Allegedly Gary J. Tunnicliffe originally drew up a script for a “Hellraiser” movie which he then retooled in to an indie horror film after it was rejected. Later his concept was reworked in to a “Hellraiser” movie as a means of keeping the series in motion. Without the bits about the Cenobites, “Judgment” feels like a cheap “Seven” knock off about a serial killer that weaponizes the ten commandments instead of the seven deadly sins. It feels like a movie that was made in 2002 with choppy editing and murky directing that made it feel like a music video for Evanescence or System of a Down.
Detectives Sean and David Carter are on the case to hunt down a gruesome serial killer terrorizing the city known as “The Preceptor.” Joining forces with Detective Christine Egerton, they dig deeper into a spiraling maze of horror that may not be of this world. As the body count rises, could the judgment awaiting the killer’s victims also be waiting for Sean or David? With the Clive Barker universe peppered in, we’re given a mediocre movie about a serial killer, but with the cenobites tacked on to every other scene.
So while Pinhead (now Paul T. Taylor who is fine enough in the role) basically spends four brief scenes sitting in a dark room reacting to events unfolding, we’re introduced to a brand new Cenobite known as the Auditor. Pinhead does make a larger appearance in the final five minutes of the movie and virtually depowered. All the while the majority of the film’s violence and grue is handed over to The Auditor. To his credit, Tunnicliffe plays the Auditor well, utilizing the great make up effects to bring to life a very fascinating and intense new villain. The Auditor is all about procedure and doing his duty, which makes him so much more horrifying than he seems.
The majority of the murders and violence is committed by the serial killer known as “The Preceptor.” I imagine Tunnicliffe’s original script for his horror film was called “The Preceptor” as the name is thrown around constantly in the final half of the film. The killer isn’t all that fascinating as they use their murders to manifest literal demonstrations of the ten commandments. Meanwhile our trio of officers sits in a dark room that doubles as an office, and skulk around trying to track down where the killer is headed next. The scenes with the Auditor and the police investigation scene never actually meld together to make a coherent horror film.
It’s so murky, and over stylized with some gore feeling thrown in to arouse reactions from the audience, and nothing more. All the eroticism that the series is known for is also nowhere to be found. I appreciate how we’re given something more than the cenobites, but “Judgment” is so dull and never offers enough of Barker’s monsters to legitimately consider this a part of the series– especially with that goofy somewhat insulting final scene.