Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

Here we have part 7 in often hated Hellraiser-saga. The official series did end with part 4, but the franchise wasn't dead until much later. I've always liked the sequels. Many of them are far from perfect, but they still is above average. Well, not for hardcore-fanboys that hasn't moved away from mommie yet of course. They still cry and whine over the sequels. But not me, no way man ;) Sure, it's just a way to squeeze some money out from Clive Barkers original vision, but the movies themselves isn't especially commercial at all - except for Hellworld. But we'll discuss that one another day.

This time Kari Wuhrer plays a journalist, Amy Klein, that dosen't scare easily. She has a new assignment, to go to Romania to find out more about a mysterious sect that seem to raise people from the dead. Their leader is Winter (Paul Rhys), a decendant of the original inventor of the Lament box, and Amy soon finds her deep involved in the sect and the people around it. Soon the reality around her begins to shift and she can never be sure what's happening and if she's even alive...

I really like the idea, and Deader has some parts that works fine. I like the stuff with the bed, which is an interesting nod to the Hellbound. The idea to use the bed, inflict pain on it, and then get powers from Pinheads world is cool. Also to include a relative of LeMerchant is nice, and brings the story to a circle. That's more or less the basic concept with Deader, and it's a pity they couldn't go deeper into those ideas. The location in Romania has a lot of atmosphere and Wuhrer makes a fine intensive performace as Amy, as most of the actors. The budget was obviously restrained and that shows. There never enough time to show really cool stuff. For example, the subway train-scene could have been a lot more decadent and violent. But instead it's feels very rushed.

The gore then? Not that much. Sure, there's some blood and some very fast glimpses of gore (someone getting torn to pieces for example), but not as much and as dirty as I would like. But it also seem to be a case of low budget. This also means that we see way to little of Gary J. Tunnicliffes excellent make-up and not much Cenobites either. Or at least not much close-ups.

Concept and story can't just fill 85 minutes of a nice looking movie, even if Rick Bota do a good job with the directing and a lot of other competent people behind and in front of the camera.