Knowing that Pete Atkins wrote the screenplay, Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth feels like a prototype of Wishmaster, a glorious B-movie Atkins penned in the late 90s’. It’s better than Hellbound in that it has an actual plot, characters with motivations and something to do with the themes of the first film but the execution is so cheap and comical that it’s difficult to determine whether Hellraiser III is intentionally silly or not. Either way, it has some really funny bits.

Following the events of the second film, Pinhead’s spirit has been split in two. One retaining his human identity of Captain Elliot Spencer, the other his cenobite entity. The latter is trapped in a column, which is purchased by womanizing club owner J.P. Monroe. Meanwhile, news reporter Joey (played by, of all people, Terry Farrell of Deep Space Nine fame) is contacted by Elliot’s spirit who needs her help sending Pinhead back to hell.

The Characters

To the film’s credit, Hell On Earth does seem to try and continue the original film’s Faustian themes. It does this specifically in the character of J.P. Monroe. Not as violent as Frank and nowhere near as intelligent as Channard, Monroe is a hedonist and a manipulator. He seduces women at his night club, making them feel loved and special, purely so he can have sex with them.

Pinhead persuades Monroe to help free him, in return he promises the club owner unspeakable power. The dynamic between Monroe and Pinhead, while brief, is quite engaging. Trapped in stone, Pinhead has to use his wits to get what he wants. He has to play on Monroe’s weaknesses and desires to gain his obedience.

I didn’t talk about Pinhead in my reviews of the first two Hellraisers, mainly because he was nothing but a spokesman for the cenobites. In Hell On Earth however, due to the unexpected popularity of the character, he’s given centre stage as the film’s main antagonist. With the extra screentime, Pinhead’s a fun character to watch. He’s probably the most well-spoken slasher villain of his era as he’s constantly describing the pleasures of flesh using an elegantly rich vocabulary.

Joey’s not a bad protagonist. At first she’s the generic journalist who’s waiting for the story of her career. Then she meets Teri, a homeless woman and one of Monroe’s former lovers. She possesses the lament configuration, which leads Joey to investigate its history and eventually encounter Elliot’s ghost. Elliot becomes a sort of mentor figure to Joey as he arms her with what she needs to fight Pinhead, all the while providing encouragement.

It’s difficult to pin down but for some reason I didn’t really care whenever Joey failed or succeeded. She’s just a hollow ‘strong female character’ who navigates us through the exposition and action. While the sisterly, almost intimate relationship she shares with Teri is really likable, their bond becomes less of a priority as the plot progresses. This is tragic because it was only in these scenes with Teri that I found Joey compelling. She met someone, someone vulnerable, and developed an unlikely relationship with them. Once Teri went, it was back to her fight with Pinhead which, excepting the gore and schlock, I wasn’t really invested in.

The Horror (Or Schlock?)

There is one scene in Hell On Earth that not only reminded me fondly of the original but actually kind of disturbed me. When Pinhead, still trapped inside his column, reveals himself to J.P. Monroe, he does so after skinning a girlfriend and absorbing her. The effects don’t hold up but what sells it are the performances. The girlfriend’s screams of terror and agony are pretty visceral, similar to those of the men Julia murders in the first film.

Apart from that, it’s glorious schlock and it gets better and better (or worse and worse depending on what the filmmakers were intending).

When Pinhead invades Monroe’s nightclub, I immediately thought of the party climax in Wishmaster, from the projectile chains to people deforming themselves with just shattered glass. Like any good comedy, Hell On Earth saves the best for last with a final confrontation between Joey and Pinhead’s army of modernized cenobites. There’s a camera cenobite with a camera lens for an eye, a Molotov cenobite that makes and throws Molotovs and a DJ cenobite that throws razor sharp CDs at people. It’s brilliant.

Hell On Earth is better than the second film in some ways but worst than the first two in many. Like with the second film, it’s best enjoyed when you turn off your brain, which is easier to do with Hell On Earth than Hellbound as there’s a lot more to laugh at. A low point in the series? I can only be answer that in hindsight when all the films have been covered.

I give Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth a schlocky 6 out of 10.