Hellraiser: Judgment is a 2018 American horror film written and directed by Gary J. Tunnicliffe, based on the characters created by Clive Barker. The tenth installment in the Hellraiser film series, the film stars Damon Carney, Randy Wayne, Alexandra Harris, Heather Langenkamp, and Paul T. Taylor, and centers on three police detectives who, investigating a series of murders, are confronted by the denizens of hell. The film expands the fictional universe by introducing a new faction of hell: the Stygian Inquisition. While the Cenobites offer sadomasochistic pleasures to humans that enter their dominion, the Inquisition processes the souls of sinners. Tunnicliffe plays the Inquisition's auditor, a prominent role in the film.
Unable to direct his screenplay for Hellraiser: Revelations due to a scheduling conflict, Tunnicliffe initially removed all references to the series from his Judgment concept and tried to have it funded as an independent film in 2013. He intended on making a "true" Hellraiser film because of his disappointment with the later films. Several years later, Dimension Films was required to make another Hellraiser film to retain the rights, giving Tunnicliffe a chance to propose his vision. The concept was initially rejected but accepted after he negotiated changes with the studio executives. It was filmed in Oklahoma with Children of the Corn: Runaway, both films produced by Michael Leahy. It is the second Hellraiser film without Doug Bradley as Pinhead; newcomer Taylor was cast after impressing Tunnicliffe in an audition. He and Tunnicliffe decided to develop a new look and interpretation, rather than imitating Bradley's performance.
Judgment was scheduled for release in 2017 with minimal marketing to avoid negative publicity, but was temporarily shelved. According to Taylor, its release was not a priority for Dimension until the sexual abuse allegations involving parent company co-founder Harvey Weinstein (when the film was put back into post production). It was distributed by Lionsgate Films in video on demand and home media on February 13, 2018. Although critics compared the film favorably to its predecessors, its low budget and police procedural aspects were criticized.
Plot[]
In hell, Pinhead from the Cenobite sect, and the Auditor of the Stygian Inquisition are discussing how to adapt their methods of harvesting souls in the face of advancing human technology that is making the Configurations—gateways to hell—obsolete. Meanwhile on Earth, three detectives—brothers Sean and David Carter and Christine Egerton—investigate a serial killer known as the Preceptor, whose murders are based on the Ten Commandments.
A connection with one of the victims leads the detectives to Karl Watkins, a local criminal who went missing near an abandoned house. Sean goes there and loses consciousness, waking up in the Stygian Inquisition's domain in hell. As the Inquisition prepares to hand down a verdict on Sean for his sins, the angel Jophiel intervenes and tells them to release him. Sean escapes the realm with a stolen puzzle box, and the Auditor requests Pinhead's guidance on the matter. Sean and his brother return to search the house, finding no trace of hell or the Inquisition. That night he is haunted by visions of the Cenobites and hell's denizens, who promise "judgment and redemption" to anyone who opens the box.
Sean and Christine go to the coroner's office and find that a cell phone of one of the Preceptor's victims was stored in her body, recording her final location with its GPS. They find the Preceptor's hideout, where Sean incapacitates Christine and reveals himself as the killer. David deduces the Preceptor's identity and meets with the coroner to find the building. Upon arrival, Sean disarms David and reveals that he is holding his wife Alison hostage, outraged that she had an affair. He forces David and Alison to open the box at gunpoint, summoning the Cenobites and opening a gateway to their realm.
Aware that someone from hell would come to collect his soul after his initial escape, Sean attempts to offer Alison and David to Pinhead. Pinhead tells him they will be dealt with for opening the box but, because a separate faction of hell wanted his soul, no deal will be made. The Auditor appears, telling Sean the Inquisition has found him guilty of his sins. Jophiel intervenes again and protests to Pinhead and the Auditor that Sean is part of heaven's plan to instill fear into sinners. Pinhead arranges for Christine to kill Sean, and spitefully dispatches Jophiel. As punishment, God expels Pinhead from hell and forces him to walk the earth as a mortal man. In a post-credits scene, a group of Mormon missionaries in Germany approach a house and are captured by the Stygian Inquisition.