‘The latest, most terrifying evil.’
Hellraiser: Deader is a 2005 American horror film directed by Rick Bota. It is the seventh instalment in the Hellraiser series.
As with the previous two entries in the series, Hellraiser: Inferno and Hellraiser: Hellseeker, it began as an unrelated horror spec script owned by Dimension, which was rewritten as a Hellraiser film. The original script was written by Neal Marshall Stevens who also wrote the script for the 2001 remake of Thir13en Ghosts.
Plot:
Investigative reporter Amy Klein (Kari Wührer) is sent to Bucharest to investigate the origins of a videotape apparently depicting the ritualistic murder—and subsequent resurrection—of a member of a cult calling themselves “The Deaders”. In Bucharest, Amy tracks down the return address of the VHS and discovers the corpse of a girl holding a puzzle box, the Lament Configuration.
Solving the box causes Pinhead (Doug Bradley) to appear and warns Amy that she is in danger. Amy pursues leads, ultimately tracking down Winter LeMarchand, (Paul Rhys) the leader of the cult. Winter is the descendant of the toymaker who designed the puzzle box, which can open a portal to a realm populated by the Cenobites, hedonistic entities that experiment in forms of extreme sadomasochism. Winter believes that as the heir to the LeMarchand name, it is his birthright to access the realm of the Cenobites and become their master.
However, Winter has been unable to open the box himself. Believing that it takes an individual whose life circumstances have brought them to a nihilistic point beyond life-or-death, Winter founded the Deaders, attracting emotionally vulnerable individuals, murdering them, and resurrecting them with necromancy in the hopes of creating someone who can open the box…
Buy first eight Hellraiser films on DVD from Amazon.co.uk
Reviews:
” … not so much a scary story as it is glum and grungy story about an investigative reporter and the gory goth gang she’s itchin’ to track down. The Hellraiser-ish material is just kind of wedged in here and there with little sense, rhythm, or excitement. And, of course, it all takes place in Romania, land of the planet’s least expensive production services…” DVD Talk
“The “Pinhead” moments felt forced and out of place whilst the side Cenobites were lazily tossed our way (why even bother). To make matters more painful, the “Hellraiser” elements actually went on to dilute the main narrative line, taking precious screen time away from it. I was interested in the Deader cult plotline and wanted to delve deeper into it!” Arrow in the Head
” … little more than a series of spooky encounters with ghostly figures and paranormal phenomena that are increasingly terrifying (for Amy) and bewildering (for us). The patchwork script leans heavily on the tired device of ending a nightmarish situation by having Amy wake up screaming in a place of apparent safety that we know, with the certainty of dream-within-a-dream logic, will shortly turn sinister.” Blu-ray.com
“With a Hellraiser film I at least expect extreme…extreme gore, extreme monsters, extreme images. It doesn’t really seem to happen. There is gore, but it isn’t anything revolutionary or different from other Hellraiser and with less monsters, that means less fun.” Basement Rejects
Cast and characters:
Kari Wuhrer … Amy Klein
Ionut Chermenski … Group Leader (as Ionut Chermenschi)
Hugh Jorgin … The Arrogant Reporter
Linda Marlowe … Betty
Simon Kunz … Charles
Madalina Constantin … Anna
Paul Rhys … Winter
Georgina Rylance … Marla
Ioana Abur … Katia
Constantin Barbulescu Constantin Barbulescu … Landlord (as Costi Barbulescu)
Doug Bradley … Pinhead
Daniel Chirea … Amy’s Father
Marc Warren … Joey
Maria Pintea … Young Amy
Mircea Constantinescu … Subway Cop #1
Marius Ratiu … Subway Cop #2
Nike Phanzu … Deader Guide
Dan Chiriac … Resurrected Deader
Alina Radu … Deader #1
Onut Dumitru … Deader #2
Mircea Hategan … Young Subway Cop
Laura Paraschiv … Cenobite on Train
Catalina Alexandru … Cenobite’s Victim (as Alexandra)
Matthew Delamere … Doctor Kircher (as Mathew Delamere)
Daria Enescu … Young Girl Painter
Snowy Highfield … Spike Cenobite (scenes deleted)
Mike J. Regan … Chatterer Cenobite (as Mike Jay)
Petrica Voicu … Crack-Head
Sandu Mihai Gruia … Cabbie 1 (as Mihai Gruia Sandu)
Ionut Kermenschi … Worker
Daniel Giurcareanu … Conductor (as Dan Giurcaneanu)
Doina Ghitescu … Driver (as Doinita Ghitescu)
Filming locations:
Bucharest, Romania
Filming dates:
October 2002 to November 2002 (filmed back-to-back with Hellraiser: Hellworld).
Technical details:
88 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.78: 1
Trailer:
