Rotten Tomatoes
Movie Info
Clive Barker's horrific creation Pinhead (Doug Bradley) returns to the screen for the fourth (and purportedly final) time in this time-juggling horror opus. In 18th century France, Phillip Lemarchand (Bruce Ramsay) constructs a black puzzle box for the wizard Duc de L'Isle (Mickey Cottrell); however, the box has potentially deadly consequences when it's discovered that it can be used to open the gates of hell, freeing the demonic Pinhead. Two hundred years later, the box finds its way into thehands of John (also played by Bruce Ramsay), a New Yorker and distant descendant of Lemarchand who is being pursued by Pinhead and his minions, while another 200 years hence, Dr. Paul Merchant (Ramsay again) is trying to make his way aboard a space station in hopes of reclaiming the puzzle box, hoping to destroy it before it can be used to once again release the demons upon the world; Merchant is also attempting to build a second box that can close the gates that the first box opens. While makeup artist Kevin Yagher made his directorial debut with this film, the final cut was taken away from him and considerably shortened, which in his mind severely compromised the film's complex, time-traveling narrative. He opted to instead credit his work to Alan Smithee, which was the Directors Guild's official pseudonym for directors who feel their work has been tampered with. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Hellraiser 4: Bloodline (1996)
Written by: The Arrow
Director: Alan Smithee (aka Kevin Yagher)
Starring:
Bruce Ramsay/Phillip-John-Paul
Valentina Vargas/Angelique
Kim Myers/Bobbi
Doug Bradley/Pinhead
Starring:
Bruce Ramsay/Phillip-John-Paul
Valentina Vargas/Angelique
Kim Myers/Bobbi
Doug Bradley/Pinhead
PLOT-CRUNCH
We witness the birth of the "puzzle". Then, we follow a war between the demons and Phillip Le Marchand’s bloodline through the ages. And yes…Pinhead does wind up in space?!?
THE LOWDOWN
Kevin Yagher removed his name from the film (see BULL'S-EYE) and the name of shame takes its place: Alan Smithee. I expected a disaster…
Hellraiser 4 has a few things going for it. The story is told through three time periods (past-present-future) and the core of it is very interesting. I loved the 18th century segment, it’s the darkest of the film. It introduces a delicious looking demon that goes by the name of Angelique (sizzling), it has very nasty gore (the skin beingfilled by the demon’s soul) and a bitter, cruel streak. Seeing "Hellraiser"-like events happen in that time period really worked for me…it just clicked. I wish the whole flick took place in the 18th century.
The flick started losing me when it jumped to the present. I almost felt like the story didn’t know where to go. Pinhead shows up with his endless monologues (still hasn’t learned to shut up) and there are way too many scenes of him interacting with Angelique. I felt like I was watching a soap opera with the heavies flirting and scheming their evil plans. Pinhead even resorts to kidnapping the hero’s wife and young son in order to blackmail him. What is this..."Days Of Our Lives"???
Pinhead is no longer hell’s referee, the impartial demon that goes by the rules. He’s now the token bad guy (who likes to pet pigeons???). I’ll go as far as saying that Pinhead is this entry's weakest element. Every time he shows up, the story stops so he can ramble on and on and on.
The story doesn’t only stop for Pin boy, it also stops to show gore for gore’s sakes. Now I love gore, but I love good storytelling way more. Did we really need that scene with the two twins being turned into Cenobites? Yes, it's pretty kool and messy but it stops the flow of the film and doesn’t serve the story. It felt like "let's put the flick on hold to show some gnarly stuff"…clumsy…
The opening segment in space is a good teaser but the ending (also in space) is a let down. All about Pinhead and his crew stalking paper-thin soldiers through a space station. Even though the murders are kool, the ending stalk sequences did not please me. When did Hellraiser become Friday The 13th?? Another thing that didn’t sit well with me is Pinhead’s demise. Has all these years in hell made him numb and dumb? I mean Marchand is right there in his face preparing his end but Pin is too busy talking Marchand’s ear off to notice. Pinhead=fool? U bet
.
The chatterer demon dog is kool, Angelique is mouth watering (even with her skin peeled off) and the gore is plentiful, but all in all, this is an average sequel and like most sequels, it forgets where it came from. The Hellraiser movies were always flawed (in myopinion ) but at least they were ambitious and different. This sequel doesn’t have a pinch of what made the first two special. Hellraiser has lost its way and Pinhead is now a proud graduate of the "Generic Villain" school . Where’s my tissue…Where’s my gun???
Hellraiser 4 has a few things going for it. The story is told through three time periods (past-present-future) and the core of it is very interesting. I loved the 18th century segment, it’s the darkest of the film. It introduces a delicious looking demon that goes by the name of Angelique (sizzling), it has very nasty gore (the skin being
The flick started losing me when it jumped to the present. I almost felt like the story didn’t know where to go. Pinhead shows up with his endless monologues (still hasn’t learned to shut up) and there are way too many scenes of him interacting with Angelique. I felt like I was watching a soap opera with the heavies flirting and scheming their evil plans. Pinhead even resorts to kidnapping the hero’s wife and young son in order to blackmail him. What is this..."Days Of Our Lives"???
Pinhead is no longer hell’s referee, the impartial demon that goes by the rules. He’s now the token bad guy (who likes to pet pigeons???). I’ll go as far as saying that Pinhead is this entry's weakest element. Every time he shows up, the story stops so he can ramble on and on and on.
The story doesn’t only stop for Pin boy, it also stops to show gore for gore’s sakes. Now I love gore, but I love good storytelling way more. Did we really need that scene with the two twins being turned into Cenobites? Yes, it's pretty kool and messy but it stops the flow of the film and doesn’t serve the story. It felt like "let's put the flick on hold to show some gnarly stuff"…clumsy…
The opening segment in space is a good teaser but the ending (also in space) is a let down. All about Pinhead and his crew stalking paper-thin soldiers through a space station. Even though the murders are kool, the ending stalk sequences did not please me. When did Hellraiser become Friday The 13th?? Another thing that didn’t sit well with me is Pinhead’s demise. Has all these years in hell made him numb and dumb? I mean Marchand is right there in his face preparing his end but Pin is too busy talking Marchand’s ear off to notice. Pinhead=fool? U bet
.The chatterer demon dog is kool, Angelique is mouth watering (even with her skin peeled off) and the gore is plentiful, but all in all, this is an average sequel and like most sequels, it forgets where it came from. The Hellraiser movies were always flawed (in my
. Hellraiser has lost its way and Pinhead is now a proud graduate of the "Generic Villain"
GORE
This film doesn’t shy away from the gore. Violent choking, bitten off cheek, twin men melded together…my fave is the guy that gets his head cut off by a "special" mirror. Special commendation to the chatterer demon dog. It looks good and the scenes with it are fun times. I’m also happy to report that the Cenobites are closer to the original ones…no CD man here…
" mirror. Special commendation to the chatterer demon dog. It looks good and the scenes with it are fun times. I’m also happy to report that the Cenobites are closer to the original ones…no CD man here…
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