A video game known as Hellworld has become one of the most popular games of all time. Once you log on the game quickly begins to take over the player as you advance through each level. But this game doesn’t just take you through endless levels and mazes; it in fact takes you through a virtual version of The Lament Configuration itself! And if you die, you don’t get an extra man, you get sent straight to hell.

Hellraiser: Hellworld is the eighth installment in the franchise that, if you can believe it, began almost twenty years ago. The series and its installments have both their shares of ups and downs over the years, so the question is; Where does this one belong? My answer would have to be somewhere between Inferno and Deader and any fan of the series should know what that means.

Director Rick Bota returns for his third Hellraiser, Doug Bradley returns for his eighth time as Pinhead, but in actuality I think all Doug came back for in this one was nothing more than a paycheck, and Lance Henriksen debuts in his first as the host of a Hellworld rave held in a spooky old mansion. Add to this mix a bunch of young people and a little mystery and you have your film. Hmm, with that kind of plot they should have thrown in a Great Dane and made Scooby Doo 3, but they didn’t so all you get is a lackluster sequel that makes the other movies happenings a joke.

Yep, Hellworld acts as if the cenobites, the box and the rest of the Hellraiser lore was just a series of movies and make believe events that, unfortunately for the audience and the partygoers at the rave, come to life and wreck havoc for all involved. I don’t know why things like Friday the 13th 5, Halloween 3 and A New Nightmare have to happen, but it has now spread to the Hellraiser world as well. You think the fan disgust and outcry of these movies would stop this type of film from happening, but I guess not.

Hellworld does have a few spooky moments and a lot of flesh, but that’s about all the good I can really say about it. Doug Bradley gets less and less screen time with each film, and appears more in a Cryptkeeper type of role than as a minion of hell and Lance Henriksen is completely wasted in his role.

Oh well, until the ninth direct to video sequel comes out this one will have to hold us over.

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