Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth
(1992)
R | 92 mins | Horror, Fantasy | 11 September 1992
Directors:
Anthony Hickox, Bob KeenWriter:
Peter AtkinsProducer:
Lawrence MortorffCinematographer:
Gerry LivelyEditor:
James D. R. HickoxProduction Designer:
Steve HardieProduction Companies:
Dimension FilmsHellraiser III: Hell on Earth is the third installment of the Hellraiser film franchise, which is based on the novella “The Hellbound Heart” (London, 1986), written by British horror writer Clive Barker. The franchise started with the 1987 British film, Hellraiser, which Barker directed, and continued with 1988’s Hellraiser: Hellbound (see entry). Actor Doug Bradley, who played the villain “Pinhead” in the first two films, reprised his role, while actress Ashley Laurence has a cameo role as “Kirsty Cotton,” her character from the first two films.
Hellraiser III was originally set to go into production in early 1991. The 26 Oct 1990 HR announced that Trans Atlantic Pictures was beginning pre-production on the film, then titled Hell on Earth: Hellraiser III.
Principal photography began on 23 Sep 1991, according to an 11 Oct 1991 DV production chart, and ended in late Nov 1991, as stated in a 25 Nov 1991 HR brief. Promotional materials in AMPAS library files, as well as end credits, indicate the film was shot in the Greensboro, NC, area and included the use of sound stages at Carolina Atlantic Studios in nearby High Point, NC.
Hellraiser III opened on 862 screens on 11 Sep 1992, taking in $3.2 million its opening weekend, the 15 Sep 1992 DV reported. Hellraiser III was the inaugural release from Dimension Pictures, a division of Miramax Films established to release genre films, primarily horror movies.
In 1996, a sequel, Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (see entry), was released in theaters. All subsequent entries ...
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth is the third installment of the Hellraiser film franchise, which is based on the novella “The Hellbound Heart” (London, 1986), written by British horror writer Clive Barker. The franchise started with the 1987 British film, Hellraiser, which Barker directed, and continued with 1988’s Hellraiser: Hellbound (see entry). Actor Doug Bradley, who played the villain “Pinhead” in the first two films, reprised his role, while actress Ashley Laurence has a cameo role as “Kirsty Cotton,” her character from the first two films.
Hellraiser III was originally set to go into production in early 1991. The 26 Oct 1990 HR announced that Trans Atlantic Pictures was beginning pre-production on the film, then titled Hell on Earth: Hellraiser III.
Principal photography began on 23 Sep 1991, according to an 11 Oct 1991 DV production chart, and ended in late Nov 1991, as stated in a 25 Nov 1991 HR brief. Promotional materials in AMPAS library files, as well as end credits, indicate the film was shot in the Greensboro, NC, area and included the use of sound stages at Carolina Atlantic Studios in nearby High Point, NC.
Hellraiser III opened on 862 screens on 11 Sep 1992, taking in $3.2 million its opening weekend, the 15 Sep 1992 DV reported. Hellraiser III was the inaugural release from Dimension Pictures, a division of Miramax Films established to release genre films, primarily horror movies.
In 1996, a sequel, Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (see entry), was released in theaters. All subsequent entries in the franchise were direct-to-video movies, including 2000’s Hellraiser: Inferno, 2002’s Hellseeker, 2005’s Hellraiser: Deader, 2005’s Hellraiser: Hellworld, and 2011’s Hellraiser: Revelations.
End credits state: “Filmed on location in North Carolina and at the Carolina Atlantic Studios, High Point, N.C.”; and, “Special promotional consideration: Hi-Tec Sports USA; Norm Marshall & Associates; Laura Wollner/Capener & Walcher; Baldoni Entertainment Inc.; Zeppelin Sportswear Company; Items International Airwalk, Inc.; Leon Max, Inc.; Harley-Davidson of Charlotte; Shorebreak Inc.”; and, “Special Thanks to: Ford Showcase Program; Jake Froelich; Sandy Waterston; Tom Stapleton; City of Greensboro; Greensboro Police Department; Greensboro Fire Prevention Bureau; Greensboro Department of Transportation; Greensboro Department of Public Works; Greensboro Water and Sewer; Wake Forest University; M. B. Kahn Construction Company, Inc.; Greater Greensboro Merchants Association; Old Greensborough Preservation Society; Duke Power Company; United Arts Council, Greensboro; First Citizen’s Bank; Channel 45 WNRW-TV; NC Trust Center; County of Guilford; N.C. Department of Transportation; N. C. Film Commission; Rick Amme; WXII-TV; Mary Dalton; Catering by Ellyn’s; Stewart Thorndike.”
New York City nightclub owner J. P. Monroe purchases the “Pillar of Souls,” six-foot-tall, marble statue carved with distorted faces, and displays it in his trendy club, the Boiler Room. One night, when a young clubgoer steps too close to the Pillar of Souls, chains and hooks emerge from the statue and entangle him. Television news reporter Joanne “Joey” Summerskill is in the emergency room covering another story when the paramedics arrive. Seeing the blood-soaked chains wrapped around the man’s body, Joey goes to the operating room and observes the chains become electrified. They electrocute the victim, making his face explode. At the Boiler Room, Joey looks for Terri, the young woman who accompanied the victim to the ER. Terri goes to Joey’s penthouse apartment and explains that the chains came from a strange puzzle box carved into the Pillar of Souls. She pulls the square, palm-sized box from her bag, telling Joey it came off the statue during the incident. Meanwhile at the club, J. P. Monroe moves the statue into his bedroom above the club and notices a hole where the puzzle box was carved. When he sticks his hand in the hole, a rat hiding inside bites him. J. P. shakes his bleeding hand, and the Pillar of Souls absorbs the drops of blood. Terri takes Joey to the closed art gallery where the Pillar of Souls was on display. Breaking in, they go through records and learn the statue was the property of the Channard Institute. Joey contacts the establishment and requests a videotape regarding the statue. The tape shows a young woman named Kirsty Cotton explaining that demons live inside the puzzle box, and ...
New York City nightclub owner J. P. Monroe purchases the “Pillar of Souls,” six-foot-tall, marble statue carved with distorted faces, and displays it in his trendy club, the Boiler Room. One night, when a young clubgoer steps too close to the Pillar of Souls, chains and hooks emerge from the statue and entangle him. Television news reporter Joanne “Joey” Summerskill is in the emergency room covering another story when the paramedics arrive. Seeing the blood-soaked chains wrapped around the man’s body, Joey goes to the operating room and observes the chains become electrified. They electrocute the victim, making his face explode. At the Boiler Room, Joey looks for Terri, the young woman who accompanied the victim to the ER. Terri goes to Joey’s penthouse apartment and explains that the chains came from a strange puzzle box carved into the Pillar of Souls. She pulls the square, palm-sized box from her bag, telling Joey it came off the statue during the incident. Meanwhile at the club, J. P. Monroe moves the statue into his bedroom above the club and notices a hole where the puzzle box was carved. When he sticks his hand in the hole, a rat hiding inside bites him. J. P. shakes his bleeding hand, and the Pillar of Souls absorbs the drops of blood. Terri takes Joey to the closed art gallery where the Pillar of Souls was on display. Breaking in, they go through records and learn the statue was the property of the Channard Institute. Joey contacts the establishment and requests a videotape regarding the statue. The tape shows a young woman named Kirsty Cotton explaining that demons live inside the puzzle box, and it is a “gateway to hell.” Meanwhile, J. P. has sex with a clubgoer named Sandy, and afterward tells her to leave. Sandy argues, but as she steps too close to the statue, chains and hooks emerge and drag her toward it. As chains rip her flesh, the statue “absorbs” her. A moment later, her face appears as one of the distorted visages carved in the pillar. Just then, the face of “Pinhead,” pierced by needle-like pins, appears in the statue and speaks to J. P. The club owner fires a gun at the statue, but the bullets are absorbed. Pinhead instructs J. P. to bring him more clubgoers so he can be feed on them and eventually be freed from the pillar. In return, he promises J. P. greater powers. J. P. invites Terri, his former girl friend, to the club. Enticing her to his bedroom, he drags her near the statue, but she resists and knocks him unconscious with brass knuckles. Pinhead’s face suddenly appears on the statue and speaks to her, promising a life of unknown pleasures. When Terri tries to get the key to unlock the door from J. P.’s pants, she moves his body close enough to the statue for chains and hooks to emerge and engulf his body. Moments after J. P.’s body is absorbed, his face appears on the statue. An instant later, Pinhead’s entire body emerges from the statue, and he is free to roam the Earth. Meanwhile, Joey Summerskill dreams about her father, who died in the Vietnam War. The dream landscape changes to a World War I battlefield where she meets British Army Captain Elliot Spencer. He explains that he is trapped in limbo between heaven and hell. After the war, Elliot discovered the puzzle box and experienced many carnal pleasures through its power. However, his soul was split in half, with the good half, Elliot, trapped in limbo, and the evil half, Pinhead, left on Earth. Elliot informs Joey that the puzzle box is a gateway to hell, and Pinhead wants to destroy it, but Elliot can stop him. He instructs Joey to bring Pinhead to him, cautioning her to never give Pinhead the puzzle box. Back at the Boiler Room, Pinhead releases hooks, chains, knives, and javelins, which kill many patrons. Joey awakens to hear the television news reporting on the massacre. She hurries to the club with the puzzle box. There, Pinhead offers to give her special powers if she surrenders the box, but she refuses and runs out. On the street, Pinhead tries to kill her with live electrical wires and explosions, then sends demons after her. Joey runs into a church, but Pinhead follows, destroys its stained glass windows, and confronts a priest. When demons attack Joey at a construction site, she activates the puzzle and releases a beam of light that disintegrates them. Joey is transported to a field where she meets her dead father. As they embrace, he asks her for the box. She hands it to her father, who then transforms into Pinhead. A moment later, they are transported to a room where Elliot Spencer awaits. Pinhead drops the puzzle box as he and Elliot struggle, and their bodies merge. Joey activates the puzzle box, which changes into a dagger. As she stabs the merged creature, their body disintegrates. Pinhead and Eliot’s souls are absorbed into the box. Transported back to the construction site, Joey buries the puzzle box in wet cement.
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