Following the events of Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), in which the demon Pinhead (Bradley) is imprisoned in a statue, he resurrects himself by absorbing the life force of unlucky humans.
After converting several power-hungry youths (Marshall and Bernhardt) into new Cenobites, Pinhead goes on a rampage, opposed by a reporter (Farrell) and the spiritual manifestation of his good half (also Bradley).
An ambitious young television reporter, Joanne "Joey" Summerskill, sees hooked chains embedded in a teenage clubgoer in a hospital emergency room.
He explains that his experiences in World War I caused him to lose faith in humanity, and he sought out the forbidden pleasures promised by the puzzle box.
Spencer tells her that without his humanity to act as a balancing influence, Pinhead is completely evil and will indiscriminately wreak havoc on Earth for his own pleasure, in violation of the Cenobite's laws.
Pinhead resurrects several of his victims as demonic Cenobites, including Terri, Monroe, the barman, the DJ, and "Doc", who also left to investigate the club.
[5] Actress Ashley Laurence, who played the female lead character Kirsty Cotton in the previous two films, has a cameo appearance via an in-universe videotape.
[7] Other ideas included a story set in ancient Egypt, a followup to Hellbound in which Pinhead attempted to resurrect himself, and a building that functioned as a Lament Configuration.
[6] During these talks, 20th Century Fox demanded extensive cuts to Barker's latest film, Nightbreed, an adaptation of his novella Cabal.
Following disagreements with Trans-Atlantic, Barker had no official involvement in the project until much later, during post-production; he said the studio balked at his fee, as they wanted a "cheap and nasty" film.
[11] For Joey's cameraman, Ken Carpenter, an actor friend of studio executive Kuppin, was cast, as he had the look they wanted: practical and hard-working.
Smaller roles were filled with friends-of-friends, local actors, and people who had appeared in prior genre films, including Hickox's Waxwork series.
Bob Keen from special effects company Image Animation was one of the few returning crew members from previous Hellraiser films.
[14] Laurence's scene, a recorded interview in which Kirsty explains the series' mythology, was shot separately prior to the rest of the film.
Hickox had previously established a very fast shooting schedule that used long hours, which meant the Hellraiser III cast had to adjust to his unorthodox style and the studio's demands.
Bradley said that he worked for seventeen hours straight one day, and the large number of scenes shot daily meant they had little time to perfect them.
Bradley remarked that he felt "jealously protective" of the character when he saw his stand-in, as this was the first time anyone else had ever appeared in-character as Pinhead on a Hellraiser set.
When the crew complained of sacrilege, Hickox told them it was no different than the countless Hammer horror films in which Christopher Lee, as Dracula, rampaged in churches.
[20] The actors for both Barbie and CD Head wore prosthetic mask for their roles, with a dummy replication for both characters for shots showing when they used their weapons.
Kane says that although the film never explicitly states this, it is clear that Elliott wishes to regain his humanity; more immediately, he seeks to control Pinhead, who, in turn, desires unrestrained freedom.
Kane says that although Joey does not have a physical alter ego, her dream-self regresses to that of a young child similar to Lewis Carroll's Alice.
Barker directed the Motörhead video for "Hellraiser", featuring Lemmy and Pinhead playing a game of cards and varied clips of the film.
Barker ascribed their increased scrutiny to his outspokenness on social issues and the growing popularity of the Hellraiser films, which he said they initially saw as too obscure to care about.
[34] Variety's review echoed this, calling it "highly commercial",[40] and Jack Yeovil of Empire said it is "a good horror sequel" that succeeds in its simple goal: to appeal to mainstream American teenagers.
[47] Compared to the first film, which he dubbed "deliciously original", Savlov said Hellraiser III is a "tepid and wholly uninspired retread of various genre conventions".
[41] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly rated it a letter grade of C− and wrote that the film, though it has a provocative theme, is more oriented toward vulgar depictions of gore than "the thin line separating pleasure and pain".
[48] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that the series' mythology had become too complex by this point for newcomers to understand despite its popularity with horror fans.
[49] At the Los Angeles Times, Kevin Thomas described the plot as "quite imaginative and even poignant" but said the violence numbs audiences looking for more than just gory special effects, unlike the first film.
[50] Chicago Tribune critic Johanna Steinmetz said that Joey and Pinhead do not have chemistry, and their back stories fail to mesh with the rest of the plot.
[47] Maslin's review described the special effects as "commendable" for bringing sophistication and "helping to usher in the age of high-tech horror".