Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) - Nice try

I think it's fair to say that (most) sequels are pretty much lesser versions of the original and, in particular, horror films seem to suffer more than most from this stereotype.  This is the fourth in the line of 'Hellraiser' films - the original telling the story of a bunch of particularly nasty demons who you can release into our world via an antique puzzle box.  

The first was a classic, but - and you may not believe it based on the way the demons were marketed as the 'central focus' - the monsters were only in it for a few minutes near the end.  The two subsequent sequels realised that the demons (or 'cenobites' as I believe they're called) were the real 'stars' of the show (in the same way Freddy is the real star of the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' series) and therefore utilised them to the max.  

Doug Bradley reprises the role of 'Pinhead' (or 'leader' of the cenobites) for the last time before he hands the reigns over to someone else (dare I say 'inferior?').  And he really is about the only real reason to watch 'Part IV.' It's like the film's writers fell for the oldest cliche in the book, i.e. when you've run out of ideas, just set it in space and hope that that's enough to make it seem fresh and new.

Or at least it starts in space.  We're soon treated to a film of - sort of - three thirds where we meet the inventor of the puzzle box hundreds of year ago and follow his descendents who are bound to its evil - and therefore must repeatedly face off against Pinhead throughout the ages.  The trouble is, none of them are particularly interesting and - although they're technically the good guys - they're just too boring to really care about, so you find yourself drawn more to Pinhead and his lady friend who makes her first appearance in the franchise.

It tries its best here and there, but there's not that much that you haven't seen before in the previous three installments.  There are some nice make-up effects, but the computer-generated attempts fall victim to not having enough of a budget to make them believable/scary.  If you're a fan of Doug Bradley and his iconic performance as Pinhead then you might as well watch the last one he's in.  I know the third installment got a lot of hate, but - personally - I thought it was head and shoulders above this one.

6/10 Should probably keep you awake if Freddy Krueger was haunting your nights