talks to Pinhead. They make a deal that she can deliver five souls more
rotten than this movie, and his is the last. So, viola! The ENTIRE movie is Dean
Winters coming to grips with being in hell. *Yawn*
Is it gory, you say? No. If you want gory Hellraiser movies, this isn't your flick.
In fact, Hellseeker really has nothing going for it, and I'd be pleased as punch
to report to you this DTV ditty was the last, but oh no, we have two more to look
forward to: Hellraiser - Deader (I shit you not. Starring Kari Wuhrer), and Hellraiser
- Hellworld (with Lance Henrikson). Actually, the premise of Hellworld is classic,
so I'll close this review with the plot outline from IMDB.com:
Pinhead returns to terrorize computer hackers that have opened a virtual Lament
Configuration on the website Hellworld.com.