This is now the tenth entry in the long-running 'Hellraiser' series which started all the way back in 1987. Author and director Clive Barker created a truly unique horror story as he usually does, but to this day the story of the mysterious Lament Configuration and its inhabitants remains his most infamous. It's just too bad that the series didn't retain any kind of quality control in the thirty plus years since the original, though the newest film 'Judgement' shows some hope for the film's future.
The story involves three detectives tracking down a notorious serial killer, only to find themselves entering a much darker and bigger world. The biggest strength in 'Judgement' lies in its core concept which consists of a sort of judicial system, only in the depths of Hell rather than a courthouse. You admit your sins, have them written down, sent to a decision maker who consumes the sins, then onto the jury who makes the final verdict and then you are sent to be cleaned and butchered by Hell's minions. It's one of the most interesting concepts I've seen in a horror film in a while, the only downside here is that due to the low budget the filmmakers are unable to fully realize such a brilliant concept in full.
I also love these scenes due to the interesting creatures/denizens that inhabit this world. The film's director Gary J. Tunnicliffe standing out even more than Pinhead himself as the Auditor. He is funny, quirky, and a character that I truly want to see more of a background to in future storylines. Sadly, Pinhead is relegated to little more than a brief cameo in what is supposed to be his film series. While that's nothing new with many of these 'Hellraiser' sequels, it's still one of the biggest issues plaguing the series as a whole. The detectives and human cast are also either repugnant, annoying, or just completely forgettable which makes me long to go back to the Hell scenes and losing interest in the main plot.
And the plot is one of the biggest issues with 'Judgement'. This is not a 'Hellraiser' film to me. It's a better than average supernatural crime drama with a really interesting concept, but then you just throw in the Lament Configuration and Pinhead for a quick buck due to name recognition. As a 'Hellraiser' movie, I think 'Judgement' isn't much to get excited about but as a horror movie in general it's interesting and has a lot of good ideas on paper. It's just the shoe-horned in elements and its really short running time (81 minutes) that hurts 'Judgement'. I think even if Pinhead was in the film more, the things he does in the movie just don't seem to fit his personality. Without spoiling anything, the ending sees Pinhead going against certain principals we've come to know him for which leads to the extremely rushed ending that I guess sets up another sequel but I can't really be sure.
I know the budget is really not the director's fault here, and for what he had to work with he got extremely creative but in the end I see 'Hellraiser: Judgement' as more of a test film for a much bigger and better film coming our way. It shows some great concepts and a new direction to go for the franchise that I'd like to see, but this film on its own is a flawed but still enjoyable mess.
Hellraiser Judgement
(6/10)
Special Features include a Gag Reel, Deleted Scenes, and a Post-Credits scene.
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