| Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Anthony Hickox |
| Produced by | Christopher Figg Lawrence Mortorff |
| Written by | Peter Atkins Tony Randel |
| Based on | characters by Clive Barker |
| Starring | Terry Farrell Doug Bradley Paula Marshall Kevin Bernhardt |
| Music by | Randy Miller |
| Cinematography | Gerry Lively |
| Editing by | Christopher Cibelli James D.R. Hickox |
| Distributed by | Dimension Films Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 11, 1992 |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $12,525,537[1] |
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth is a 1992 American horror film and third installment in the Hellraiser series, directed by Anthony Hickox and starring Terry Farrell, Doug Bradley, Paula Marshall and Kevin Bernhardt. It was the first Hellraiser film to be made outside the United Kingdom.
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The revelation of his own former humanity in Hellraiser II has resulted in the Cenobite named Pinhead being split into two distinct entities: His former self, World War I British Army Captain Eliot Spencer, and a manifestation of Spencer's id, which takes on the form of Pinhead. While Spencer ends up in limbo, Pinhead is trapped, along with the puzzle box, amongst the writhing figures and distorted faces etched into the surface of an intricately carved pillar - the Pillar of Souls.
The pillar is bought by the rich and spoiled J.P. Monroe (Kevin Bernhardt), owner of a popular nightclub called The Boiler Room. An ambitious young television reporter, Joey Summerskill (Terry Farrell), slowly begins to learn about Pinhead and the mysterious puzzle box. She is introduced to the pain the box can bring when she views a teenage club-goer being ripped apart by the box's chains in a hospital emergency room. She tracks the box and a young woman named Terri (Paula Marshall) to The Boiler Room, from which Terri had stolen the puzzle box.
Through video tape interviews with one of Pinhead's former victims, Kirsty Cotton, recovered from the Channard Institute, Joey and Terri learn about the demonic Cenobites and the power of the Lament Configuration, the only means of sending Pinhead back to Hell. Pinhead remains dormant until one night several hooked chains shoot out of the pillar and rip into one of the club goers, Brittany Virtue (Sharon Percival), Monroe had recently slept with. After killing her, Pinhead consumes her and her face appears on the pillar. Pinhead convinces Monroe to bring him club members so he can feed on their blood and be freed from the pillar.
Meanwhile, Joey is contacted by the spirit of Elliot Spencer, who tells her that this "Pinhead" is a separate entity than the one encountered by Kirsty: Without Spencer's humanity to act as a balancing influence, this Pinhead is completely evil and has no sense of order. Rather than abide by the laws of the Cenobite realm, he will indiscriminately wreak havoc on Earth for his own pleasure unless he can be stopped. In order to defeat him, Joey must reunite Spencer's spirit with Pinhead, fusing them back into one entity.
This became the first Hellraiser movie produced and directed in the US. Originally, Clive had proposed the plot to involve the Lament Configuration having its roots with the Egyptian Pyramids or Pinhead to be trapped in a relic in a church. Pete Atkins adapted the latter idea as Clive took a backseat role as executive producer. Peter Atkins was originally meant to direct the film but when Miramax bought the series, they felt he didn't have enough experience, instead hiring Anthony Hickox. Much of the budget was used for the building of JP's club The Boiler Room. Much of the extras were members of the crew or friends. Atkins himself starred as a bartender and his incarnation as the pyrotechnic Cenobite. The church in which Pinhead enters and mimics Jesus Christ pose caused the crew two problems. One was that no church would give the crew permission to film on location and Anthony Hickox claimed, due to Pinhead's subsequent lines in the script, it would be a direct admonition by Pinhead that the notion of God exists, a first in a Hellraiser movie. A matte painting instead was used to create the illusion of a church, with only the walkway between seats and the altar existing as realtime props. Director Hickox also talked about the difficulties they faced filming Pinhead in sunlight for the first time in a short sequence, feeling the makeup was designed to better reflect in a dark atmosphere rather than lush sunlight. The movie featured a heavy metal-rock soundtrack and Barker directed the Motörhead video for "Hellraiser", featuring Lemmy and Pinhead playing a game of cards and varied clips on the movie.
The movie grossed $12,525,537[1] in the United States and Canada. The film received mixed reviews. Most of the criticism was directed towards the design of the Cenobites, many fans remarking they appeared like "knock-off Borg extras". The movie currently has a 22% Rotten status on Rotten Tomatoes.
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