Hellraiser: Deader (2005) (V)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Rick Bota

Writers:

Clive Barker (characters)
Benjamin Carr (written by) ...

Release Date:

7 June 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Latest. Most Terrifying Evil.

Plot:

A journalist uncovers an underground group who can bring back the dead and slowly becomes drawn into their world.

Plot Keywords:

Journalist | Romania | Suicide | Severed Hand | Shot In The Head

Cast

Kari Wuhrer	...	Amy Klein
Paul Rhys	...	Winter
Simon Kunz	...	Charles Richmond
Marc Warren	...	Joey
Georgina Rylance	...	Marla
Doug Bradley	...	Pinhead
Ionut Chermenski	...	Group Leader (as Ionut Chermenschi)
Hugh Jorgin	...	The Arrogant Reporter
Linda Marlowe	...	Betty
Madalina Constantin	...	Anna
Ioana Abur	...	Katia
Constantin Barbulescu	...	The Landlord (as Costi Barbulescu)
Daniel Chirea	...	Amy's Father
Maria Pintea	...	Young Amy
Mircea Constantinescu	...	Subway Cop #1

Also Known As:

Hellraiser VII: Deader (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic violence, sexual content, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA | Romania

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Germany:18 | Finland:K-18 (self applied) | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA | Australia:MA (2008) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

Filmed back to back with Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005) (V)

Goofs:

Continuity: When Amy is stabbed she gets up out of bed. In one shot there is a thick spot of blood on the right shoulder of her night shirt as she gets out of bed. Then, as she stands next to her bed for a few seconds, the blood on her right shoulder is now light and smeary and not thick as was already shown. When she gets into the bathroom there is now no blood on her shoulder.

Quotes:

Pinhead: Dreams are fleeting. Only nightmares last forever!

Movie Connections:

Features Bold King Cole (1936)

Soundtrack:

Thirty

Obe of the best of the series

Deader' was the second Hellraiser film ('Hellseeker' was the first) that I actually got to enjoy the pre-release hysteria. And now I'm waiting on pins and needles (ha ha) for 'Hellworld' to arrive, on the day before Doug's birthday, I believe. I'm a September baby, too, and the eighth installment of the series will make a great present! I already have it on pre-order. But first… 'Deader'….

This movie did the trademark jump-around thing that Bota seems to live for, but in the tradition of 'Hellseeker', I found myself minding less on this one. I also forced myself to watch the film proper before allowing myself to see the Gag Reel, or to listen to the commentary (Doug being included in the commentary, this was a difficult task).

The cast acted my socks off as well as their own – I think I'm a fan of Romanian film crews, now, too. The scene when Amy finds the girl dead and posed in her apartment was brilliantly done and creepy. And as Doug mentions in the commentary (which I turned on minutes after the credits came up the first time around) we expect her to move and boo us, but it happens after we've stopped thinking about it, so we jump anyway. The part with Amy dealing with the knife in her back was intense and captivating, and she should be ranked among the best scream queens. I bet she couldn't talk for days after filming that scene! The train was memorable, of course, but it was even more fun knowing that these were Romanians not used to the habit the rest of the world has for undressing people as fast as possible in movies. But that was something you had to discover via commentary, because the actors themselves managed to look very natural, as if they did scenes like that every day.

If I ever meet Mr. Bota, I will personally beg him to put Doug in the movies more often, but he managed to put together a very gripping mystery that kept me interested throughout. And tying it all back to Winter being of the Lemarchand bloodline was an appreciated twist. Either John or Jack Merchant had a fling at one point, the woman got pregnant, and wackiness ensues….

And I loved the final destruction scene with Pinhead knocking holes in all the Deaders, too, but the best Pinhead scene was the one in Amy's hotel in the dark. You get the impression that Winter has managed to irritate the Black Pope a bit – not generally a healthy pastime.

The effects when the chains grab Amy's face from the box were great. Watching the 'how they did it' parts are always fascinating. But this brings us to the extras, the commentary with Doug, and the Gag Reel.

I know Doug did commentary for 'Hell on Earth', but only on the Region 2 version, and I haven't yet gotten a player that will deal with that. I will, and then my quest will be nearer to completion. Doug has said he's interested in doing readings on CD, whether Poe or something else, and I hope he'll have the opportunity, because I could listen to his voice for days. Personally, I think we should have a 'Doug reads his book' CD, too. But for now, I have the commentary on 'Deader', and I've watched the movie with the commentary on more than I have without it. But I do wonder if it amuses him when people say he's got "a British accent". Technically, to him, it's not an accent. He could say we all have accents, in fact, due to our own dialects of origin. But I digress….

The Gag Reel. I know they don't always keep outtakes, but they should. I have the greatest respect for both Doug and Pinhead, but it's a marvelous treat to see Pinhead get a look on his face and suddenly crack up laughing, or gripe about carpenters in the background. And Amy tossing a lamp and whacking someone…. Good times. They should include them on every movie ever made. And the weird bit? Seeing Pinhead talk in Doug's voice. Yeah, yeah, I know – Doug plays Pinhead, it shouldn't be weird. But it is. We usually hear the effect on Doug's voice that makes it become what we're used to hearing as Pinhead. But the cool thing about it was it was another proof of how intense Doug is about portraying the character of Pinhead. He takes it to a delightful extreme that achieves the perception that they are utterly separate beings, and when he's Pinhead, Doug ceases to exist, and vice versa. So many actors are incapable of achieving that to such an intense degree.