Director: Jack Bender
Cast: Justin Whalin, Perrey Reeves, Jeremy Sylvers, Brad Dourif
Have I Seen it Before: Of all the movies in the series released to theaters, I have such little fundamental memory of this one, that I’m tempted to say I never actually have.
Did I Like It: Andrew Robinson shows up for a brief supporting turn. When his name was in the credits, and when he first showed up as the mildly sadistic Sergeant Botnick, that I remarked, “Oh, good! Andrew Robinson is in this.” It was the last demonstrably pleasurable thought I had about the film, and was followed with a general curiosity as to why Robinson couldn’t be bothered with returning for Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), but was fine doing this.
Clearly, something isn’t working for this film. A depressingly more-of-the-same bare bones plot, a climax that might be the most perfunctory of any horror movie I can readily recall, and far too many moments which feel like they were specifically orchestrated to find their way into a teaser trailer all add up to a movie that feels rushed before you even realize that the time between this film and Child’s Play 2 (1990) was only nine months.
I’d hate to build this review on the feelings others might have about it, but consider: It isn’t exactly like—as with almost any other horror franchise film in existence—there is some devoted sub-group of people who insist that the film is actually worth a damn, even if that group is those who were responsible for the film’s inception. There’s not even an alternate take I can find which might frame the film as anything other than a bankrupt endeavor.
It feels weird to be mostly pleased with the experience of the last film and so down on this one, but it’s hard to not be underwhelmed by a horror series in stasis. Thankfully, other, weirder things are still to come.