Hellraiser 5: Inferno (2000)

I might get a lot of crap for saying this, but for a direct-to-video flick I must say this was one of the better horror flicks I've seen in a long time. Many felt this one was not a "true" entry to the series (I beg to differ) due to the somewhat “art house” feel, but c'mon, after the piss awful third and fourth films something different had to be done, and it was.

The story deals with a detective named Harry who does his job well, but lacks in many other “human” qualities. The guy snorts coke, bangs hookers, and is constantly neglecting his wife and daughter. He’s not truly a bad guy at heart, but he’s not all that great either. Harry comes into contact with the infamous “Lament Configuration” at a murder scene and intrigued by the box, he later on swipes it from the crime lab. After a night of cocaine and screwing a rather cute little prostitute, Harry opens the box and is soon confronted by some Cenobites as usual. However, instead of receiving the usual hooks-into-flesh routine, Harry awakens from what he thought was a dream, only to discover that this nightmare is just beginning (damn, was that cliché’ sounding!).

If you have seen “Jacob’s Ladder” you will know what type of vibe to expect from this one: weird, dreamy, hallucinatory…whatever term you like. Lot’s of weird camera angles are used and the whole thing just has a great atmosphere to it. This flick caught a lot of shit from die-hard fans of the series mainly for the fact that Pinhead is only in the film for about 5 minutes. His role is definitely like that in the first two films, sort of an evil referee to the films characters and the choices they make. Parts three and four really ruined the character for me as Pinhead was shown way to much, talked to much, and lost a lot in the “scariness” factor. I will admit that when Pinhead shows up here he seemed a bit out of place, but only for a second, and the character truly works great in this one. Loved the “your flesh is killing your soul” line…good stuff. The other Cenobites are nothing to special though they are much better than parts three and four. We get twin female Cenobites that don’t talk, they just sort of rub each other rather sensually and stuff. The other one is sort of a faceless dude and we also get a version of part one’s Chatterer though without legs. The story has lots of twists and turns and I thought the ending was pretty damn cool as well. I must admit, after watching this one I sort of thought about my own opinions on heaven and hell. And if a movie makes you think after watching it, it’s done the job. See this one and you’ll know what I mean. Good stuff and the best entry in the series besides the first two.