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| Hellraiser: Inferno | |
|---|---|
 Home video poster | |
| Directed by | Scott Derrickson |
| Written by |
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| Based on | Characters byClive Barker |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Nathan Hope |
| Edited by | Kirk M. Morri |
| Music by | Walter Werzowa |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Buena Vista Home Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States[1] |
| Language | English |
Hellraiser: Inferno (also known asHellraiser V: Inferno)[2] is a 2000 Americanhorror film. It is the fifth installment in theHellraiser series, and the firstHellraiser film to be releaseddirect-to-video. It was directed byScott Derrickson, in his feature-length directorial debut, and starsCraig Sheffer,Nicholas Turturro,James Remar, andDoug Bradley. The film follows Joseph Thorne, a corruptdetective who discovers theLemarchand's box at a crime scene, which results in his life gradually unraveling. The film was released on October 3, 2000.
Joseph Thorne is a corruptDenver police detective who regularly indulges in drug use and infidelity during the course of duty. At the scene of what appears to be a ritual murder, Thorne discovers a strange puzzle box, which he takes home in order to indulge his fascination with puzzles. After solving the box, Thorne begins to experience bizarre hallucinations, such as being seduced by a pair of mutilated women and being chased by a creature with no eyes or legs. Thorne also makes a connection between the murder and a killer known as "The Engineer", who is suspected of having kidnapped a child. Thorne goes in search of the Engineer, who in turn begins murdering Thorne's friends and associates, leaving behind one of the child's fingers at every crime scene.
While undergoing therapy for his hallucinations, Thorne's psychiatrist Dr. Paul Gregory reveals himself to be "Pinhead", the leader of a group of entities known as theCenobites, who use the puzzle box as a portal between their realm and the mortal realm. Pinhead informs Thorne that he has in fact been in the Cenobites' realm since opening the box, where they have been subjecting him to psychological torture for the various cruelties he has inflicted on others: The Engineer is a manifestation of Thorne's own cruelty, while the child is a personification of Thorne's innocence, which he has slowly been killing through corruption, hedonism, and violence. As hooked chains appear and begin to ensnare Thorne, Pinhead informs him that he will be subjected to an eternity of torment for his sins.
Clive Barker confirmed in an online appearance onAOL in 1996 after the American release ofHellraiser: Bloodline thatDimension Films intended to make a fifth installment in theHellraiser series, while the film's screenwriter Peter Atkins claimed that there had been reshoots to leave room for at least two more sequels.[3] One concept was a project calledHellraiser: Hellfire, a pitch by Stephen Jones andMichael Marshall Smith in whichKirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) would face a plot by a cult to unleash the Leviathan and theCenobites into the real world, with a climax involving a large Lament Configuration enclosingLondon. The pitch was rejected due to budgetary concerns after the film opted to be releaseddirect-to-video.[4] Although Barker was briefly in negotiations to return asexecutive producer in 1999, he was ultimately dropped from the production due to creative disagreements with the studio and barred from providing any sort of assistance on the film.[5]Bob andHarvey Weinstein ultimately commissioned a script byPaul Harris Boardman andScott Derrickson. After giving Derrickson $10,000 to direct a single scene from the film, they hired him as the director.Doug Bradley has since claimed that Boardman's and Derrickson's script was originally not intended as aHellraiser sequel and that it was rewritten to provide connections to the series. However, the claim is disputed by Derrickson, who has stated that the script was pitched as aHellraiser sequel and was always meant to be one.[4] A retrospective review of the film byBloody Disgusting also dismissed claims about the script's origins as "rumors".[6]
The film was released on VHS and DVD on October 3, 2000, byBuena Vista Home Entertainment. The film debuted on the Blu-ray format for the first time on May 15, 2011, in a double feature with its predecessorHellraiser: Bloodline (1996) byEcho Bridge Entertainment.[7]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 14% of seven critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 2.7/10.[8]
Calum Marsh ofEsquire called the film "shockingly good" and said, "Inferno feels less like aHellraiser movie than a follow-up toJacob's Ladder (or maybe a predecessor toSilent Hill), floating dream-like through hallucinatoryDavid Lynchian visions and downplaying plot in favor of the surreal".[9]JoBlo.com's reviewer gave the film a seven out of ten rating, and also felt the film was not very similar to its predecessors, saying, "without a doubt the film's biggest flaw is calling itselfHellraiser".[10] Alex DiVincenzo described the film as underrated in a review for Bloody Disgusting, and praised the films' "Lynchian surrealism" and "film noir" elements.[6]
The film was followed byHellraiser: Hellseeker in 2002,Hellraiser: Deader andHellraiser: Hellworld in 2005,Hellraiser: Revelations in 2011, andHellraiser: Judgment in 2018.
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