Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1996)

In the year 2127, a young man open up the puzzle box to once again unleash to wrath of the cenobites. However, as the box is in an unauthorized area he caught by authorities and must explain to them the history of the box.

Directed by Kevin Yagher (credited under Alan Smithee) and Joe Chappelle (who went completely uncredited for the film). Written by Peter Atkins and starring Doug Bradley, Bruce Ramsay and Valentina Vargas.

For a quick moment I would like to talk about "Alan Smithee". For those of you whom are unaware, Alan Smithee was a pseudonym used by directors who wanted to disown a specific project. Basically, if they didn't like the final product and could convince the director's guild that they could not have done any better due to unforeseen circumstances, the guild would allow them to use the name to cover up their work with the rules of not speaking about the project nor admitting to anybody that it was their work.

This basically tells you, in a nutshell, where this review is going.

Working as a prequel and a sequel bloodline shows not only the history on the lament configuration, but it's present and future as well.

The film lost my interest the moment they jumped back in time to explain the origin of the box. I just can't get into a film that looks like a period piece. It's something I personally have no interest in even though I know the importance of origins.

The future acting was decent, at first
The present wasn't so great and the past was just laughable. Sure they had the outfits and all but they were not acting in the ways of old. They seemed more like a bunch of people who may belong in the crazy home as opposed to those actually living in the Victorian era.

The ending also was not very good in my books. Let's use advanced technology cause it's the only way we can kill these demons. So you're telling me the previous entries really should have all ended differently then? Cause if you can't kill a cenobites, how you gonna get rid of it for good? The answer? You just can't thus  ruining the story line in all the other films.

I found this to be not only a waste of time, but the film itself ruins any momentum the franchise had going. This may be the sole reason why all the following films have been direct to video.

2 out of 10 and the only reason it gets that much love from me is because Of Doug Bradley's reprising of the Pinhead role.

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