Wednesday, October 10, 2012

October Horror 2012: Hellraiser: Hellworld

Hellraiser: Hellworld is the last movie of the original Hellraiser continuity, released in 2005 before they rebooted the series with Hellraiser: Revelations.



The movie is set in a world where the Hellraiser series existed, and they made an MMORPG out of it.  A kid named Adam got obsessed with the game and crafted a replica of the Lament Configuration puzzle box used in the series to summon the Cenobites.  He then digs a large hole in his basement, presumably to bury the box, but then lights himself on fire and dies.  Two years after his funeral, his friends have all gotten cooler and the "pretty" one has stopped playing the game entirely.  The ones who are still playing discovered a "secret" in the game that allowed them to solve a virtual Lament Configuration for an invitation to a super-secret invite-only Hellworld party hosted by Lance Henriksen.

They go to the party, which is filled with the expect drunken sex debauchery and then shit goes totally south as they split up.  There are a few OH SNAP twists, but the ending feels a little unsatisfying.  Some of the kills are fun, but a lot are just throw-aways.  There are even a few good mind-fuck scenes for a direct-to-dvd sequel.

The movie has token references to Hellraiser that while they could have done without, lends a certain aesthetic and mythology that really helped elevate it above a pretty flat horror mystery.  The fact that we all know the mythology lets them play a little bit with the question of whether the legend is real or is it just a game.  It's fun.

There are definitely worse movies in the series and Revelations was way crappier.  Hellworld is entertaining enough to watch once or twice, the twists are OK and not too crazy.  It's better than a lot of direct-to-dvd horror so it gets a solid "not bad".

Next up: Chain Letter.

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