My dear readers, there are days when I simply find myself unable to steer my mind towards the tasks of the day, when my thoughts refuse to follow their prescribed course and wander off on their own whimsical trajectory. Instead of waking early, feeding the cellar rot and planting myself firmly in my viewing chambers, I find myself pondering the unaddressed mysteries of the horror genre. How does Jason Vorhees’ ambling gait allow him to travel so swiftly? How could Freddy Kruger be the bastard son of one thousand maniacs given our present day understanding of fertilization? And what sort of bureaucratic underpinnings are necessary for Pinhead to carry out his otherworldly torments? Luckily for those of us afflicted with aimless dreaming, Hellraiser: Judgement takes that last question head on while also fitting in a little story about an earthly murderer. 

Detectives Sean (Damon Carney) and David Carter (Randy Wayne), brothers in blood and arms, are on the trail of the The Preceptor, a Ten Commandment-themed serial killer with a swiftly dwindling supply of source material. The Preceptor has but a single murder left in the old commandment cache and the brothers Carter have a slim window for apprehension. Neither sibling is particularly pleased by the arrival of Detective Christine Egerton (Alexandra Harris), a fellow officer suddenly assigned to the same case. Their collective pursuit of this didactic malefactor eventually brings all three of them in contact with not just Pinhead (Paul T. Taylor) but a dizzying array of demonic additions.

Director Gary J. Tunnicliffe signals his artistic daring early on, starting things off with a 12 minute “cold” opening in a movie that just barely reaches the 80 minute mark. He operates on both sides of the lens in this lengthily sequence, portraying the latex-laden Auditor and ushering in the Cenobite’s coworkers -- the Assessor, the Jury, the Cleaners, the Butcher and the Surgeon. Unlike the Cenobites, who generally get down to business after a few brief words about flesh, this new lot prefers a more prolonged ceremony. Not content with mere chains and hooks, they treat their victims to interrogation, regurgitation, evisceration and non-consensual licking. Eschewing series staple Doug Bradley while introducing a hefty list of new characters and procedures signals the arrival of a man who’s not shy about stamping his own vision on the franchise. 

At times, the seams in this grotesque tapestry are a little visible. The Cenobites seem entirely divorced from the rest of the film, what with their separate confines and their very own blueish tint. Pinhead also feels ideologically at odds with this fresh crop of awful faces. While the Cenobites require nothing more but a willing puzzle enthusiast, the Auditor and company abide by an extensive formal procedure and are concerned solely with sinners. And it can admittedly be a little disheartening at times to see Pinhead occupy little more than a middle management role. But even if it isn’t always the most satisfying or cohesive of products, these sorts of stumbles can be expected in the mad dash towards innovation. Surely a few minor imperfections can be tolerated while ingesting the essential tale of hell’s satellite office.

Hellraiser: Judgement runs 81 minutes and does not possess a certified rating in the United States.