Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

A journalist uncovers an underground group who can bring back the dead and slowly becomes drawn into their world. Hellraiser: Deader is a straight to dvd sequel and it shows trust me. The acting was pretty bad, the cinematography was very awful and the entire set of characters were pretty much there in order to take their money or die that's it. This movies offer nothing new or fun to the Series they keep doing the same thing again and again without any actual meaning and it makes things worse and worse with each installment. (0/10)

This had the potential of being a decent Hellraiser sequel. For one, the story makes this a Hellraiser film. The trouble is that it doesn't go far enough and the direction is dreadful, the pace is too slow, and the scary atmosphere is non-existent.Reporter, Amy Klein (Wuhrer), is given a new assignment to track down the deaders. Her boss, Charles Richmond (Kunz), has been sent a video in which a woman is shot in the head after a strange ritual by a man named Winter (Rhys)... seconds later she's alive once again, with a huge exit wound in the side of her head... and she's immortal. In the course of her investigation into the new cult, Amy finds out that Winter is a descendant of L'Merchant...For some reason, Bota, who was responsible for the uneasy feeling throughout the last instalment of the Hellraiser saga, Hellseeker, failed to add the same atmosphere in this chapter. This is a shame as it would have been so much better with it... the story cries out for a sense of unease and creepiness, with a side order of fear. It's even forgivable that there are few Cenobites in the story, once again, as the ritual and the immortalisation is based around the L'Merchant configuration. However, the ritual itself should have been better thought out. It feels and appears weak and silly. For me, it was even quite annoying with all the shouting. This was a missed opportunity, and there are plenty more in the story.I have to admit, even though I'm not liking the new set of Hellraiser films, I have to give credit to the actors and actresses as they have been the strongest and best part of the movies. This is still the case in this flick too. The only flimsy character is Winter. Rhys gives a poor portrayal of a main character, though this too could be down to the writing and the direction. I would have tried to get Bruce Ramsey to play Winter as he did such a great job as the trio of Merchant's in Bloodline.What the film needed was a more detailed and thought out story, better direction with an influx of atmosphere, and slightly more Cenobites...Again, I would recommend the original four films over this one.

OK, in the past couple of weeks I've watched all Hellraiser movies from 1 to 8. Here's my evaluation. First I watched #3, this is a joke of a film, 3 stars at best. #4, another joke, 3 stars. #5 is unrelated to Hellraiser, but was a decent movie on its own, but overlong, 4 stars. #6 also unrelated to Hellraiser, and pure garbage, 1 star. #8, similar to #3, and again a joke.I then rewatched #1. I've seen this movie years ago. Watching it now, I see this is the best story, best acted, best fx. But it's not a perfect movie. Some acting and fx were garbage. 7 stars.Then I watched #2. I've seen this movie more than any other in the series, and I had thought it was the best, but it's not. It has more visuals, but the story is inferior to the first. The older I get, the more stories I want, and the visuals are not as important. There is some decent acting here, but most of the acting is garbage. And the dialogue is pure crap. It's worth checking out for the visuals. 7 stars, maybe 6. This is mostly for nostalgia. As a stand alone film, it may be only 5 stars.I then watched this movie. #7. After watching in order, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 1, and 2, #7 is probably the best sequel. But like #5 it is unrelated to Hellraiser, and because of some dumb decisions by the filmmakers I can only give it 5 stars.This is similar to #5 Inferno (decent) and #6 Hellseaker (garbage) in that it is a psychological horror but it has more and not as many boring sequences. The main actress Kari Wuhrer is also much better lead than the other actors in those movies. Paul Rhys as Winter was bland and his character needed more. Simon Kunz as Kari's boss was decent but boring. His scenes should have been cut. Pinhead was good, but not enough scenes or dialogue. Georgina Rylance was good as the dead girl hanged girl in the bathroom was great, but they should have cut her other scenes. All the other actors, cops, landlord, whatever, were all filler, all these scenes should have been cut.Excellent cinematography. Decent music, but not great. They should have used the similar themes from the first two movies.Some notable scenes in this movie are the dead hanging girl, great stuff. And the knife in the back in the bathroom, it went on a bit too long, but good work here. The scene where Kari opens the box, after watching a videotape where Georgina Rylance says "don't open the box", hooks and chains come out of the box and hook her head, and Pinhead shows up. This was great.The main problem with this movie is extended boring nonsense scenes. It also opens with a decent scene of a drug den, but not enough to make a bang. After watching a lot of films, I notice that if you want to make some impact in a film, start with something exciting, not a woman waking up in a drug den. That's interesting, but boring. Take a look at the first Hellraiser, that opens with Frank buying the box, then getting hooked. And so are we, what the hell is going on! Take a look at James Bond, they open with some wild things going on. Take a look at the original Star Trek, something is going on, there's a problem, now we need to solve it. In this film we get Kari waking up, then going to her boss's office to view a take of a cult. We'll maybe they should have opened with the video tape scene. I don't know, I'm not making the film. I'm just watching. Or, better they have Pinhead torturing some fool. Something.Another problem I found is even though Kari Wuhrer did a fine job, she's in 90% of the scenes. If they had more Pinhead, or Winter's backstory it would give some dynamics, some breathing room. If we only see Kari throughout the dynamics are lost.This film like #5 Inferno is in serious need of re-editing and losing about 15 to 20 minutes from its running time. As an unrelated Hellraiser movie the rating is a C, or 5 stars. If it cut the running time it could have been a decent B movie, B rating, 7 stars. If it added a decent opening, more torture and Pinhead horror, and a greater ending, it had enough filmmaking talent to maybe movie it up to B+, 8 stars.

Deader is the final nail that broke the camel's back in a series with fascinating subject matters relating reality warping, pain and sex to psychological thrillers.This traded all that for a cult, drugs and hot twenty year olds making it a stinker.I was expecting to explore more of the mythology after seeker, but instead the cenobites are on the back burner gathering dust and only show up at random times.Taking the film to another country would've been a great way to enhance the atmosphere by using underground tunnels, old architecture and cobbled villages instead of the bland dull route they took.The cult seemed silly, not explored enough or even given a purpose. They die, take a drug and come back to avoid purgatory with our favorite nail man. Why not leave or get away from the city? Instead they build a sci fi ray gun to take him out. If your going to rob from your franchise don't use the sillier elements.You can tell by now the writers aren't even trying anymore and its nothing but a cash machine instead of producing great qualities to enjoy.Barker has many more books he wrote that would work on the big screen that explores the world set up in I and II much better.