Review of Hellraiser: Inferno (2000) by Ghostshadow X — 17 Oct 2010

Hellraiser: Inferno, the 5th entry in the series, also marks the first major shift away from the basic plot structures of the series, focusing on the "personal hell" of a single character as they confront their own fears and sins in an increasingly surreal (hell)world.

The film feels more like a psychological thriller than a horror film, and the quasi-detective plot keeps this feeling in check even as various cenobites show up and cause bloody havoc to those around our protagonist.

Unfortunately the film isn't completely satisfying, particularly due to the limited screentime of Pinhead and the extremely clicheed writing. Thorne, our "dirty cop" protagonist, is not a very likable character in the first place, so his slow psychological torment over the course of the film sort of falls flat, despite actor Craig Sheffer's best efforts to keep tensions high with his overblown performance.

I enjoyed the way that the threads of reality seem to unravel as the film moves forward, and Pinhead is more true to his original character here than he was in the previous entry, Bloodline. I suppose given the small budget this film manages to accomplish quite a bit, maintaining a serious tone throughout and offering some genuine thrills.

Despite feeling like more of a generic thriller than previous entries, Inferno is actually a decent film, providing a new, more cerebral direction for the franchise which would be closely followed by the next few sequels.