The ancestors of the man who created the Puzzle Box face the Cenobites in a final battle.
Also known as: Hellraiser IV, Hellraiser IV: Bloodline Story
Director: Alan Smithee (actually Kevin Yagher), Joe Chappelle
Starring: Bruce Ramsay, Valentina Vargas
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Bloodline is less one complete film, as it compromises of three separate tales set in the past, present and future. It begins in the future where a man is captured on a space station and forced to tell why he hijacked it. This leads to a detailed account of the Box's creation and how it was turned into a Gateway to Hell. The second section acts as a sequel to Hell on Earth starting where that one ended, and then it's back to the future for the final battle. This works incredibly well, each story is linked by the demonic Angelique and tells the story of one mans fight against the darkness. The Cenobites this time are excellent and Doug Bradley once again puts across a top performance. The death scenes are as gruesome as ever and the blood level is high. Still, it doesn't have that Gothic feel and is obviously Americanised. But the story is good and it provides a suitable end to the saga. It does have one major flaw, however: the human characters just don't seem real enough and their acting isn't that great. All in all, a good film. (July 16, 2000) | ||||||
Follows Hellraiser, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth. Also acts as a prequel to the events of those three films.
Doug Bradley is the only constant in the cast, playing Pinhead through all four films. --Nyder Adams
