Review of Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) by Tim B — 04 Oct 2010

At its core, Hellraiser Bloodline was a good idea. Take the past, present and future and tie it all in to the Hellraiser legacy. The movie started off very well, with a messed up 'past' segment, twisted monsters, an interesting look on the origins of 'the box' and nasty violence.

once the flick moved into the present segment, it went down fast (not in the way I'd like it either). Pinhead, again, posed as no threat and seemed to be more into the drama of the protagonist's situation rather than showing up and wreaking havoc.

Having him narrate what was going on and make deals with the hero is NOT what I'd enjoy seeing my favorite guardian of hell do. He's also beaten way too easily and the dialogue was so gratuitous I just stopped listening to him after a while.

Why throw so much Pinhead in there and just have him talk the whole time? Kevin Yagher originally directed this and then disowned it. The movie does have a 'cheap' feel to it despite the impressive effects and gory bits.

The shots and editing were good though... Was it the camera used? Bruce Ramsay was the movie's biggest hook for me. He did very well in his three major roles and was fun to watch. Valentina Vagras has sex appeal coming out on all sides of her whether she's a maiden or a hideous monster.

Smoking beautiful with talent to back it up. Doug Bradley is really into the tole and I could sense his talent, just didn't care for his character. Kim Myers is still adorable and still gives good performances.

Why didn't she make it huge? Charlotte Chatton wasn't in the movie enough. She should've had more screen time than what was unjustly given to her. I guess I did enjoy the gory bits. They were the highlight of the movie so I won't give them away here.

This is an amusing chapter in the Hellraiser series, it just doesn't stick with me like the first two did and doesn't bring anything new other than some graphic bits so I can't give it much more points than what I already have.

See the first two and watch 3 + 4 if you must, but don't expect to be rocked by it.