Review #1,084: 'Hellraiser: Hellseeker' (2002)

A whopping 15 years after Clive Barker's masterful introduction to the hellish world of Pinhead and his Cenobite entourage comes the sixth entry into the Hellraiser franchise, and continues the tradition of each sequel becoming more and more removed from the original's mythology. Like the previous film, Hellraiser: Inferno (2000), Hellseeker feels like a stand-alone script with Barker's world of sadomasochism shoehorned in so that Dimension Films can retain the rights to a series that can be clumsily and cheaply churned out, and can be almost guaranteed to at least make its money back.

One of the few things worthy of note in Hellseeker is the return of Ashley Laurence as Kirsty Cotton, who went A.W.O.L. after the third entry, Hell on Earth (1992). Instead on weaving her character back into the story, director Rick Bota opts instead to focus on her deadbeat husband Trevor, played by Oz's Dean Winters. After a car crash leaves Kirsty apparently dead, Trevor begins to suffer from delusions and a severe case of amnesia. He is being questioned by a couple of cops who are keen to get to the bottom of some unanswered questions, and he discovers that he has been cheating on his wife with a woman at work and a flirty neighbour. He is also plagued by flashbacks, including one where he gives his wife a birthday present, the Lament Configuration.

Hellseeker takes 'inspiration' from many films, especially Angel Heart (1987) and Jacob's Ladder (1990). While those films used a fractured narrative as a way for the viewer to peek inside the damaged mind of its protagonist and to keep you guessing as the story unfolds. this dud simply has Winters awaken after every other scene rubbing his temples to reveal that the previous scene was 'just a dream', long after you had already guessed it. Winters is perfectly competent in the role, but his character just isn't interesting enough to hold your attention, and it's a wonder as to why the focus isn't on Laurence instead, whose tie-ins with the original trilogy would have made for a more intriguing experience. Doug Bradley is as solid as you would expect as Pinhead, but like most of the straight-to-video sequels, he is barely used, making for a completely boring and uninspired experience.


Directed by: Rick Bota
Starring: Dean Winters, Ashley Laurence, Doug Bradley, Rachel Hayward
Country: Canada/USA

Rating: *

Tom Gillespie