‘Hellraiser: Inferno’ (2000) Movie Review

A shady police detective becomes embroiled in a strange world of murder, sadism and madness after being assigned a murder investigation against a madman known only as “The Engineer”.

In this pathetic Hellraiser sequel, some metaphorical good versus evil shit happens. The end. While I’m tempted to end the review right there, I should complain enough to justify the 90 minutes this stole from my evening. Clive Barker fans are probably familiar with Craig Sheffield (Nightbreed), who stars as the shady cop, Detective Joseph Thorn. This cop caricature is, of course, dealing with some lifelong personal trauma, the kind that eventually manifests in the horrors the Lamentation Configuration, So, lets see.. Thorn makes several bad decisions as he hunts a mysterious serial killer called ‘The Engineer’. If you’ve lost interest already, then I welcome you to the club.

Inferno suggests intensity, an element this film lacked from the opening frame. Pinhead doesn’t make an appearance until the climax, and has maybe ten minutes of screen-time. The fourth sequel, right on time, presents several new and idiotic Cenobites to creep and chatter in Pinhead’s absence. Sheffield is completely one-dimensional and employees every hard-edged cop cliché possible. So far, this is the worst film in the series. Will that all change when I watch part six later? Check back and see.

Hellraiser: Inferno is one of the worst horror franchise entries in a decade. There is no reason to watch this movie.