Retro Review: Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth

For some reason when it comes to third films in a franchise that’s usually when a series starts to fall apart. Fresh ideas begin to run out and the films become very repetitive. Thankfully this never happened to the Hellraiser franchise and even though I may not have enjoyed a lot of the sequels past Bloodline, I must admit the filmmakers never stuck to a formula with these films.

Which brings me to Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth the second sequel to the classic horror film Hellraiser. It’s not a horrible film by any means but more of a mixed bag. Let me put it this way, there’s more to love here than there is to hate.

Let’s start off with the good shall we?

First off, Peter Atkins returned to write the screenplay which is very good. There’s some powerful moments in this story and I was really impressed with how Atkins grew as a writer. The story is more balanced than Hellbound when it comes to pulling all of its ideas together. He also wrote some great dialog moments with Pinhead in this movie. I’ve always loved how Atkins has written dialog for the character and this time around the words he gave the character had a dark, and poetic quality that I really enjoyed.

Having Doug Bradley back as Elliot Spencer/Pinhead was also another positive. The main crunch of the story revolves around both characters and Doug probably gives his best all around performance here out of all the sequels. He’s definitively playing a different variation of the character that’s for sure. This is a more malevolent demon that’s not confined by the laws of the Lament Configuration. This is Pinhead with a God complex who wishes to have it all.

I really enjoyed the Elliot Spencer material. I’m glad that Atkins continued this story which was left hanging at the end of Hellbound. It’s also the most dramatic story arc Hell On Earth has going for it because the rest of the movie is a fun popcorn film. Which I didn’t have a problem with in some aspects, but in others I did.

The character of J.P. Monroe was a nice addition and actor Kevin Bernhardt plays him like the spoiled little brat that he is. He’s obviously the Frank Cotton of the story, and like that character before him, I enjoyed seeing him get what he deserved. I couldn’t hate the character like I did Frank. There’s a charm that Bernhardt brought to him that sucked me in the moment I saw him on screen. He also has a great sex scene that leaves me laughing every time I watch it.

Hell On Earth was also the first time I saw the gorgeous Paula Marshal as the lost and dreamless character Teri. This started my lustful fascination with goth women. I also related to her character the most.

Once again Image Animation was on top of their game. My favorite effect being Pinhead’s release from the Pillar of Souls. Their work in the club massacre was also top notch. I was surprised the MPAA let them get away with so much, but the movie has such a comic book tone that I can see why they were a more lenient on this one compared to the Hellraiser and Hellbound.

I adore Anthony Hickox’s work and  he does a good job here. He pulls off some very memorable moments like ‘The Boiler Room’ club massacre and the rebirth of Pinhead. His visual style was certainly more in line with the more commercial tone that producers wanted for the film.

Which brings me to my first problem with the film. The drastic change in tone from the first two is very apparent from the get go. The grittiness of the first two is gone and replaced with a softer and more colorful feel that I’ve never really cared for. This movie doesn’t want anything to do with the S&M qualities of the first two films.

I also wasn’t a very big fan of the main lead Joey Summerskill played by actress Terry Farrell. She wasn’t a very interesting character and was no Kirsty Cotton that’s for sure. Though trying to live up to Ashley Laurence was going to be hard.

I also didn’t like a lot of the campy humor that the film contained. For example, the part where Pinhead spits out the bullets was a little over the top for me. In the script, JP shoots him and he absorbs the gunshots into the pillar. But this was probably a moment to make the film more mainstream friendly.

But the real problem for me is that the film never feels like hell on earth. Except for a small sequence where Joey is chased by some silly cenobites through town, we never get the apocalyptic feel that the title promises. But to be fair, the budget for this movie was very small and creating the next coming of hell wasn’t going to happen.

But all in all, Hell On Earth is a fun movie. It doesn’t live up to the first two, but again the filmmakers were trying to get this franchise out to a more mass audience. I think it accomplished that. There was no way we were going to see an image of a skinned woman smoking a cigarette in this go around. Those kind of images are what I really miss the most about the Hellraiser franchise. But after Hellbound, those days were sadly gone.