Customer Reviews
Please put the pins back in. I can't watch anymore. - By: M. S. Skidmore, 09 Aug 2008 
It seems like an eternity ago when Miramaxs' genre label Dimension Films had acquired the rights to continue the story of Clive Barkers' dark & sordid 'Hellraiser' series. It seemed like the perfect partnership: 'Hellraiser' had become a strong franchise with the first three entries & Dimension was building its catalogue with rough & ready hits like 'From Dusk Til Dawn'. Oh, we rejoiced. Oh, we were wrong. Yeah for every 'From Dusk Till Dawn' there was a plethora of 'Children of the Corns', 'Mimic' sequels, & oh my, what had they done to 'Hellraiser'? Okay, I could go on about how 'Hellrasier: Bloodline' was akin to watching paint dry, how 'Hellraiser: Inferno' seemed like an episode of 'NYPD Blue' spliced with a Charles Band quickie, but these things couldn't get any worse. could they? Surely, someone at Dimensions Films must have seen the original 'Hellraiser' & realised the awful mistake they were making? Well, judging from this entry suitably callled 'Hellseeker', no one at Dimension was watching anything (least of alll Parts 1-3), & soon enough for Dimension, none of the audience will be watching either.
The bland, bland story concerns Trevor (OZ's Dean Winters) who survives a car accident. However, his wife does not. And, so begins 90 minutes of tedium as Trevor halllucinates dark sexual fantasies, gory happenings & visions of 'ol Pinhead himself. It seems, that Trevor once purchased that damn annoying puzzle box & given it to his wife before their untimely accident. Oh yeah, did I mention who the wife was? Well, 'Hellraiser' fans she's Ashley Laurence returning as Kirsty from the original trilogy. But, don't let that second billing fool you - she only appears for about 10 minutes max & the rest of the picture concerns Trevor bumbling around, jolting from one fake dream incident to the next. The film itself seems like an unofficial remake of 'Hellraiser: Inferno' & the sense of deja vu hits you around every five minutes of the (overly)long running time.
This sequels plus points are minimal. However, cinematographer turned director Rick Bota does a stirling job at helming the material. Its just that his film (as with alll of Dimensions previous sequels) doesn't feel like a 'Hellraiser' movie, & you wonder why they don't just drop the 'Hellraiser' headline & treat these movies as another entity altogether. Its a shame that the obviously tacked-on Pinhead trappings couldn't have been jettisoned early on, & Bota could have delivered a stronger movie without the expectation of another film. On the acting front, Dean Winters is fine as the lead, & Doug Bradley is always welcome to see in full Pinhead make-up. Even, Ashley Laurences' brief appearance is satisfying (check out her confrontation with Pinhead in the deleted scenes if you need a flashback to the original trilogy).
The disc is fine, with an audio commentary from Bota & a selection of deleted scenes. Picture & audio quality is pretty good. The 'Seven-esque' bleached-out picture quality is due to the look of the film, rather than the DVD presentation. To sum up, another disappointment for 'Hellraiser' fans, not a particularly bad film in itself, just not a brilliant one. It would help if Dimension sold this property on to other parties who probably want to make a genuine 'Hellraiser' movie, instead of these similarly themed time wasters that ultimately please no one in the end, especiallly those who were actuallly looking for a good time seeking hell . . .
I WANTED TO CRY... - By: Lou Almighty, 22 Jul 2008 
after seeing this. Here they had the ultimate opportunity reuniting Doug Bradley & acting GODDESS Ashley Laurence (yes, I LOVE Ashley!!!) & they completely ruined it. BAD STORY, BAD DIRECTING, BAD OTHER CAST. BAD, BAD BAD!!! If they had only given it to someone who actuallly cared, someone with talent. Someone like Clive Barker.
A GREAT RETURN TO FORM - By: stuart, 04 Nov 2007 
While driving on a lonely road, Kirsty Cotten (Ashley Laurence) & her husband Trevor (Dean Winters) crash into a river. Trevor escapes, but Kirsty isn't as lucky. Waking up in a hospital room, he begins to experience vivid images & dreams. He discovers that Kirsty is missing & no one knows where she is. Released from the hospital, he goes back to their home & tries to piece together what has happened to Kirsty. He encounters police detective Mike Lange (William S. Taylor) & his partner Detective Givens (Michael Rodgers) & tries to get his story across. No one believes him, & his fantasies & dreams become even more vivid. He begins to start seeing weird people in the dreams, which is in direct proportion to them getting more & more violent. People start to die around him, making Trevor question who is after him & want they want. He gets his answers from Pinhead, (Doug Bradley) who leaves various for Trevor to solve inside every one of his visions. Not knowing who to trust or where to go, he starts breaking down mentallly. Believing he is going insane, Trevor learns of his connection to Kirsty & the Cenobites who want to avenge sins of the past.
The Good News: This is the glorious return to form in the Hellraiser series. This is also one of the smartest horror films in years. It has so many twists & turns that being in that situation can make a person go insane. It has a clever ability to switch between fantasy & reality so fast that it boggles the mind at what just happened. It plays like a brilliant mystery movie, only the killer is known alll along & we are waiting for him to strike again. It reallly does make one uneasy watching this, as it shifts between the different realities so often that you yourself are never sure of what is real & what is Pinhead's little game. That was also a great addition to the story; Pinhead has a cool reason for being involved in the movie. He has a score to settle with Kirsty & decides that now is the time to cash in. Kirsty realizes this, & makes a deal with Pinhead to let her go free. Pinhead collects part of the deal & wants the other part, & this sets up the rest of the movie. By carefully placing what has happened in the film & offering credible excuses as to what something we know to have happened is now different is a great stroke of genius. It also takes a genius to be able to wrap up what has happened in the film & change it, but it does work. It also has a few reallly good jumps as well, resulting in an uncomfortable watching experience. Something totallly unexpected happens that knocks your socks off & causes you to jump. Even Pinhead gets in on it & gets one great scare. As usual, he lets his violent actions speak for himself, yet it can be a bit disappointing to the true gorehounds of the series. This one is still pretty bloody, but it doesn't come near the total amount of bloodletting in the first two.
The Bad News: With nearly every single woman coming on to Trevor sexuallly in the film, it is a shame that the only nudity in the film isn't even a woman who came on to him. This was reallly weird. I expected more as we see half the cast in their underwear. That would be a good thing, but since it is alll we see, it comes down here. Also, as I mentioned, the film does have a complex plot. It took me twice to see what was going on plot-wise, & some people may not have that kind of patience. It will loose a few people, but it still makes up for it with the great finale that will answer alll the questions that you will have about the plot. It just may take some people a hard time getting to it.
The Final Verdict: If you can overlook the somewhat confusing plot, this is a great entry in the Hellraiser series. This film answers so many questions that people have about the relationship between Kirsty & the Cenobites that alll fans will want to check it out.
An opportunity lost. - By: Jammy, 26 Mar 2007 As a Hellraiser fan (and on the strength of the reviews below) I bought the DVD of Hellseeker expecting a return to form for the Hellraiser series, particularly as Ashley Laurence was reprising her role as Kirsty. I couldn't have been more disappointed. Kirsty & Pinhead are barely in the film, appearing for a few minutes each & if you blink you will miss the Cenobites. The script is poor, as is the acting of most of the cast.
This film would have been so much better if it had been the battle between Kirsty & Pinhead that is promised on the back of the DVD case. Instead it is just a very poor TV movie that should be avoided, or at most borrowed rather than bought.
Hellraiser Hellseeker: Dark, Disturbing and Extreme. Clever! - By: Mr. D. Hunter, 23 Feb 2006 
Let’s Begin.
Hellraiser 6 was directed by Rick Bota & starred (Ashley Laurence) as Kirsty (From the original Hellraiser). Kirsty is now married to Trevor Gooden (Dean Winters). Her memory of the terrifying events that took place back at her parent's home & the mental institution have dimmed, but she is still traumatized. One fateful day, the two get into a fatal car crash, killing Kirsty. Now, Trevor finds himself in a strange world full of sexy women, greed & murder, making him believe he may be in hell. He follows the clues alll the way to Pinhead (Doug Bradley).
What I loved about this sequel so much was the chemistry between Pinhead & Kirsty, it has you on rollercoaster from start to finish! Cliver Barker (Creator of Hellraiser) sadly hated this movie. I cannot understand why, I reallly thought that he would have enjoyed seeing his most memorable character on screen again.
Recent news has just come through onto the internet, that Clive Barker has intentions to finallly kill off pinhead (lead cenobite) once & for alll. I am so excited about this & many of the fans should be too. “If were going to get rid of the old guy, let’s do it with some style,” those were his words, so look forward to what should be Clive Barker’s greatest work yet.
Now onto the DVD. Sound is perfect. Picture is perfect. Everything about this movie is perfect, I cannot name a single fault. With High-quality Surround systems, you will be able to experience this movie as it was intended.
Although people are consistently complaining about the screen time that pinhead has & his extremely cool cenobites, I think audiences should be thankful that this character still retains every drop of his scare-factor as he did back in 1987 (Original Hellraiser). Unlike Freddy Krueger who I also think is very cool, he is a joke compared to this truly terrifying character! Jason, Michael Myers, alll have very little darkness surrounding them.
Hellraiser Hellseeker is an absolute treasure to own, well worth every drop of blood in my body!
Good luck to the newcomers with this film,
I hope you enjoy pinhead… for he will certainly enjoy you!
(Dannyx15@fsmail.net)
