I enjoyed the Hellraiser movies in my late teens. The first one was okay, but it was Hellraiser 2: Hellbound, and Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth that I got the most enjoyment out of. There is something about Pinhead and the Cenobites that is fascinating. I’m pretty sure I saw some of the later films in the franchise, but have entirely forgotten them.
So when I saw The Scarlet Gospels pop up for the bargain price of 99p, I thought I’d dip in to read further into the world of Pinhead and the Cenobites directly from the legend that created him.
Having not read The Hellbound Heart, I was a bit phased at first with the talk of magicians and talking to ghosts. It didn’t seem to follow the world of the films I knew, and dipped more into dark fantasy territory. However, I carried on an followed the exploits of Harry D’Amour with reasonable interest.
When the characters entered hell, I started to lose interest, and by the time it got to a big showdown, I was well and truly bored. Maybe I was expecting something a bit more mythical and horrific, but the whole final act just played out like some big CGI scene. The dialogue was terrible. I skimmed to the epilogue, but I couldn’t even be bothered to read that.
