Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)

In the 22nd century, a scientist attempts to right the wrong his ancestor created: the puzzle box that opens the gates of Hell and unleashes Pinhead and his Cenobite legions.

Director:

Kevin Yagher (as Alan Smithee)

Writer:

Peter Atkins

Stars:

Bruce Ramsay, Valentina Vargas, Doug Bradley

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Ramsay	...	Phillip L'Merchant / John Merchant / Dr. Paul Merchant
Valentina Vargas	...	Angelique / Peasant Girl
Doug Bradley	...	Pinhead
Charlotte Chatton	...	Genevieve L'Merchant
Adam Scott	...	Jacques
Kim Myers	...	Bobbi Merchant
Mickey Cottrell	...	Duc de L'Isle
Louis Turenne	...	Auguste
Courtland Mead	...	Jack Merchant
Louis Mustillo	...	Sharpe
Jody St. Michael	...	The Beast
Paul Perri	...	Edwards / Skinless Parker
Pat Skipper	...	Carducci
Christine Harnos	...	Rimmer
Wren T. Brown	...	Parker (as Wren Brown)

Storyline

It's the year 2127. Pinhead, the evil cenobite of the series, has found himself on board a space station in outer space, run by scientist Dr.Merchant. Dr. Merchant's mission is to close the gates to hell forever. Because his ancestor, a toymaker in the 18th century, built the evil puzzlebox that opens the gates to hell. And through the generations, the family of the bloodline has tried to stop it. But now, Dr.Merchant has built the reverse box. The box that will close the gates to hell instead of opening it.

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Plot Keywords:

22nd century | sequel | puzzle box | outer space | heart in hand | 

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Taglines:

This year, the past, the present and the future will all meet at the crossroads of hell.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong horror violence and gore, and for some sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 March 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hellraiser IV

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$16,675,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films, Hellraiser IV Partners, Miramax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 78 min (workprint)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rimmer (Christine Harnos) was originally male, but was rewritten in a later draft after several female characters were streamlined out, including a descendant of Kirsty Cotton who would serve as Paul's love interest.

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Goofs

After the chain goes through Merchant's throat, in the shot where the blades open up, the wires used to open the blades are visible. Just before the chain is pulled back there is another shot of the blades and the wires are gone.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Dr. Paul Merchant: Welcome to Oblivion!
Pinhead: Amen.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits have the "Filmed in Panavision" moniker, suggesting the film was shot in cinema-scope (2.35:1), however the film was shot in flat (1.85:1) ratio. The end credit was more than likely meant to read "Filmed with Panavision cameras and lenses".

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Alternate Versions

Just before release, Miramax had some scenes deleted and other re-shot, causing director Kevin Yagher to disown the film (the theatrical release has a director credited for 'Alan Smithee'). A new director, Joe Chappelle, was brought in to shoot the additional material.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movies Even Their Directors Hate (2016)

User Reviews

Not quite as good as part III, but Bloodline is still a relatively watchable installment in the hugely successful Hellraiser series.

The year is 2127, and a descendent of the maker of the box that opens the gate to Hell is trying to figure out a way to open the box and trap the demons that come out of Hell. He has commandeered a space station (that he himself designed) for this task. He opens the box, lets the demons out, and is detained (people begin to investigate his questionable behavior on the ship) before he can capture them. Almost the entire film is told in the form of a story which he tells the people holding him, in an effort to get them to let him go so he can finish his work. Needless to say, it takes a lot of gory deaths to convince them.

There is a small bit of tension created by the fact that the entire time he is telling the guards what is going on, the Cenobites are out and are on the ship. However, this is largely forgotten about for the majority of the film because so much of it takes place in 18th century France, the time when the box was created. Basically, some toymaker makes the box, opens it, demons show up, and they terrorize his family for generations. You'd think they'd be grateful because he let them out into the world of the living. Anyway, the guy in 2127 has taken upon himself the task of building a NEW box that will be sort of an antidote to the first box, one that is designed so that it can actually trap LIGHT inside.

It's an interesting enough story, and it was actually fairly entertaining, but the film itself was still somewhat lacking. The acting was pretty bad (but at least Ashley Laurence was blissfully absent again), and there wasn't much effort put into the directing. The movement back and forth from the distant future to the distant past was also a bit detrimental at times to the tension of the story, but luckily the film did present a few cool new cenobites (one that was satisfactorily created out of a couple of idiot security guards), and Bloodline also displayed probably one of Pinhead's best performances ever. I would say that Bloodline is more of an informational movie than a good Hellraiser movie. While it is interesting to watch, it is almost more informational than entertaining. So even though the movie itself may have been disappointing, I think that it is a good addition to the series as a whole. It works better within the Hellraiser series than it does by itself.