Pinhead in New York: Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth

Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992) is a supernatural horror film directed by Anthony Hickox from a screenplay by Peter Atkins, based on a story by Atkins and Tony Randel. It is the third film in the Hellraiser series and follows Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988). Split from his human self, Pinhead (Doug Bradley) is trapped in a carved pillar until a New York club owner starts feeding him victims. Reporter Joey Summerskill (Terry Farrell) has to stop him, guided by the spirit of Elliott Spencer, Pinhead’s human half, also played by Bradley. Ashley Laurence has a cameo as Kirsty Cotton. It was the first Hellraiser film shot in the United States and the first released by Dimension. Clive Barker stayed on as executive producer. Reviews were better than for the second film, and it grossed $12.5 million in the US on a $5 million budget.

At a glance

Release date	May 1992 (Dylan Dog Horror Fest, Milan); September 11, 1992 (US)
Director	Anthony Hickox
Writers	Peter Atkins (screenplay); Atkins and Tony Randel (story)
Based on	Characters created by Clive Barker
Starring	Terry Farrell, Paula Marshall, Kevin Bernhardt, Doug Bradley
Runtime	93 minutes
Rating	R (US), after several cuts
Budget	$5 million
Box office	$12.5 million (US and Canada)
Franchise	Hellraiser: sequel to Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988); followed by Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)

Plot summary

Learning that he was once human has split Pinhead in two. His former self, World War I British officer Elliott Spencer, is lost in limbo. Pinhead, Spencer’s pure id, is trapped with the puzzle box in the Pillar of Souls, a column carved with writhing bodies. J. P. Monroe (Kevin Bernhardt), the womanizing owner of the Boiler Room nightclub in New York, buys the pillar. In a hospital emergency room, TV reporter Joey Summerskill (Terry Farrell) sees hooked chains tear a young clubgoer apart. The young homeless woman who brought him in, Terri (Paula Marshall), says the chains came from a box she pried out of the pillar.

Joey finds a videotape in which Kirsty Cotton explains that the box is the only way to send Pinhead back to Hell. In her dreams about her father, who died in Vietnam, Joey is contacted by Spencer. He tells her that without his humanity Pinhead is pure evil and will break Cenobite law to bring Hell to Earth, and she must reunite them. Meanwhile, the pillar absorbs a young woman Monroe has slept with. Monroe agrees to bring Pinhead more victims in return for power.

Spoiler section: the Boiler Room massacre

When Monroe tries to feed Terri to the pillar, Pinhead persuades her to sacrifice Monroe instead, and he is freed. He massacres the club and turns several victims into new Cenobites, including Monroe, Terri, the barman, the DJ and Joey’s cameraman, Doc. Joey flees through the streets to a church, where Pinhead mocks the priest’s lack of faith. On a construction site, she solves the box and sends the new Cenobites to Hell. In limbo, Pinhead disguises himself as her father. Spencer’s spirit fuses back with Pinhead, and Joey stabs him with the box, which has taken Leviathan’s dagger shape. She buries the box in wet concrete. The building later finished on the site has an interior that looks just like the box.

Production and behind the scenes

Barker had first meant the sequels to center on Julia Cotton, but Clare Higgins declined a third film. Other ideas included an ancient Egyptian story, Pinhead trying to resurrect himself and a building that works as a Lament Configuration. The last two ended up in the film. When Barker’s Nightbreed flopped, his company Film Futures went under. Randel was attached to direct, but the producers removed him, worried his vision was too bleak. Hickox replaced him. Barker, who disliked Hickox’s horror comedies, insisted he take the material seriously. Hickox, a fan, used the first two films as a guide to tone. Only Bradley and, in a cameo, Laurence returned from the earlier films.

Filming began in late 1991 in Greensboro, North Carolina, which stood in for New York. The club scenes were shot in a furniture factory in nearby High Point, and the interiors at Carolina Atlantic Studios. Laurence’s taped interview was filmed separately beforehand. Hickox had six weeks to shoot, and Bradley said he once worked 17 hours straight. Bob Keen’s crew made the Pinhead makeup a two-piece prosthetic, which cut application time to about three hours from about five. Accounts of post-production conflict. Hickox said Bob Weinstein of Miramax loved the rough cut and paid for extra effects, including early CGI gore. Barker said he criticized a work print and was later invited by Weinstein to help fix the film. Randy Miller wrote an orchestral score in three weeks after a rock score tested badly. It was performed by Russia’s Mosfilm State Orchestra and Choir and uses Christopher Young‘s themes.

Release and reception

The MPAA demanded several cuts before granting an R. Barker blamed the closer scrutiny on his outspokenness on social issues and the series’ growing popularity. The film premiered at the Dylan Dog Horror Fest in May 1992, and Miramax released it in the US on September 11. It debuted third with $3.2 million, which the Los Angeles Times called “tepid business.” It earned $12.5 million in total, the series’ second-highest US gross. On home video in 1993, it reached No. 19 on Billboard’s rental chart.

Reviews on release were better than for Hellbound. Variety called it “highly commercial,” and Empire‘s Jack Yeovil called it “a good horror sequel.” Time Out London‘s Nigel Floyd called it “adult horror to die for.” Others were harsher. Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle called it “about as traumatic as a de-clawed Cerebus,” and in 2006 Steve Barton called it “just plain goofy.” Rotten Tomatoes lists 38% of 24 reviews as positive, and Metacritic scores it 50.

Legacy and influence

In The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy, Paul Kane names the horrors of war as the film’s strongest theme. It draws on war films like Apocalypse Now and Platoon, through Spencer’s lost faith and Joey’s search for the truth about her father. It moved the series’ production to the United States and began its run with Dimension. It was followed in 1996 by Hellraiser: Bloodline, the last film in the series released in theaters. The 2022 reboot, Hellraiser, went straight to Hulu. For the series’ beginnings, see Hellraiser (1987).

Trivia

Armored Saint perform “Hanging Judge” in the Boiler Room.
Barker directed the Motörhead video for “Hellraiser,” in which Lemmy plays cards with Pinhead.
A motorized cam in J. P.’s Cenobite makeup moved a piston around his head.
An R-rated version came out on DVD in the US on August 8, 2006, with a 1992 documentary short about Barker’s inspiration.
Joey’s father is played by Peter Boynton.