Despite receiving mixed reviews at best, the “Hellraiser” franchise has existed since the 80s and shows no signs of slowing down. Here’s my personal ranking of the films.
- Hellraiser: Judgement
An exercise in pure depravity. As disgusting if not more so than any of the “Saw”, “Hostel” or “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” films. “Hellraiser: Judgement” is a despicable film with no purpose other than to be despicable.
- Hellraiser: Inferno
The first direct-to-video sequel in the franchise was not originally intended to be a “Hellraiser” film. Pinhead gets awkwardly crammed into this strange and unengaging flick. Some of the special effects are rather bad.
- Hellraiser: Revelations
The first “Hellraiser” film not to feature Doug Bradley as Pinhead. The new Pinhead looks absolutely awful. This one also copies a lot of plot elements from the original film. I also hated that some of it is done like a found-footage movie.
- Hellraiser: Deader
This one is set primarily in Bucharest, Romania. Its depiction of Eastern Europe as a seedy place of sexual torture is perhaps second only to “Hostel”. A completely unnecessary and pointless sequel.
- Hellraiser: Hellworld
Set in a world where there is an online videogame based on the “Hellraiser” franchise, this feels like a very generic slasher film. However, it does feature Lance Henriksen (“Aliens”) so it’s not all bad.
- Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth
A very predictable sequel that fails to feature the exciting imagery that made the first two entries interesting. There is barely anything here that adds to the mythology.
- Hellraiser IV: Bloodline
Pinhead goes into outer space (just like Jason Voorhees and Leprechaun) in this fourth outing. This is a film where the director used the ‘Alan Smithee’ pseudonym as he was so embarrassed by it. This instalment jumps between different time periods and gets rather messy.
- Hellraiser: Hellseeker
Easily the best of the direct-to-video “Hellraiser” sequels. Some of the plot elements are interesting. However, this is yet another one that was never originally intended to be part of the franchise.
- Hellraiser
While it starts off somewhat slow, the movie gets rather creative in its final act by introducing the Cenobites. There are some great special effects here. This is the one that introduced us to the demonic puzzle box and the evil Cenobites.
- Hellbound: Hellraiser II
Probably the most intriguing film in the whole franchise. Fans seem to debate whether or not this one is superior to the first. It has a lot of striking visuals and some impressive special effects. It gives us more of the Cenobites.