This wasn’t on Amazon Prime that I can see, had to find it on alternative streaming sites, so it was a cross between VHS and DVD in quality, which I think actually gave it more charm. Adding to that charm is something that I’ve noticed elsewhere: big stars getting roles in the 3rd or 4th part of a horror franchise, (Leonardo DiCaprio got his start in “Critters 3”!). In this case it’s Terry Farrell, who I know so well from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine! I don’t think she has any relation go Glenda Farrell, but it’s funny that last name keep popping up in my movies lately.
There’s a ton to unpack here in the third Hellraiser film, I honestly think this is the best of them so far, with all sorts of unintended humor, like when the heart monitor is flatlining at a hospital all dramatically… after a guy’s head exploded! Then right after that, Farrell’s character says “tight stories not tight skirts” then the next scene is her in a thin nearly see through shirt and skirt at the “boiler room” looking for the owner of the club.
It actually wasn’t until about 30 minutes into the film during a scene in which a street urchin is burning breakfast that I realized the reporter was played by Terry Farrell, I think that’s the first time she let her hair down and looked more like the woman I’m familiar with. If you’re a recovering smoker, this is not going to be a fun ride for you, as absolutely everyone is smoking through the film, I think there’s only a few scenes where someone isn’t lighting up a cigarette. I have nothing against smoking in movies, but it was just super obvious that absolutely no one was compensated at all to smoke all these smokes. Nope, definitely not.
I also enjoyed the ending of this one much more than the previous two. The puzzle box ends up buried under a building in it’s foundation and now the building is decorated like the cube! It’s a great way to suggest that there’s an opening for sequels and an obvious dig at corporate culture.
“Demons aren’t real, they’re parables, metaphors” … “Yeah? Then what the fuck is that?!?”