User Reviews

If you search around, you'll find in the Internet the original script for Bloodline as well as the 'Workprint' videos saved by the film's original director. To be honest, the original script needs a couple more drafts in order to properly explain the story to the audience. Too much of it was left vague and poorly explained. But the plot did make sense when both the script and initial footage are considered together. It's hard to know exactly what happened to drive away the film's director. But what happened afterward is a classic Hollywood mess. Core points of the plot were ignored, others ripped away, others turned inside out to the point of blatantly contradicting basic Hellraiser plot and character concepts. Despite the idiotic mess made of the plot, much of it is beautifully done. It was the very last of the Hellraiser films with any level of inventiveness and class. As such, it's worth watching. But raspberries to the dolts who bolted together the elegant remnants of this film into a lumbering ignoramus.

When the beginning of this movie started in OUTER SPACE, I was thinking this movie was doomed from the start. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the rest of the story wasn't too bad. Between Jason X and this, I think it's safe to say that '80s horror does NOT belong in sci-fi. But as a whole, I'd say the movie could've been much much worse.

The year is 2127, and a descendent of the maker of the box that opens the gate to Hell is trying to figure out a way to open the box and trap the demons that come out of Hell. He has commandeered a space station (that he himself designed) for this task. He opens the box, lets the demons out, and is detained (people begin to investigate his questionable behavior on the ship) before he can capture them. Almost the entire film is told in the form of a story which he tells the people holding him, in an effort to get them to let him go so he can finish his work. Needless to say, it takes a lot of gory deaths to convince them.

There is a small bit of tension created by the fact that the entire time he is telling the guards what is going on, the Cenobites are out and are on the ship. However, this is largely forgotten about for the majority of the film because so much of it takes place in 18th century France, the time when the box was created. Basically, some toymaker makes the box, opens it, demons show up, and they terrorize his family for generations. You'd think they'd be grateful because he let them out into the world of the living. Anyway, the guy in 2127 has taken upon himself the task of building a NEW box that will be sort of an antidote to the first box, one that is designed so that it can actually trap LIGHT inside.

It's an interesting enough story, and it was actually fairly entertaining, but the film itself was still somewhat lacking. The acting was pretty bad (but at least Ashley Laurence was blissfully absent again), and there wasn't much effort put into the directing. The movement back and forth from the distant future to the distant past was also a bit detrimental at times to the tension of the story, but luckily the film did present a few cool new cenobites (one that was satisfactorily created out of a couple of idiot security guards), and Bloodline also displayed probably one of Pinhead's best performances ever. I would say that Bloodline is more of an informational movie than a good Hellraiser movie. While it is interesting to watch, it is almost more informational than entertaining. So even though the movie itself may have been disappointing, I think that it is a good addition to the series as a whole. It works better within the Hellraiser series than it does by itself.

Oh my! The dreaded space sequel. I must admit, I thought this would bump three out of worst in the series, but I was dead wrong. The one thing I found most appealing about this sequel, is the fact that it leaves room for more sequels, as long as the don't go past the year of Pinhead's final death. Which I may say, they took full advantage of, in making Hellseeker, and Inferno. I think that even though it was good, it still takes a backeat to the original two films. (Part two being my personal fave)

For years, I'd heard that Bloodline was one of the worst sequels of all time. Having just finished watching it, I can safely say it's nowhere near as bad as some people have made it out to be. It's not as good as the first three by a long shot, but the production design and effects are excellent and I was never bored. The story can be confusing and the characters could have been better drawn, but it's far from the disaster many have made it out to be.

Before Jason and the Leprechaun got a chance to go in to space, Pinhead did it first with the fourth entry in the Hellraiser series. Hellraiser: Bloodline probably had the most troubled production out of any Hellraiser film at this point. The film was originally directed by Kevin Yagher who had a whole grand vision for the film. But, the studio demanded edits that went against Yagher's vision causing Yagher to quit. So, the studio had Joe Chappelle finish the film with the film giving credit to the Alan Smithee pseudonym. The film stars Bruce Ramsay, Valentina Vargas, and Doug Bradley. This film would notably be the last film to have any direct involvement from creator Clive Barker. The film was a critical failure and did not make a bunch of money at the box office. But that did not stop the Hellraiser series from continuing. Because the series would eventually go straight to video starting with the next film, Hellraiser: Inferno.

Engineer Merchant is on board a space station solving the Lament Configuration and manages to release Pinhead. But, Merchant is caught by some space police and is questioned. From here, he tells the story of his cursed bloodline.....

Hellraiser: Bloodline (before studio interference) could have easily been the best Hellraiser sequel and possibly the most ambitious in the whole series. But, this film got the same treatment as Alien 3. Studios have absolutely no business in changing what a film should be like to fit their vision. That is the director's job and from what many have heard, he was doing fine. I am most certain that the original script for this film is out there on the internet so perhaps give that a read if you want. Whereas Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth was a mess of a film that lacked the tone of a standard Hellraiser film, Hellraiser: Bloodline has some remnants of what makes a Hellraiser film interesting. The film is dark in tone but way more effective in the first two films because the dark tone was creepy. Themes of eroticism are hardly present but that is still more than what Hellraiser III gave us. A lot of this film's problems are almost entirely due to studio interference and it is fairly obvious where the studio interfered. From motive changes to the whole structure of the story. The film starts in the future, goes to the far past, back to space, to present day, back to space etc. It is a mess. I like the idea of this film taking place over three timelines. That is interesting. But make it flow in a linear nature because while films like Pulp Fiction can have a non linear story done to perfection, Hellraiser: Bloodline cannot do it worth a damn. It ends up being all exposition and nobody likes having a majority of the film being exposition. This all ends up being more frustrating because the film raises too many questions for me. How exactly did Merchant build the Lament Configuration if he was just a simple toymaker? Who is Angelique? Then answer to all of this is studio interference. Aside from all of the things pertaining to studio interference, we still have special effects and acting. The special effects are fine for the most part. There is some CG used and while I have seen better, there is much worse that can be done. Honestly as long as something like a spaceship isn't moving, the CG is fine. The practical effects look fairly good and there is a decent amount of gore. The acting could be better but one has to consider what the actors/actresses were given and had to deal with. Doug Bradley is still great as Pinhead and even has a few good lines that I still remember.

Hellraiser: Bloodline is a film that had so much promise but studios had to mess it all up and they did that to perfection.

When movie franchises begin to get "long on the tooth", everyone from the director and the film crew to the studio producing the film, are required to come up with new ways to make the viewing experience fresh for the audience that follows it. These are the guidelines that should be followed when occurrences like this happen. Of course we all know that's rarely the case except for the few. Most money hungry studios end up taking the full reign of the production and end up demanding the final result being fairly an exact copy of previous entries made or drastically changed the concept itself. Thus leading to the trend of diminishing returns. For Clive Barker's Hellraiser (1987) franchise, the trend is mostly the same, except the issues are in other places this time.

Compared to Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992), this entry doesn't really surpass it, but it does at least feel more on track than the prior one does. Originally Kevin Yagher (a make-up and special effects artist who had experience in other horror films) was set to direct as his debut film. Unfortunately, Miramax Studios, which then owned the rights fought with Yagher, causing him to quit. However, one man who hasn't left since Hellraiser II: Hellbound (1988) was writer Peter Atkins, who once again penned the script. In this chapter, the year is 2127 and audiences are introduced to Dr. Merchant (Bruce Ramsay) an inventor who has discovered a way to destroy Pinhead (Doug Bradley) and his followers forever. Regrettably, he is stopped before he is able to finish by a group of soldiers who came to take him away. To stall time, Merchant convinces Rimmer (Christine Harnos) to listen to why he needs to finish what he was doing. The story Merchant tells is how the Cenobites were first released and how they connect to his family ties.

The fact that Atkins went in even further than before to explain the back story to Pinhead and his origins is again commendable, but sadly this new information totally contradicts the three films before it. None of the main characters in the prior entries were related to Merchant, so why did their fate have them come in contact with Pinhead? Also what about the multiple boxes that Dr. Channard had in his office from the second film? If these boxes act as portals, what makes you think destroying one box will keep Pinhead out forever? It just doesn't add up. Along with that is a new pseudo-villain named Angelique (Valentina Vargas) who also has a past with Merchant, but only him. Of the characters in the story, the only people that matter and viewers will enjoy is Dr. Merchant, Angelique and Pinhead. Bruce Ramsay (who ends up playing different versions of himself) manages to at least be competent in his role and certainly more convincing than Terry Farrell from the previous movie. As for Vargas and Bradley, they both looked like they enjoyed their roles. Doing all kinds of evil acts and such.

On the flip side, the rest of the cast is completely forgettable. There is no character development, not even for Rimmer who listens to Dr. Merchant. There's also a young Adam Scott and an older Kim Myers (from A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)) and they too have no real significant importance. But aside from characters, Atkins did change a number of things for the better. One being the tone; the third movie had a completely different tone to that of the first two. Many fans took it as too goofy and cheesy where Pinhead was portrayed more as a generic slasher villain. Here, Pinhead still kills just cause, but he's not as blood hungry either. Another plus is the creativeness of the cenobite designs, which unlike the third film looked quite gimmicky. Here, they look more like what Pinhead's followers would look like. Then again, fans may also complain because there really isn't a lot of new additions. Throughout the whole film, only three new cenobites appear of which one wasn't even human and they also don't receive a lot of screen time. Along with that is a possible dislike for the smaller amount of gore too. With that it may not be as scary either.

Yet, the kill scenes are still quite gruesome. Another interesting edition to the mix of the franchise is the use of CGI, which doesn't look that bad. It's used minimally which is how it should be used. The cinematography shot by Gerry Lively is a slight improvement over his work in Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992). This time instead of showing Pinhead in the sunlight all the time, he is kept in the shadows and this helps him feel more mysterious and dangerous. Finally for the musical score, Daniel Licht who would later be known for his music in the Dexter (2006) TV show composed the tracks. Thankfully, Licht exceeds Randy Miller's score from the prior film by adding new themes for the cenobites and making a variation of Christopher Young's original theme that was created from the first film. Much of these tracks use the same string build up, choral echoes and percussion but its the deviations that make it more appealing to listen to than recycled tracks.

It still doesn't anywhere match the first two original movies and most will probably find it equal to that of the Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992) quality, but even for the production troubles that it had and nonsensical story telling, it can be a more entertaining watch. Although the likable cast is few, it is made up with more back-story, a better- written tone, appropriate costume design, acceptable special effects that don't look dated and a better film score.

It's been four years since "Hell on Earth" which was a big letdown. Now we have part four which is "Bloodline." It seems the "Hellraiser" franchise departed from the storyline of the previous three to create another storyline altogether. It starts in space in the year 2176. A lone space station crewmember is solving the hellcube. By the time he's done some agents/officers of some sort come to detain him and remove him from the station. At that point we get a history lesson in the form of a doctor asking the lone officer what he was doing. He then goes into his historic bloodline and ties to the hellcube as well as the potential of a cube to forever imprison the demons.

"Bloodline" just didn't hold my interest. I always like to see Pinhead. Of all of the scary movie villains he has the most ominous voice, but when he speaks about pain, suffering, and pleasures it's almost poetic. Chucky and Freddy go for comedy while Jason and Michael Myers choose not to speak at all (if they can speak). Maybe Candyman would be the closest vocal comparison to Pinhead. In any case, the movie as a whole fell flat.

This movie succeeds if you're a fan of Clive Barker's comic book. It follows the mythos quite logically, and adds a good deal of conjecture to the "reality" of the cenobites. As a sequel this film fills a void.

As a film on its own, this movie should be watched. Its engaging story and thought-provoking plot is enough to keep any viewer entertained, not to mention the violence and gore. Not a bad movie or wasted time.

Despite appreciating horror very much (with a lot of classic ones out there, such as 'Halloween', 'Nightmare on Elm Street', 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', 'Night of the Living Dead' and 'The Exorcist', plus the best of Hammer House of Horror), even if not my favourite genre, it took me a while to get round to watching the 'Hellraiser' franchise. Due to having so much to watch and review, and the list keeps getting longer and longer.

The film that started the franchise off is not only for me by far the best of the 'Hellraiser' films it also for me, and quite a few others it seems, is one of the stronger horror films of the 80s, though not quite of all time. What is meant by being by far the best of the 'Hellraiser' films is that it is the only one to be above very good, the nine sequels were very variable (leaning towards the disappointing) and the latter films particularly are suggestive of the franchise having run its course.

From personal opinion, while a bit of a disappointment 'Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth' is still watchable and one of the better sequels in the series. The same goes for this fourth entry 'Hellraiser: Bloodline', some have said that it is the last watchable film in the franchise and have to agree with this.

Quite a fair few good things here in 'Hellraiser: Bloodline'. The production values were fine, do prefer the nightmarishly Gothic look of the first two films but the film looks very stylish and atmospheric with suitably grotesque visual effects that aren't overused or abused and hold up reasonably well. The space effects are especially good. There are a few imaginative and disturbing moments and the music is fairly haunting.

Pinhead is still interesting and creepy, deserving of his horror icon status. Doug Bradley is genuinely intimidating in the role and gives the only good performance of the film as the only character halfway interesting.

It is hard however to ignore the drawbacks. The creepiness and ambition present before in especially the original 'Hellraiser' is missing, too many parts are too silly and camp and it does undermine any creepiness, mystery or suspense. Like the third film, it just feels completely different tonally compared to its predecessors, Clive Barker's lack of involvement shows loud and clear. The dialogue is toe-curling again like in the previous film and further manages to be convoluted, Pinhead's dialogue also being too rambling, and didn't really see any need for some of the gore, which didn't unnerve that much and came over as cheap and gratuitous instead.

Furthermore, the story is a mess. Nothing is intriguing about the atmosphere and suspense and creepiness are lacking and replaced by silliness. Would have liked more imagination and the kills on the whole would have been more unnerving if the gratuitous elements were used less and if used were there for a reason. The storytelling too is very confused, incoherent at worst, while the second half especially is rushed and far-fetched. The only character one roots for or is interested in is Pinhead, the others are bland and annoying. Excepting Bradley, the acting is even more laughable than in the previous film with no exception.

Altogether, watchable but with a number of issues. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Okay, I wasn't going to bother writing a review for this one and I rarely take the time to write reviews here, BUT... Seeing this undeservedly LOW score here made me feel that I really had to 'say' something.

First off, YES, I am indeed a BIG fan of the first three films; before these just recently came out on glorious Blu-ray, years ago, I even sprang for the UK Puzzle Box set of the first three films (mainly because at the time UNCUT versions were not available here in the States and also for the full commentaries and the bonus DVD that came with it : ) Now, I know it is hard to believe, but I just NOW for the very first time saw this one, part 4; the reason being is that from some casual stuff I had read, I was under the impression that pretty much all the other 'HELLRAISER' films were not very good. Well... Let me tell you, I was extremely surprised and impressed! As I said, compared to all the REALLY AWFUL Horror films out there that are excruciating and badly made, and that is most of them, I was surprised that this one was made quite well.

Okay, so a lot of the fans are sort of put off because it is really different from the other films. Fine... Isn't the POINT to try to come up with different angles and new approaches rather than just remaking the same film again and again...? I thought it was genuinely very creative and kept my attention very much so throughout the film. Sure, okay, it starts in space and your rolling your eyes, thinking "Oh great,'LEPRECHAUN 3'" :) well, it works; it really does. Obviously a LOT of thought was put into the timeline and the mythology of the box, etc., not to mention the follow through at the end. Sure, it wrapped it up rather quickly and left it kind of ambiguous, but so what?! Yes, of COURSE it doesn't have the intensity of the original or even the complexity of the next two films, but to me I was mainly impressed by their not only coming up with the new idea to show the origins, etc., but also I honestly felt that everything that made up the film was done very well considering that it is a damn 'HORROR' movie! : ) I gave it a good, strong '8' which it fully deserves considering the context and type of film. I think that people get SO jaded and expect SO dang much from sequels. I mean, C'mon, compared to what... 'WITCHBOARD' 1-9 or whatever the hell sequel they're at now, this here is pure art!

Heh, if THIS one threw you, just wait until you see part 5! I just this minute finished watching that one for the very first time also a few minutes ago and that is a WILD departure from the early films. However, it was made even much better than this one; the director was actually very, very good!

Bloodline is easily the best of the post-part III Hellraiser films. Like many third sequels, it takes the path of going back to the series' roots; thus tracing the origins of the central prop; the box that opens the gates to hell. The film starts aboard a space ship, and we witness the seemingly insane ramblings of a madman. He then tells the story of the curse on his bloodline; starting off with the toy maker who made the box and opened the gates to hell. The man plans to create a box to counter the original, and send the demons back to hell. The rest of the more modern sequels follow plots that have nothing to do with the original films, so at least this one doesn't suffer from that. The plot isn't completely relevant to the story of Frank Cotton in the first Hellraiser, but at least it isn't merely another episode of Pinhead taking some guy's soul. On the subject of Pinhead; this film takes place in the time that he was still evil, rather than being a mere shadow of the cenobite that we all know and love. Pinhead plays a major part in this movie, and that's always welcome as far as I'm concerned.

Bloodline is more of a fan's movie than the rest of the series. That, therefore, means that if you haven't seen, or didn't like the previous three films; there really isn't much on offer here. Things that have been explained in the first three aren't re-explained here, and therefore it's really important that the other films are seen before this one. Bloodline is surprisingly gruesome, and a lot of the film is very dark and bloody. No bad thing as far as I'm concerned, as I go into Hellraiser films expecting to see gore, and tend to be pleased when they deliver. The acting here is largely terrible, with only Doug Bradley saving the film in that respect. He only does what he's done before - but it really does make the movie. It's surprising how much this deviates from the original; but I'd rather see a sequel do something a little different than merely retread the same ground, as far too many do. That's the reason I aren't slamming this film like a great deal of other's are. It may not be great, and doesn't change the fact that the series dried up after Hellbound...but at least it's not a total dead loss.

Rarely seen a movie that deviates so much from the original premise and still remains (more or less) acceptable…Bloodline is a rather short (which is a good thing in this case) escapade that focuses on the mysterious Hellraiser box. Who wanted it to be made and how it cast a spell on the entire bloodline of the man who eventually created it. We're introduced to 3 generations of the Merchant family (all played by Bruce Ramsey); one in 18th century Paris, one in the present day and the last one in a future galaxy far, far away… Opinions on this storyline may differ a lot…either you think it's very idiotic and far-fetched or…original and dared. The initial atmosphere and setting by Clive Barker has completely vanished, yet the morbid surrounding remains and several sequences are still very creepy and unsettling. Hellraiser: Bloodline contains quite a lot of exquisite slaughtering and the charismatic presence of Pinhead (Doug Bradley) still is an extra horror-value. Pinhead – accompanied by a pet puppy this time – still knows how to kill…too bad he talks too much and his vicious speeches tend to get boring quickly. Best aspects in this production are the newly introduced `cenobites' and the occult Parisian portrait. Giant turn-offs are the weak script, the absence of the typical macabre humor and the lack of references to Barker's initial masterpiece.

Although not highly memorable itself, Bloodline stands as the last watchable Hellraiser film. After this sequel, the series went downhill completely. So far, 2 more sequels came out (2 more are still in process) and neither of those is worth seeing. Hellraiser:Bloodline suffered from a lot of production difficulties and the director eventually preferred to be credited as Alan Smithee…Meaning he doesn't want to be remembered as the director of it. Who could blame him?

Yes, all lame horror franchises eventually go to space to die, where they re-enact the second Aliens Movie.

the plot line here is that an eccentric scientist has hijacked a space station of his own design, and relates to the authorities that in fact, his ancestor created the puzzle box that releases the Cenobites, and that they have spent the last few hundred years tormenting his family.

There are three stories within the movie, on in 18th century France, another in Modern America, and the last in space. In this film, Doug Bradley's character of Pinhead starts to take an increasingly subordinate role. (He doesn't actually appear until the second modern story, which is probably accurate, since he was a WWI human before becoming a demon.)

Instead, the focus is on a female demon named Angelique, who inhabits the body of a dead prostitute after a foolish nobleman releases her. Except halfway through the movie, she is forgotten and we have the Scientist trapping Pinhead in a dimension where he can only phone it in for the Direct to DVD sequels.

This, the fourth of the 'Hellraiser' films, opens in the year 2127 aboard a space station. Its designer Dr Merchant is using robotic arms to open the infamous box to hell when an armed force seizes control of the station and arrests Dr Merchant. He then tells the story of the box and his family's connection to it and how he intends to destroy the evil once and for all.

In 1796 Phillip LeMarchand, a French toy maker, constructs the original box for a decadent aristocrat not knowing what power it will unleash. When opened a Cenobyte named Angelique is summoned; witnessing this LeMerchand runs home to begin work on a second box to counter the first. Unfortunately he is killed before he can finish his work. Because of what he has done his bloodline is now cursed.

Jumping forward two centuries to 1996, his descendant John Merchant has designed a New York skyscraper with distinct similarities to the box; Angelique is drawn to New York and later summons Pinhead, who explains that Hell has changed since she left. They have a plan to open the gates of Hell but inevitably that doesn't quite go to plan.

Now, in 2127, Pinhead learns of Dr Merchant's plans to destroy them so works to thwart them.

When I started watching this I had fairly low expectations and seeing 'directed by Alan Smithee' just made my expectations fall further... perhaps that was a good thing as what followed was actually pretty good. The way the story was told, with Dr Merchant telling his family history to a captor, worked well and gave the box an interesting story from its creation by an innocent man; its evil first use; the way it effected his family and ultimately giving a good reason for it to be set in space. Of course being a Hellraiser film there are plenty of gory deaths in each section as well as new Cenobytes, which were much better than those on 'Part III'. The acting was pretty good for the most part as were the gory special effects. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of the series as it adds to the mythology as well as providing the expected gore.

A fourth "Hellraiser" movie was not needed, but we got it anyways. This one tells us how the box was invented, why it's "cursed", and supposedly ends it. Surprisingly, the film leaves no room for a sequel--that's about it for originality. The movie is an OK time filler--nothing more. The film is too dark and the script is confused. Special effects are OK, but what really sinks this film is the acting. The female leads are very good, but all the male leads are lousy. Some of their acting was so bad that I couldn't believe this was the final cut--didn't anyone look at the footage? Also the film gets (needlessly) bloody and graphic and I gave up on the film when a young child is put in danger. So, it's a diversion only for the special effects and female leads. Otherwise, there's no real reason to watch this. And if you think they add something to the mythology of the box...they don't. Clive Barker had nothing to do with this film...and it shows.

The origin of the box is explained as we go back in time, and I found this info very interesting. (Interesting that the original film never told us where the box came from.) Three stories in one: past, present and future, and all interesting in its own right. Only, why is Pinhead killing innocent people (again) who had nothing to do with the box? He appears to be killing for fun and this fact does not make any sense. The film simply becomes a senseless slasher for the sake of special effects and make-up. There's no suspense or scares - just flat-out gore.

I've read the comments of this movie and I agree in most of the observations made. I consider Bloodlines an explanation or "origin" of the puzzle box. The first 3 talk about the Cenobites, PinHead and the pleasures and torments the box and the cenobites bring. For me Bloodlines tells the story of the puzzle box and for me as a huge Clive Barker fan it resolves the questions: Where was the puzzle build?, Why was it build? and Who made it?

The true Hellraiser movies are 1 and 2, the third one comes like a baseball player sliding in to home plate just inches from being struck out...but it works. And bloodlines totally compliments these, because it's not just about Pinhead, the main character in this one is the Puzzle Box.

That's my 2 cents.

This movie sucked. It was soooooo boring, just talk, talk, talk, with none of the charm or daringness of the first, second, or even THIRD Hellraiser. The cenobites bite, and the humans are insipid and dull. Pinhead is hardly ever around, and when he is, he's just talking. Some boring woman Pinhead calls "Princess" does all the killing, which entails people being tied to chairs and killed. BORING! The one time there's some cenobite-forming action, it's completely predictable (beforehand the future victims say stuff like "Let's stick together" and "Somebody's messin' with our heads").

The first two Hellraisers are good, solid horror films, and the third one is passable, a credible effort if not a successful one. This is a boring piece of crap, more suited to being a Sci Fi Channel original movie than a theatrical-release sequel to a beloved Horror series.

Pinhead is dead.