Hellraiser: Hellworld

“
Evil Goes Online.

”— Tagline
***Hellraiser: Hellworld*** is a 2005 horror movie directed by Rick Bota. It is the eighth installment in *Hellraiser* series. The *Hellworld* script is based on a short story called "Dark Can't Breathe" by Joel Soisson. *Hellraiser: Hellworld* was released straight to DVD in the United States on September 6, 2005, after a handful of minor film festival and private screenings.

The film stars Lance Henriksen in the role of the Host. Henriksen had originally been approached to play the role of Frank Cotton in the first film in the series, *Hellraiser*. Henriksen turned the offer down in favor of a starring role in the vampire thriller *Near Dark* (1987). His role as the Host in *Hellworld* remains his only appearance in the series to date.

## Plot

The film introduces a circle of youths who are addicted to playing *Hellworld*, an online computer game based on the *Hellraiser* series. The film opens at the funeral of Adam, one of the friends who was obsessed with the game and ultimately committed suicide after becoming too immersed in the game. The remaining five friends blame themselves for not having prevented Adam's suicide.

Two years later, they nonetheless attend a private Hellworld Party at an old mansion after receiving invites through the game. Mike, Derrick and Allison are enthusiastic about the party, while Chelsea only reluctantly accompanies them. Jake, who is still very much distressed by Adam's death, only agrees to show up after a female Hellworld player with whom he has struck up an online friendship asks him to attend so they can meet. The quintet are cordially welcomed by the middle-aged party host, who offers them drinks, shows them around the mansion (allegedly a former convent and asylum also built by Lemarchand), and provides them with cell phones to communicate with other guests.

As the party progresses, Allison, Derrick and Mike find themselves trapped in separate parts of the house, and are gruesomely killed by the Host, Pinhead, or Cenobite minions Chatterer III and Bound. Jake and Chelsea become mysteriously invisible to other party guests, and are stalked by the Host and the Cenobites.

Holding herself up in the attic, Chelsea finds items belonging to Adam, and discovers that the host is his father, who blames his son's fellow Hellworld players for not helping to break his addiction. Chelsea and Jake try to flee, only to discover themselves buried alive and receiving messages from the host via cell phones in their respective caskets. The Host informs them that they are just coming out of a hallucination induced by a powerful psychedelic he exposed them to upon their arrival, and that the events of the evening have been the result of hypnotic suggestion and their own guilty consciences. Before leaving, he lets Chelsea know that Allison, Derrick, and Mike have all perished in their respective caskets, and that only she and Jake remain alive. Chelsea begins to slip into another hallucination when she is abruptly pulled above ground by police and paramedics, who say they were informed by a phone call from Chelsea's telephone. Looking towards the house, Chelsea sees Adam standing in the window.

Later, the Host sits in a bedroom, going through a suitcase containing Adam's possessions. He finds and opens an actual Lament Configuration, which summons the real Cenobites. Pinhead praises Adam's ingenuity and mocks the Host's disbelief before Chatterer and Bound cut him to pieces.

Jake and Chelsea are shown driving into the sunrise, when they receive a mysterious phone call from the Host, who suddenly appears in the back seat. The two almost crash the car but are able to stop it. The last scene shows the police entering the bedroom in which the Host opened the box, the walls blood-smeared and the box lying on the floor.

## Cast

* Doug Bradley as Pinhead
* Lance Henriksen as The Host
* Katheryn Winnick as Chelsea
* Christopher Jacot as Jake
* Khary Payton as Derrick
* Henry Cavill as Mike
* Désirée Malonga as Désirée Malonga
* Glenn Tyson as Anaconda
* Anna Tolputt as Allison
* Stelian Urian as Adam
* Adam Wallace as Tree

## Reception

The film received a negative response from critics, scoring a 20% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on five 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*