Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Anthony Hickox

Writers:

Clive Barker (characters)
Peter Atkins (story) ...

Release Date:

11 September 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

What began in Hell, will end on Earth.

Plot:

An investigative reporter must send the newly unbound Pinhead and his legions back to Hell.

Plot Keywords:

Pinhead | Hell | Reporter | Blood | Chain

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Kevin Bernhardt	...	J.P. Monroe
Lawrence Mortorff	...	Bum
Terry Farrell	...	Joanne 'Joey' Summerskill
Ken Carpenter	...	Daniel 'Doc' Fisher / Camerahead Cenobite
Sharon Ceccatti	...	Blond Nurse (as Sharon Hill)
Paula Marshall	...	Terri
Robert C. Treveiler	...	Paramedic 1
Chris Frederick	...	Paramedic 2
Lawrence Kuppin	...	Derelict
Sharon Percival	...	Brittany Virtue
Philip Hyland	...	Brad
David Young	...	Bill the Bouncer
Brent Bolthouse	...	CD the DJ
Peter Atkins	...	Rick the Barman / Barbie Cenobite
Paul Vincent Coleman	...	Soldier 1

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and sexuality, and for language.

Runtime:

93 min | USA:97 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | Netherlands:16 | Sweden:15 (Video rating) | Australia:R | Germany:18 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Canada:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

High Point, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Fifth Avenue Entertainment

Trivia:

Cameo: ['Peter Atkins']Both Rick the Barman and his Cenobite alter ego Barbie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Terri tries to leave the hospital, Joey stops her and asks her about the boy with the chains attached to him. Terri is standing right in front of a pair of double doors while she is speaking. Joey is then distracted and hurries back to the room with the injured boy, and in the background we see Terri hesitate for a second, before starting to back up and go slightly through the double doors. But when the camera then does a close up on Terri, she is still standing hesitating in front of the doors and is a little further forward than she was before. She then backs up and exits through the doors again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bum: [referring to the Pillar of Souls] You want it?
J.P. Monroe: [laughs] Is it yours?
Bum: No. Not mine. Yours.
J.P. Monroe: How much you want for it?
Bum: Whatever you think it's worth.
[receives money]
Bum: Exactly the figure I had in mind. Take pleasure in it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hellbound: Hellraiser II - Lost in the Labyrinth (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Waltzing with a Jaguar

The "waste" of a perfectly good franchise

first of all, Hellraiser III isn't a BAD film. In fact, it's quite good if it would stand on its own. And it certainly is one of the more decent efforts in the overall disappointing decade of the 90's. Compared to the first two Hellraisers, however, it's a bit of a failure. Hellraiser ('87) and Hellbound ('88) were horrorfilms in the purest possible form and my two all-time favorites. There were 4 indicators in those movies that brought them close to being the definition of horror.

1. Creating a unique and utterly morbid atmosphere (through settings, music etc...)

2. Building up an unbearable tension ( the occasional twists etc..)

3. Showing nasty and very bloody sequences in a beautiful way

4. The presence of a true horror icon !! ( in this case...PINHEAD )

Hellraiser III fails to at least 3 of these points...The dark and macabre settings from Hell and the mental institution are replaced by a bar which plays horrible rock music, there's almost no tension to detect and it's a very predictable story. The gore however is still present, but the quality of it doesn't come near the originals. The Boiler Room massacre puts Clive Barker to shame, I think. The whole story know turns around the character of Pinhead. He's more than ever the star of this movie and that almost goes wrong. He talks too much and he even starts to become funny. That certainly isn't good for a horror icon. ( Look at what a joke Fred Krueger became ). Director Anthony Hickox obviously is a big fan of Pinhead and he wanted the movie to be especially about him. Every now and then Hickox tries to link this film to the original story but it clearly isn't his biggest concern. The tapes about Kirsty in the Chanard institute and the dream-sequences where Joey meets Elliot Spencer are too fake and forced. The movie does explain where Pinhead comes from but it certainly isn't stressed enough...

Hellraiser III goes very much over the top near the end and I almost lost my love towards Pinhead after the church scene ! I'm trying to forget that particular part. It really is a shame that this movie is part of the series. If this would have been a new film ( with a new demon ) it would have been an enjoyable, well-made change. But as part of a great series it fails to deliver and you're left behind with a disappointment. This movie was followed by episode 4: Bloodline and a few others after that. The fourth is a surprisingly good attempt to bring back the spirit of the original ones and should be watched directly after the first two. Everything that came after part 4 should be skipped unless you're a die-hard Pinhead fan.