It was way better to me too. I mean better than most people say. And better than expected, given the conditions the making of the film went under while production was doing on. I like 3 a little more than 4 but I loved 4 overall too.
Julian Yeah really.... But I actually liked it. I was like 7 when it came out. I even remember the promotional posters for it and billboards all over town back then. Wasn’t great but I like it still.
Again, a solid list, even if it's not how I'd rank them. Speaking of which: 1. Hellraiser. Because, you know, come on. Of course it is. 2. Inferno A Jacob's Ladder knockoff? Sure, but it's a well-done Jacob's Ladder ripoff (with a little Groundhog Day on the side to keep things interesting). My only quibble is with the confusion over the identity of the Engineer. The ending of the film makes sense: Thorne's corrupt flesh has become the very Cenobite who tortures his spirit in hell. What doesn't make sense is the earlier scene in which the psychiatrist claims to be the Engineer...and then turns into Pinhead. I know we all love Doug Bradley, but Pinhead didn't need to appear in that scene, and it makes a mess of the film's internal logic. Aside from that, it's pretty satisfying, and it's the only sequel after Hellbound that seems to remember that BDSM is an essential part of the mythos and not just set dressing. The new Cenobites look great, too, which isn't something I can say about the ones that popped up in 2-4. 3. Hellbound Boy, this film is a mess. Despite recapturing the first film's aesthetic and delivering a few really good scenes, it's largely an unfocused and barely coherent disappointment. Andrew Robinson's decision to stay away from the sequel hobbled it from the start, since it took away Kirsty's entire reason for being in the movie. Channard's assistant, Kyle, is an utterly pointless new character who seems to be filling in a spot that was supposed to go to Kirsty's boyfriend. Channard himself is interesting until he becomes the first of the franchise's utterly silly new Cenobites, hovering around with an utterly impractical demonic phallus stuck to his head. The film's saving grace is Julia, who should have been the character to come back for the third film instead of Pinhead. 4. Hell on Earth Basically a test run for Wishmaster, and if you look at it on those terms rather than as the ultimate selling out of the the series for mainstream appeal, it's kinda fun. Doug Bradley actually gives a pretty decent turn as Elliott Spencer, but his liberated Pinhead really needs to learn to shut up every once in a while. The guy monologues more than a Bond villain. 5. Deader The parts that aren't trying to shoehorn in elements from Bloodline are pretty decent. This film shouldn't be a Hellraiser sequel, though. 6. Revelations Reactions to this film will likely depend on how viewers approach it. If it were really a sequel that was intended for release, it would be abysmal. But that's not what it is. Instead, it's an officially-licensed microbudget fan film that was made to satisfy a studio's legal obligations, but which came out so well that they actually opted to release it. Basically, it's a rehash of the first film's premise, but reworked into something that feels like a blend of a found footage flick and a one-act stage play. It's no masterpiece, but when expectations are adjusted to where they should be, it's not that bad. 7. Bloodline Well, if the film hadn't been destroyed with reshoots, it might have ranked a tad higher, but there's no getting around the film's basic problems. First, Bruce Ramsay simply isn't a good enough actor to carry this film. Second, much of the supporting cast is pretty weak, too, especially in the Paris segment. Third, Pinhead seems to be in the movie because we gotta have Pinhead in the movie, and it comes at the cost of the film's real villain, Angelique. Fourth, the middle section of the movie feels unfinished. Having said that, the most irksome point of the movie--the decision to set it in space--would have been less infuriating if the movie's intended structure had been left intact. The jump to the future was supposed to be a big twist ending after the fake-out finale in the present. What was meant to be a bold (if questionable) move was instead turned into the frame story, and not only did the change allow for the audience to dwell on the painful thought of sci-fi Hellraiser throughout the entire film, but the middle section suffers immensely as a result. 8. Hellseeker Viewed as a standalone sequel, it's a letdown, since it pretty much copies Inferno verbatim. Viewed as the third part of the Kirsty Cotton story, it's unforgivable. My goodness: if you had to drag her into one of the DTV sequels, why not Deader? Give her something to do! Don't reduce her to a cameo! And maybe this idea hurts even more because the box cover promised a sequel that would have been amazing. 9. Hellworld Lance Henriksen plays a vengeful father who summons a demon to kill the teenagers who were to blame for the death of his son. No, wait: that's Pumpkinhead. This film exists in a confused universe where the puzzle box and the Cenobites are real (as confirmed at the very end), but where they're also a pop cultural phenomenon that spawned an MMORPG. Um, what? Who decided to cash in on the Cenobites? Jadzia Dax, maybe? Tiffany? It obviously wasn't Kirsty, since she's been keeping a low key, and hardly anyone else is alive to tell the tale. The idea that Hellraiser fans are dying from drug-induced hallucinations is bad enough, but the final scene throws the film's premise entirely out the window.
Around the 6 min mark I agree with your opinion on Hell on Earth... The Pinhead in that is totally different than the high priest of the first two. Even his makeup and voice are different (makeup not too too bad, but definitely not as good as 1 & 2, they used a different makeup artist on 3...and yeah those pseudo cenobites are ridiculous, fun fact, the fire breathing fat guy with barbed wire around his head is actually the screenwriter lol...but yeah, once American production companies took over it was all downhill, more pinhead who they basically turned into Freddy by this point..the one thing I do like even though u mentioned it, I don't like the storyline but it is cool to see Doug Bradley act without makeup...he's a pretty good actor. I read he did/does a lot of theater...that's actually how him and Clive Barker came to meet, Clive attended a play he was starring in.
I haven't seen Hellraiser Revelations, Hellworld. I thought Hellseeker was bad, I turned off Deader halfway through....boring.. Hellraiser III is silly, but I like the Puzzlebox building at the end. Inferno was OK. I can't remember Bloodline...been 20 years since I saw it. Hellraiser is my 2nd favourite and Hellbound: Hellraiser II is my all-time fave in the Franchise, I just love how Hellraiser II takes place on a much grander scale that Hellrasier, and ishas more extreme gore and more screentime for pinhead and the Cenobites.... ....Yet another Great Ranking! : )
MrJimmyTide Inferno and Hellseeker is just oh it was all a dream, it wasn't real it was just your imagination. And in Hellseeker you see a scene at athe beginning and in the end everything was wrong. I hate Inferno and Hellseeker.
Inferno and Hellseeker are definitely departures from the other movies, essentially being neo-noirs with the Cenobites thrown in. I think it plays well with the theme of people like Frank who are brought to the Cenobites to be punished for their transgressions, but I can see why the way the movies were filmed it seems a bit out of place. They're essentially Silent Hill storylines with Cenobites as the antagonists. Bloodlines at least had a cohesive story and explained the origins of the box and where the LaMerchand/Merchant family ended up in the future. However, the style in which it was done seemed hacky and Sci-Fi TV movie for me. I like the cinematography of Inferno/Hellseeker, but I can see why it doesn't fit all too well in the Hellraiser universe.
Hi Andrew, are there many horror franchises where you would rank a second (or third etc) film higher than the first one? I've only seen the first 3 Hellraiser movies. I gave up after 3 and assumed that only the first 2 were worth watching.
i think hellraiser 2 is my fav , hellraiser 4 is alot better then people give it credit for : 1 and 2 are closely tied and i think if i had to choose id pick 2
Ha! Thanks for this Andrew, great to hear your thoughts. You're right that a lot of people make these kind of videos but what sets you apart is you take the time to explain your opinions and you do it really articulately. Interesting thoughts on the films. What I love about 'franchise ranking' videos is how differently we all feel about them. Here would be my ranking: 9: Hellraiser Revelations. It's awful. Worringly, the movie due to be released in 2017 (starring Heather Langenkamp no less), Hellraiser Judgment, is by the same guy who made this film. 8. Hellraiser Hellseeker: a boring rehash of part 5. Visually very dull, most of the film takes place in an apartment or a cubicle in an office. 7. Hellraiser Bloodline: I love the section set in the 18th century, and I don't mind the future sequence, but the modern day section is tedious to me. I wish they'd explored Clive Barker's plans for this movie to tie it into the Egyptian Pyramids. 6. Hellraiser Deader: visually a very interesting film, the scenes in the underground train are incoherent but fascinating. The film makes no sense (because the original script had nothing to do with Hellraiser) but it's never boring. 5. Hellraiser Inferno: An interesting Faustian tale, and I like that the writers tried to be a bit clever with it. An awkward film (again because the original script had nothing to do with Hellraiser), and it's the film which completes the weird transition of the Cenobites from dispassionate, nihilistic explorers of experience to hyper-zealous moralising sado-Christians. This to me represents the death of Barker's idea for the mythos, because in the first films, the Cenobites couldn't give 2 fucks what you did with your life, they just want to enjoy your suffering and confusion, but here, Pinhead comes off like some bizarre Christian evangelist, banging on about sin and atonement. But anyway, it's an interesting story. 4. Hellraiser Hellworld. Yep, not a popular choice. And to be sure, it is total shit. But taken for what it is (a slasher film which had the Hellraiser mythology awkwardly spliced into it), it works for me. A ludicrous ending which makes zero sense, but at least (unlike with parts 4, 6 and 7) it isn't boring. 3. Hellraiser 3 Hell On Earth: I've come to love it a lot more in recent years. I'm not a fan of Peter Atkins' writing, he tries way too hard to be funny (as in his other films like Wishmaster), but it's the last time we see the Cenobites for what Barker intended them to be, so for that alone I love it. 2: Hellraiser 2: Visually very impressive, and such a brutal film to watch (the scene where the guy slashes himself on the matress is difficult to sit through). Ironically Andrew, because of your Amityville videos, I've been re-watching that series (Tony Randel, the director of this film, also made one of the Amityville films, called It's About Time), and he has a flair for striking imagery and atmopsheric scenes. It's a great sequel with a great score. 1: Hellraiser. A classic, one of my top 10 horror films of all time. The originality and invention is stunning. For me Barker hasn't done a great thing since 1992's Imajica, but prior to that, nobody had an imagination like him. Thanks again for this video Andrew, you really do have a talent for reviewing. Not to put pressure on you, but if at some point you get round to the other franchises, it'll be great!
Your point at No.5 on the change in nature of the Cenobites is extremely well made. It just seems like, on film, when Clive Barker's guiding hand disappears no one else can seem to get a good handle on the nature of his creations. I believe he was a lot more involved in the Hellraiser comics, and the few of those that I dipped into really seemed to expand upon the mythos much more organically.
andrew not sure if you know but theres a workprint version of hellraiser bloodline with many of the original scenes intact before the film was altered alot it isnt the original version but its the workprint of the first try the director did to make a cut that would please the studio if you can find a copy its actually a much better movie
Thanks for reminding me of the workprint. I'd never taken the time to watch it before, but gave it a go over the weekend. It flows so much more nicely than the theatrical version, building into something a little bit epic. And it builds on he mythos as well, making Angelique an integral part of things rather than a nice addition.
Andrew Robinson who played garek on star trek deep space nine was in first hellraiser terry Farrell who played Dax in star trek deep space nine was in hellraiser 3
I've been trying to get one for a while the closest I could get to one was at a craft fair £35 it was just like the original box gold finish and even played music sadly I no longer own it but I regularly search Amazon and eBay try etsy or craft sites I know they do plush versions on a string similar to car dice very well detailed paid around £15 including delivery :)
I believe I only saw the first three Hellraiser movies. I actually saw Hellraiser 2 in the theater in the 80's when it came out. I can hardly remember 3, but 1 & 2 were definitely memorable, but not perfect films. When I saw 2 in the theater in the 80's, I remember being very disappointed. I actually appreciate the good parts of the movie more today than I did back then, but I also hate the bad parts more now than I did back then. The good; the image of Julia wrapped in blood stained bandages is very creepy and very surreal. I love it! The idea of the doctor obsessed with the secrets of the box and Cenobites is a strong idea. The bad: All the stuff in hell. Not scary at all. The giant shard or diamond thing (leviathon) was not the least bit scary or even interesting. Kirsty wearing the skin of Julia was absurd. The first half of the movie was great though, it was more psychological, with questions about what the doctor is up to, the revelation that the doctor is not trying to help Kirsty at all. And again, the surreal look of Julia. And the first Hellraiser movie, what can I say? It's a classic, it was imaginative. Never before have I seen anything like the Cenobites. So you nailed the top two spots in your ranking. I totally agree that they should do stories that do not center around pinhead or the cenobites. He should just show up at the end as some sort of bringer of justice or pain, like in the first movie. Cheers mate.
Great video man. I love how you defend your perspective. It's hard for me not to put Hellraiser iii outside of the top 4 only because some of pinhead's great lines are in the film. The rest of it is real sellout. Inferno is definitely the best of the later Hellraiser films. And I totally agree with bloodlines where it is. Having talked to Doug Bradley in person, he had a very adverse reaction to the Revelations. I have to say... If Doug Bradley would have been pinhead, the story wasn't that bad... God I hate saying that. But as it stands, it got the position it deserved. Great list Andrew
Having seen Hellraiser: Judgement, my rank is this: 1. Hellbound: Hellraiser II 2. Hellraiser 3. Hellraiser: Bloodline 4. Hellraiser: Judgement 5. Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth I don't even remember the other 5 movies...
I just watched inferno and hellseeker. I had no clue they existed. They are good. It's a perspective on how the box gets people with their own sins. Maybe not enough about the hellraiser world. Which I saw someone comment they should have done origin story of the Cenobites. Great concept. This is actually doing the same thing with the major characters. In inferno he ended up being the killer. Everyone he killed in his own hell came back to him. Not as Cenobites. He was the only one who became the Cenobite at the end. It was a great way to explain how the box keeps going and getting what it needs. Loved it.
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House lol so being a fan of the Hellraiser movies. Well not hardcore by anyway. I watched you review first completely flabbergasted that there were more than three. 9!?! Holy shit now I have to watch them all. I Write them done how you listed and then categorized them by year. So I did from oldest to new. And started watching. Seriously I'm never been this dorky about anything. The only one I haven't watched yet is Deader. I watched revelations. Here's the problem. It's not him. It's not our pin head. It's the newest one, maybe he's done with the role or acting. But they didn't even try to make it look like him either. Also when he first shows up. There is nothing that would make you think it's him. For a second I thought. Maybe this was a cult following that was able to do their own spin on the box if you puzzle it out a certain way. Because he makes a mini pinhead. Really? Out of all this you your going to make a mini pinhead? But some of the other Cenobites are cool like a mix between the wire sisters and the chatterer. The rest I didn't see enough to have a problem with lack of that. I loved the call back of people breaking out of hell and getting people's blood and skin to be normal. I also liked they didn't make this a "complete" teenager movie. Also being a B horror movie fan. It was worth watching. Didn't hate it. Didn't love it.
I like Deader, but I honestly can't remember what I said about it all that time ago. I still haven't seen Revelations and I think it's unlikely that I ever will to be honest.
This is a really fast list. Great: Hellraiser (1987) Hellbound Very good: Hellraiser (2022) Good: Hell On Earth Inferno Ok: Hellseeker Bad: Bloodlines Hellworld Deader Judgment Revelations
Totally agree with the 1st 3. Absolutely hated the Cenobites from part 3. Ridiculous. Weak/odd story as well, but at least not a TOTAL departure like some of the latter. Beyond those, they just farmed it out, and it was shamefully blatant. Couldn't really care after 4. Bloodlines was very underrated! Good flick that one!
I completely agree with your rankings of the movies I've loved hellraiser from age 7 first time I saw the first one I got a relative to buy all 4 back on vhs years ago I like the book as well I haven't got the funko pinhead but my 15 inch doll stares at me 24/7 looking pissed off such an ungrateful bastard after I rescued him from being thrown away you'd think he'd at least be happy with a home :)
Bro. I fucking love your opinion of bloodline!!! Agree totaly, howeverrr.......i would swap your number 4, and 3, and have inferno as my number 3 😂😂😂 i loveeee that movie, but then again it was the first hellraiser movie i saw
Nice List! Mines: 9.Revelations 8.Inferno 7.Hellworld 6.Deader 5.Hellseeker 4.Hellbound 3.Bloodline 2.Hell on Earth 1.Hellraiser Can you rank the Phantasm or Texas chainsaw Massacre series?
I think a Texas Chainsaw ranking is a great idea. I'd like to wait and see Phantasm 5 before ranking any of those, though. Thanks for taking the time to comment, I appreciate it.
Do you know which flick has a brief scene where a guy holds a black sphere with symbols on it? Not the Box but a different sphere which I've never seen before.
In the Hellraiser comics there are many different artefacts that act as doorways to hell. I remember a particular one (from the 90s I think) where the "puzzle box" was an entire building designed by an architect obsessed with the Cenobites. To "unlock" it you had to travel from the bottom to the roof in a specific combination of stairs and lifts, then throw yourself off the roof!
Gee there must be easier ways to hell. I think this place is the real hell however. And then what we've got deep down which may inhibit or prohibit access to higher realms in the afterlife. Perhaps mistakenly, I try to find (spiritual) parallels or what the writer was in fact trying to convey betwixt all the overblown and now redundant gore. Nifty user name.
1. Hellraiser. The original, fantastic film. 2. Hell On Earth - It might not be Pinhead exactly, but Doug Bradley is almost as good as Robert Englund as your gnarly, talkative killer. I just remember having fun with this sequel, especially the church scene you mentioned. 3. Bloodline - A very clever movie sadly botched by producers. But kudos to everyone involved for trying to tell a truly epic story. 4. Inferno - I found the lead character and the mystery quite intriguing. Pinhead's appereance at the end was awesome. 5. Hellraiser 2 - MASSIVE disappointment. I didn't think Kirsty, Julia and Frank needed revisiting. The stuff in Hell got damn near incoherent. Julia's character had completely changed and fuck the Channard Cenobite, he's more annoying than the ones in H3 put together. It's like they took the original movie and thought "that worked, so let's have a whole lot more of it" without bothering to explain how anything was supposed to make sense like the fucking vagrant and his crickets in the pillar at the end. Couldn't be arsed to continue the DTV stuff that has nothing to do with Hellraiser.
Thing with Hellraiser is there NOT all on Blu Ray. Ive seen all F13th numerous times, nota fan of all the Halloweens, some at hit and miss i.e. like Part 5, NOES, I got like any after first 3, Amityville, seen first 4, maybe you should do them next, there's shit loads, or maybe do Puppet Master
Great video. I didn't mind hell on earth. I also enjoyed bloodlines and had fun with it. Hellbound is a brilliant is a fantastic sequel. Can't beat the original though.
There was a real, serious attempt at a remake, one with which Clive Barker was involved. My understanding is that a script was written and rewritten. But death had its day. You can follow the bloody entrails at: www.clivebarker.info/filmswip.html Scroll down the page to the entries entitled: *Clive Barker Presents: Hellraiser* (The Hellraiser 'Reconfiguring') _...Despite the ability of the original 1987 Hellraiser movie to stand tall in the company of other horror films of the Eighties (and beyond), the Weinstein brothers decided there was the potential, nearly twenty years on, for a remake. October 2006 therefore saw Clive announce that he had accepted an invitation to write the screenplay and to have a role in the film's production. Clive told us that he was especially looking forward to using the extra funding to improve physical effects - so no more Engineer on wheels then..!_
I definitely agree that the first Hellraiser is the best one. Then for me it would be the 2nd one. Then the newest one, that is 'Hellraiser Judgement. Then 'Bloodline. Then the 3rd one. And then the other's? Well it don't really matter what order they come in as they're nowhere near as good as the other's. That's only my opinion of course.
clive barker needs to hand the IP over to warner bro's so they can put a director and writers in charge that would know how to make an actual hell raiser movie that works with the original and warner bro's wont make a DIRECT TO DVD MOVIE! which is just horrendous
I know what you mean; it certainly seems to live in "our world" where the Hellraiser films are a thing. It's such a poor film that it's probably not worth spending any time thinking about it.
This was a great watch. Though I am a horror fan I intentionally stopped watching the franchise after Hellraiser 3 as I just assumed they would be garbage. I've been getting back into Horror again recently so now I'm gonna watch the whole franchise. except for revelations. I watched that and it was fucking shite
The Hellraiser franchise separates the men from the boys. Only a true horror nerd would put themself through the majority of this tripe! I’ve seen them all except the one with Lance Henrikson in, I just can’t face anymore. Thankfully the new one is quality though.
I have since watched Revelations and Judgement. Revelations is atrocious - still last place. Judgement is a little more intriguing and maybe somewhere around the Deader area of the scale. Always happy to meet another fan of Bloodlines and I still wish we could see the director's original version.
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House Are both Revelations and Judgement sans Doug Bradley? I know at least one of them has an imposter Pin Head 🤔 Yeah, love the background in Bloodline, it’s like a dense textbook of Hellraiser lore.
They both are, yes, but Judgement gets much more of a feel for the character and Pinhead is also fairly peripheral, which helps. Pinhead in Revelations is laughable. I actually hate having to think about that film in order to answer you!!! lol
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House Haha henceforth Revelations is banished to Hell, never to be mentioned again! I got the Ninth Configuration in the post today btw, and gave you a shout out on my insta.
Sound. That is likely to be my first instagram shout out!!! Once you get a chance to watch 9th Config please let me know what you think - good or bad - I just ask you let me know in a new comment because that way I'll be bound to see it and it won't risk getting lost in an old conversation thread.
My personal list: 9: Hellworld... There wasn't anything good about it, it was just stupid and made no sense, it's sad to see Doug Bradley and Lance Hendrickson subject themselves to this, I didn't absolutely hate watching it.. but i didn't like watching it either 8: Inferno, I know objectively this is a better film then some of the others but I just found it boring, the plot thought it was smart but it REALLY wasn't, i didn't dislike much about it but there was only 2 or 3 scenes I had fun with, any other time was just random shit happening that they thought was mystical and smart but it was all just shit that was stuck there for no reason, I liked this a lot more then Hellworld, I wouldn't mind watching it again but still... I think I disliked it so much because I wanted a Hellraiser movie but got a poorly made, generic psychological thriller 7: Deader, felt about the same as Inferno although I felt this one had more interesting characters and scenes, again though it was just meh.. not good but not terrible, I put this above Inferno because at least we see more Pinhead In this one 6: Hellseeker, again this is pretty much the same movie as Inferno and Deader, wasn't good but I found more characters and scenes to be more interesting then the other 2, plus we see more Pinhead and even Kirsty, yes Kirsty' character was changed for the worst and it made little sense but non the less it was nice to see her, I remember liking the black cop, he was a nice character 5: Revelations, yes it's a bad movie... But.. it actually kind of felt like a HELLRAISER movie, after forcing myself to sit through Inferno, Hellseeker, Deader and Hellworld which didn't feel like Hellraiser at all and seriously made me contemplate just stopping the series marathon i wasn't expecting anything from Revelations.. but I was pleasantly surprised that the movie I watched actually resembles Hellraiser, it's definitely not a good Hellraiser but still it was refreshing to see something go a little bit closer to the 1st 4 and further away from the last 4, also I actually kind of liked the main kid, the brother 4: Bloodline, I really like this movie, I was conflicted about it when I 1st saw it but re watches and thinking about the plot made me appreciate it so much more, to me it's the last Hellraiser movie and all the ones after are a different thing with the same name 3, 2 and 1 I love all 3 of these movies, yes objectively 1 and 2 is better then 3 but I still love 3 for different reasons then 1 or 2, if I HAD to rank them I'd probably put number 1 at the top .. and 2 and 3 again i'm not sure, they're both so different yet so awesome.
Hellseeker was very disappointing. I think if they had Pinhead finally take Kirsty's soul instead of the repetitive exchange from the first film it would've been way better. Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the similarities with Hellseeker and Inferno regarding two characters hallucinating and being trapped in their own Hell. Felt like personal deja vu to me. Won't get no complaints from me regarding your placement of Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth. Fans have the tendency to overrate that one for some reason. It's a fun film, but in all honesty it looks like it was made by a 20 year old College student, and the designs of the Cenobites are some of the worst (not counting Revelations). When you watch Hellbound, and then move onto Hell on Earth you can really see a reduction in quality. The best part about it for me was the soundtrack. If it didn't have absurd Cenobites I would rank it higher, but it's honestly worse than Bloodline. Deader is completely underrated and probably one of the darkest in the series.
I do wonder how many viewers get to the possible meanings behind the series. Sometimes the earlier releases broach areas that are disturbing in that I can relate. Everyone needs to be careful about creating their own hell via sustained thought forms etc. Out of all the horror characters I like Pinhead and the Tall Man best. They're more sophisticated in manner. If you're shot at you're shot at. Still, I loved how in the third release, I think it was, they first showed a Vietnam skirmish to then show full out carnage on a WWI front.
@@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse you're right, it really is quite bad. There is about 10 minutes of good stuff in it, which over 90 mins or so is spreading it a bit thin.
And then there were 10. This one was written by the same author as #9. 'Good luck' is all I can offer. *sigh* Hellraiser: Judgement www.imdb.com/title/tt5476182/
10. Hellraiser: Hellworld, boring as hell, no pun intended, half the movie is them running around screaming, plus tooooo much nudity. Just plain stupid. 9. Hellraiser: Hellseeker, booooooring! If it wasn't for Ashley Laurence, this would have probably been #10. Didn't even seem like a Hellraiser movie hardly at all! Ok, nevermind, the acting and story here is not nearly as bad as Hellworld, lol, though Pinhead was a bit more prevalent in that film, gah, I just want this in a tie with last place, but alas I have to choose. 8. Hellraiser: Revelations, it really is a pretty terrible movie. The characters are dumb and annoying, it wastes time explaining things we already know, it's overly sexualized, the new Pinhead looks terrible and the movie just drags on, but ultimately, it's more like a Hellraiser film than the previous entries and leaves the door open, therefore it ranks higher imho. 7. Hellraiser: Deader, we're getting into decent territory here, decent story, Hellraiser'ish and not nearly as boring. Entertaining. 6. Hellraiser: Inferno, pretty cool! Solid story and acting and some really cool new Cenobites, the only thing that keeps it from ranking higher is that it is not Hellraiser like enough and doesn't have nearly enough Pinhead, though overall it's a fairly solid entry and did I mention those new Cenobites are pretty cool? ;) 5. Hellraiser: Judgment, was tough choosing between this and Hell on Earth for this spot but ultimately it drug on a bit and not enough Pinhead. Good new direction for the series though! I could just do without all the detective stuff in general. I prefer the love story and horror elements overall more in general. The ending though was very interesting! Overall the best direction for the series in a long time! 4. Hellraiser III:Hell on Earth, guilty pleasure, it's just dumb fun and has some good Pinhead moments, plus it leads into Bloodline which imo makes it essential. At least Pinhead admits the new Cenobites are a shadow of his former crew, he actually says that in the movie, lol. Plus it leaves the door open which imo is always a good thing for this series. 3. Hellraiser IV: Bloodlines, underrated. Cool backstory, solid Cenobites, just enough Pinhead. Balances gothic dark moods with modern day and futuristic settings fairly well all while being awesomely gruesome in the process and somewhat tragic. Also pretty epic ending. It's just overall good storytelling, if not perfect and not exactly where the series should head it's quite entertaining and visually appealing. 2. Hellbound Hellraiser II, beautiful. It's like a painting of Hell brought to life. Has the very dark mood of the first movie while also giving it a more modern and gothic feel and balancing in some of the same twisted love story elements of the first film. We even get to see a Cenobite created, how cool is that! Great score just seals the deal. 1. Hellraiser, is it a tragedy? Is it a love story? Is it a horror movie? Oh yes, it's all of the above! The tragic twisted tale is just a tour de force of one of the greatest horror movies ever made! The visuals are arresting and disgusting and the musical score is engrossing and captivating. The main protagonist is both angelic and demonically evil at the same time, you don't know whether to trust him or not and this opens the universe to the crazy twisted psychosis of pleasure and pain and really messes with your head. Does it feel good at a certain point or does it hurt like hell? It makes you wonder and makes you feel as if maybe... at a point, it does feel good. It tests the limits of horror while at the same time telling a story, a story that's left wide open for the mind to wander and wonder about. It's the original and the one that left the canvas wide open to be painted upon and is truly a horror classic!
What a fantastic read! Thanks so much for watching and especially for taking the time to add to the comments section so thoughtfully and entertainingly!
It's a franchise that really hasn't been given the care and love it deserves when it comes to budget/ time spent /studio interference but things are looking up now we have Hellraiser '22. I think the 11 films range from great to outright awful. Great/ classic: 1. Hellraiser - 1987 2. Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth -1992 3. Hellbound: Hellraiser II - 1988 4. Hellraiser - 2022 Really good but flawed: 5. Hellraiser: Bloodline - 1996 6. Hellraiser: Judgement - 2018 7. Hellraiser: Inferno - 2000 OK but forgettable: 8. Hellraiser: Hellseeker - 2002 9. Hellraiser: Deader - 2005 Awful: 10. Hellraiser: Hellworld - 2005 11. Hellraiser: Revelations - 2011
Thanks. Completely get all the points about Hell On Earth. It goes against the original films tone, changes the very nature of the Cenobites and turns them into cackling Hollywood villains and has a lot of frankly ridiculous ideas. Yet, I enjoy it as its own wild, fun and nonsensical creation. The original was great for all the opposite reasons, of course, being serious and filled with ominous mythology. Consistent tone has never been a strong suite in the franchise but I think Hell On Earth, viewed as an exercise in enthusiastically delivered schlocky fun and excess is great. Hellworld on the other hand...
There's a Cenobite who has frikking CDs stuck in his head! Too funny :D. It does have some great bits but it is pretty fucking goofy. The goth girl in it is great though :)
Lol I'm the only who liked Hellworld. I'm probably either the only one are the very few who actually liked that movie. It was a fun movie. Ya I agree 6 was very bad.
Sorry to dump on one of the one you liked, Steven. Stand proud and fly the flag for Hellworld! My griping shall not diminish its fun in your eyes, and I salute you for that :)
HellSeeker was the best of em, u lot dont know what a good movie is... Hellseeker is the No1 in this franchise,, evrything was perffect , This is true hell, best ending ever
Deader better than Hellseeker and Hell on Earth? Hell no. WTH? Nah I respect your opinions dude cool list nonetheless. But Deader was fucking horrible. To me, the top 3 least good are Revelations, Hellworld, and Deader. I think Hellseeker is better than Inferno. My favorites are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. THEN Deader cuz Inferno sucked IMO. I know not too much Pinhead is better but there really was not enough Pinhead in it. Plus Chatterer with a half body? I don’t know why they have to keep bringing some sort of chatterer in these movies? And I do agree with you that IV is greater than what people bitch about. If anything I think 3 and 4 are tied on my top 3 list.
My best is hellraiser2 , hellraiser, hellraiser bloodline, hellraiser3, hellraiser inferno, hellraiser deader and hellseaker, hellraiser hellworld, and the shittest was revelations . Eny hellraiser wirhout douge bradly is just wrong.
Ryan Walters For a slasher movie is not that bad, but is NOT an Hellraiser movie, is a cheap and stupid version of a New Nightmare imho. Anyway is more fun than Deader and Hellseeker.
You cannot put revalations last if you ain't even seen it. It is shite, but it's just stupid that you'd do a ranking video without having seen all the film's your ranking.
You immediately lost any credibility the second you mentioned that you haven't even seen Revelations. How can you make a ranking list when you haven't even seen them all. Embarrasing.:(
Thanks Yuzuru. After the release of Hellraiser: Judgement this ranking is EVEN MORE of an embarrassment! My credibility is in the toilet and I have been justly admonished.
none of them are very good after the first two, Hellraiser and Hellbound are masterpieces but after that they're crap, their is no emotional investment in the story's or ideas. oh and motor head are super and those songs are great but just not in Hellraiser.
Although I enjoy some of the later sequels I can't really argue with you. Some of the Hellraiser comics did much more interesting things with the Cenobite mythos and expanded the universe in ways that the films never dreamed of.
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House. Agreed, the Scarlet gospel's are super, it's Clive barkers sequel to the Hellbound heart, that would make an interesting sequel.
Hellraiser 3 is so underrated
So is judgement and inferno!
It's a true fact that hell raiser was and is still the best
I too love Hellraiser :Bloodline
steve mcnary ikr? It's a good sequel.
It was way better to me too. I mean better than most people say. And better than expected, given the conditions the making of the film went under while production was doing on. I like 3 a little more than 4 but I loved 4 overall too.
"Do I look like someone who cares what God thinks?"
"Weary accountant for hell". Priceless
Hellraiser III or Pinhead Takes Manhattan lol
Julian Yeah really.... But I actually liked it. I was like 7 when it came out. I even remember the promotional posters for it and billboards all over town back then. Wasn’t great but I like it still.
Again, a solid list, even if it's not how I'd rank them. Speaking of which:
1. Hellraiser.
Because, you know, come on. Of course it is.
2. Inferno
A Jacob's Ladder knockoff? Sure, but it's a well-done Jacob's Ladder ripoff (with a little Groundhog Day on the side to keep things interesting). My only quibble is with the confusion over the identity of the Engineer. The ending of the film makes sense: Thorne's corrupt flesh has become the very Cenobite who tortures his spirit in hell. What doesn't make sense is the earlier scene in which the psychiatrist claims to be the Engineer...and then turns into Pinhead. I know we all love Doug Bradley, but Pinhead didn't need to appear in that scene, and it makes a mess of the film's internal logic. Aside from that, it's pretty satisfying, and it's the only sequel after Hellbound that seems to remember that BDSM is an essential part of the mythos and not just set dressing. The new Cenobites look great, too, which isn't something I can say about the ones that popped up in 2-4.
3. Hellbound
Boy, this film is a mess. Despite recapturing the first film's aesthetic and delivering a few really good scenes, it's largely an unfocused and barely coherent disappointment. Andrew Robinson's decision to stay away from the sequel hobbled it from the start, since it took away Kirsty's entire reason for being in the movie. Channard's assistant, Kyle, is an utterly pointless new character who seems to be filling in a spot that was supposed to go to Kirsty's boyfriend. Channard himself is interesting until he becomes the first of the franchise's utterly silly new Cenobites, hovering around with an utterly impractical demonic phallus stuck to his head. The film's saving grace is Julia, who should have been the character to come back for the third film instead of Pinhead.
4. Hell on Earth
Basically a test run for Wishmaster, and if you look at it on those terms rather than as the ultimate selling out of the the series for mainstream appeal, it's kinda fun. Doug Bradley actually gives a pretty decent turn as Elliott Spencer, but his liberated Pinhead really needs to learn to shut up every once in a while. The guy monologues more than a Bond villain.
5. Deader
The parts that aren't trying to shoehorn in elements from Bloodline are pretty decent. This film shouldn't be a Hellraiser sequel, though.
6. Revelations
Reactions to this film will likely depend on how viewers approach it. If it were really a sequel that was intended for release, it would be abysmal. But that's not what it is. Instead, it's an officially-licensed microbudget fan film that was made to satisfy a studio's legal obligations, but which came out so well that they actually opted to release it. Basically, it's a rehash of the first film's premise, but reworked into something that feels like a blend of a found footage flick and a one-act stage play. It's no masterpiece, but when expectations are adjusted to where they should be, it's not that bad.
7. Bloodline
Well, if the film hadn't been destroyed with reshoots, it might have ranked a tad higher, but there's no getting around the film's basic problems. First, Bruce Ramsay simply isn't a good enough actor to carry this film. Second, much of the supporting cast is pretty weak, too, especially in the Paris segment. Third, Pinhead seems to be in the movie because we gotta have Pinhead in the movie, and it comes at the cost of the film's real villain, Angelique. Fourth, the middle section of the movie feels unfinished. Having said that, the most irksome point of the movie--the decision to set it in space--would have been less infuriating if the movie's intended structure had been left intact. The jump to the future was supposed to be a big twist ending after the fake-out finale in the present. What was meant to be a bold (if questionable) move was instead turned into the frame story, and not only did the change allow for the audience to dwell on the painful thought of sci-fi Hellraiser throughout the entire film, but the middle section suffers immensely as a result.
8. Hellseeker
Viewed as a standalone sequel, it's a letdown, since it pretty much copies Inferno verbatim. Viewed as the third part of the Kirsty Cotton story, it's unforgivable. My goodness: if you had to drag her into one of the DTV sequels, why not Deader? Give her something to do! Don't reduce her to a cameo! And maybe this idea hurts even more because the box cover promised a sequel that would have been amazing.
9. Hellworld
Lance Henriksen plays a vengeful father who summons a demon to kill the teenagers who were to blame for the death of his son. No, wait: that's Pumpkinhead. This film exists in a confused universe where the puzzle box and the Cenobites are real (as confirmed at the very end), but where they're also a pop cultural phenomenon that spawned an MMORPG. Um, what? Who decided to cash in on the Cenobites? Jadzia Dax, maybe? Tiffany? It obviously wasn't Kirsty, since she's been keeping a low key, and hardly anyone else is alive to tell the tale. The idea that Hellraiser fans are dying from drug-induced hallucinations is bad enough, but the final scene throws the film's premise entirely out the window.
M.A. Moreno you're wrong
Around the 6 min mark I agree with your opinion on Hell on Earth... The Pinhead in that is totally different than the high priest of the first two. Even his makeup and voice are different (makeup not too too bad, but definitely not as good as 1 & 2, they used a different makeup artist on 3...and yeah those pseudo cenobites are ridiculous, fun fact, the fire breathing fat guy with barbed wire around his head is actually the screenwriter lol...but yeah, once American production companies took over it was all downhill, more pinhead who they basically turned into Freddy by this point..the one thing I do like even though u mentioned it, I don't like the storyline but it is cool to see Doug Bradley act without makeup...he's a pretty good actor. I read he did/does a lot of theater...that's actually how him and Clive Barker came to meet, Clive attended a play he was starring in.
My list, from worst to best...
8. Hellworld
7. Deaders
6. Hellseeker
5. Bloodline
4. Hell on Earth
3. Inferno
2. Hellraiser 2
1. Hellraiser 1
Man, I would love if you did a podcast. Would love to listen to your takes on horror flicks without being glued to a TH-cam screen. Do it, please!
I haven't seen Hellraiser Revelations, Hellworld. I thought Hellseeker was bad, I turned off Deader halfway through....boring.. Hellraiser III is silly, but I like the Puzzlebox building at the end. Inferno was OK. I can't remember Bloodline...been 20 years since I saw it. Hellraiser is my 2nd favourite and Hellbound: Hellraiser II is my all-time fave in the Franchise, I just love how Hellraiser II takes place on a much grander scale that Hellrasier, and ishas more extreme gore and more screentime for pinhead and the Cenobites....
....Yet another Great Ranking! : )
IT'S DEAD ALIVE I'm with u...I don't know how anyone can put any of the straight-to-DVD movies ahead of the first four movies
Mine is:
9: Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)
8: Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)
7: Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005)
6: Hellraiser: Revelations (2011)
5: Hellraiser: Deader (2005)
4: Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)
3: Hellraiser (1987)
2: Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
1: Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
Thanks for sharing! Interesting that you've put Bloodline even higher then me. Good on you.
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House Yeah. I think Revelations is underrated, because it's more Hellraiser than 5-8
Yikes! How could you like Revelations more than Inferno and Hellseeker? How could you like Hellworld more than them as well?
MrJimmyTide Inferno and Hellseeker is just oh it was all a dream, it wasn't real it was just your imagination. And in Hellseeker you see a scene at athe beginning and in the end everything was wrong. I hate Inferno and Hellseeker.
Inferno and Hellseeker are definitely departures from the other movies, essentially being neo-noirs with the Cenobites thrown in. I think it plays well with the theme of people like Frank who are brought to the Cenobites to be punished for their transgressions, but I can see why the way the movies were filmed it seems a bit out of place. They're essentially Silent Hill storylines with Cenobites as the antagonists. Bloodlines at least had a cohesive story and explained the origins of the box and where the LaMerchand/Merchant family ended up in the future. However, the style in which it was done seemed hacky and Sci-Fi TV movie for me. I like the cinematography of Inferno/Hellseeker, but I can see why it doesn't fit all too well in the Hellraiser universe.
Hi Andrew, are there many horror franchises where you would rank a second (or third etc) film higher than the first one? I've only seen the first 3 Hellraiser movies. I gave up after 3 and assumed that only the first 2 were worth watching.
Hi Patrick, I haven't watched my Amityville ranking video in a while but I'm pretty sure I didn't rate the first film as the best for that series.
@@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse Friday the 13th?
Hellraiser was the best of them all. I agree 100% on that one.
Awesome!!!!! I rank Hellraiser as number 1 as well. The best one of them all indeed.
i think hellraiser 2 is my fav , hellraiser 4 is alot better then people give it credit for : 1 and 2 are closely tied and i think if i had to choose id pick 2
Totally agree. Hellraiser 1then 2 were the very best, & the only ones I liked. 👍🏻
Ha! Thanks for this Andrew, great to hear your thoughts. You're right that a lot of people make these kind of videos but what sets you apart is you take the time to explain your opinions and you do it really articulately.
Interesting thoughts on the films. What I love about 'franchise ranking' videos is how differently we all feel about them. Here would be my ranking:
9: Hellraiser Revelations. It's awful. Worringly, the movie due to be released in 2017 (starring Heather Langenkamp no less), Hellraiser Judgment, is by the same guy who made this film.
8. Hellraiser Hellseeker: a boring rehash of part 5. Visually very dull, most of the film takes place in an apartment or a cubicle in an office.
7. Hellraiser Bloodline: I love the section set in the 18th century, and I don't mind the future sequence, but the modern day section is tedious to me. I wish they'd explored Clive Barker's plans for this movie to tie it into the Egyptian Pyramids.
6. Hellraiser Deader: visually a very interesting film, the scenes in the underground train are incoherent but fascinating. The film makes no sense (because the original script had nothing to do with Hellraiser) but it's never boring.
5. Hellraiser Inferno: An interesting Faustian tale, and I like that the writers tried to be a bit clever with it. An awkward film (again because the original script had nothing to do with Hellraiser), and it's the film which completes the weird transition of the Cenobites from dispassionate, nihilistic explorers of experience to hyper-zealous moralising sado-Christians. This to me represents the death of Barker's idea for the mythos, because in the first films, the Cenobites couldn't give 2 fucks what you did with your life, they just want to enjoy your suffering and confusion, but here, Pinhead comes off like some bizarre Christian evangelist, banging on about sin and atonement. But anyway, it's an interesting story.
4. Hellraiser Hellworld. Yep, not a popular choice. And to be sure, it is total shit. But taken for what it is (a slasher film which had the Hellraiser mythology awkwardly spliced into it), it works for me. A ludicrous ending which makes zero sense, but at least (unlike with parts 4, 6 and 7) it isn't boring.
3. Hellraiser 3 Hell On Earth: I've come to love it a lot more in recent years. I'm not a fan of Peter Atkins' writing, he tries way too hard to be funny (as in his other films like Wishmaster), but it's the last time we see the Cenobites for what Barker intended them to be, so for that alone I love it.
2: Hellraiser 2: Visually very impressive, and such a brutal film to watch (the scene where the guy slashes himself on the matress is difficult to sit through). Ironically Andrew, because of your Amityville videos, I've been re-watching that series (Tony Randel, the director of this film, also made one of the Amityville films, called It's About Time), and he has a flair for striking imagery and atmopsheric scenes. It's a great sequel with a great score.
1: Hellraiser. A classic, one of my top 10 horror films of all time. The originality and invention is stunning. For me Barker hasn't done a great thing since 1992's Imajica, but prior to that, nobody had an imagination like him.
Thanks again for this video Andrew, you really do have a talent for reviewing. Not to put pressure on you, but if at some point you get round to the other franchises, it'll be great!
Your point at No.5 on the change in nature of the Cenobites is extremely well made. It just seems like, on film, when Clive Barker's guiding hand disappears no one else can seem to get a good handle on the nature of his creations. I believe he was a lot more involved in the Hellraiser comics, and the few of those that I dipped into really seemed to expand upon the mythos much more organically.
I rate them in order 1-2-3-4, then the rest. 👍🏻 Ashley Laurence was underused in Hellseeker.
andrew not sure if you know but theres a workprint version of hellraiser bloodline with many of the original scenes intact before the film was altered alot it isnt the original version but its the workprint of the first try the director did to make a cut that would please the studio if you can find a copy its actually a much better movie
Thanks for reminding me of the workprint. I'd never taken the time to watch it before, but gave it a go over the weekend. It flows so much more nicely than the theatrical version, building into something a little bit epic. And it builds on he mythos as well, making Angelique an integral part of things rather than a nice addition.
I know two fifths of bugger all about the Hellraiser franchise, so this video has been rather educational. I’ll get round to them eventually.
Andrew Robinson who played garek on star trek deep space nine was in first hellraiser
terry Farrell who played Dax in star trek deep space nine was in hellraiser 3
I've been trying to get one for a while the closest I could get to one was at a craft fair £35 it was just like the original box gold finish and even played music sadly I no longer own it but I regularly search Amazon and eBay try etsy or craft sites I know they do plush versions on a string similar to car dice very well detailed paid around £15 including delivery :)
I spent a week watching 5-8 before Netflix removed them. What a crap week that was!
I am surprisingly in tune with your judgement here, Grumpy Comrade.
I knew I couldn't be the only one!
I believe I only saw the first three Hellraiser movies. I actually saw Hellraiser 2 in the theater in the 80's when it came out. I can hardly remember 3, but 1 & 2 were definitely memorable, but not perfect films. When I saw 2 in the theater in the 80's, I remember being very disappointed. I actually appreciate the good parts of the movie more today than I did back then, but I also hate the bad parts more now than I did back then.
The good; the image of Julia wrapped in blood stained bandages is very creepy and very surreal. I love it! The idea of the doctor obsessed with the secrets of the box and Cenobites is a strong idea.
The bad: All the stuff in hell. Not scary at all. The giant shard or diamond thing (leviathon) was not the least bit scary or even interesting. Kirsty wearing the skin of Julia was absurd.
The first half of the movie was great though, it was more psychological, with questions about what the doctor is up to, the revelation that the doctor is not trying to help Kirsty at all. And again, the surreal look of Julia.
And the first Hellraiser movie, what can I say? It's a classic, it was imaginative. Never before have I seen anything like the Cenobites.
So you nailed the top two spots in your ranking. I totally agree that they should do stories that do not center around pinhead or the cenobites. He should just show up at the end as some sort of bringer of justice or pain, like in the first movie. Cheers mate.
i like to think levathan is an outer god from the elder mythos, it would fit well within their ranks i think?
I like it. I also like that it's ultimately unknowable (which I guess also fits your Lovecraftian steer).
Great video man. I love how you defend your perspective. It's hard for me not to put Hellraiser iii outside of the top 4 only because some of pinhead's great lines are in the film. The rest of it is real sellout. Inferno is definitely the best of the later Hellraiser films. And I totally agree with bloodlines where it is. Having talked to Doug Bradley in person, he had a very adverse reaction to the Revelations. I have to say... If Doug Bradley would have been pinhead, the story wasn't that bad... God I hate saying that. But as it stands, it got the position it deserved. Great list Andrew
As long as 1 & 2 are in the top 2, we're good lol
Not a big fan of the franchise, but we do agree! The Original Hellraiser is one 'hell' of a film! Pun totally intended ;) he he
Punhead ;)
Having seen Hellraiser: Judgement, my rank is this:
1. Hellbound: Hellraiser II
2. Hellraiser
3. Hellraiser: Bloodline
4. Hellraiser: Judgement
5. Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth
I don't even remember the other 5 movies...
Inferno hellseeker deader hell world revelations
There was only 9
I just watched inferno and hellseeker. I had no clue they existed. They are good. It's a perspective on how the box gets people with their own sins. Maybe not enough about the hellraiser world. Which I saw someone comment they should have done origin story of the Cenobites. Great concept. This is actually doing the same thing with the major characters. In inferno he ended up being the killer. Everyone he killed in his own hell came back to him. Not as Cenobites. He was the only one who became the Cenobite at the end. It was a great way to explain how the box keeps going and getting what it needs. Loved it.
Oh just watched hell world... fucking awful
A brief, to the point, and 100% accurate description 😂
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House lol so being a fan of the Hellraiser movies. Well not hardcore by anyway. I watched you review first completely flabbergasted that there were more than three. 9!?! Holy shit now I have to watch them all. I Write them done how you listed and then categorized them by year. So I did from oldest to new. And started watching. Seriously I'm never been this dorky about anything. The only one I haven't watched yet is Deader. I watched revelations. Here's the problem. It's not him. It's not our pin head. It's the newest one, maybe he's done with the role or acting. But they didn't even try to make it look like him either. Also when he first shows up. There is nothing that would make you think it's him. For a second I thought. Maybe this was a cult following that was able to do their own spin on the box if you puzzle it out a certain way. Because he makes a mini pinhead. Really? Out of all this you your going to make a mini pinhead? But some of the other Cenobites are cool like a mix between the wire sisters and the chatterer. The rest I didn't see enough to have a problem with lack of that. I loved the call back of people breaking out of hell and getting people's blood and skin to be normal. I also liked they didn't make this a "complete" teenager movie. Also being a B horror movie fan. It was worth watching. Didn't hate it. Didn't love it.
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House also I watched way too much of your review and I'm afraid to watch Deader.
I like Deader, but I honestly can't remember what I said about it all that time ago. I still haven't seen Revelations and I think it's unlikely that I ever will to be honest.
This is a really fast list.
Great:
Hellraiser (1987)
Hellbound
Very good:
Hellraiser (2022)
Good:
Hell On Earth
Inferno
Ok:
Hellseeker
Bad:
Bloodlines
Hellworld
Deader
Judgment
Revelations
Thanks for sharing :)
Totally agree with the 1st 3. Absolutely hated the Cenobites from part 3. Ridiculous. Weak/odd story as well, but at least not a TOTAL departure like some of the latter. Beyond those, they just farmed it out, and it was shamefully blatant. Couldn't really care after 4. Bloodlines was very underrated! Good flick that one!
Agree no one really covers these as a series. It honesty upsets me such a Masterpiece as Hellrasier got worse an worse with every film that followed.
I completely agree with your rankings of the movies I've loved hellraiser from age 7 first time I saw the first one I got a relative to buy all 4 back on vhs years ago I like the book as well I haven't got the funko pinhead but my 15 inch doll stares at me 24/7 looking pissed off such an ungrateful bastard after I rescued him from being thrown away you'd think he'd at least be happy with a home :)
Very happy to have you on board, Cass! I really want to get my hands on a replica Lament Configuration Puzzle Box personally, but they're pricey.
Bro. I fucking love your opinion of bloodline!!! Agree totaly, howeverrr.......i would swap your number 4, and 3, and have inferno as my number 3 😂😂😂 i loveeee that movie, but then again it was the first hellraiser movie i saw
Nice List! Mines:
9.Revelations
8.Inferno
7.Hellworld
6.Deader
5.Hellseeker
4.Hellbound
3.Bloodline
2.Hell on Earth
1.Hellraiser
Can you rank the Phantasm or Texas chainsaw Massacre series?
I think a Texas Chainsaw ranking is a great idea.
I'd like to wait and see Phantasm 5 before ranking any of those, though. Thanks for taking the time to comment, I appreciate it.
+Grumpy Andrew's Horror House No problem, I like hearing out other peoples opinions just like I like I want to share mines!!
Do you know which flick has a brief scene where a guy holds a black sphere with symbols on it? Not the Box but a different sphere which I've never seen before.
After a quick google I think it is Hellraiser: Hellseeker.
Yes thanks. I wonder about it.
In the Hellraiser comics there are many different artefacts that act as doorways to hell. I remember a particular one (from the 90s I think) where the "puzzle box" was an entire building designed by an architect obsessed with the Cenobites. To "unlock" it you had to travel from the bottom to the roof in a specific combination of stairs and lifts, then throw yourself off the roof!
Gee there must be easier ways to hell. I think this place is the real hell however. And then what we've got deep down which may inhibit or prohibit access to higher realms in the afterlife. Perhaps mistakenly, I try to find (spiritual) parallels or what the writer was in fact trying to convey betwixt all the overblown and now redundant gore.
Nifty user name.
9:Revalations
8:Hellworld
7:Hell On Earth
6:Inferno
5:Hellseeker
4:Deader
3:Bloodline
2:Hellraiser 2
1:Hellraiser
That's a solid list right there, my friend.
I third that list. You have excellent taste.
10. revalations
9. hellworld
8. hellseeker
7. deader
6. hell on earth
5. inferno
4. judgement
3. bloodline
2. hellraiser
1. hellbound
I'm hearing good things about Judgement.
I like bloodline too underated hell raiser movie
1. Hellraiser. The original, fantastic film.
2. Hell On Earth - It might not be Pinhead exactly, but Doug Bradley is almost as good as Robert Englund as your gnarly, talkative killer. I just remember having fun with this sequel, especially the church scene you mentioned.
3. Bloodline - A very clever movie sadly botched by producers. But kudos to everyone involved for trying to tell a truly epic story.
4. Inferno - I found the lead character and the mystery quite intriguing. Pinhead's appereance at the end was awesome.
5. Hellraiser 2 - MASSIVE disappointment. I didn't think Kirsty, Julia and Frank needed revisiting. The stuff in Hell got damn near incoherent. Julia's character had completely changed and fuck the Channard Cenobite, he's more annoying than the ones in H3 put together. It's like they took the original movie and thought "that worked, so let's have a whole lot more of it" without bothering to explain how anything was supposed to make sense like the fucking vagrant and his crickets in the pillar at the end.
Couldn't be arsed to continue the DTV stuff that has nothing to do with Hellraiser.
I saw first 3 hellraiser movies then gave up
bloodline my fav one and hell on earth and the first two movies!
Thing with Hellraiser is there NOT all on Blu Ray. Ive seen all F13th numerous times, nota fan of all the Halloweens, some at hit and miss i.e. like Part 5, NOES, I got like any after first 3, Amityville, seen first 4, maybe you should do them next, there's shit loads, or maybe do Puppet Master
Thanks. I've also done ranking videos for Halloween, Friday the 13th and Amityville :)
Thanks for giving Bloodline props...but part 3 is better than you're giving it credit for
I love Hellraiser bloodline
Me too :)
Hellworld sounds like New Nightmare.
Great video. I didn't mind hell on earth. I also enjoyed bloodlines and had fun with it. Hellbound is a brilliant is a fantastic sequel. Can't beat the original though.
Where did you get funko pinhead he's adorable :)
He arrived in one of the Horror Blocks 🙂
Amazing video dude.
Thank you :)
Can only hope if they start a remake then it would do the first justice
There was a real, serious attempt at a remake, one with which Clive Barker was involved. My understanding is that a script was written and rewritten. But death had its day. You can follow the bloody entrails at:
www.clivebarker.info/filmswip.html
Scroll down the page to the entries entitled:
*Clive Barker Presents: Hellraiser*
(The Hellraiser 'Reconfiguring')
_...Despite the ability of the original 1987 Hellraiser movie to stand tall in the company of other horror films of the Eighties (and beyond), the Weinstein brothers decided there was the potential, nearly twenty years on, for a remake. October 2006 therefore saw Clive announce that he had accepted an invitation to write the screenplay and to have a role in the film's production. Clive told us that he was especially looking forward to using the extra funding to improve physical effects - so no more Engineer on wheels then..!_
I love all hell raiser movies
I definitely agree that the first Hellraiser is the best one. Then for me it would be the 2nd one. Then the newest one, that is 'Hellraiser Judgement. Then 'Bloodline. Then the 3rd one. And then the other's? Well it don't really matter what order they come in as they're nowhere near as good as the other's. That's only my opinion of course.
I'm intrigued to see Judgement, especially now you've placed it so high.
its true if you take a franchise into outer space and you dont fuck it up that is a big plus for the movie lol
clive barker needs to hand the IP over to warner bro's so they can put a director and writers in charge that would know how to make an actual hell raiser movie that works with the original and warner bro's wont make a DIRECT TO DVD MOVIE! which is just horrendous
is hellworld cannon?
I know what you mean; it certainly seems to live in "our world" where the Hellraiser films are a thing. It's such a poor film that it's probably not worth spending any time thinking about it.
thanks lol
This was a great watch. Though I am a horror fan I intentionally stopped watching the franchise after Hellraiser 3 as I just assumed they would be garbage. I've been getting back into Horror again recently so now I'm gonna watch the whole franchise. except for revelations. I watched that and it was fucking shite
The Hellraiser franchise separates the men from the boys. Only a true horror nerd would put themself through the majority of this tripe! I’ve seen them all except the one with Lance Henrikson in, I just can’t face anymore. Thankfully the new one is quality though.
Yes, I was so glad that the new one was decent. I'm sure you'll live a long and fulfilling life without ever having to watch Hellraiser: Hellworld :D
I own up to Hellworld, doubt I’ll be buying the last two. Bloodline is excellent, one of my favourite in the whole series.
I have since watched Revelations and Judgement. Revelations is atrocious - still last place. Judgement is a little more intriguing and maybe somewhere around the Deader area of the scale. Always happy to meet another fan of Bloodlines and I still wish we could see the director's original version.
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House Are both Revelations and Judgement sans Doug Bradley? I know at least one of them has an imposter Pin Head 🤔 Yeah, love the background in Bloodline, it’s like a dense textbook of Hellraiser lore.
They both are, yes, but Judgement gets much more of a feel for the character and Pinhead is also fairly peripheral, which helps. Pinhead in Revelations is laughable. I actually hate having to think about that film in order to answer you!!! lol
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House Haha henceforth Revelations is banished to Hell, never to be mentioned again! I got the Ninth Configuration in the post today btw, and gave you a shout out on my insta.
Sound. That is likely to be my first instagram shout out!!! Once you get a chance to watch 9th Config please let me know what you think - good or bad - I just ask you let me know in a new comment because that way I'll be bound to see it and it won't risk getting lost in an old conversation thread.
*RANKING PINHEAD!*
9. Hellraiser: Inferno
8. Hellraiser:Hellworld
7. Hellbound:Hellraiser 2
6. Hellraiser
5. Hellraiser:Worldseeker
4. Hellraiser: Deader
3. Hellraiser: Relevations
2. Hellraiser: Bloodline
*AND BEST!*
1. Hellraiser 3:Hell on Earth
Your rankings are off the beaten track. I love it! Thanks for taking the time to share them all with me.
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House thx your my favorite ranking channel!
Thank you
Yes I agree with thee
My personal list:
9: Hellworld... There wasn't anything good about it, it was just stupid and made no sense, it's sad to see Doug Bradley and Lance Hendrickson subject themselves to this, I didn't absolutely hate watching it.. but i didn't like watching it either
8: Inferno, I know objectively this is a better film then some of the others but I just found it boring, the plot thought it was smart but it REALLY wasn't, i didn't dislike much about it but there was only 2 or 3 scenes I had fun with, any other time was just random shit happening that they thought was mystical and smart but it was all just shit that was stuck there for no reason, I liked this a lot more then Hellworld, I wouldn't mind watching it again but still... I think I disliked it so much because I wanted a Hellraiser movie but got a poorly made, generic psychological thriller
7: Deader, felt about the same as Inferno although I felt this one had more interesting characters and scenes, again though it was just meh.. not good but not terrible, I put this above Inferno because at least we see more Pinhead In this one
6: Hellseeker, again this is pretty much the same movie as Inferno and Deader, wasn't good but I found more characters and scenes to be more interesting then the other 2, plus we see more Pinhead and even Kirsty, yes Kirsty' character was changed for the worst and it made little sense but non the less it was nice to see her, I remember liking the black cop, he was a nice character
5: Revelations, yes it's a bad movie... But.. it actually kind of felt like a HELLRAISER movie, after forcing myself to sit through Inferno, Hellseeker, Deader and Hellworld which didn't feel like Hellraiser at all and seriously made me contemplate just stopping the series marathon i wasn't expecting anything from Revelations.. but I was pleasantly surprised that the movie I watched actually resembles Hellraiser, it's definitely not a good Hellraiser but still it was refreshing to see something go a little bit closer to the 1st 4 and further away from the last 4, also I actually kind of liked the main kid, the brother
4: Bloodline, I really like this movie, I was conflicted about it when I 1st saw it but re watches and thinking about the plot made me appreciate it so much more, to me it's the last Hellraiser movie and all the ones after are a different thing with the same name
3, 2 and 1
I love all 3 of these movies, yes objectively 1 and 2 is better then 3 but I still love 3 for different reasons then 1 or 2, if I HAD to rank them I'd probably put number 1 at the top .. and 2 and 3 again i'm not sure, they're both so different yet so awesome.
Hellseeker was very disappointing. I think if they had Pinhead finally take Kirsty's soul instead of the repetitive exchange from the first film it would've been way better. Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the similarities with Hellseeker and Inferno regarding two characters hallucinating and being trapped in their own Hell. Felt like personal deja vu to me. Won't get no complaints from me regarding your placement of Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth. Fans have the tendency to overrate that one for some reason. It's a fun film, but in all honesty it looks like it was made by a 20 year old College student, and the designs of the Cenobites are some of the worst (not counting Revelations). When you watch Hellbound, and then move onto Hell on Earth you can really see a reduction in quality. The best part about it for me was the soundtrack. If it didn't have absurd Cenobites I would rank it higher, but it's honestly worse than Bloodline. Deader is completely underrated and probably one of the darkest in the series.
I do wonder how many viewers get to the possible meanings behind the series. Sometimes the earlier releases broach areas that are disturbing in that I can relate. Everyone needs to be careful about creating their own hell via sustained thought forms etc. Out of all the horror characters I like Pinhead and the Tall Man best. They're more sophisticated in manner.
If you're shot at you're shot at. Still, I loved how in the third release, I think it was, they first showed a Vietnam skirmish to then show full out carnage on a WWI front.
Call me mad guys but I'm a huge fan of Deader - one of my favorite Hellraiser films. And I hate Hellraiser 3 with passion
How can you have Hellraiser 3 so low, Armored Saint are in it 😁
I watched it recently and if anything I'd rank it even lower now. I really don't get on with it.
@@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse you're right, it really is quite bad. There is about 10 minutes of good stuff in it, which over 90 mins or so is spreading it a bit thin.
And then there were 10. This one was written by the same author as #9. 'Good luck' is all I can offer. *sigh*
Hellraiser: Judgement
www.imdb.com/title/tt5476182/
Heaven help us!
We have such sights to show u
deader was actually watchable compared to 3 lol :P
10. Hellraiser: Hellworld, boring as hell, no pun intended, half the movie is them running around screaming, plus tooooo much nudity. Just plain stupid.
9. Hellraiser: Hellseeker, booooooring! If it wasn't for Ashley Laurence, this would have probably been #10. Didn't even seem like a Hellraiser movie hardly at all! Ok, nevermind, the acting and story here is not nearly as bad as Hellworld, lol, though Pinhead was a bit more prevalent in that film, gah, I just want this in a tie with last place, but alas I have to choose.
8. Hellraiser: Revelations, it really is a pretty terrible movie. The characters are dumb and annoying, it wastes time explaining things we already know, it's overly sexualized, the new Pinhead looks terrible and the movie just drags on, but ultimately, it's more like a Hellraiser film than the previous entries and leaves the door open, therefore it ranks higher imho.
7. Hellraiser: Deader, we're getting into decent territory here, decent story, Hellraiser'ish and not nearly as boring. Entertaining.
6. Hellraiser: Inferno, pretty cool! Solid story and acting and some really cool new Cenobites, the only thing that keeps it from ranking higher is that it is not Hellraiser like enough and doesn't have nearly enough Pinhead, though overall it's a fairly solid entry and did I mention those new Cenobites are pretty cool? ;)
5. Hellraiser: Judgment, was tough choosing between this and Hell on Earth for this spot but ultimately it drug on a bit and not enough Pinhead. Good new direction for the series though! I could just do without all the detective stuff in general. I prefer the love story and horror elements overall more in general. The ending though was very interesting! Overall the best direction for the series in a long time!
4. Hellraiser III:Hell on Earth, guilty pleasure, it's just dumb fun and has some good Pinhead moments, plus it leads into Bloodline which imo makes it essential. At least Pinhead admits the new Cenobites are a shadow of his former crew, he actually says that in the movie, lol. Plus it leaves the door open which imo is always a good thing for this series.
3. Hellraiser IV: Bloodlines, underrated. Cool backstory, solid Cenobites, just enough Pinhead. Balances gothic dark moods with modern day and futuristic settings fairly well all while being awesomely gruesome in the process and somewhat tragic. Also pretty epic ending. It's just overall good storytelling, if not perfect and not exactly where the series should head it's quite entertaining and visually appealing.
2. Hellbound Hellraiser II, beautiful. It's like a painting of Hell brought to life. Has the very dark mood of the first movie while also giving it a more modern and gothic feel and balancing in some of the same twisted love story elements of the first film. We even get to see a Cenobite created, how cool is that! Great score just seals the deal.
1. Hellraiser, is it a tragedy? Is it a love story? Is it a horror movie? Oh yes, it's all of the above! The tragic twisted tale is just a tour de force of one of the greatest horror movies ever made! The visuals are arresting and disgusting and the musical score is engrossing and captivating. The main protagonist is both angelic and demonically evil at the same time, you don't know whether to trust him or not and this opens the universe to the crazy twisted psychosis of pleasure and pain and really messes with your head. Does it feel good at a certain point or does it hurt like hell? It makes you wonder and makes you feel as if maybe... at a point, it does feel good. It tests the limits of horror while at the same time telling a story, a story that's left wide open for the mind to wander and wonder about. It's the original and the one that left the canvas wide open to be painted upon and is truly a horror classic!
What a fantastic read! Thanks so much for watching and especially for taking the time to add to the comments section so thoughtfully and entertainingly!
Pinhead's human self is Bill O'Reilly :)
It's a franchise that really hasn't been given the care and love it deserves when it comes to budget/ time spent /studio interference but things are looking up now we have Hellraiser '22. I think the 11 films range from great to outright awful.
Great/ classic:
1. Hellraiser - 1987
2. Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth -1992
3. Hellbound: Hellraiser II - 1988
4. Hellraiser - 2022
Really good but flawed:
5. Hellraiser: Bloodline - 1996
6. Hellraiser: Judgement - 2018
7. Hellraiser: Inferno - 2000
OK but forgettable:
8. Hellraiser: Hellseeker - 2002
9. Hellraiser: Deader - 2005
Awful:
10. Hellraiser: Hellworld - 2005
11. Hellraiser: Revelations - 2011
Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)
Thanks. Completely get all the points about Hell On Earth. It goes against the original films tone, changes the very nature of the Cenobites and turns them into cackling Hollywood villains and has a lot of frankly ridiculous ideas. Yet, I enjoy it as its own wild, fun and nonsensical creation. The original was great for all the opposite reasons, of course, being serious and filled with ominous mythology. Consistent tone has never been a strong suite in the franchise but I think Hell On Earth, viewed as an exercise in enthusiastically delivered schlocky fun and excess is great. Hellworld on the other hand...
Freddy looked like shit in nightmare 2.
hell on Earth it's just so stupid I fucking love it, funny as hell, it's not my favorite though of course the original will always be the one 💀
There's a Cenobite who has frikking CDs stuck in his head! Too funny :D. It does have some great bits but it is pretty fucking goofy. The goth girl in it is great though :)
Lol I'm the only who liked Hellworld. I'm probably either the only one are the very few who actually liked that movie. It was a fun movie.
Ya I agree 6 was very bad.
Sorry to dump on one of the one you liked, Steven. Stand proud and fly the flag for Hellworld! My griping shall not diminish its fun in your eyes, and I salute you for that :)
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House thank man 😊
It's no problem. I'm like that with movies as well. It's cool man.
HellSeeker was the best of em, u lot dont know what a good movie is... Hellseeker is the No1 in this franchise,, evrything was perffect , This is true hell, best ending ever
Deader better than Hellseeker and Hell on Earth? Hell no. WTH? Nah I respect your opinions dude cool list nonetheless. But Deader was fucking horrible. To me, the top 3 least good are Revelations, Hellworld, and Deader. I think Hellseeker is better than Inferno. My favorites are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. THEN Deader cuz Inferno sucked IMO. I know not too much Pinhead is better but there really was not enough Pinhead in it. Plus Chatterer with a half body? I don’t know why they have to keep bringing some sort of chatterer in these movies? And I do agree with you that IV is greater than what people bitch about. If anything I think 3 and 4 are tied on my top 3 list.
I've only seen 8 of them i haven't seen revelations.
Agreed 3 is garbage but i will say terry hatcher in that film looks more beautiful than she does in anything else i have ever seen her in.
My best is hellraiser2 , hellraiser, hellraiser bloodline, hellraiser3, hellraiser inferno, hellraiser deader and hellseaker, hellraiser hellworld, and the shittest was revelations . Eny hellraiser wirhout douge bradly is just wrong.
Hellraiser Hellworld is a bad Hellraiser movie, but a decent generic horror movie.
Ryan Walters For a slasher movie is not that bad, but is NOT an Hellraiser movie, is a cheap and stupid version of a New Nightmare imho. Anyway is more fun than Deader and Hellseeker.
revelations all most made me kill myself when i saw it lol,
I just can't being myself to watch it...and I've watched some real sh*t let me tell you :)
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House lol yea there actually making a new one though called judgment i can only imagine how it will turn out
You cannot put revalations last if you ain't even seen it. It is shite, but it's just stupid that you'd do a ranking video without having seen all the film's your ranking.
I've seen it now. It's still in last place.
am i the only one who hates deader and bloodline?
I doubt it.
I dont like hellraiser 3
The Brutal Killer 169 why
You immediately lost any credibility the second you mentioned that you haven't even seen Revelations. How can you make a ranking list when you haven't even seen them all. Embarrasing.:(
Thanks Yuzuru. After the release of Hellraiser: Judgement this ranking is EVEN MORE of an embarrassment! My credibility is in the toilet and I have been justly admonished.
This dude needs to get a life
Don't forget to hit like and subscribe!
none of them are very good after the first two, Hellraiser and Hellbound are masterpieces but after that they're crap, their is no emotional investment in the story's or ideas. oh and motor head are super and those songs are great but just not in Hellraiser.
i will also put it out there that the first two, are one story told over two films.
Although I enjoy some of the later sequels I can't really argue with you. Some of the Hellraiser comics did much more interesting things with the Cenobite mythos and expanded the universe in ways that the films never dreamed of.
Grumpy Andrew's Horror House. Agreed, the Scarlet gospel's are super, it's Clive barkers sequel to the Hellbound heart, that would make an interesting sequel.
BAD PINHEAD
You look so stressed out lmao
lol
hellraiser 3 is better than bloodline. bloodline is shit
Hellworld was terrible
You speak the truth.