Review of Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002) by Craig P — 16 Mar 2004

In celebration for [i]The Blair Witch Project [/i]I decided to watch two horror movie sequels...

[b]Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (Berlinger, 2000) - **1/2[/b].

It is plain as day that this film is directed by the same guy who did [i]Paradise Lost[/i], the documentary on the West Memphis Three. He has his in-jokes about witchcraft and "murderers" who wear black. And as a fan of the Blair Witch, I do enjoy this film. It is a BAD movie - genuine crappy horror. But there is a wit which the first film lacked. There is a lot to say in a movie so disregarded by critics and audiences alike. It plays out like a satire of the first film, telling us that "Video never lies. Film does." [i]The Blair Witch Project [/i]was shot on video, and the sequel was shot on film AND video. I do recommend this film to smart people who like bad horror. Try to realize the themes and messages to the film, surrounded by the bad acting, ridiculous writing and awful visual effects.

And...

[b]Hellraiser: Hellseeker (Bota, 2002) - *1/2[/b].

This film wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't boring. It is so hard to get through that you can only smirk at the half-intelligent ending. There is a movie worthy of a better title than the sixth installment of the [i]Hellraiser [/i]series here, but it turns out to be nothing but stomach-turning fluff. The series ended with the third. Some even argue the second. I, for one, think this film could've done without Pinhead (Doug Bradley). It could have been a little tighter. The [i]Hellraiser [/i]name is what it takes for fools like me to see films like these. But maybe a better marketing team could've figured out that the "nightmare" they had on film wasn't [i]that [/i]bad. They could've worked on it to make it better. Hey, if [i]House of 1000 Corpses [/i]can play in 1000 theaters, couldn't another movie just as random? Maybe Rob Zombie should've picked up a few bucks attaching his name to this [i]Hellraiser [/i]flick instead of wasting my two hours with his nonsensical and unscary fare.