Hellraiser (1987)

Sick Product of a Sick System

One of my all time favorites.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

An unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover; the demonic cenobites are pursuing him after he escaped their sadomasochistic underworld. Hellraiser is far from being a masterpiece and it definitely has it's fair share of issues regarding it's storyline and character choices but it's also pretty original for sure, the perfomances were good for a horror flick especially and the make up alongside the special effects quite natural. The story was interesting for sure and it's basically a film that is watchable although far from classic by the way. (7/10)

The big screen adaptation of Clive Barker's very own novel; The Hellbound Heart, Hellraiser tells of Frank. Being an unsavoury, lecherous man he wishes to experience the extremes of pleasure and pain. To achieve this he purchases a supernatural puzzle-box which when solved, he is torn apart by hooks on chains. After some time passes Franks brother Larry, his second wife Julia and his daughter Kirsty move in to the very house that Frank was killed in. After accidentally cutting himself Larry's brother seeps through the houses floorboards, and resurrects his deceased brother who is discovered by Julia. She previously had an affair with her brother-in-law and it's clear that their fling has still left an impression on her. Being skinless and incomplete as a trio of demonic being called Cenobites had rid him of his body, he persuades his former lover to lure unsuspecting male victims back to the house so that he may feed upon them them so as to regenerate his body. However, when things take an unexpected turn when Kirsty stumbles across her evil uncle.Hellraiser is one of those movies which has so much good things going for it but at the same time it has much that is wrong with it. The directorial debut of Clive Barker this had the potential to be something great, and indeed with his innovative talents as a storyteller there is a cracking horror yarn here. Chalk full with eroticism there is most definitely themes of sadomasochism with the monstrous Cenobites decked in leather clad gear, and are something akin to fetishists. To Barker's credit he didn't do an altogether bad directing job in some areas given this was his first movie as director, however the altogether inconsistency in the quality of acting makes one wonder if this would have benefited from a more experienced filmmaker at the helm. In the main antagonist Frank who is played by two actors, the pre-deceased version and the resurrected zombified incarnation we have one of the most twisted, vile and perverse creations that have been brought to the screen to say the least. Unfortunately both actors, Sean Chapman and Oliver Smith speak with such gravelly, voiced intensity that it feels artificially hokey and takes away from the sheer menace of the character who is left under-developed and two-dimensional. Ashley Lawrence as the main heroine Kirsty is overall fairly decent while Andrew Robinson as her good natured, oblivious father Larry is solid enough for the most part. However the biggest standout is Clare Higgins as Julia, the "wicked stepmother" of the movie who manages to be a reluctant seductress and bored housewife while injecting real humanity and vulnerability, making her an interesting villain. More so I would wager than Frank.One interesting aspect to this, is the Cenobites or more notably Pinhead (who is listed in the end credits as "Lead Cenobites") are really only a secondary threat in this, only making their presence made in the final third of the movie. Actor Doug Bradley who incidentally attended the same Grammar School as Barker, brings a chilling ominous tone to the lead Cenobite and delivers a grandiose performance in the relatively brief time he appears on screen. The make up effects by eighties standard are indeed impressive as are the overall design, although the puppetry effects used in a couple of scenes haven't stood the test of time too well. Barker however does manage to create something of a otherworldly ambience and there is some striking visual flair. This can't entirely compensate though for some of the stilted acting from some of the supporting players, and moments where it strays in histrionic melodrama. Especially in the flashbacks to Frank and Julia. This was a flawed but noble attempt to bring what I can only imagine was a great story, given the reputation of it author, to the screen. It just doesn't all come together quite as well as it should although there's still much to admire.

"I have seen the future of horror, and his name is Clive Barker." High praise indeed from the grand master Stephen King.With the Cenobites — and Doug Bradley's Pinhead in particular — Clive Barker created a unique horror movie presence."They're like sado-masochists from beyond the grave," Barker once said of the Cenobites. (In fact, Barker has joked that at one point he wanted to call the film "Sado-Masochists From Beyond The Grave" adding that "Hellraiser turned out to be far weirder that I expected.") Pinhead was revealed (in Hellhound: Hellraiser II) to be Captain Eliot Spenser, a World War II veteran who had discovered a devilish box known as the Lament Configuration and found in it his own portal into Hell. By detailing his character in the manner he did, Barker made him instantly accessible to his audience, using the "war is hell" metaphor in its most literal sense.Hellraiser Set a New Horror Movie Standard with outstanding effects, Frank the monster and PINHEAD! make this film a must-see. But what about that Chatterer cenobite? Well, I don't know about him, but from the beginning I am going to say that Clive Barker's Hellraiser is fantastic!With Hellraiser, Clive Barker created one of the most genuinely disturbing movies of the last 30 years.

The original hellraiser is one of those movies that i actually didn't really like at first, but absolutely loved it after a re-watch. This is not a very fast paced horror movie, but also not too slow at the same time. I really think that the pacing is perfect in this movie. There is always something happening, but also not too much at the same time, so it doesn't confuse you. The acting in the movie is good. It's definitely not perfect, but i think the acting is still good and no one annoys me in any way. I also like almost all of the characters. There some characters in the movie that you're not supposed to like, so i don't like them. But the good thing is that they're not annoying, they're just.... kind of evil. But let's talk about one the best things about this amazing movie - the effects. Hellraiser has amazing gore effects. It looks really real and it looks better than most CGI in modern horror movies. And also this movie has one of the most memorable and iconic villains in horror - pinhead. Doug Bradley's performance is really good. Yeah i know i said that the acting is just good, but i think that Bradley is the only one who's really good. Overall, i can't describe how much i love this movie and i cannot believe that i didn't like it at first. It is one of my favorite horror movies of all time and i'll have to give it a 10 out of 10. check it out it you haven't already.