Horror is not my favourite genre, but there is the appreciation for it and there are many very good, great and even classic films (as well as a fairly high number of schlock). 'Hellraiser' is an example of a very good horror film, and one that introduced the world to a horror icon. It wasn't perfect, but to this day it's still very scary and creepy with surprising originality, ambition and intelligence that one does not see much in horror these days.

Its sequels were very hit and miss, leaning towards the miss. The second film for me is easily the best of the sequels and the last watchable film in the franchise being 'Bloodline'. 'Inferno' was the least bad of the post-'Bloodline' films where the 'Hellraiser' franchise jumped the shark in quality, having little of what made the original so good and not feeling like 'Hellraiser' films, where Pinhead and the Cenobites increasingly became underused and pointless.

The general consensus is that 'Hellraiser: Revelations' is the worst of the series. Although it does try to be feel more of a 'Hellraiser' film, in terms of mythos not really in tone, than the previous sequels post-'Bloodline', none of the other films were this poor quality on its own terms. Doug Bradley was right to stay away from this and one sympathises with Clive Barker totally in his want to distance himself away from it and he sums it up perfectly.

Visually, 'Revelations' is one of the cheapest looking films seen recently. So chaotic and sloppy in especially the editing. The effects make under-budgeted made-for-television horrors look good in comparisons, because even with the hasty time constraints and low budget they look like no care went into them at all. Pinhead and the Cenobites look awful, instead of looking creepy they look bargain-bin-like goofy. Pinhead couldn't look or act less menacing if he tried. The music is unappealing on its own and just feels inappropriate in placement and tonally.

Direction is pretty inept, while the dialogue is so laughable it's embarrassing, not only being unintentionally hilarious and rambling it even fails to make sense. 'Revelations' was clearly intended to be a longer film, there is a constant feel of jumping around and like a lot of material were edited out to meet deadlines. The film is far too short and feels rushed and incomplete, which severely affects the coherence, most of the sequels had issues with coherence but not like this.

Furthermore, because 'Revelations' is completely deprived of tension or suspense, or even atmosphere, it feels dull and bland too. Too much campness, confusion and silliness and nothing remotely creeped me out, instead it was non-stop cringe and no creativity whatsoever. The ambition and intelligence were long missing in the franchise but here both are completely gone and makes one forget they even existed in the first place. The characters are both bland and obnoxious with vague motivations and implausible decision-making that makes it impossible to endear to them let alone root for them.

Although Pinhead and the Cenobites have more screen time than in the later sequels and don't feel pointless or shoe-horned in this time, this time it was not for the better. The Cenobites on top of looking awful have completely lost their mystery and creepiness that made them memorable in the original, while Pinhead is here an amateurish-looking villain more suitable to a 'Hellraiser' mock-buster, it was said very well on a website that the whole film feels like a franchise mock-buster and that is a perfect summation. Then there is the acting which is all-round diabolical, everybody forgot their acting lessons providing they had any or had any acting talent in the first place. Nick Eversman and Jay Gillepsie are charisma-deprived and irritating and Pinhead sounded and looked throughout severely under-rehearsed and like he was having constant bladder problems, the menace just isn't there.

Overall, far from a revelation and actually an intelligence-insulting mess. 1/10 Bethany Cox

Capitalizing on bad movies, the film opens up with the annoying hand held camera as 2 young males (Nick Eversman and Jay Gillespie) head to Mexico in hopes of a sexual encounter. The next thing you know their car is jacked, then they are opening the puzzle box. Pinhead appears. Now I understand real people age and in hell they don't so they needed another pinhead. But if you are going to have someone speak monotone lines and sound odious, you must use voice enhancements, like they do in low budget films. There are times when both guys are being filmed at the same time and you have to ask why is the camera still jerking around? Now I can't remember the last Hellraiser I saw, was it the corporate one or the thing in outer space...or was that a Jason thing? And apparently it doesn't matter how it ties into the other films in the series.

The two boys have disappeared and the sister/gf (Tracey Fairaway) is extremely interested in what happened. 10 minutes into the film I was thinking, they are going to need some good nudity to save this one, and with the first hooker still having her clothes on, I didn't hope for much. Then there are some plot points I am confused about. We see Pinhead take the puzzle box, but it appears in the boy's room in his bag along with the camera they had when they went missing. How did this get back to his room from Mexico? The police saw the movie on the camera, but didn't keep it for evidence.

The puzzle box is not really a puzzle as everyone seems to be able to open it. It opened once by pushing the top, a second time by twisting the corner. Could we have a little consistency? And doesn't Tracey Fairaway take showers? The vagrant (Daniel Buran) had some of the best lines, which to say were not that great. Nick Eversman as Steven was very weak and unconvincing as one of the main characters.

The movie breaks down into a bad home invasion film with a Hellraiser background. The poor ending hints at a squeal.

F-bomb, nudity, sex, torture.

The best friends Steven Craven (Nick Eversman) and Nico Bradley (Jay Gillespie) travel to Mexico to have fun. They meet a vagrant (Daniel Buran) in a bar that gives a puzzle box to Nico. When he opens the device, he finds that it is a key to hell. Nico brings Pinhead (Stephan Smith Collins) that inflicts pain to him and Steven and the youngsters vanish.

Later, in Los Angeles, Dr. Ross Craven (Steven Brand),his wife Sarah (Devon Sorvari) and their daughter Emma (Tracey Fairaway) receive Peter (Sebastien Roberts) and Kate Bradley(Sanny Van Heteren) to have dinner. Both families miss Steven and Nico and they hired a private detective to seek them out, but he only finds Nico's backpack. When Emma snoops around the backpack, she finds the puzzle box and out of the blue, Steven returns covered of blood. But soon they discover that it is not Steven's soul that is inside his body.

"Hellraiser: Revelations" is a very bad sequel, actually the ninth movie of this franchise. It shows the terrible fate of the classic Clive Baker's horror story "Hellraiser" (1987) and its great sequel "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" (1988).

"Hellraiser: Revelations" has a messy screenplay that does not show anything new. Indeed, Doug Bradley has probably given up of performing Pinhead and Stephan Smith Collins is very weak in this role. The worst thing is that the conclusion gives the sensation that the author intends to make another sequel that should be released straight to garbage instead of to video. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Hellraiser: Revelações" ("Hellraiser: Revelations")