Halloween Countdown (Day 5: Dream Warriors)

Moving onto Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth. When it comes to horror film franchises, it's best to keep expectations low. While I loved the first film, and the sequel was decent enough, but I wasn't sure how the next one would turn out. The first three flicks are the ones that have garnered the most praise, gathering by the numerous boxsets over the years. So if there was one sequel to be considered the best of the lot, surely this must be it?

OH YES, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.

93 minutes later.....

Wow, and I thought the second film was stupid. This one went even further below the level of silliness to the point of parody. I couldn't believe that in the space of three films, it has gone from an interesting gothic horror style to an over the top, Americanised version of the story, making Pinhead more of a Freddy Krueger type villain than the cold dark threatening force he was made out to be previously. Granted it's supposed to be the evil id of Pinhead in its own form, but the film feels like it was an American's interpretation of the character was to ape the Elm St. series.

Which is a shame that the film turned out the way it did, as it got off to a good start, introducing the Pillar Of Souls from the end of the last film. And to be fair, it does have some interesting effects and story elements, as in how it connects to the previous movie. I give credit to the dream sequences featuring Elliot Spencer, who happened to be Pinhead's human side, and the scenes where he attempts to contact main character Joey via television static. Plus the character of Terri was easy on the eyes.

Well, before she turned into a Cenobite.

As a blatant rip-off of the Elm St. series, the film ups the ante when it comes to gore and comedic elements, with mixed results. While I found it hard to accept the over the top nature of Pinhead, it doesn't help that his created minions are so bad they're actually good, in a funny way. With creations such as the guy with a camera fixed in his eye, the flame spouting fat-man, Terri with a tracheotomy, and the guy with CDs sticking out of his head, they are far removed from the creepy and menacing creations of the previous two flicks. They look like poor versions of the Borg from the Star Trek series. Pretty apt, considering the lead actress ended up in Deep Space Nine.

There is better acting in American daytime soap operas, but because it's so bad, it's amusing at the same time, given how this film turned out. However the story did have its own unexplained, underdeveloped or confusing character motivation when, even Terri ran away when she finds out Joey has a new job.I guess it had something to do with her finding somewhere nice to live and have a good life, and probably feelings of abandonment.

But of course I had no choice but to accept these events in order to get to the end. And with a final showdown to the once again easily disposed of Cenobites, that has a lead up involving the stupid attacking style of the Cenobites, the comedic screaming cops before they get burned to death, and a particularly hammy scene in a church, I had to accept a lot. Much like the determination one has to get through Halloween 3, Elm St. 2, Jason X, Batman & Robin etc, you can't help but laugh.

Verdict?

The direction is far removed from the original that it can be seen as a travesty. But like most horror franchises, you just have to accept how some of these films turn out. And with that, there is admittedly some enjoyment from the over the top gore and the laughable Cenobite clones. The effects are kinda fun in a tacky way, but not much of an improvement when compared to the other films.

On the flip side, it is still a big letdown to see the series take this route. And if there's one thing I learned from horror film franchises, it's that I can only expect them to get progressively worse, with some flashes of of acceptable creativity, be it through horror, gore, story or even comedy I heard the fifth one is actually pretty good. Just a shame that the fourth one is next on my list, judging by who "directed" it.

And on a final note.....

Not much to say about the music and score in this flick, as it has the same non-scary whimsical score, but interspersed with a forced soundtrack of pop, rock and metal, including a cameo of Armored Saint. But I was surprised to hear this song in the end credits, as I was only familiar with the Ozzy Osborne version.