Product Description

Pinhead is back in HELLRAISER: HELLSEEKER -- the next chilling chapter in this electrifying HELLRAISER legacy originated by frightmaster Clive Barker! When the puzzle box is once again solved, the devastating demon Pinhead (Doug Bradley) and his legion return to unleash Hell on Earth and demolish all who dare oppose them! But standing in his way is Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence -- HELLRAISER I, II, III) -- the only person who has defeated Pinhead in the past -- and it's up to her to save the world from this ultimate evil! Also featuring Dean Winters (OZ, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT) -- you don't want to miss any of the horror as Pinhead will stop at nothing to impose his ill will on eternity!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16858 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2002-10-22
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 89 minutes

Amazon.com
A very credible entry in the Hellraiser series, Hellraiser: Hellseeker presents a nifty puzzle for gore fans, plus plenty of philosophical musings from the ineffable Pinhead ("Personally, I prefer pain"). A smoldering Dean Winters plays a man who survives a car accident in which his wife was apparently killed; because of a head injury, his memory is mixed up, and he can't distinguish between reality and fantasy. The borrowings from Memento are obvious, and the fragmented story pieces may not all fit together, but the mystery does become tantalizing. Within the low-budget constraints, veteran cinematographer Rick Bota (making his directing debut) keeps the atmosphere clipped and gloomy. The film also brings back Ashley Laurence, who appeared in the original installments of Clive Barker's franchise. One question: with Pinhead in the house, is visiting an acupuncturist really a good idea? --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

hellraiser vi-hellseeker
the return of kirsty. but not in the way we all expected. while most of the movie is focused on her husband trevor. it starts out with him and her riding in a car going down a road when the car flies of the bridge and crashes into the water. trevor escapes but kirsty is traped in the car. Much like INFERNO, trevor must find the answers to what really happened to kirsty as her body is not found and what is really happening to him. Once again Pinhead and crew have a small role and in the end we all learn the twisted truth about kirsty and her relationship to trevor as reality is turned upsidedown and nothing is as it seems. Trevor must face his past that he has "forgoten" as kirsty has her revenge for all the heck shes been though. The truth about how kirsty has been changed since HELLRAISER:HELLBOUND is shown and her true relationship to Pinhead and crew is brought to the forefront. How you view kirsty will be changed after seeing this movie as all the pain shes been through finnaly takes its toll on her. great movie and a truly great surprise ending!!!

"Welcome to the worst nightmare of all...reality"
The Hellraiser franchise holds a special place in my heart. I will never forget the first time I saw the opening chapter in the series of films inspired by Clive Barker's nightmarish visions. Watching the original "Hellraiser" now is a mixed bag-some of those special effects look a bit hokey, but others still come across as chillingly effective. Who can forget the glistening visage of Uncle Frank? The lascivious Julia? Or the first appearance of the ominous and verbose Pinhead? The second installment improved on the first, as the film whisked the viewer away to the abode of Pinhead and the Cenobites. A gruesome, perverse picture, "Hellbound: Hellraiser 2" raised the expectations about future entries to a fever pitch. Up next came "Hellraiser 3," a personal favorite of mine even though legions of fans have subsequently disowned it. The series moved into the latter stages of its life from this point forward, taking bold steps in an attempt to expand far beyond anything that viewers had come to expect. "Hellraiser: Bloodline" moved the action into the future while simultaneously looking at the past in an effort to tell the history of the Lament Configuration, the box that unleashes Pinhead and his infernal minions. Then came "Hellraiser: Inferno," a film that toyed with concepts of memory in a way that is a sort of precursor to "Hellraiser: Hellseeker."

The sixth entry in the indomitable "Hellraiser" franchise employs techniques eerily reminiscent of films like "Irreversible" and "Memento" without showing scenes backwards. Trevor Gooden (Dean Winters) and his main squeeze Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) aren't getting along that well. They argue incessantly about the things a couple always argues about, but unfortunately they do so while driving a car. When tempers flare Gooden takes his eyes off the road long enough for the car to do a header off a bridge into deep water. The story picks up from this point forward, following Trevor as he recovers from injuries sustained in the accident. Sadly, good old Kirsty didn't make it through the crash, and now Gooden faces questions from the police. The two detectives who question Trevor try and use the old good cop/bad cop routine to extract a confession from the man. Gooden has no idea why the police are voicing suspicions about the accident since he had no reason to try and harm his loved one. The ongoing investigation is a minor inconvenience anyway because Trevor Gooden feels bad physically and emotionally. He suffers from crushing headaches and other ailments as a result of the crash, although the doctors seem to think he shouldn't have any problems.

Then the hallucinations start, frightening visions of gory violence and weird apparitions that leave Gooden feeling confused and alone. His encounter with a cute neighbor in his apartment building leads to a murder he knows nothing about. In come the cops again, asking increasingly ominous questions about what Trevor knows. Everything is turning weird, with time skewing off into past, present, and future directions. Gooden worries he's losing his mind, and he's right. What he should have asked himself was to whom would his mind go. Fans of the "Hellraiser" movies already have a good idea who's going to turn up in the end to claim Trevor Gooden. Yep, it's Pinhead, that urbane, witty denizen of Hell who always finds time to pop up on earth to lecture the mortals on the evils of bad living. It turns out that that accident might not have occurred the way we thought it did, that maybe Trevor isn't the aw shucks sort of guy we thought he was. 'Tis a pity when a good seed goes bad. Or does it? I won't spoil the shock conclusion for you, but "Hellraiser: Hellseeker" holds its cards tightly to its vest. The film is a roller coaster ride that doesn't let the secret out until the final frames.

Director Rick Bota did a good job crafting yet another entertaining "Hellraiser" sequel. He imbues his film with a stark, washed out atmosphere that more than adequately expresses the bleakness Trevor Gooden feels after the accident. Bota also knows that a movie wishing to attach itself to the Pinhead canon must have a vicious bite in terms of gory violence. A whole host of sharp objects express themselves in various ways in the film, much to the delight of gorehounds looking for yet another movie to tease the palate. Even the acting is better than you would expect for a low budget straight to video horror flick. Ashley Laurence, returning to the role that made her semi-famous in the horror world, does a better job acting the seminal part of Kirsty Cotton than she did in the first two films. She might be a bit older, but she's still easy on the eyes. The only downfall to Laurence's appearance is that she doesn't have more than a few scenes. Pity. The director should have made greater use of this actress. Moreover, Doug Bradley as Pinhead once again appears only briefly, a big disappointment to fans of the man with the face of a million nightmares.

The DVD edition is quite good for a straight to video movie. You get a commentary from Rick Bota, a special effects featurette, alternate scenes that give Ashley Laurence greater screen time, and a bunch of trailers for films like "Imposter," "Backflash," and "Hellraiser: Inferno." This sixth installment is the last of the "Hellraiser" films that have been released; two more are slated for release within the next year and a half. I hope they give us more Pinhead and more over the top gore. I think I will go back and start watching the series from the start again. You should, too.

Excellent Entry in the Hellraiser Canon
HELLRAISER: HELLSEEKER, the sixth installment in the Hellraiser series, is a fine, taut chiller, handled masterfully by first-time director Rick Bota (cinematographer on DEMON KNIGHT, HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL and VALENTINE and director of the upcoming Hellraiser sequels DEADER and HELLWORLD). This is a nail-biter, especially for newcomers to the series, who will no doubt love this 90-minute amalgam of murder mystery and nightmarish gore pic. Hellraiser faithfuls, however, may be a bit off-put by the similarities to its predecessor, HELLRAISER: INFERNO (still the finest sequel the series has seen).

INFERNO aside, there's still plenty for the horror film buff to love in HELLSEEKER. Bota provides incredibly claustrophic framing throughout, so the viewer can never quite see over protagonist Dean Winters' shoulder. Additionally, the film is very well-lit with hospital neon greens and police station blues adding intensity to the dizzying nightmare. Bota's cinematography experience serves him well and what HELLSEEKER lacks in originality is more than made up for in pure atmosphere.

And then there's the return of Kirsty. Series followers were no doubt hoping for a Kirsty/Pinhead showdown, but that's nowhere to be found in HELLSEEKER. Doug Bradley's Pinhead keeps scarce (a la INFERNO) as does Kirsty, both simply popping in and out when twists and/or exposition are called for. While this does come as a sort of letdown, it ultimately provides an interesting direction for Kirsty as a new antihero and leaves the series wide open for the future sequels. Still, it was nice to see the series reconnected to its origins. This reviewer was pleased to hear a few references to Uncle Frank throughout the film (and was that a quick cameo by Kirsty's flayed father in the basement of the police station?!?)

All in all, HELLSEEKER is an admirable - and extremely enjoyable - entry into the Hellraiser series. While the hardcore fan can tell early on that this is INFERNO redux, that's still not necessarily a bad thing. For those of us still reeling from BLOODLINE and HELL ON EARTH, it's downright welcome.

The HELLSEEKER DVD looks great and sounds OK. The 5.1 Surround is underused (especially for a fright flick) and poorly utilized when it does come into play. Bota's commentary is again a welcome addition for fans of the series as recent DVDs have been bare bones affairs. Several alternate scenes are also provided. Highly recommended for fans of the series and B-flicks alike.