I remember seeing the first movie in the franchise back in the late 80s and it was the film that tweaked my interest in Clive Barker‘s work, now Hellraiser Judgment is being released here in the UK on Blu-ray from the 1st March.
Hellraiser Judgment finds two tough detectives, brothers Sean and David Carter, on the hunt for a gruesome serial killer terrorising their city with a series of murders based on the Ten Commandments. Joining forces with Detective Christine Egerton, the trio dig deeper into a spiralling maze of horror that draws them into Hell to confront Pinhead and his evil Cenobite sect.
So let’s get straight into this review, my first response Hellraiser Judgment sounds very familiar then it hit me, the film reminds me of Seven with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman but with the Pinhead and some Cenobites that have been thrown into the mix almost like a Seven vs Hellraiser movie.
As we’ve come to expect from the Hellraiser franchise there is plenty of those gory, blood soaked, scenes that can make the stomach turn as well as some other uneasy scenes that make you look away, look out for the “cleansing” scene that’s one that had me heaving!
I have to say that I’ve found over the years that the Hellraiser franchise of movies have gone down hill over the years, I loved the first two films and the third wasn’t too bad, but after that they just didn’t have the same appeal as the earlier movies and I found Hellraiser Judgment to be one that I really started losing interest in while watching it.
On a personal note I don’t think anyone can play Pinhead as well as Doug Bradley and I found this version of the character played by Paul T Taylor rather lack lustre and only in the movie to keep Pinhead in the franchise.
The other Cenobites also seemed to be there only to please fans of the franchise and they didn’t really add to the fear that the originals had in the first two films back in 1987 and 1988.
After ten films in the franchise, it may be time now to retire the series which is a shame as if we went back to the early days of the franchise we could possibly have some more of those sleepless nights that the Cenobites and that fleshless version of Frank used to bring us, it’s sad for me to say that I enjoyed the gag reel in the Blu-ray’s extras far more than the 1h 21mins running time of the film itself.
The Blu-ray release looks great with dark scenes working well and the brighter scenes having sharp colours to balance out those more sinister moments, the 5.1 sound mix works very well bringing you into the middle of the audio.
Hellraiser Judgment stars Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Damon Carney (Fear the Walking Dead), Randy Wayne (Escape Room), Alexandra Harris (Secret Diary of an American Cheerleader) and Paul T. Taylor (Sin City) as Pinhead. Directed by Gary John Tunnicliffe (Hellraiser franchise). The Blu-ray and DVD release features only a few extras which are deleted & extended scenes and a gag reel.
Hellraiser: Judgment is on Digital Download 22 February and Blu-ray™ and DVD 1 March from Lionsgate UK.
Pinhead is Back in the 10th Film in the Hellraiser Franchise
Movie title: Hellrasier Judgment
Movie description: Detectives Sean and David Carter are on the case to find a gruesome serial killer terrorizing the city. Joining forces with Detective Christine Egerton, they dig deeper into a spiralling maze of horror that may not be of this world.
Date published: March 1, 2021
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 21min
Director(s): Gary J. Tunnicliffe
Actor(s): Damon Carney, Randy Wayne, Alexandra Harris
Genre: Horror
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
