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{{Infobox film
| name           = Hellraiser: Inferno
| image          = Hellraiserinferno.jpg
| caption        = Home video poster
| director       = [[Scott Derrickson]]
| producer       = {{ubl|[[W.K. Border]]|[[Joel Soisson]]}}
| writer         = {{ubl|[[Paul Harris Boardman]]|Scott Derrickson}}
| based_on       = {{Based on|Characters|[[Clive Barker]]}}
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Craig Sheffer]]
* [[Nicholas Turturro]]
* [[James Remar]]
* [[Doug Bradley]]
}}
| music          = [[Walter Werzowa]]
| cinematography = [[Nathan Hope]]
| editing        = Kirk M. Morri
| studio         = {{ubl|[[Dimension Films]]|Neo Art & Logic}}
| distributor    = [[Buena Vista Home Entertainment]]
| released       = {{Film date|2000|10|3}}
| runtime        = 100 minutes
| country        = United States<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8560cabc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114001057/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8560cabc|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 14, 2017|title= Hellraiser Inferno (2000)|work=[[British Film Institute]]|access-date=2019-11-10}}</ref>
| language       = English
| budget         = 
}}
'''''Hellraiser: Inferno''''' (also known as '''''Hellraiser V: Inferno''''')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miramax.com/movie/hellraiser-v-inferno/|title=Hellraiser V: Inferno - Official Site|website=Miramax.com|access-date=24 August 2017}}</ref> is a 2000 American [[horror film]]. It is the fifth installment in the [[Hellraiser (film series)|''Hellraiser'']] series, and the first ''Hellraiser'' film to be released [[direct-to-video]]. It was directed by [[Scott Derrickson]], in his feature-length directorial debut, and stars [[Craig Sheffer]], [[Nicholas Turturro]], [[James Remar]], and [[Doug Bradley]]. The film follows Joseph Thorne, a corrupt [[detective]] who discovers the [[Lemarchand's box]] at a crime scene, which results in his life gradually unraveling. The film was released on October 3, 2000.

== Plot ==
Joseph Thorne is a corrupt [[Denver]] police detective who regularly indulges in drug use and infidelity during the course of duty. At the scene of what appears to be a ritual murder, Thorne discovers a strange puzzle box, which he takes home in order to indulge his fascination with puzzles. After solving the box, Thorne begins to experience bizarre hallucinations, such as being seduced by a pair of mutilated women and being chased by a creature with no eyes or legs. Thorne also makes a connection between the murder and a killer known as  "[[List of Hellraiser characters#Engineer|The Engineer]]", who is suspected of having kidnapped a child. Thorne goes in search of the Engineer, who in turn begins murdering Thorne's friends and associates, leaving behind one of the child's fingers at every crime scene.

While undergoing therapy for his hallucinations, Thorne's psychiatrist Dr. Paul Gregory reveals himself to be "[[Pinhead (Hellraiser)|Pinhead]]", the leader of a group of entities known as the [[Cenobite (Hellraiser)|Cenobites]], who use the puzzle box as a portal between their realm and the mortal realm. Pinhead informs Thorne that he has in fact been in the Cenobites' realm since opening the box, where they have been subjecting him to psychological torture for the various cruelties he has inflicted on others: The Engineer is a manifestation of Thorne's own cruelty, while the child is a personification of Thorne's innocence, which he has slowly been killing through corruption, hedonism, and violence. As hooked chains appear and begin to ensnare Thorne, Pinhead informs him that he will be subjected to an eternity of torment for his sins.

== Cast ==
* [[Craig Sheffer]] as Detective Joseph Thorne
** J. B. Gaynor as young Joseph Thorne
* [[Nicholas Turturro]] as Detective Tony Nenonen
* [[James Remar]] as Dr. Paul Gregory
* [[Doug Bradley]] as [[Pinhead (Hellraiser)|Pinhead]]
* [[Nicholas Sadler]] as Bernie
* Noelle Evans as Melanie Thorne
* Lindsay Taylor as Chloe Thorne
* Matt George as Leon Gaultier
* [[Michael Shamus Wiles]] as Mr. Parmagi
* [[Sasha Barrese]] as Daphne Sharp
* [[Kathryn Joosten]] as Mary Thorne
** Jessica Elliot as Young Mary Thorne
* [[Carmen Argenziano]] as Captain

== Production ==
[[Clive Barker]] confirmed in an online appearance on [[AOL]] in 1996 after the American release of ''[[Hellraiser: Bloodline]]'' that [[Dimension Films]] intended to make a fifth installment in the [[Hellraiser (franchise)|''Hellraiser'' series]], while the film's screenwriter Peter Atkins claimed that there had been reshoots to leave room for at least two more sequels.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.clivebarker.info/hellraiser4.html|title=The Official Clive Barker Website - Hellraiser 4|website=www.clivebarker.info|access-date=2019-03-19}}</ref> One concept was a project called ''Hellraiser: Hellfire'', a pitch by Stephen Jones and [[Michael Marshall Smith]] in which [[Kirsty (Hellraiser)|Kirsty Cotton]] ([[Ashley Laurence]]) would face a plot by a cult to unleash the Leviathan and the [[Cenobite (Hellraiser)|Cenobites]] into the real world, with a climax involving a large Lament Configuration enclosing [[London]]. The pitch was rejected due to budgetary concerns after the film opted to be released [[direct-to-video]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3481349/waste-good-suffering-hellraiser-franchise-part-2/|title=A Waste of Good Suffering: The 'Hellraiser' Franchise [Part 2]|last=Paul|first=Zachary|date=2018-02-13|website=Bloody Disgusting!|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-19}}</ref> Although Barker was briefly in negotiations to return as [[executive producer]] in 1999, he was ultimately dropped from the production due to creative disagreements with the studio and barred from providing any sort of assistance on the film.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.clivebarker.info/hellraiser5.html|title=The Official Clive Barker Website - Hellraiser 5|website=www.clivebarker.info|access-date=2019-03-19}}</ref> [[Bob Weinstein|Bob]] and [[Harvey Weinstein]] ultimately commissioned a script by [[Paul Harris Boardman]] and [[Scott Derrickson]]. After giving Derrickson $10,000 to direct a single scene from the film, they hired him as the director. [[Doug Bradley]] has since claimed that Boardman's and Derrickson's script was originally not intended as a ''Hellraiser'' sequel and that it was rewritten to provide connections to the series. However, the claim is disputed by Derrickson, who has stated that the script was pitched as a ''Hellraiser'' sequel and was always meant to be one.<ref name=":0" /> A retrospective review of the film by [[Bloody Disgusting]] also dismissed claims about the script's origins as "rumors".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=DiVincenzo |first=Alex |date=2022-09-15 |title=Sin and Damnation – How Scott Derrickson's Underrated 'Hellraiser: Inferno' Rises Above Expectations |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3731740/hellraiser-inferno-revisiting-scott-derrickson-underrated-sequel/ |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=Bloody Disgusting! |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Release==
===Home media===
The film was released on VHS and DVD on October 3, 2000, by [[Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment|Buena Vista Home Entertainment]]. The film debuted on the Blu-ray format for the first time on May 15, 2011, in a double feature with its predecessor ''Hellraiser: Bloodline'' (1996) by [[Echo Bridge Home Entertainment|Echo Bridge Entertainment]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Hellraiser-IV-Bloodline-and-Hellraiser-V-Inferno-Blu-ray/22221/ | title=Hellraiser IV: Bloodline / Hellraiser V: Inferno Blu-ray (Hellraiser 4 / Hellraiser 5 / Miramax Double Feature)}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|14|2.7|seven|consensus=|access-date=October 2, 2023|ref=y}}

Calum Marsh of ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' called the film "shockingly good" and said, "''Inferno'' feels less like a ''Hellraiser'' movie than a follow-up to ''[[Jacob's Ladder (1990 film)|Jacob's Ladder]]'' (or maybe a predecessor to ''[[Silent Hill (film)|Silent Hill]]''), floating dream-like through hallucinatory [[David Lynch]]ian visions and downplaying plot in favor of the surreal".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a25313/hellraiser-v-review/ |title=The (Halloween) Netflix Streaming Endorsement: The Shockingly Good Hellraiser V |last=Marsh |first=Calum |date=2013-10-24 |website=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |access-date=2017-10-30}}</ref> ''[[JoBlo.com]]''{{'}}s reviewer gave the film a seven out of ten rating, and also felt the film was not very similar to its predecessors, saying, "without a doubt the film's biggest flaw is calling itself ''Hellraiser''".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.joblo.com/horror-movies/reviews/hellraiser-5-inferno |title=Hellraiser 5: Inferno (2000) |website=[[JoBlo.com]] |access-date=2017-10-30 |archive-date=2018-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916193133/http://www.joblo.com/horror-movies/reviews/hellraiser-5-inferno |url-status=dead }}</ref> Alex DiVincenzo described the film as underrated in a review for Bloody Disgusting, and praised the films' "Lynchian surrealism" and "[[film noir]]" elements.<ref name=":1" />

==Sequels==
{{Main|Hellraiser: Hellseeker}}The film was followed by ''[[Hellraiser: Hellseeker]]'' in 2002, ''[[Hellraiser: Deader]]'' and ''[[Hellraiser: Hellworld]]'' in 2005, ''[[Hellraiser: Revelations]]'' in 2011, and ''[[Hellraiser: Judgment]]'' in 2018.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0229440}}

{{Hellraiser}}
{{Scott Derrickson}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellraiser 5}}
[[Category:2000 horror films]]
[[Category:Hellraiser films|Inferno]]
[[Category:American supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:American religious horror films]]
[[Category:Direct-to-video horror films]]
[[Category:Direct-to-video interquel films]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Clive Barker]]
[[Category:Films directed by Scott Derrickson]]
[[Category:American direct-to-video films]]
[[Category:2000 direct-to-video films]]
[[Category:2000 films]]
[[Category:Dimension Films films]]
[[Category:2000 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:2000 English-language films]]
[[Category:2000 American films]]
[[Category:2000 British films]]
[[Category:English-language horror films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Hellraiser: Inferno|access_date=2026-03-03}}