This is the fourth in the Hellraiser franchise, which attempts to shed light on the origin of the puzzle box in the late 1700s in France where a sadistic aristocrat commissions a toymaker to construct the puzzle box to open a gateway to hell.

The story actually starts on a space station in the 2100s, when the descendant of the toymaker dude is caught and interrogated after using the box. The story also jumps to 1996 where another descendant of the toymaker’s bloodline is unknowingly working on a way to destroy the puzzle box.

It’s a convoluted plot and doesn’t do a very good job of keeping it under control. The story itself doesn’t bother me as much as its unrealized ambition. It could have been epic, but the writing seems like a direct-to-video mess.

The acting quality is fairly limited as well, but I love the early performance of Adam Scott as 1700s Frenchman Jacques, where more of an attempt was made at this makeup and wardrobe than any sort of French accent. Was Christopher Lambert busy or something?

When Pinhead kidnaps the wife and child of the 1996 toymaker, that’s when you realize that you purchased a one-way ticket to crazy town. It never really recovers from that point, and frankly, neither did I.

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