| Hellraiser: Hellworld | |
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Directed by |
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Produced by |
Ron Schmidt |
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Written by |
Joel Soisson (story) |
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Distributed by |
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Release date |
September 6, 2005 |
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Running time |
95 minutes |
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Preceded by |
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Succeeded by |
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Hellraiser: Hellworld is a 2005 horror film written by Joel Soisson and directed by Rick Bota, the film stars Lance Henriksen and Katheryn Winnick. It is the eighth installment in the Hellraiser franchise.
Plot[]
The film introduces a circle of youths who are addicted to playing Hellworld, an online computer game based on the Hellraiser series. The film opens at the funeral of Adam, one of the friends who was obsessed with the game and has killed himself to give his soul to the Cenobites. The remaining five friends blame themselves for not having prevented Adam's suicide.
Two years later, they nonetheless attend a private Hellworld Party at an old mansion. Mike, Derrick and Allison are enthusiastic about the party, while Chelsea only reluctantily accompanies them. Jake, who also attends, is still very much distressed by Adam's death. They are cordially welcomed by the middle-aged party host, who offers them drinks, shows them around the mansion, allegedly a former convent and asylum also built by Lemarchand, and provides them with cell phones to communicate with other guests. As the party progresses, Allison, Derrick and Mike find themselves trapped in separate parts of the house and are gruesomely killed by the Host, Pinhead, or Cenobite minions Chatterer and Bound. Jake and Chelsea separately find themselves treated as if they were invisible by the other party guests and the police (called in by Chelsea). They also encounter appearances by the Cenobites (including Allison and Mike) which all turn out to be hallucinations.
Chelsea finds out that the Host is actually Adam's father who is out to avenge his son's death on his Hellworld-playing friends. The two flee the now empty mansion but are stopped by the Host, who now reveals he earlier drugged the five with a powerful psychedelic, buried them outside the house in coffins provided with a tube for air and called their cell phones to feed them suggestions. Their previous experiences were all results of the victim's fertile imagination based on the Host's suggestions.
While Allison, Derrick and Mike actually died in the ordeal, Chelsea and Jake are both rescued several days later by the police. The police inform them that they were led to the graves by a mysterious phone call from the empty mansion. The film shows what appears to Adam's ghost standing in the window.
Later, the Host sits in a bedroom, going through souvenirs of his son. He finds and opens an actual Lemarchand's box, which really summons the Cenobites. Pinhead praises Adam's ingenuity and mocks the Host's disbelief. The Host frantically tries to wake up from his supposed nightmare, but the Chatterer III and Bound II slice him into pieces.
Jake and Chelsea are shown driving into the sunrise, when they receive a mysterious phone call from the Host, who suddenly appears in the back seat. The two almost crash the car but are able to stop it. The last scene shows the police entering the bedroom in which the Host opened the box, the walls blood-smeared and the box lying on the floor.
Cast[]
- Doug Bradley as Pinhead
- Lance Henriksen as The Host
- Katheryn Winnick as Chelsea
- Christopher Jacot as Jake
- Khary Payton as Derrick
- Henry Cavill as Mike
- Anna Tolputt as Allison
- Stelian Urian as Adam
Production[]
The film originated due to the necessity of filming an eighth Hellraiser film alongside Hellraiser: Deader as a contractual stipulation for filming in Romania. The screenplay was based on the short story "Dark Can't Breathe" by Joel Soisson, which Carl V. Dupre would adapt into a screenplay set within the Hellraiser series, originally entitled Hellraiser: Deadworld. Many of the cast members, including Khary Payton and Lance Henriksen, were hired by chance after they had completed filming projects in Romania such as Dracula II: Ascension for Payton and Mimic 3: Sentinel for Henriksen.
Release[]
The film was released on DVD on September 6, 2005 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. The film debuted on the Blu-ray format for the first time on July 19, 2011 by Echo Bridge Entertainment.
Reception[]
The film received a negative response from critics. Based on 6 reviews, it received a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 4.10 out of 10.
Tim O'Neill for PopMatters found the film acceptable as a horror film, but a poor sequel, saying "while Hellworld is a pretty good generic horror movie, it is an abysmal Hellraiser film". JoBlo.com gave the film a positive review giving it a 7/10 and saying: "Overall, this flick was a F*cking-A good time!"
Trivia[]
- This is the last Hellraiser film to feature Doug Bradley as Pinhead.
External links[]
- Hellraiser: Hellworld at Wikipedia
- Hellraiser: Hellworld at IMDb