Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (D+ or 1.5/4 stars)
I never saw Hellraiser's 1 or 2 - thank God. So, for this 3rd film, 'Hell on Earth' (directed by Anthony Hickox), I've got to backtrack & provide some context for the narrative of this movie. After a confrontation at the end of Hellraiser 2, the Black Pope of Hell Cenobite named Pinhead (Doug Bradley) is trapped, along with the marble puzzle cube, amongst writhing bodies & distorted heads etched into the surface of this carved Pillar of Souls. The pillar is bought as a sculpture by spoiled rich playboy, J.P. Monroe (Kevin Bernhardt), owner of the nightclub, The Boiler Room. A young female TV reporter, Joey Summerskill (Terry Ferrell), begins to learn about Pinhead, the mysterious marble puzzle cube, & it's ties to some recent grisly murders.
And she knows the pain that the cube brings - firsthand - when she sees a teen club-goer being ripped to shreds by the box's chains in a hospital ER. Joey tracks the box & a woman named Terri (Paula Marshall) to said Boiler Room; from which Terri has stolen the cube! Through VHS interviews, Joey & Terri learn about the demonic Cenobites & the Lament Configuration - the only way to send Pinhead back to Hell {you see how ridiculous this all is, right?}. Pinhead remains dormant until one night when he chucks chains out & rips into one of the club goers, Brittany Virtue (Sharon Percival). Some way to die, huh? This scene followed a hot, steamy sexual encounter that she'd had with J.P.. After killing her, she is 'absorbed' & her face appears on the pillar with the rest of the distorted faces. Pinhead convinces J.P. Monroe to keep bringing him club members so he can feed on their blood (to be eventually freed from the pillar of Hell).
Now more powerful than ever, Pinhead is out to cause chaos & destruction. He slaughters everyone in The Boiler Room; creating new Cenobites (who were originally calm beings) in the process. Pinhead then sets out to destroy the puzzle cube once & for all (since it could take him back to Hell again). But time is running short, & Joey must think of a plan to bring Pinhead & his copious Cenobites back to the realm of Pinhead's former self (a WWI British Army officer, Elliot Spencer) or else she'll doom herself & all human beings to his bloody malice.
Ohhhhhh kay. I really only have one thing to mention, here. I rented this movie & saw it at age 12 in Florida. I was by myself (dad & stepmom were at work). I popped in the VHS tape. And a while into the plot, there is an NC-17 (like) scene including Kevin Bernhardt & Sharon Percival in which they are both in a bed; he is butt naked; she is butt naked; he is smoking a cigarette & thrusting into her. She is completely topless; he is violently grasping onto her boobs. The thrusting continues. Groping. Panting. Moaning. And then, a few final violent thrusts which completes the sexual act. The scene that follows is when the Brittany character gets her skin ripped off by Pinhead. Etched in my memory are these 2 scenes - back to back; scenes that were so eye-popping to a 12 yr. old boy.
Um, yeah. So that's all I got. I made it out okay. Haha. I remember being creeped out by Pinhead. One of his quotes goes: "I'm here to press the stinking face of humanity into the dark blood of its own secret heart" -- um, stupid, but effective. I remember themes of sadomasochism. I remember gore. I remember thinking that the Pillar of Souls was one freakin' scary-ass sculpture. I remember the gratuitous sex scene (a wow). I remember skin being ripped off of female bodies. And yet, even at age 12 ... I also remember thinking how unbelievably morbid, ridiculous, silly, sloppy, & absurd 'Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth' was.
And she knows the pain that the cube brings - firsthand - when she sees a teen club-goer being ripped to shreds by the box's chains in a hospital ER. Joey tracks the box & a woman named Terri (Paula Marshall) to said Boiler Room; from which Terri has stolen the cube! Through VHS interviews, Joey & Terri learn about the demonic Cenobites & the Lament Configuration - the only way to send Pinhead back to Hell {you see how ridiculous this all is, right?}. Pinhead remains dormant until one night when he chucks chains out & rips into one of the club goers, Brittany Virtue (Sharon Percival). Some way to die, huh? This scene followed a hot, steamy sexual encounter that she'd had with J.P.. After killing her, she is 'absorbed' & her face appears on the pillar with the rest of the distorted faces. Pinhead convinces J.P. Monroe to keep bringing him club members so he can feed on their blood (to be eventually freed from the pillar of Hell).
Now more powerful than ever, Pinhead is out to cause chaos & destruction. He slaughters everyone in The Boiler Room; creating new Cenobites (who were originally calm beings) in the process. Pinhead then sets out to destroy the puzzle cube once & for all (since it could take him back to Hell again). But time is running short, & Joey must think of a plan to bring Pinhead & his copious Cenobites back to the realm of Pinhead's former self (a WWI British Army officer, Elliot Spencer) or else she'll doom herself & all human beings to his bloody malice.
Ohhhhhh kay. I really only have one thing to mention, here. I rented this movie & saw it at age 12 in Florida. I was by myself (dad & stepmom were at work). I popped in the VHS tape. And a while into the plot, there is an NC-17 (like) scene including Kevin Bernhardt & Sharon Percival in which they are both in a bed; he is butt naked; she is butt naked; he is smoking a cigarette & thrusting into her. She is completely topless; he is violently grasping onto her boobs. The thrusting continues. Groping. Panting. Moaning. And then, a few final violent thrusts which completes the sexual act. The scene that follows is when the Brittany character gets her skin ripped off by Pinhead. Etched in my memory are these 2 scenes - back to back; scenes that were so eye-popping to a 12 yr. old boy.
Um, yeah. So that's all I got. I made it out okay. Haha. I remember being creeped out by Pinhead. One of his quotes goes: "I'm here to press the stinking face of humanity into the dark blood of its own secret heart" -- um, stupid, but effective. I remember themes of sadomasochism. I remember gore. I remember thinking that the Pillar of Souls was one freakin' scary-ass sculpture. I remember the gratuitous sex scene (a wow). I remember skin being ripped off of female bodies. And yet, even at age 12 ... I also remember thinking how unbelievably morbid, ridiculous, silly, sloppy, & absurd 'Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth' was.