Review #1,104: 'Hellraiser: Deader' (2005)

Like Hellseeker (2002) before it, Deader, the seventh entry into Clive Barker's Hellraiser franchise, takes an unrelated spec script and shoe-horns in a couple of fleeting appearances from Doug Bradley's Pinhead to try and justify its inclusion of 'Hellraiser' in the title. Say what you will about the first two sequels (I thought they were pretty bad), but they at least felt like they were set in the same universe as the wonderfully disturbing 1987 original. Returning director Rick Bota delivers yet another straight-to-video, poorly-acted stinker that looks as if it was directed by a group of goth kids making their first student film.

This time, the plot revolves around investigative reporter Amy Klein (Kari Wuhrer), a feisty and dedicated type who always goes the extra mile to get to the heart of the stories she covers. We first meet her writing a story in a dingy crack house before she is shipped off to Budapest (where production is cheap) to investigate a mysterious group named the 'Deaders'. Based on footage recorded on a VHS tape, the Deaders are led by Winter (Paul Rhys), a man with the ability to bring people back to life. Her sleuthing leads to a corpse holding the Lament Configuration, which when opened unleashes Pinhead. The Cenobite warns Amy that Winter is operating outside of his control, and that he is a descendent of the toymaker who created the puzzle box. Is it all a dream, or are there supernatural forces at work?

As to whether what you are watching is in fact a dream or not won't be a question you'll linger on for long. Like Dean Winters' character in Hellseeker, Amy ends many scenes by suddenly jerking out of a nightmare. It's a cheap, tiresome tactic which quickly removes any tension the film may have had otherwise. The idea of seeking the ultimate pleasure and, of course, the dangers that come with it, is a key theme running throughout the series, but this is all but gone in favour of a lightweight tale of an emo cult playing with resurrection. There's also a startling lack of gore. Regardless of how bad the preceding sequels are, you could always rely on a gruesome scene or two to keep you awake, so Deader's main issue is that it's a complete bore. Frighteningly, this is one of two Hellraiser films released in 2005.


Directed by: Rick Bota
Starring: Kari Wuhrer, Paul Rhys, Marc Warren, Doug Bradley
Country: USA/Romania

Rating: *

Tom Gillespie