Movie review: Hellraiser V: Inferno

Corrupt cop Det. Thorne finds a puzzle box at the murder scene of an old High School acquaintance and takes the box when his sticky fingers get the best of him. Not knowing the power of the Lament Configuration, he works the box and soon can’t tell what is real and what is imagination. In a world of torture and pain, nothing is what it seems and as he learns, he is actually in the puzzle.

Craig Sheffer (Det. Thorne), Nicholas Turturro (Det. Nenonen), James Remar (Dr. Gregory), Doug Bradley (Pinhead), Nicholas Sadler (Bernie), Lindsay Taylor (Chloe).

This episode in the Hellraiser series is a definite deviation from previous versions. The plot is interesting and this is a pretty good stand alone movie but, putting it in context with the series so far it really doesn’t do anything to further the overall storyline. So as a Hellraiser episode in the franchise, this was disappointing with very little Cenobite screen time. As a horror flick, I would say this is a bit better than average psychological thriller. It was nice to see a return to the original Hellraiser theme of punishing the guilty and in that respect, it did maintain the franchise.

Acting by Sheffer was confusing, seeming to be over the top at times. But, if he was supposed to be a cop you would hate, then he hit the mark nicely. Remar also did a nice job, and Sadler rocked.

Camera work, sound, special effects, and sets were all of the good quality you expect from the Hellraiser franchise. Put this one about the middle of your Must See list.

Although more psychological than physical, there are still some good blood and guts, as well as torture scenes in this film so keep it for teens and above.

Released: 2000
Reviewed: 7.4.16
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Horror, Satanic Stories, Crime, Mystery, Sci-Fi Horror

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel