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Post by CT on Jun 15, 2007 4:32:08 GMT -5
Hellraiser IV: Bloodline |
[/b] (1996) Directed by Alan Smithee (Kevin Yagher)"The film tells the story of the original creator of the Lament Configuration, a toymaker named Phillip L'Merchant, commissioned by a Duc de L'Isle, a wealthy Aristocrat, master of the dark arts who wished to open a gateway to Hell in order to enslave a demon. It presents the story of the later L'Merchant/Merchant bloodline and their unconscious bond with the Lament Configuration, and a plot to create a new design, the Elysium Configuration, able to close the gateway opened by the first box and banish the Cenobites.'[/center][/td][/tr][/table] Rate this movie one a scale of 0 - 5 stars. (5 being the 'best'!) [/center]
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Post by GL on Jun 16, 2007 10:20:00 GMT -5
“Hellraiser: Bloodline” is a pretty exciting entry in the series.
**SPOILERS**
On the Space Station Minos in 2017, Dr. Merchant (Bruce Ramsey) is investigating a strange box when the space station is suddenly under fire. Unlocking the box sets Pinhead (Doug Bradley) free, who takes the doctor hostage. Back in the 17th Century, Phillip L'Merchant (Bruce Ramsey) a struggling toy maker, is asked to produce a new toy for a king's son. He comes up with a small box that contains a secret: inside is the source to unlocking a hidden dimension. Again accidentally freeing the source inside, Phillip tells his wife Angelique (Victoria Vargas) about it and is tortured by what he has seen and vows never to give in and ultimately traps him inside. In 1996, his descendant John Merchant (Bruce Ramsey) comes across the box his ancestor made and frees Pinhead. As he tries to harvest more victims, John learns the secret of the box and finally puts Pinhead away for good.
The Good News: I don't know why Kevin Yeager disowned this film, it's actually quite good. Maybe not as gory as the first two, this one is still bloody. We get two people who have their heads rolled into one being, several get hooks violently slammed into bodies, one person is torn apart by a force inside them and even a few after-effects from dead bodies. One thing I liked about the special effects is the creativity behind them. Not only do we get dead humans, but we also get a dead dog. It's a Cenobite dog as well, so the special effects get a little more creative. Not only that, we get a space station as well. That's a great sign of imagination, as we get blood as well as cold steel. The design of the space station is pretty creative as well, as it holds a great secret about the movie while not being to pretentious about it. Strangely, the film didn't loose me like many have said. I thought it was a creative new step to bring in time travel and other ideas into the fray. Being trapped by the heritage of knowing my grandfather let Pinhead loose is a terrifying idea, and when it happens again, it makes you feel a little bit more scared since we know what he's capable of. The plot may take a little bit of viewing to understand what is going on, but it still doesn't loose you and I had no trouble following it. Even still, the best thing about the movie is still Pinhead. The last of his starring roles in the series, Bradley goes out with a bang, delivering a solid performance that still makes shivers send down your spine. Appearing in many scenes allows for the usual Pinhead-isms to appear, and some of the best ones are in here. Not nearly as famous as others, these are still good and memorable, and that booming voice of his makes them that much creepier.
The Bad News: Okay, it can be hard for some to get into it because it does travel around and has some moments where you don't know what's going on, so it can be a confusing experience for some. It really doesn't follow the guidelines of the others in the series, so if you start with this one, you can become even more lost. Watching them in order isn't really recommended, but knowing Pinhead's past makes it a little easier to accept what he's about.
The Final Verdict: This one isn't as bad as some have suspected it to be. It's a fresh new step in an exciting direction and offers some great FX and ideas. Judge this one differently from the others and you may be surprised at how entertaining it is.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity and a brief sex scene
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HNT
Grizzled HMaM Vet
Horror in General & Everything Else Moderator[/i]
Kiss my tuchis
Posts: 6,296
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Post by HNT on Jun 18, 2007 18:12:16 GMT -5
This was the last Hellraiser film I've seen and it doesn't get any worse than this. 0 from me. I've heard that some of the later sequels are a bit better, but this was such an unfetttered turd of a film that I don't have much desire to find out
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Post by Jen on Aug 4, 2007 11:34:04 GMT -5
I actually didn't hate this one. Not great by any means; but I liked the first few minutes. I thought there was some good ideas. Unfortunately the execution of those ideas left something to be desired. There comes a point in this movie where is all just starts to fall spectacularly apart and becomes more laughable than anything. But I enjoyed myself for the most part. So I will say a 2. Oh and I also have to say this is the first time that I watched a film and actually noticed the name Alan Smithee on it....LOL....not to say I haven't seen a couple, because I am sure I have.
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Post by Jen on Aug 4, 2007 11:39:47 GMT -5
Oh and I got a great laugh out of Pinhead's looks of confusion at one point....who knew you could confuse Pinhead....
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Post by The Walking Dude on Aug 4, 2007 14:41:40 GMT -5
he was probably trying to figure out why he bothered coming all the way up from hell for this effort . that said Bloodline is my least fave of the six Hellraiser flicks i've seen this far.I think it would have been a lot better if it stuck to the original idea of starting in the past and working it's way through instead of the flashback structure it ended up adopting. another victim of the bizarre massacres that take place at Dimension Studios
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Canetoad
The Prodigal Toad
HMaM member of the Month, July 2006
Cry Havoc! And let slip the cats of war.
Posts: 2,868
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Post by Canetoad on Aug 5, 2007 7:45:56 GMT -5
I thought it was such shite I am yet to finish it...
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Post by GL on Aug 5, 2007 10:35:49 GMT -5
I still need to give this one a second viewing, as it's the only one in the series I've only seen once.
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Post by abraxas on Dec 8, 2009 11:07:29 GMT -5
Not the best one, but not the worse, I saw two of the other ones and they blew beyond belief. Unfortunately I could only vote once, I give the background story stuff a five, I really liked the idea of them, the space crap on the other hand.....0.
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Post by GL on Dec 9, 2009 10:47:39 GMT -5
I really don't get the idea of why going into space is such a big deal, I was perfectly fine with it and it never bothered me during the film.
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