20 Films That Prove The 1990s Was The Worst Decade For Horror

The pattern continues! Another of the greatest horror franchises of the 1980s dealt its killing stroke. 1996's fourth installment in the Hellraiser might not have officially marked the end of the series (five straight-to-DVD sequels followed, with a sixth in the works), but few would dispute it was the last 'real' Hellraiser movie - and again, it was a less than auspicious swansong.

The writing's on the wall from the opening moments, which see the iconic cenobite Pinhead appear on a space station: along with Leprechaun and Critters, this film cemented the cliche that horror franchise which run out of ideas wind up in space by part 4.

Amazingly, that's not Bloodline's lowest point, as we get caught up in a bloated, centuries-spanning narrative charting the history of the cursed puzzle box, which is closely related to an immortal demon princess named Angelique (Valentina Vargas) - who, bizarrely, becomes the film's main antagonist, relegating the series figurehead Pinhead to little more than a cameo.

Some fans would argue the series was already as good as dead after 1992's high camp Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth, but Bloodline was pretty much the last nail in the coffin - or rather, cranium - of Clive Barker's once glorious creation.

To offer further confirmation of this, the credits tell us it's directed by Alan Smithee, theold pseudonym used when filmmakers take their name off the film; clearly FX artist-turned-director Kevin Yagher was none too proud of how things turned out here.