Hellraiser: Revelations

Plot

Steven Craven and Nico Bradley run away from home and travel to Mexico. They film themselves engaging in several days' worth of drunken partying. The boys later disappear. The Mexican authorities return their belongings to their parents, including a videotape made by Steven that documents their final moments.

A year later, the families of the two missing boys gather for dinner. Tensions rise when Emma, Steven's sister and Nico's girlfriend, expresses frustration with their lack of closure. She demands that her mother reveal the contents of Steven's videotape, which she has been obsessively watching in private. Later, Emma sneaks a look at the tape, which documents Steven and Nico picking up a girl in a bar. A flashback reveals that Nico murdered the girl while having sex in the bar's restroom, and later threatened to implicate Steven in the killing to force him to continue their "vacation" together.

A final flashback reveals that Nico solved the puzzle box, opening a portal to the realm of the Cenobites: extra-dimensional sadomasochists led by Pinhead who offer the ultimate sensual experience. Steven flees, but Nico is taken to the Cenobites' realm to be subjected to extreme torture and mutilation. The box is nearby, allowing Nico to communicate with Steven. Steven later kills several prostitutes so their blood can regenerate Nico, but Nico kills Steven when he refuses to continue.

The "Steven" holding the families hostage is really Nico in Stevens' skin, who taunts his victims with a shotgun. He demands that Emma solve the puzzle box for him, intending for the Cenobites to take her in his place thus assuring his freedom.

Emma opens the portal and the Cenobites—including Steven—appear. Nico's mother ignores Pinhead's command to remain silent, exclaiming that Nico forced Emma to solve the box, and is killed.

Nico says he brought them so they would take Emma in his place, only for Pinhead to ensnare him with hooks. Pinhead recognizes in Emma a dark sexual desire and taunts her with innuendo.

When Emma's father shoots Nico, the Cenobites vanish with Emma's mother instead, saying they were owed a victim since Nico was dead. Her father apologizes, then dies in Emma's arms. The film ends with Emma reaching for the puzzle box.

Cast

Development

Facing expiration of their rights, The Weinstein Company, while still apparently working on the long announced remake of the original film, decided to rush an eighth sequel into production; essentially a cinematic ashcan copy. The film was announced on August 20, 2010.

It was confirmed that Doug Bradley, who portrayed the character Pinhead in the previous Hellraiser films, would not return as Pinhead. Bradley was quoted as saying

I know that many of you will have caught up with the sudden burst of Internet chatter about a new Hellraiser film going into production, and will be keen to know whether I’ve been approached to play Pinhead again, so here’s the deal...I have been approached just in this last week (w/b 16 August) regarding a proposed new Hellraiser film. This is not the ‘remake’ which has been endlessly discussed for the last three years: with the working title Hellraiser: Revelations, it will be the ninth film in the series. I would stress that I have had no contact from, or negotiations with, anyone from Dimension Films: rather these contacts have been by way of private discussion with individuals involved with this project... Following these discussions, and after reading the script and giving it due consideration, I have decided not to participate. The ink is barely dry on the script, and it is scheduled to be in front of the cameras in two weeks time and in the can by the middle of next month (September 2010). The minuscule shooting schedule is more than matched by the budget...Whether or not this means that somebody else will be stepping up to play Pinhead, I have no idea. I guess we can watch this space together...One way or another, this does not seem to me to represent a serious attempt to revive the Hellraiser franchise. However, I wish everyone who will be directly involved in the making of this film, good luck with it.

Instead, Pinhead was played by Stephan Smith Collins. Images of Pinhead from the film were leaked; however, the film's director Victor Garcia said they did not convey how Pinhead will look in the film.

Production

The film was shot over the course of three weeks in Los Angeles for Dimension Films.

Release

The film was released to a single theater in California on March 18. Dimension Extreme was released via home video on October 18, 2011.

Reception

The film received a negative review from Dread Central stating "Not only does this entry make all the other sequels seem great in comparison, you could easily confuse this for some Hellraiser mockbuster from the folks at The Asylum." A second review criticized the new 'pseudo-pinhead', saying "Pinhead doesn't appear to be doing much with his free time but stroking bloodied chains and making sinister faces... it's a farcical twist on the Austin Powers mini-me."

Scott Weinberg called the film a "contractually-mandated piece of intentional garbage that exists for no other reason than pure, simple greed...This is amateur hour stuff all the way, and it'd be almost endearingly, stupidly enjoyable if this witless cinematic refuse wasn't dancing on the grave of a true classic of the genre."

A two and a half out of five was awarded by Richard Scheib of Moria, who stated that while the effects and new Pinhead left much to be desired, Revelations did have an interesting story and effective twist, and "follows the original far closer than any of the other Hellraiser sequels ever did".

Clive Barker and Doug Bradley have made no official comment on the film. Barker's only comments have been in response to ad copy that the film comes "from the mind of Clive Barker;" he posted on his Twitter feed, "I want to put on record that the flic [sic] out there using the word Hellraiser IS NO FUCKIN' CHILD OF MINE! I have NOTHING to do with the fuckin' thing. If they claim its from the mind of Clive Barker, it's a lie. It's not even from my butt-hole."

Sequel

A tenth film, titled Hellraiser: Judgment, is currently in the works. The film will be written and directed by Gary J. Tunnicliffe, and will star Paul T. Taylor as Pinhead. Judgment will be released direct-to-video in 2017.