Scene Anatomy 101 10.24.07 Hellraiser: Bloodline
Posted by George H. Sirois on 10.24.2007
Evolution of a Pinhead, Part 4 of 4…
Strange things happen when existing franchises come under the wing of Harvey & Bob Weinstein. We've seen it happen with Halloween, when the sixth film – The Curse of Michael Myers – was given a re-shoot of the entire last third and an injection of Friday the 13th style gore. It's too bad that logic, character motivation and sensical writing were sacrificed in the name of Michael ripping a truck driver's head off, but what the hell, right?
Anyway, a few years after Hellraiser became a bona fide franchise with the release of Hellbound: Hellraiser II, the new division of Miramax Films known as Dimension was born. Dimension was created to distribute genre films like sci-fi, horror or comedy, while Miramax would focus on adding Oscars to the Weinstein mantles. Soon after Dimension's birth, the rights to Hellraiser were up for grabs, and so they were brought in to be a franchise face to the company just as Freddy Krueger was the franchise face to New Line Cinema.
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth was a financially successful entry in the franchise, but fans were taken aback by the character of Pinhead morphing from a guardian of Hell to a supernatural serial slasher. They noticed that all of a sudden, Pinhead had the sort of powers that only the Lord of the Labyrinth originally had, like the ability to create Cenobites. And they feared that this once mysterious horror icon was going to fall in line with Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers and become more like them than Clive Barker ever intended.
As it turns out, the fans were only half right. Yes, Pinhead was becoming more like his horror counterparts in their franchises, but writer Peter Atkins was still onboard with Hellraiser, so he was able to weave all of the requested changes into the mythology. They want Pinhead to be the central character in this one? Fine, then what he will be is the unbound side of him that is pure evil while the other half of him survives only in dreams. They want different Cenobites? Fine, then Pinhead can refer to them as being "handmade, a shadow of [his] former troops."
So with all of these changes, the third film was still able to live up to audiences' expectations and make a fourth film inevitable. It was just a question of when it would be shot, and what the film would be about. Peter Atkins stayed on to write the screenplay, which was an incredibly ambitious tale that intended to wrap up the franchise and answer all questions about the Lament Configuration box.
The Weinsteins agreed to shoot Atkins' screenplay, but they only realized their mistake when they watched the first cut of the film. The director of this was Kevin Yagher, the make-up effects genius who handled Freddy Krueger's make-up for a time, and this would be his directorial debut. While watching the film, the Weinsteins realized that Pinhead doesn't appear until over a half-hour into it. Despite the fascinating story that was being told, they still wanted more of their "mascot," no matter what. It was what the kids wanted, right?
Atkins did what he could to appease both his bosses and the fans, but Yagher was not so lucky. Joe Chappelle – the director of the magnum opus Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers - was brought onboard to direct new scenes, including a narrative wrap-around to show Pinhead at the very beginning, and Rand Ravich also came on to write some new scenes to tie Yagher and Chappelle's work together. When the final cut came in, Yagher did not approve and promptly took his name off the project, making this installment in the Hellraiser franchise an Alan Smithee film. (Alan Smithee is the name used when directors remove their names from projects they feel do not reflect their vision.)
And so, in the spring of 1995, Dimension Films released the Alan Smithee film…
Sure, there's a bit of a convoluted behind-the-scenes history of this film, but considering who distributed it, did you expect anything less?
Anyway, since this series of columns has been about the evolution of the character Pinhead (as played by Doug Bradley), let's focus on that. When we last saw him, he was sent back into Hell by reporter Joey Summerskill, who then took the box that was in her possession and stuck it in a nearby slab of wet cement. As the years passed and the construction job was completed, we saw at the end of the third film that the building that was on top of that lot was designed with the different panels of the Lament Configuration on various walls. Audiences were shown that the influence of the box – and possibly Pinhead – was still alive and well.
Hellraiser: Bloodline focuses on the LeMarchant family, descendants of John LeMarchant, the man who created the very first box. By designing the pathway that allows demons to walk the earth, he has cursed his whole bloodline. So during the film we see two of his descendants – one in the present time and one in the distant future – attempting to right that terrible wrong.
In the present time, we see a beautiful demon named Angelique (Valentina Vargas) who has lived through the ages (she is also the first demon brought to Earth through the box) and has tracked down the latest descendant, John Merchant (Bruce Ramsey). She wants him to design a box that would keep the doorway open forever, and she believes Merchant is the key.
It is during this time period when Angelique finds the Lament Configuration Box in one of the cement pillars in the building's basement. She seduces some poor schmuck into opening it, releasing Pinhead from his Hellish prison. Just like in the previous film, Pinhead's motivations have changed and he's now wishing to escape from Hell and establish a Hell on Earth. But now, his situation has changed since he's no longer acting alone or leading a group of Cenobites. Now, he has an equal in Angelique, and she gets what she wants through much different means than Pinhead. She prefers the art of temptation, while Pinhead views that as worthless. "Human acquiescence is as easily obtained by terror as by temptation," he explains.
So while Angelique tries to seduce John into giving up his secrets about expanding the power of the Lament Configuration – all the while not realizing that Merchant's been working on a design that causes perpetual light – Pinhead goes after his family. He comes home to find the Prince of Hell holding his wife and son. When John gets them away from his clutches, he decides to face off with Pinhead all by himself.
MERCHANT: Come on, you bastard. It's me you want.
Pinhead immediately cuts him off. Apparently, Angelique had been of some use to him since she was able to inform him of his bloodline.
PINHEAD: Don't flatter yourself. I don't want you, child. I want what you were born with. The gift.
John knows nothing about what his ancestor did all those years ago, since obviously the only people who knew what had really happened were Angelique, her ambitious master Jacques, and LeMerchant. Way back then, LeMerchant's wife knew enough to know that his original designs were going to be something special, and she made sure to let each passing generation know of it.
MERCHANT: The light.
But Pinhead isn't thinking like that. He saw the potential for a doorway to Hell just by looking in the building's basement, and even though John's trying to create something to counter what was created, he knows that the gift can be easily perverted into something else entirely.
PINHEAD: No. Not light. Darkness is where you'll find me.
The light in the hallway drops. John hesitates for a moment, but doesn't run. Pinhead is pleased with John's bravery, and takes a moment to mock him and remind him that somewhere in that building, his wife and child are trying to escape from Angelique.
PINHEAD: Good. Stand your ground, family man.
Pinhead starts to walk closer to John. His demands are becoming more pronounced with each step he takes.
PINHEAD: The box, once thought so powerful, is only a model. What you will give me is the true version.
John is starting to understand what he means, but just in case, Pinhead states his intentions loud and clear.
PINHEAD: No longer will we have to seep into your world like pests through cracks in the base ports. Once and for all, we will open the gates, lay low the ramparts!
Just as Pinhead told him before, the box is a pathway to Hell and the room downstairs could potentially be a bigger pathway. As he continues to talk, he throws out a line that shows his utter contempt for everything his partner has been doing to get the information she needed about the design.
PINHEAD: Isn't that what the princess wants from you? Isn't that the game that you two have been playing?
He practically spits the word "game" out as he says it. Of course, he had taken pleasure in tearing someone apart before and he still does, but he has no time or patience to try and seduce anyone out of anything.
Of course, he may have felt differently if he only looked the part.
MERCHANT: This isn't a game.
PINHEAD: Oh, yes. This is a game. And now, it is time to play. I shall go first.
And just like when Pinhead used Joey Summerskill's dreams to mentally torture her by posing as her father, his eyes shut for a long moment, then snap open. When he speaks, he is using John's son's voice.
PINHEAD (as Jack): DADDY!
Immediately, John turns and runs out of the room. Wherever his family is, he has to find them, and since Pinhead knows where Angelique is leading them, this will turn his ambitions into a reality.
PINHEAD: Run! It is time to open the pathway. Forever!
Fortunately for the rest of Earth, John Merchant doesn't allow his gift to be perverted and instead activates his design to be used against Angelique and Pinhead. Unfortunately for him, the design doesn't have enough power to have a real effect and, once Pinhead realizes that John tried to destroy them, he has one of his chains rammed through his throat. Thankfully, his son Jack survives and, a few generations later, his descendant has been able to create a design with enough power to finally undo the damage that his bloodline started all those centuries ago.
So, through these four movies, we saw quite an evolution of the character we know as Pinhead. First, we saw him as a supernatural element in a movie that was not really his story. Then, we saw him not only remembering his past, but actually re-gaining his lost humanity and saving the person he had pursued before.
After his humanity was freed and the man known as Elliott Spenser was separated from the evil that had held his prisoner for decades, that force of evil re-manifested itself and was free to roam Earth to make it into his own image. And then, we saw his ambitions to not just stay on Earth, but allow a permanent pathway to allow the others like him to roam free as well.
He started out as a creature that had seen it all, done it all, and was eventually bored with it all. His mannerisms were always that of a general leading an army, but with that bit of immaturity that became clear when he was away from them. He no longer had to look over his shoulder to see if his soldiers were following his orders – or the orders of Leviathan – after he broke free of the statue in the third film. But we can see his unwillingness to work alongside Angelique, despite her having seniority.
Clive Barker accomplished something very rare with Pinhead; he created a disgusting beauty. He is elegant and refined, yet sinister and terrifying. The words that Peter Atkins later put into Doug Bradley's mouth were Shakespearean in their tone and Bradley's voice of Pinhead was perfectly executed. Just like the rest of the best horror icons, Pinhead is the perfect example of a writer, an artist, a director and an actor coming together to create someone truly memorable.
And what of the ill-fated Hellraiser: Bloodline? Well, unfortunately the final cut was very muddled in its execution. It wasn't the train wreck that Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers was, but nobody involved was truly satisfied with it. Clive Barker believed it wasn't very good. Peter Atkins wasn't thrilled with it. Doug Bradley felt the potential had not been fulfilled. And Kevin Yagher separated himself from it entirely.
Just like the Halloween film that Joe Chappelle directed, an unfinished workprint cut of Hellraiser: Bloodline has made its way through the bootleg market. I haven't seen it yet, and would love to so I can see if there really was a much better film that was struggling to get out. So if anyone out there has possession of this cut, keep in mind that I'm getting married next week so consider that version of the film as part of my registry!
Next week, I close out this semester of Scene Anatomy 101 with a look at a scene from, what I consider to be, the greatest horror film of all time. And if you've seen my appearance on the second season premiere of The Ultimate Film Fanatic, you'll know that I've seen it so many times, it would make YOUR head spin!
