From: ak@opal.cs.tu-berlin.de (Andreas Kutschera)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: REVIEW: Hellraiser III (*mild* spoilers after ^L)
Summary: If it doesn't get any better than this...
Keywords: attempt, horror, boring
Date: 27 Aug 92 11:38:57 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Techn. University of Berlin, Germany


Wellll, I seldom get the chance to view a film *before* the US release,
so I'll grab the chance and try to do a review of Hellraiser III.
No spoilers before the ^L, I promise.

		HELLRAISER III - Hell on earth

One-line-summary: Very little continuation, rather boring.

Judging from the title, Hellraiser III, is supposed to be a movie that
fits into the storyline of the other two Hellraiser movies. Having
watched all three of them in a row, I must say that the most
'hell-like' aspect of it was that I watched it in a theatre without air
conditioning on one of the hottest days in August. Other than that, the
movie fails to live up to its promise.

What would you expect from a Hellraiser film?

Yes, the Pleasure Cube is back (it still seems to be the only way to
                                open the dimensional door).
Yes, the Cenobites are back (and guess what they want :-)

So, essentially the story follows the same line as did Hellraiser I and
II. But, while, Hellraiser II managed to evolve the storyline further
(i.e. tell us more about the characters we already knew), part III only
gives us lots of new characters we don't know and who I don't really
care about. 
This, of course, gives the authors an excuse to tell us the
same old story we have already seen, the same special effects we have
already seen and to keep it at a superficial level.

But, what's even worse, in parts I and II, the main characters had a
really strong motive for what they did. These people actually _wanted_
something out of life (or out of the Cube).
In part III, none of the characters really wants something, so
everything that happens, just happens accidentally, almost by
coincidence, and the characters only _re_act (instead of *act*).

While I liked Hellraiser I, because it introduced a new concept to me,
and also because I get this chill down my spine when pleasure and pain
are mixed (that's all I'll add to the Barker: Sex & Horror -
discussion), and I also liked part II, because the characters were
still motivated and the film went deeper into the history of the
Cenobites, part III didn't show me anything new.

So, what I recommend, is, if you want a good story with character
development and also some good special effects, go see Hellraiser I and
II (again, if necessary), and wait for III to come out on video.
If you can't wait, try to see it for as little money as possible.

Now, there will be a few _mild_ spoilers to prove my point about a weak
storyline, but don't worry, you'll probably figure out most of it
yourself by the first ten minutes of the movie...:

The setting: New York City.
The leading persons:	a television reporter (female)
		-	her cameraman (male)
		-	a nightclub owner (male, age ~32)
		-	one of his lovers (of course, did you expect a
			*homo*sexual relationship?)

At the beginning of the movie, there is a statue, which is a leftover
from a psychiatric hospital. The statue looks like a complex meld of
bodies, I-dunno-what and a cute Cube. Viewers of Hellraiser I and II
will probably instantly make the connection between the statue and what
it contains.

So the following questions remain:

Will the statue come to life?
If so, how?
Will the Cenobites be released?
If so, how?
Will anyone stand in their way?
If so, who?
How will the movie end?
Is there a possibility for a sequel?

The answer to these questions follows the other ^L :-)

Since I told you that it was a bad movie, the answer to all the above
questions is: YES (just as you would expect).
--
------------------------------------------------------------------
'Wait here! The story of your life may be just around the corner'
	- Hellraiser III
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