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The originalHellraiserremains the purest onscreen representation of Barkers twisted imagination.
Over the course of more than 30 years, that purity has been gradually diluted and defiled.
The series iconography has remained indelible even as the movies have become increasingly obscure.
As Pinhead says, We have such sights to show you even if some arent exactly worth seeing.
11.Hellraiser: Revelations(2011)
11.
Nothing screams horror classic quite like contractual obligation.
when offered the exquisite torture of the Cenobites.
10.Hellraiser: Hellworld(2005)
10.
Bradley makes his final onscreen appearance as Pinhead in director Rick Botas thirdHellraisermovie.
Here a shady benefactor (Lance Henriksen) throws aHellworldparty to lure in a group of unsuspecting friends.
Hes just a tool being used by the actual villain in a dull, unconvincing revenge scheme.
9.Hellraiser: Judgment(2018)
9.
Tunnicliffe finds a better replacement Pinhead in Paul T. Taylor, who captures more of Bradleys menacing grandeur.
Those ambitions are mostly thwarted by the budget and the uninspired central story line.
8.Hellraiser: Deader(2005)
8.
Botas secondHellraisermovie was shot back-to-back withHellworldin Romania, and the two were released three months apart in 2005.
It has its creepy moments along the way, though.
7.Hellraiser: Inferno(2000)
7.
As the detectives reality falls apart, Sheffer delivers an overwrought performance that makes the supposedly serious revelations laughable.
6.Hellraiser: Hellseeker(2002)
6.
Its a meager payoff, but that may be the best these sequels have to offer.
5.Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth(1992)
5.
4.Hellraiser: Bloodline(1996)
4.
3.Hellraiser(2022)
3.
2.Hellraiser(1987)
2.
Barker compensates with delightfully goopy practical effects, freely mixing gore and sexuality.
Its messy in every sense, but its a fascinating glimpse into Barkers own depraved mind.
1.Hellbound: Hellraiser 2(1988)
1.
The Cenobites come into their own, and Bradley gives Pinhead the bearing of a nascent horror icon.
No longer subservient to Frank, Julia is now a fully realized and wonderfully nasty villain herself.
Its everything that Barker envisioned in the first movie but bigger and more intense.
