* BaseBreakingCharacter: The Protagonist, Detective Joseph Thorne. He's a manipulative {{Jerkass}} of the highest order, who steals evidence, cheats on his wife, frames his partner, and robs dead people. On the one hand he's a VillainProtagonist rather than a DesignatedHero who's terrible actions are framed as shitty, and in the end he's a very deserved AssholeVictim. On the other hand, following such a loathsome asshole can make the movie [[TooBleakStoppedCaring tedious and repellent]].
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
** A scene has [[DirtyCop Detective Joseph Thorne]] being brutally beaten up by a pair of kung-fu using Asian cowboys after stumbling through the woods.
** Another scene where he's going to visit his parents in the hospital has a man in a straitjacket and a wheelchair passing by Joseph and laughing like a little kid.
* BrokenBase: The film in spades. Many consider it a decent film, with a new twist to the franchise (Pinhead judging sinners with personalized hells depending upon their sins) but others hate the film with a passion, since it's largely an InNameOnly sequel with Pinhead appearing only in the final minutes and coming across as a random horror script hastily rewritten to include Cenobites.
* CharacterRerailment: After the previous two films turned Pinhead into something of a [[MotiveDecay generic arch-villain]], this movie restores him to being more of a neutral arbiter who punishes the wicked for their sins, [[DarkIsNotEvil rather than actually being a villain himself.]]
* MoralEventHorizon: There are so many things [[VillainProtagonist Detective Joseph Thorne]] does that would qualify. Arguably one of the most notable would be planting evidence to frame his partner for the murder of the hooker.
* {{Narm}}: A lot of Joseph's lines, especially the BigNo.
* RetroactiveRecognition: A directorial example, this was one of Scott Derrickson‘s earliest known films before we went on to bigger projects like ''Film/DoctorStrange2016''.
* SignatureScene: [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech The ending where Joseph facing Pinhead's judgment about how his indulgences and vices led him to his fate in hell.]] It's also the scene where Pinhead himself has the most screentime in the whole film, as well as featuring some of the character's best quotes.
-->'''Pinhead:''' Ah... The eternal refrain of humanity... pleading ignorance, begging for mercy. "Please, help me. I don't understand."
* TearJerker: Pinhead's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Joseph could be considered one. His quiet tone when he tells him that his flesh is killing his spirit is heartbreaking.
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