Oof, so close, yet still pretty dang far. Hot take: this is the first sequel to actually get Hellraiser right. Pinhead and the Cenobites aren't portrayed as your generic slasher villains or putting people through psychological torment to get them to realize their sins and judge their souls. They're once again purveyors of unholy sensation who only lay claim to those hedonistic pleasure seekers foolishly desperate enough summon them. Honestly, all that's holding this back are its rushed, slap-dashed nature and embarrassingly low production values.  This was originally intended to be a remake of the first film, but after spending so long in development it was speedily repurposed into a ninth(!) sequel to keep the rights from expiring. As such, you can see a lot of similarities between the plot here and the 1987 flick. Truth be told, I don't think the script is half-bad outside of a few ridiculous elements like cars magically disappearing or phones conveniently going out (I get the turd son is probably responsible for all that, but come on it's weirdly handled). There's plenty of skinless degenerates trying to escape their fates in the underworld and some very Barker-esque sexual transgressions to make up for it though. It's the poor execution that brings everything down. The gore looks fine, but they clearly didn't have the budget to include more of the supernatural stuff so the action primarily consists of watching two families scream at each other over their dysfunctions and dirty secrets with horrible acting, which is just insufferable. Also, and I feel terrible for saying this because I'm basically and inadvertently insulting a man's face when I don't mean to, but Pinhead now looks seriously goofy following Doug Bradley's departure from the role. Stephan Smith Collins is a normal looking dude irl, yet with a completely shaved head covered in grey paint and a mouth that's awkwardly trying to mime the words that Fred Tatasciore would later lip-sync over, it's hard to not find amusement in his appearance whilst playing the iconic horror villain. A shame as it takes away from the otherwise fantastic ending that sees the character adhering to all the rules Barker established that fans have been missing ever since Hellbound. Another example of how what could have been the first faithful follow-up in years was kneecapped into becoming another unlovable successor by being cheaply made and quickly thrown together. I do have a weird, cautious sense of optimism for the final entry in the franchise after this however, as returning writer (who also takes up the directing role in Judgement) Gary J. Tunnicliffe does seem to somewhat understand what the property should be. At least, certainly to a greater degree than any of his predecessors did that is