6
(religious imagery, demons, a message of sin bringing destruction)
4
(disturbing images & concepts, obscured nudity, sex, strong language)
6
(see it even if you don't like the other Hellraiser movies)
My desire to see the entire Hellraiser series was fueled by a few different motivations, but one of the big ones was wanting to see Scott Derrickson's entry, the 5th one known as "Inferno." I appreciate Scott because we share similar spiritual beliefs and both have a vision for combining that with the horror genre. Having enjoyed "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" as much as I did I wanted to see if he could deliver in other movies before I went around telling people I was a fan of his work. Having heard mixed reviews, including Doug Bradley's lack of enthusiasm, for "Inferno," I suppose I started it with some trepidation, but I ended it knowing that this will be a film I watch more than once.
The concept of Hellraiser revolves around a puzzle box known as the Lament Configuration. It unlocks doors to Hell where dark Cenobites dwell. These grotesque creatures thrive on suffering: mixing pleasure with pain and beauty with horror. They take the person who solved the cube into a lair of intense pain and destruction with bloody results.
Up until this point the stories had been focused on literal, physical manifestations. Cenobites enter the mortal plane or certain souls escape Hell as corpses needing blood to be revitalized; in either situation, as odd as the events or the surroundings might be, there is no difference between that and eating a sandwich as far as the reality of it.
This time around we deal more with an internal struggle that manifests itself in the physical realm in ways that blur the lines of what is real outside of the mind of the main character even to the point of becoming paradoxical. Pinhead affects Joe's life, but his life continues rather than him just being dragged directly to Hell (without passing Go or collecting $200 I imagine) to be chained up and ripped apart.
"Inferno" is such a departure from the kinds of stories we've seen so far that I initially thought it might have been written as a stand-alone script and then adapted into the Hellraiser franchise to capitalize on the name (I've heard of studios doing this kind of thing with other titles, in fact, I believe this happened with "Deader"). Having had the chance to ask Scott (who both wrote and directed "Inferno") about this directly I've learned that this wasn't the case at all. It was always intended to be a Hellraiser script, but Scott was asked to deliver something “new and original” which he certainly did. The result feels to me almost more like a Silent Hill kind of story than a Hellraiser one (which makes me think Scott could probably turn out a killer Silent Hill production if given the opportunity) using a lot more allegory than the others.
To some, including myself, the changes are refreshing in a way, but depending on what it is specifically that you like about Hellraiser movies I could see how you could be left wanting more Pinhead or a tighter establishment of how the rules in the Hellraiser universe operate. Keep in mind, too, that I'm a rampant Silent Hill fan so tapping into some of the things that I like about it might appeal to me more than other Hellraiser fans. This is a trend that will continue for the next few movies resulting in a few sequels that I consider the strongest in the series.
As much as I like the shifting-reality approach, though, I am a little disappointed that we never get anymore real development of Pinhead or the other Cenobites as actual characters. They simply show up to be the evil wizards behind the curtain for the most part. Even more unfortunate is that when the series shifts to a new approach again it is one that kills any interest I have in wanting the series to continue. But that's for a future review; let's get back to "Inferno."
Joe Thorne is a big city detective. He's got a keen intellect and is a loving father. At the same time he's a man caught up in selfish pleasures of life. He'd rather spend a night with a prostitute than with his own wife, and he doesn't mind lifting cash or drugs from crime scenes to boost his lifestyle. He gets his hands on the Lament cube during an investigation. That puzzling mind of his can't help but explore the box which he quickly solves. As a dark force invades his world Joe's life becomes a twisted nightmare littered with grotesque demons who torture him as much as they tease him.
As one person after another turns up violently murdered Joe begins to see things that others don't leading to questions of his sanity as well as just what his involvement in these grisly events truly is. He will have to unravel the mystery of who the Engineer is in order to break through this nightmare, but how many lives will he ruin to save his own?
One of the big positives of this story is the character of Joe. He is despicable. How many movies are brave enough to have an unlikable main character? Yet he actually has a noble motivation for pushing on with his disturbing investigation. Evidence points to a child being in trouble. Joe is determined to save this kid and always holds out hope that he can get there before the kid becomes a murder victim, too. His own selfishness and his desire to cover his misdeeds taint his cause and give the demons a foothold to torment him which makes success all the more difficult. Yet, his ultimate goal remains saving the life of a child. Joe is capable of good as well as evil which is something that seems to be missing from a lot of Hollywood movie characters.
Bringing Joe to the screen is Craig Sheffer, an unknown to me personally but someone with a long list of credits. His portrayal might just be one of the best I've seen in any of the Hellraiser movies. Unlike many of the characters in the series I feel like Joe could be a real person (though I would wish for more honest cops in the real world). Nick Turturro seems to like to play police officers a lot. Maybe he's typecast, but it's easy to see why. He does a lot with the relatively small role of Joe's partner. As a Stargate fan I enjoyed seeing Carmen Argenziano and had hoped he would get more screentime. We don't see him much, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to mention Jacob/Selmac.
By and large all of the actors do pretty well. I think overall the acting here is better than any other Hellraiser movie with only a couple of others even posing it much of a challenge. That's not to say it's perfect; there are moments that lack, but they are so minor that I can't recall exactly which moments those are.
Doug Bradley returns as Pinhead. We don't see him much which is the primary complaint of many Hellraiser fans. I can understand why, he's the primary icon of the series. I wouldn't have minded a little more Pinhead myself, but I don't want the series to become “The Pinhead Show” at the expense of having strong stories tied to good human characters. There comes a point where having Cenobites run around causing destruction usurps having a narrative to justify it ("Hell on Earth" suffers from this). It may be visually appealing in some visceral way, but that's the kind of stuff that bores me about the average slasher flick.
The other Cenobites are new. The “sexy” female demons are some of the creepiest ones ever. These are far different than the female Cenobites we've seen before despite a different one frequently showing up on the DVD cover art for the movie (she's not actually in the movie at all). I could have done without the Kung Fu cowboy one, but we don't see him very long. Glimpses of the faceless demon are effective though I think it might have been interesting to have an even more subtle reveal of his eyeless visage.
What I like about "Inferno" seems to be exactly what some people dislike about it. It attempts to get into the viewers' minds, root around in there a bit, and come away leaving you to wonder if you need to make that shrink appointment you've been putting off for so long. It messes with perceptions instead of just throwing body parts out at us. Some fans seem to like the violence in some of the other movies more, but the psychological terror is what gets me. This is the very same reason I'm such a Silent Hill fan.
The thing that kills this movie more than any other aspect is something I'll get into more in the DVD guide: the sound is awful. I had to adjust my stereo settings just to be able to understand the dialogue. Other people would ask me what someone just said and I could only shrug my shoulders, rewind, and listen again which, I'm sure you can imagine, spoils the flow of the story. Once I finally broke down, paused the movie, and reset my stereo the rest of the movie was fine. How much of this is the fault of the DVD encoding and how much is the original sound design I couldn't say, but even after my adjustments I can't say I found the sound mix impressive.
The special effects sometimes show the movie's low budget. Fortunately there's not a heavy reliance on them. Even when they aren't perfect, they really aren't bad, though. The space scenes in the previous movie, "Bloodline," are far more unrealistic looking. Most of the freaky visuals are done with makeup and other practical effects that help sell the realism. I found a lot of the movie creepy in ways that even the original "Hellraiser" didn't manage.
Morality
There is less reliance on gore this time around compared to the earlier Hellraiser movies. There is still plenty of gruesome violence including body parts, a severed head, flayed skin, and mangled corpses. The majority of the lethal violence happens off screen, but we see enough to be effective. Some of the violence is against children which some viewers may find particularly disturbing. Joe finds severed fingers of a child at the various crime scenes.
There are hints that one of Joe's criminal informants is into underage sex though we never see him partaking. Speaking of sex there is one scene involving a prostitute. It is steamy but much less gratuitous than other movies in the series have been. There's no nudity and the scene doesn't linger. Once we get the point (which is a vital character element of Joe rather than a weak excuse to have a sex scene) we move on to the next scene. The female Cenobites are made to exude sexuality, but they do so in a way that's twisted. When they massage Joe's chest it's more disturbing than erotic but involves both elements. They represent Joe's own lustful perversion.
There is some nudity elsewhere. One picture hanging on a wall appears to be of someone's bare butt. The junkie that like underage girls has the interior of his truck decorated with porno pictures (not underage pictures, of course). The more explicit portions of these images have been obscured.
Joe picks up drugs for his prostitute friend, and there is at least one scene of drug use. There are references to smoking in the story but little if any actual smoking shown as far as I can remember.
The strong language is perhaps the one element that seems excessive to me. There's a lot of it throughout, and it started feeling to me like it is there because it is expected to be more than because the story calls for it.
Spirituality
It may not feel like it until a long way into the story, but this is actually quite a spiritual movie. The themes seem influenced by the idea that the wage of sin is death. When we serve our flesh we kill our spirit. Joe gets into the mess he's in because of the sinful pleasures he seeks out. As a result of his choices his soul is pretty much mutilated.
Slight spoiler here: This is a story of admonition rather than redemption. You're not going to walk away feeling uplifted at how Joe turned around to become some upstanding guy, a miracle of what God can do when we turn to Him. However, hopefully it will make you think about the choices that you make in life and how they affect not only those around you but also your own well being.
Since this isn't a story geared towards Christian audiences who would hopefully already recognize the need to die to self to be alive in the spirit, perhaps the message will be one that gets to those that really need to hear it. I don't expect to see anyone fall down at the altar in repentance after seeing this, but I could most definitely see the seed of a notion planted as people wonder what they can do to become alive themselves.
There is other religious imagery here and there. The camera lingers on a Bible, and one of the characters is a priest. The priest isn't the kind of character I would expect from a Christian writer, but the spiritual elements come into the story in other ways.
Joe questions who's to say who is right and wrong, but ultimately I think the story makes the statement that morality is not abstract. We can't live however we want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else because the way we live affects those around us whether we want to admit it or not. More than that, though, I think the movie wants you to consider the personal consequences to gaining the world at the expense of your soul.
Final Thoughts
"Inferno" may not be what everyone is looking for in a horror movie, particularly those wanting a Hellraiser tale in keeping with the original, but as far as effectiveness, style, and depth I found it to be far above average even when compared to higher budget, higher acclaimed endeavors. Some of the limits of budget and the straight-to-video release hold it back, but I wish more horror movies could tap into some of what this one has to offer.
Buying Guide
Once again, you freaks and geeks, I bring you another extraordinarily long guide to all the available releases of a Hellraiser movie. I really hope this isn't info overload because I feel like I'm authoring a book here. But I know that when I was trying to put together a complete collection of all the Hellraiser movies I needed to know what my options were so that I could balance quality with value and avoid needlessly buying multiples of the same movie. While the lists are long hopefully my comments on what sets the various options apart and my summary below will help you wrap your mind around what your choices are.
This time we're looking at "Inferno," the 5th Hellraiser offering. This was the first one that went straight to video rather than releasing to the theater which may have something to do with why the quality lacks. The movie itself is one of my favorites of the series, but the A/V quality is the worst. If you get bored reading about all the editions I found in my research you can jump on down to the next section to find out the details of the Blu-ray.
Miramax offers a few options the best of which are the “6 film Hellraiser Collection” with movies 3-8 and the Hellraiser / Prophecy collection also with 3-8 (plus The Prophecy).
You can also get sets that include movies 3-6, 3-5, & 4-5.
A “Masters of Terror” collection offers this with a few other random horror sequels.
For “Inferno” by itself on DVD there is a bare-bones Miramax release and a Dimension release with the only extras I've seen offered for this title.
If you prefer Blu you have a few more options. You can get a two-fer with “Bloodline,” or a 4 movie Multi-feature which is the one I'll be spending the most time on. There is no solo Blu option.
Movies 3-8:
The Miramax 6 film Hellraiser Collection and Hellraiser/Prophecy set offer movies 3-8. That only leaves out the first two and #9 (which is best left out anyway). They're generally pretty cheap considering that they contain so many movies. You might even be able to find them in the Wal-Mart $5 bin if you're watchful. It's not necssarily the best choice for all individual titles, but it has its merits. Audio specs are not listed, and there are no extras. Reviews make it sound like the quality is acceptable though not great.
Other Collections:
All of the other sets (3-6, 3-5, & 4-5) most likely offer widescreen (it's hard to tell sometimes from the scant details listed, but that seems to be the most common ratio used) with no audio specs given and no extras. I haven't been able to find specific comments on all of them, but all of the ones I have read speak of poor audio/video quality for them except for the double-feature which may be a little better.
Details on the “Masters of Terror”set are fleeting and reviews are nonexistent, but the pack is extremely cheap. It looks like you'll be getting "Inferno" in 1.66 widescreen, but there are no audio specs for it. Count on getting no extras. The other movies you get are "Halloween H2O," "Dracula 2 Ascension," and "Children of the Corn 5 Fields of Terror."
Other DVD's:
The Miramax bare-bones DVD offers widescreen, but it's listed as being a modified 1.66 which is closer to the standard TV ratio of 1.33 than widescreen (kind of a compromise between them). No audio specs are listed, and there are never any extras offered on Miramax releases.
The Dimension option appears to be out of print which is unfortunate because it offers more than anything else. This is 1.78 widescreen with 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound. There is one extra listed: “Secrets of Hellraiser Revealed” which is a conversation with Doug Bradley. While I can't find any comments on the quality of this particular presentation it looks promising.
Other Blus:
The Blu two-fer offering of "Bloodline" and "Inferno" (movies 4 & 5) looks like it's going to be the exact same version of "Inferno" that I will cover in the multi-pack below.
Final Recommendation:
Based on the product listings there is a chance that the Dimension DVD is actually higher quality than the Blu. It's also the only way you're going to get any extras though the one thing offered wasn't enough to make me want that over the Blu quality I thought I would be getting. If I'd known how unimpressive the Blu was going to be in that regard I might have made a different choice. Still, if you're looking to get the entire Hellraiser series the Blu 4 pack is the best balance of quality and price for most of the movies it offers. If you're looking to go as cheap as possible for multiple movies one of the big DVD packs at the start of the list is the way to go.
I put together a very pleasing Hellraiser set with the following options:
#1: Lament Cube box set (the quality of Blu + the extras of both Blu and DVD)
#2: Lament Cube box set (sacrificing the Blu quality in favor of more extras)
#3: Paramount widescreen DVD (the best available quality and the only extras available)
#4: Miramax multi-feature Blu (aiming for the best quality)
#5: Miramax multi-feature Blu (aiming for the best quality)
#6: Miramax multi-feature Blu (aiming for the best quality)
#7: Dimension widescreen DVD (the only one with extras and the best DVD quality)
#8: Miramax multi-feature Blu (aiming for the best quality)
#9: standard DVD (because it sucked too much to be worth paying extra for HD)
The Miramax Multi-Feature Blu offers movies 4, 5, 6, and 8 on a single disc. Why offer #8 instead of 7? Who knows?
Video
1.78 widescreen at 1080i:
Unfortunately, "Inferno" is where the biggest lacks in quality show up on this release. You might notice I listed a 1080i resolution which is not quite as good as 1080p. It is very grainy at times and fuzzy in some scenes. There are times when it is acceptably clear, but this is definitely not the quality I expect when I get a Blu movie.
Audio
2.0 DTS HD:
The stereo mix is is disappointing since the Dimension DVD lists 5.1 surround sound. I guess what's important here is the HD; some of the other movies in this set have the same encoding and aren't all that bad. This one, however, is so bad that I had to adjust my stereo settings just to be able to understand the dialogue. Once it was adjusted the rest of the movie was discernible. The problem is not white noise or anything, the audio track is clean, it's just that the dialogue is buried (other people in the room had the same issue so it's not just my ears going bad from too much heavy metal music). The rear channels provide some fill.
Packaging
The case is a standard plastic Blu design.
A master menu gives you the chance to choose your movie (whichever one you've highlighted will be automatically selected if you let it sit too long). Each movie has its own page (with video clips and a short score loop) along with a floating menu with chapter selections and quick access to any one of the other movies without returning to that master menu.
Extras
There are no extras.