Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

This seventh entry in the Hellraiser series is, as expected, a rather shabby piece of film. It feels disjointed and contrived...possibly related to rumors I've heard of patchwork scripting. It's slow, badly written, and boring overall, with a painfully low-budget feel to it. It definitely doesn't bring anything new to the game. Avoid it, save yourself some time!

This was the seventh film of the "Hellraiser" series, and as such didn't attract much attention outside of the fan base. And apparently much of the base didn't like "Deader" anyway, leading to little serious critical appraisal. As a "Hellraiser" movie this is certainly even more experimental than the prior two were, and in my opinion, "Deader" is unquestionably the finest film of the series. Director Rick Bota, a talented cinematographer as well, invests a great deal of atmosphere into a creepy narrative involving an obsessive reporter, a cult of seemingly dead people, and of course the Lament box and Pinhead. What is all ready a great story is made much more impressive by the striking images that Bota and his crew sprinkle throughout, as well as some very committed performances. "Deader" is so much better than most other horror movies on so many different levels that it's very originality and tone can't be readily grasped by it's target audience. The viewers who would more likely find much to love about this film, the art-house types, will never see "Deader" because of horror's general reputation as well as, well, isn't this a "Hellraiser" sequel, after all? A death knell right there.
But to those who don't like this work as it features too little of Pinhead - watch "Deader" just as a movie first. The "Hellraiser" mythology works it's way in seamlessly, but it takes a little while to get there. Patience is more than rewarded.
As a "Hellraiser", maybe "Deader" is too cerebral, too subtle and too eccentric. But these very qualities make "Deader" a classic suspense-horror film on it's own, and I imagine the movie's standing will grow as time passes.