Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)

(In French, On Cable TV, January 2021) Six entries deep into the Hellraiser series, we are now past the point of direct-to-DVD and into copies of copies of copies, and possibly scripts retooled to fit in the Hellraiser universe even if it doesn’t make sense for their stories. Hellseeker is, at its core, a somewhat unambitious horror film dealing with visions and an existentially challenged viewpoint character. If it had tried to develop its own original mythology, it probably would have done better: The script does show a willingness to play with the nature of reality that goes beyond most horror narratives, and there are a few good moments in here. (It’s also notably more eager to embrace nudity and sexual themes at the borderline of erotic horror, which is not often done and even more rarely done well.)  But it’s when the film cozies up to the Hellraiser mythology that it becomes less and less effective. There’s no reason to bring back Ashley Laurence as the heroine of the first films, given how her character seems to have changed beyond any recognition. Pinhead is more pompous than even as he speechifies, and despite good foundational elements, the film feels cheap and unconvincing when it tries to put them together. Hellseeker ends up feeling like a substandard Jacob’s Ladder led by creators who don’t quite understand how to use those elements effectively: it’s as nihilistic as a bad noir film without much in terms of thrills along the way. But it’s its mercenary association with the Hellseeker series that kills it off—we may have respected an original film treading the same grounds, but tying itself to a series only makes it feel even less competent.