HELLRAISER: JUDGMENT (2018)

You gotta give credit where credit is due...even for a 'Hellraiser' flick there are some pretty gross-out moments not expected. While we still don't have the iconic Bradley back, the replacement is far better than the dollar-store (or half-dollar store) brand we got in 'Revelations.' We start off with some lowlife tied to a chair confessing his sins to an 'auditor.' After these sins are typed out, the auditor (Gary J. Tunnicliffe, who has been associated with the franchise since part 3), sends these typed sins down to an 'assessor;' who promptly eats and vomits them up to naked minions before a verdict is rendered. Once guilty, the schlub is dragged into a room and some sort of 'cleaning' ritual is done before being cut open like a Saw-trap. If you can survive the opening, you're treated to an episodic-like mystery reminiscent of Seven, with potentially dirty cops, dirtier victims, and of course some Hellraiser mythology along the way. While the iconic characters we know and love don't really have a lot to do, they did try to add some decent mythos into the overall lore and is a far better effort than the last outing. Hardcore purists may yearn for the cenobites of yesteryear but for a modern retelling this could be worse. We're a long way from the end of the original quadrilogy of part 4, so who knows what we'll get in the future. Give it a shot and use your own judgment.

SLASH SCENE: Cleaning ritual

SLASH SCORE: 3.5/5