Hellraiser: Deader

“
The Latest, Most Terrifying Evil.

”— Tagline
***Hellraiser: Deader*** is the seventh installment in the *Hellraiser* series, directed by Rick Bota. The original script was written by Neal Marshall Stevens who also wrote the script for the 2001 remake of *Thirteen Ghosts*. However, like the previous two entries in the series, *Hellraiser: Inferno* and *Hellraiser: Hellseeker*, it began as an unrelated horror spec script, which was rewritten as a *Hellraiser* film. Like *Inferno*, Clive Barker did not even have a cursory involvement in the production of *Deader*.

*Deader* was filmed on location in Romania in 2003. It saw only a handful of isolated preview screenings in the following years before finally being released straight to video in the United States on June 7, 2005.

## Plot

Investigative reporter Amy Klein (Kari Wührer) is sent to Bucharest at the behest of Charles (Simon Kunz), her boss and apparent friend, to investigate the origins of a video tape apparently depicting the ritualistic murder—and subsequent resurrection—of a member of a cult calling themselves "The Deaders". In Bucharest, Amy tracks down the return address of the VHS and discovers the corpse of a girl, named Marla, who had sent the tape holding a puzzle box, the Lament Configuration. Amy returns to her hotel and solves the puzzle of opening the box which causes Pinhead (Doug Bradley) to appear and says to Amy 'Don't think for a moment that you are not in danger'. She then visits some of the Bucharest subculture on a train where she meets Joey, who warns her about her the Deaders and notices that Amy has a 'self destructive thing'.

Amy pursues leads, ultimately tracking down Winter LeMarchand (Paul Rhys), the leader of the cult. Winter is the descendant of the toymaker who designed the puzzle box, which can open a portal to a realm populated by the Cenobites, hedonistic entities that experiment in forms of extreme sadomasochism. Winter believes that as the heir to the LeMarchand name, it is his birthright to access the realm of the Cenobites and become their master.

However, Winter has been unable to open the box himself. Believing that it takes an individual whose life circumstances have brought them to a nihilistic point beyond life-or-death, Winter founded the Deaders, attracting emotionally vulnerable individuals, murdering them, and resurrecting them with necromancy in the hopes of creating someone who can open the box. Winter kills and resurrects Amy, resulting in her experiencing an extended waking dream including a bloody bathroom scene and going to see Joey once again on the train. Amy also relives physical and sexual abuses from her childhood by her drunken, abusive father and young Amy eventually murdered him by stabbing him in the stomach with a large kitchen knife.

Coming back to reality in the Deaders' compound, Amy successfully opens the box and summons the Cenobites. Their leader, Pinhead, expresses disdain for Winter and his family and denies that any mortal could ever control the Cenobites. Pinhead and the Cenobites then slaughter all of the Deaders before indicating to Amy that she is now indebted to them by opening the box. Rather than be taken back to the Cenobite realm, Amy kills herself by stabbing herself in the stomach with a large kitchen knife. After that, the box starts to close and an electrical charge surges out from the box, Pinhead screams "No!" and the house explodes.

Charles is watching the news reporting the incident. His secretary asks if there had been any word from Amy and Charles says no. His secretary asks if he thinks something happened to Amy and Charles has no idea. The secretary shows in a young female journalist and Charles talks about showing her a tape that might interest her, as the reporter holds up the Lament Configuration, recovered from the collapsed building.

## Cast

* Doug Bradley as Pinhead
* Kari Wührer as Amy Klein
* Paul Rhys as Winter LeMarchand
* Simon Kunz as Charles Richmond
* Marc Warren as Joey
* Georgina Rylance as Marla
* Ionut Chermenski as Group Leader
* Hugh Jorgin as The Arrogant Reporter
* Linda Marlowe as Betty
* Madalina Constantin as Anna
* Ioana Abur as Katia
* Constantin Barbulescu as The Landlord (as Costi Barbulescu)
* Daniel Chirea as Amy's Father
* Maria Pintea as Young Amy

## Reception

The film was panned by most critics, receiving a 17% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on six reviews.

**Films:** *Hellraiser* • *Hellbound* • *Hell on Earth* • *Bloodline* • *Inferno* • *Hellseeker* • ***Deader*** • *Hellworld* • *Revelations*
**Characters:** Cenobites (Pinhead • Chatterer • Female • Butterball) • Kirsty Cotton
**Other:** Lament Configuration • *The Hellbound Heart* • *The Scarlet Gospels* • "Hellraiser" • *The Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser* • *Tortured Souls*