"Hellraiser: Revelations" (2011)

Finally watched "Hellraiser: Revelations" (2011). I am a HUGE fan of the first two "Hellraiser" films, which I've seen countless times, and consider the original to be a masterpiece of horror cinema. Truthfully though, I never much cared for any of the "direct-to-video" entries, as none of them were in fact "Hellraiser" films, but original scripts Dimension had bought which they merely slapped the "Hellraiser" name onto (and threw Doug Bradley in them as "Pinhead" for a quick scene or two to justify the title). With "Hellraiser: Revelations", at least we're finally given an entry that is in fact a "Hellraiser" film and does revolve around the Cenobites. The problem is you can tell the film was rushed into production and made on a very tight budget (so much so that they offered Doug Bradley less than what they had before, to which he wisely declined), with a very weak script. The film basically plays like a remake of the first "Hellraiser", with a pinch of "Funny Games" (minus the satire), and is quite easy to figure out where it's all going right out of the gates. I might've been able to swallow this turd easier had they ponied up and given Bradley what he wanted, because even in the other bland DOV offerings, he at least lent a sense of gravitas when he was on screen. Here they've given the role to someone else, who clearly is uncomfortable trying to fill some mighty big shoes, and absolutely muddles every scene he's in. To sum it all up, I think this Amazon reviewer said it best when he wrote: "In spirit, I like the DVD cover because it looks like Pinhead is taking a dump and it's a great metaphor for the quality of the movie you're buying." Couldn't agree more. 2 out of 10 for me.