Hellraiser 7: Deader
After the atrocious betrayal to the franchise that was Hellseeker, the Hellraiser franchise decided to go in a somewhat new direction, taking a cue from the Hostel films and setting the new story in Eastern Europe, where (presumably) all kinds of weird and sick mindsets are actively in place. It also helps to have a lead character that the viewer can actually care about, and here we get Kari Wuhrer (still looking hot at 40) as an intrepid girl reporter who travels to Romania to investigate an apparent suicide cult known as āDeadersā, who conduct a ceremony where one of their members willingly commits suicide and then have their leader perform a ritual where the dead person somehow comes back to life, a process which allegedly brings the āultimate pleasureā to said person. Of course, it isnāt long before the ol puzzle box and our friend Pinhead get involved, and apparently heās none too happy about the cult leader (who appears to be of relation to the Toymaker character from Part 4) basically stealing his thunder. Wuhrer brings a tough-girl appeal (and a couple of nude scenes) to the table as she delves deeper into the dark mystery surrounding the cult, along with some revelations about her own past, and manages to keep the viewer rooted in her well-being. The film loses points for having a script thatās a little vague at times (a common problem for the series at this point), and the cult leader himself (Paul Rhys) doesnāt exactly command the screen when heās on, but other ideas like a subway train where a never-ending decadent party is going on do bring some fresh spark to the franchise. While much of the last 40 minutes appears to be an ongoing hallucination in the heroineās head, in the end what brings myself and other fans to the table is seeing Pinhead finally come out and richly bring some retribution to this pretender to his throne, with a final twist that is both haunting and confusing at the same time. Overall, a surprisingly worthy addition to the series that has its good points and bad points as wellā¦
7/10