WAR IS HELL: MAKING HELLRAISER III: HELL ON EARTH by Danny Stewart
Author Danny Stewart has a penchant for writing books about the making of films that he loves but are generally undervalued or overlooked. The cult following the 1998 sci-fi action film Soldier has isn’t an exceptionally large one, but that didn’t stop Stewart from writing an in-depth exploration of the making of that film. The 1989 dystopian sports film The Blood of Heroes is largely forgotten, but it was the centerpiece of Stewart’s examination of apocalyptic movies. And while Clive Barker’s Hellraiser is considered to be one of the best horror movies ever made and Tony Randel’s Hellbound: Hellraiser II is often referred to as being one of the best sequels ever made, the third film in the Hellraiser franchise, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, is more divisive. It has its fans, but it also gets written off by some fans of the series for being too obvious of an attempt to make Hellraiser more mainstream and turn the lead character, Pinhead, into the next Freddy Krueger. Since Hellraiser III has a bit of a tarnished reputation, it’s not surprising that it’s the Hellraiser movie that Stewart enjoys the most – so much that he wrote a book about it!
While the focus of his Saluting the Blood of Heroes book was more scattered, War Is Hell: Making Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth is just as focused on digging into every aspect of the making of the film named in the title as Stewart’s book on Soldier was. For most of the book’s 397 pages (a large chunk in the middle is taken up by behind-the-scenes images and pictures of filming locations), Stewart guides us through the production of Hellraiser III through a piece written by the film’s screenwriter Peter Atkins and interviews with several people who were involved with the project: Doug Bradley, the actor who brought Pinhead to life on the screen; director Anthony Hickox, writer Peter Atkins, camera operator Richard Clabaugh, director of photography Gerry Lively, actor Kevin Bernhardt, actress Paula Marshall, actor Ken Carpenter, actor Eric Willhelm, stand-in Kevin Helms, casting intern Veronica Royer Wood, associate costume designer Pauline White-Kassulke, stunt performer Shanna Jacobs, production designer Steve Hardie, art director Tim Eckel, line producer Phil Smoot, grip George Reasner, makeup artist Paul Jones, effects artist Gary Tunnicliffe, effects artist Martin L. Mercer, technician Martin Astles, effects artist Gary Bunn, makeup trainee Jeff Swan, visual effects artists Steve and Diane Wright, visual effects producer Joan Collins, editor James D.R. Hickox, editor Christopher Cibelli, storyboard artist John Floyd, production assistant David Dilberto, craft service worker Lisa Napoli, and set reporter Lisa Conklin. There are also chapters that dig into the big Elm Street action sequence and the film’s reception.
If you want to know all there is to know about Hellraiser III, this is great resource to turn to. I can’t imagine there’s much left to know about what it was like to be on the set, working on the movie, that isn't covered in the pages of this book.
I’ve always felt that Hellraiser is an okay movie; not much more, nothing less. But going through this book did give a bit more appreciation for the film than I had before. It’s still not a favorite, but it has some cool elements and provides a good viewing experience. Whether you’re a Hellraiser III fan or just have some interest in hearing about the making of a notable entry in a horror franchise, War Is Hell is well worth checking out.
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