Bruce Ramsay, Valentina Vargas, Doug Bradley

The unholy horror of Pinhead, his fellow Cenobites, and their bizarre little boxes reaches from 18th-century Europe to present-day New York to a space station in the distant future in the fright-f...( read more  read more... )illed fourth entry in the series.

Flixster Users

55% liked it

30,769 ratings

R, 81 min.

Directed by: Alan Smithee, Joe Chappelle, Kevin Yagher

Release Date: March 8, 1996

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: October 10, 2000

Stats: 711 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating

Flixster Reviews (711)


  • May 1, 2009
    Bloodline is easily the best of the post-part III Hellraiser films. Like many third sequels, it takes the path of going back to the series' roots; thus tracing the origins of the central prop; the box that opens the gates to hell. The film starts aboard a space ship, and we witne...( read more)ss the seemingly insane ramblings of a madman. He then tells the story of the curse on his bloodline; starting off with the toy maker who made the box and opened the gates to hell. The man plans to create a box to counter the original, and send the demons back to hell. The rest of the more modern sequels follow plots that have nothing to do with the original films, so at least this one doesn't suffer from that. The plot isn't completely relevant to the story of Frank Cotton in the first Hellraiser, but at least it isn't merely another episode of Pinhead taking some guy's soul. On the subject of Pinhead; this film takes place in the time that he was still evil, rather than being a mere shadow of the cenobite that we all know and love. Pinhead plays a major part in this movie, and that's always welcome as far as I'm concerned.

    Bloodline is more of a fan's movie than the rest of the series. That, therefore, means that if you haven't seen, or didn't like the previous three films; there really isn't much on offer here. Things that have been explained in the first three aren't re-explained here, and therefore it's really important that the other films are seen before this one. Bloodline is surprisingly gruesome, and a lot of the film is very dark and bloody. No bad thing as far as I'm concerned, as I go into Hellraiser films expecting to see gore, and tend to be pleased when they deliver. The acting here is largely terrible, with only Doug Bradley saving the film in that respect. He only does what he's done before - but it really does make the movie. It's surprising how much this deviates from the original; but I'd rather see a sequel do something a little different than merely retread the same ground, as far too many do. That's the reason I aren't slamming this film like a great deal of other's are. It may not be great, and doesn't change the fact that the series dried up after Hellbound...but at least it's not a total dead loss.
  • July 8, 2008
    I don't know why people slag this entry off. I watched this again for the first time in three years, and I have to say it again - *this* is my favorite Hellraiser movie. Now, I may say that a few more times this week as I still have V-VIII to go.
    Like the comic book style reverb...( read more)erating multiplot story, love the designs for the Lament configuration. After this movie, the puzzle shouldn't hold much of the series' thematic attention. Lovin the gore and effects; like the Cenobite creation scenes, though I can always do with more of them. It's too bad we can't visit Pinhead on his home turf in this one, but the "Earthly realm" settings we get instead are sufficient for the story. I like the little period piece (though I doubt Merchant is really the FIRST maker of the Lament configuration, though I do believe he is the first to "innovate" it a step further with the light channeling) and I think there's some cool traditional Gothic tributes with great gore. The modern day bit is fun because, again, a whole building is used as a puzzle, and that's always damn cool. I don't like Pinhead's pins and face design throughout the movie - for some reason they are really off, but I do like alot of the other Cenobite designs, especially the Twins. Back on the spaceship, the design of which I think is ingenious (as intended), it's time for a cool scifi deep space horropera, but not as cool as it could have been, and not as impressive gore wise as the previous sequences. All in all the best thing that could've been done to this film would be to make it another 22 mins longer and give me a fourth story, so I could give this flick four stars.
  • June 18, 2008
    Terrible . . . although I expected a decline in quality as the sequels progressed, the difference between Hellraiser III and Bloodline is like flinging the franchise from a cliff into a pit of flaming lava. Other than fan service to Pinhead, there's very little reason to watch t...( read more)his addition to the Hellraiser saga.
  • February 6, 2008
    please stop with the hellraiser sequels they're only getting worse
  • September 11, 2007
    I don't care dammit. I like it.
  • October 31, 2009
    How can any Hellraiser film get under 4 stars especially on the night before Halloween. . Not from me, but this one was close as Pinhead pops up way way in the future in outer space. But the story goes from outer space back to the past. Which saved this movie. Anyway only one fro...( read more)m the past to show up was Pinhead, but some new cenobites were created, as usual unreal special effects and make up. Others might rate lower but I a Hellraiser fan have to sick with a 4 star rating .
  • October 18, 2009
    An intriguing 4th part reguarding the box rather than pinhead and the demon world. the film tracks the box from creation to an intriguing finalee
  • October 11, 2009
    weakest of the hellraiser movies
  • September 17, 2009
    A decent Hellraiser sequel, but in my honest opinion, this could have been much better and well-executed. But since it was butchered to pieces, it became a mess, and denied of the potential it surely has. Although that's the case, Doug Bradley is still a joy to watch as Pinhead,...( read more) with his new batch of cenobites. I liked the last brief exchange between Pinhead and Merchant: "Welcome to Oblivion", "Amen."
  • July 26, 2009
    Interesting concept destroyed by budget cuts.

Critic Reviews


No recent reviews.

Comments


This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "Hellraiser - Bloodline" !

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Hellraiser
    Hellraiser (92%)
  • Hostel
    Hostel (67%)
  • Constantine
    Constantine (0%)
  • Retro Puppet Master (Puppet Master 7)
    Retro Puppet Master (Puppet Master 7) (50%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Hellraiser - Bloo... : Watch Free on TV


Movie Quizzes


No quizzes for Hellraiser - Bloodline. Want to create one?

Video Clips


No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Recent News


No recent headlines. Got one?

Most Popular Skin


No skins yet. Interested in creating one?