You might remember Henry Cavill as Superman in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel or Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s The Witcher, but there’s a moment in his early career that even horror fans often forget. Back in 2005, Cavill appeared in Hellraiser: Hellworld, a film that has a 0% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Now, twenty years later, that film is out on digital, so the Hellraiser and Paramount Scares Facebook account is pushing it again, using Henry Cavill now as the drawcard.
A clip released by Paramount shows a young Cavill in a leather jacket, navigating a party that quickly turns deadly, giving us a glimpse of his career before the red cape and magical silver sword.
Directed by Rick Bota, Hellraiser: Hellworld, the eighth entry in Clive Barker’s franchise, tries to drag Pinhead and the Cenobites into the digital age. See, the plot here revolves around six friends and an online game called Hellworld, inspired by previous films in the franchise. One friend, Adam, spirals too far into the game and kills himself. Two years later, the survivors are invited to a mansion-themed party mimicking the game.
Doug Bradley reprised his role as Pinhead, while the rest of the cast, which includes Lance Henriksen, Christopher Jacot, Katheryn Winnick, Khary Payton, and young Cavill, navigate traps, Cenobites, and an endless string of over-the-top horror clichés.
Cavill plays Mike, a young teen looking for “action” in all the wrong places. When he meets a masked woman at the party, the film launches into one of its many unnecessary sex scenes. Later, the woman removes her mask, revealing herself as a Cenobite. Mike wanders deeper into the mansion, encountering jars of fetuses, decapitated bodies, and his friend’s own head. “Not good,” he says before a hook from the ceiling impales him, giving Cavill one of his first on-screen deaths.
Even with this early stumble, Cavill is interesting to watch. Seeing him with gore and over-the-top horror tropes, you can probably spot the early hints of talent he would later bring to Man of Steel and The Witcher.
Sure, Hellraiser: Hellworld was a disaster and a strike on his record, but it remains a must-see for those who call themselves Henry Cavill fans.
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