The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy (48 page)

It is not until she remembers fully in the hospital corridor—obviously her mindscape, complete with checkered floor—that the wound starts to bleed again and the implication is clear. But it is
what
she recalls that is important: Amy stabbing her father in the stomach—penetrating him, as he has done her—and killing him. In the flashback we see the adult Amy take the place of her younger self in a floral dress, and we know she has confronted her fear so that she can move on to the denouement. “Why is it that you feel no pain?” Pinhead asked her when she accused him of doing this to her. At the time, she felt no pain because she’d buried the memories so deep they couldn’t possibly hurt her. The more blood she loses, the more the past comes flooding back.

The way this happens is through photographic images. The scenes in that crack den that Amy takes pictures of are now frozen black and white moments in time, as is the picture of her and Charles that we zoom in on at the end. (The camera dissolves blocking out Charles and finding Amy’s face, her eyes; this was her story, after all.) Her memories are just moving monochrome representations of a childhood she’d rather forget, opened up by the various keys in the movie: the one that opens the Deader gate, the Lament Configuration that opens the pathway to Hell, and the opening of the cupboard door where young Amy hides.

Finally, there is the trust the Deaders place in Winter, who ultimately betrays them all. Without their knowledge, they are being used in his war against the Cenobites; Winter is amassing troops for the final push. But in the end he has sealed all their fates. One can therefore state in no uncertain terms that their trust in him was completely misplaced.

28

DEADER, LIKE ME?

With a mixture of anticipation and excitement (remember the film had a two and a half year build-up),
Hellraiser: Deader
was finally released on DVD in June 2005. Dave Davis of Chud.com was one of the first to review it, saying, “Director Rick Bota has done a few movies in the series, and he seems to be getting the hang of it, judging by the murk and mayhem of
Deader
. Of course, it’s only just superficially a
Hellraiser
movie—it feels like an original horror script was refurbished to incorporate Pinhead and the pain aficionados.” Which, of course, it was.

John J. Puccio of
DVDTown
said: “The
Hellraiser
series has always been about grotesque imagery, mostly of death and dying, and this entry is no exception. But the editing and direction leave a lot to be desired, with too many important plot details blithely skipped over.”

The Film Journal
’s Rick Curnutte, Jr., was more optimistic in his assessment: “Though none of the subsequent films have captured the sexual potency of the first film or the fantastic allegory of the second,
Deader
returns, at least in spirit, to the more organic tones of the earlier installments.” This positivism was echoed by
Slasherpool
’s reviewer AnthroFred, who even stated: “It’s really a shame that they started going DVD with the
Hellraiser
movies because this movie is definitely the best since the first
Hellraiser
movie and I think that this might have done pretty well at the box office.”

Tony Whitt of
Now Playing Magazine
commented, “Perhaps it’s my own lower expectations, then, but
Deader
turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It hasn’t got the gravitas of the first two movies, the flash of the third, nor even the plot twists of the fourth, but it’s still a deeply scary, deeply disturbing little movie.”

To conclude,
Pop Matter
’s associate music editor, Tim O’Neil, summed up thus: “For about the first two thirds of its running time, it creates a deliciously evil atmosphere of dread and dismay. Kari Wuhrer’s performance as a desperate reporter being dragged further into the grips of hallucinatory madness while investigating a strange death-defying cult leader is especially good. Her intensity, especially during extended scenes dealing with her own death and bloody rebirth, is far more evocative than any B-movie has the right to expect.”

29

HELL OF A WORLD

But, as we know,
Deader
wasn’t the only
Hellraiser
movie to be made in Romania at that time, although it was the only script Rick Bota and the crew took there with them. Throughout early stages of filming for the seventh movie in 2002, there was an initial idea for a script revolving around a party in an old house. But there were also a considerable amount of historical flashbacks involved—one venturing to Nazi Germany—and so the producers decided it would prove too complicated and too expensive to make. With shooting on
Deader
continuing apace and no film as such waiting to be made when it finished, the net was once again cast to find a
Hellraiser
story. Joel Soisson, who wrote
Trick or Treat
(Charles Martin Smith, 1986) and
Mimic 2
(Jean de Segonzac, 2001) and produced the
Prophecy
series, had written a short treatment called “Dark Camp Breathe.”

“It began mostly as a way of jotting down what I thought my own worst nightmare was,” said Soisson upon watching the finished film.
¹
This turned out to be implanted memories through drug-induced suggestion and being buried alive. The story came across the desk of Nick Phillips, executive producer on
Deader
and the eighth film. “I thought it was just great in and of itself,” he enthused. “And in trying to find some use for it, we obviously decided to try to integrate it with the
Hellraiser
mythology.”
²
With time fast running out, Bota contacted Carl Dupré, who had been one of the writers on
Hellseeker
. Dupré had to work fast and turned the treatment into a script within two weeks. In this he played around with the
Hellraiser
mythology, thinking outside the box to create an Internet gaming ring called Hellworld that would entice the players to come to a
Hellraiser
party, thereby utilizing the Gothic-looking house in Bucharest that would have been the location for the movie in its original form. The writer did leave some of the scenes vague, though, in particular the murder sequences, so that others could have their say. Once
Deader
had completed shooting, Bota and the producers retreated to their hotel to bat around ideas. Bota had only one week’s preparation time (where usually a director would enjoy about five). But soon the moment had arrived and the shoot was about to begin.

The makers had to think on their feet in terms of casting as well. But Bradley was already over there and two of the other slots virtually filled themselves. Khary Payton had just starred in Dimension’s
Dracula II: Ascension
(Patrick Lussier, 2003), so he was fresh in their minds when it came time to fill the role of Derrick. He also came with the added bonus of having had his head cut off in that film, so they could use this prop again for his death in
Hellworld
. Speaking about the movie Payton said, “Hellworld is like candyland without the candy. It’s a state of mind ... All hell breaks loose again. And why wouldn’t it? It’s
Hellraiser
.”
³
Payton, who had also featured in TV shows like
Walker
,
Texas Ranger
and
Imagine That
, would bring a welcome spark of energy to the whole proceedings.

Newcomer Anna Tolputt had already auditioned for the part of Marla in
Deader
and impressed Bota. The young English actress wasn’t quite right for that part, but when the role of Allison came up she would prove perfect. With just the right hint of “Goth”—and resembling Thora Birch in
The Hole
(Nick Hamm, 2001)—Anna would have one of the most horrific deaths of any
Hellraiser
film, being bled dry in the Sacrificial Chair with two spinning razor-sharp wheels.
⁴
She would also have to be buried in make-up for the chase scene around the house and for her final death scene in the coffin where she has clawed out her own throat.

Born in 1983, Henry Cavill grew up in Jersey on the Channel Islands. He became interested in theatre acting at boarding school, and this in turn eventually led to film work. His first appearance on the big screen was playing Thomas Aprea in
Laguna
(Dennis Berry, 2001) and this was swiftly followed by a role in the major Hollywood swasherbuckler,
The Count of Monte Cristo
(Kevin Reynolds, 2002), alongside Guy Pearce and Richard Harris. He also appeared on British television in
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
and
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
(both 2002). With his dark good looks there is little wonder he only just missed out on playing Superman, but for the role of Mike in
Hellworld
Cavill would also display a distinctly comic sensibility that would lighten the mood in between the darker parts of the film.

The other male lead was a role filled by Canadian Christopher Jacot. He had a number of TV and film credits to his name by the time he was cast in
Hellworld
, including
Twice in a Lifetime
,
The Famous Jet Jackson
and
MythQuest
on the small screen, and
Get Over It
(Tommy O’Haver, 2001) with Colin Hanks (son of Tom) and Kirsten Dunst, and
The Bay of Love and Sorrows
(Tim Southam, 2002) in the cinema. He would bring just the right balance of brooding teen angst and vulnerable hero qualities to Jake, best friend of the boy who dies at the start of the film because he was playing “Hellworld.” “He gave a performance filled with despair and anger,” said Bota about the young actor.
⁵

For the key role of Chelsea, those casting turned to up-and-coming starlet Katheryn Winnick, who was born and raised in Etobicoke and could speak only Ukranian until the age of eight. Winnick studied acting in New York and had made a name for herself in TV shows like
Student Bodies
,
PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal
and
Relic Hunter
, and had also starred in
Two Weeks Notice
(Marc Lawrence, 2002) with Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock. Winnick was one of the hopefuls of 2002’s
The It Factor
which proclaimed her to be one of the next talents to have “it.” When the makers found out that not only did she have the looks, but also holds a third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, a second-degree black belt in Karate, and is a licensed bodyguard, they quickly wrote in a couple of scenes that would show this off (namely when someone tries to pick her up at the party and when she roundhouse kicks The Host near the climax of the movie). “You know, I think the actual footage of it looks like a double,” said the actress of that last scene, “because my hair was in my face. But no, Mom, that’s me. I did it!”
⁶
Since making
Hellworld
Winnick has gone on to star as Ivana Trump in the biopic
Trump Unauthorized
. “It’s the untold version,” she says. “It’s not Donald’s version.”
⁷

Playing the Uniformed Cop who comes to check out Chelsea’s phone call was a face familiar to British audiences. Victor McGuire had starred for many years as Jack Boswell in the sitcom
Bread
from the mid 1980s onwards, and then in another successful comedy as time-traveling Nicholas Lyndhurst’s pal, Ron Wheatcroft, for
Goodnight, Sweetheart
(1993–1999). Movie audiences might recognize him from
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
(Guy Ritchie, 1998) and
Thunderpants
(Peter Hewitt, 2002). For someone who knows him from these UK roles it is a little strange to see him with a New York accent, but he masters it quite well.

David Robinson would join him as Cop #2, under some very unusual circumstances. David, from Cheshire, England, won a competition to find “Britain’s Scariest Person.” “The competition’s not been held since, so I guess I still am!” said David. “The prize was for a walk-on part in a horror movie and I was thrilled when it was eventually arranged to be a
Hellraiser
movie.... The first scene I shot is right near the end of the movie where we pull Chelsea from the coffin.”
⁸
David was absolutely delighted at his prize, being a massive
Hellraiser
fan (which was coincidentally what the whole film was about). After chatting with Gary Tunnicliffe, the pair became friends and David now runs his Web site (
www.garyjtunnicliffe.com
). It’s to be hoped it won’t be David’s last appearance on-screen as he does a very good job.

Like Andrew Robinson in
Hellraiser
, the film’s biggest coup would be securing the services of Lance Henriksen. A true Hollywood veteran, Henriksen was born in New York in 1940 and studied at the Actors Studio before securing parts in off-Broadway plays. In the ’70s he starred in such classics as
Dog Day Afternoon
(Sidney Lumet, 1975) with Al Pacino, Spielberg’s
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(1977) and the second outing for the demon child in
Damien: Omen II
(Don Taylor, 1978). In the ’80s he enjoyed even more success when he was almost cast as The Terminator in James Cameron’s futuristic thriller, and his eventual role of Detective Vukovich led to a part in Cameron’s next movie,
Aliens
(1986). It was this that really catapulted the actor to fame, playing the heroic android Bishop—a franchise role that he would reprise for two of the later films (including 2004’s prequel
Aliens vs. Predators
directed by Paul W. Anderson). Parts in Kathryn Bigelow’s savvy vampire movie,
Near Dark
(1987),
The Pit and the Pendulum
(Stuart Gordon, 1990) and John Woo’s first U.S. film,
Hard Target
(1993), came next. But it was the spin-off from the highly acclaimed
X-Files
,
Millennium
—also created by Chris Carter—that gave Henriksen his second most famous role: that of ex-FBI profiler Frank Black (1996–1999). Nor was Henriksen a stranger to haunted buildings like the one in
Hellworld
, having starred in
House III: The Horror Show
(James Isaac) in 1989.