Review of Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992) by Bradens584 — 19 Dec 2020

When I saw Clive Barker’s name above the title I thought Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth might be good. I was wrong. Very wrong. Alright, the film isn’t all bad, it has a strong, suspenseful, gory opening scene.

Doug Bradley’s performance as Pinhead is the best in the series so far, and it alone makes this a film worth watching. I also enjoyed Paula Marshall as Terri and her dynamic with Pinhead, at least before it was completely abandoned.

I got some kicks out of references to the previous films, like when the characters discover records from the Channard Institute, the insane asylum from Hellraiser II. It had a good climax, but even that dragged on for far too long.

And now for the bad. EVERYTHING ELSE. The cinematography is uninspired, the dialogue and acting by everyone but Bradley and Marshall is garbage. The new Cenobite designs are kind of cool, but no where near the originality of the previous films.

The main character is a personality-less prop that simply moves from one scene to the next. There is hardly any good special effects until the climax, and even then it’s quantity over quality. After watching this film I was confused, how could Clive Barker have written this? The answer, he didn’t write most of it.

The film has some good ideas, and I assume that’s coming from Barker, but the majority of the film is written by Peter Atkins, who co-wrote Hellraiser II, and that film was far from perfect. In fact, the lack of returning talent really sinks this film, not just behind the camera, but in front.

Ashley Laurence’s Kirsty is reduced to a cameo, being replaced by the prop, Joey, played by Terry Farrell. Clare Higgins as Julia doesn’t even appear. Overall, an enjoyable film, if merely for Doug Bradley’s performance, but fundamentally flawed at every turn.