Hellraiser - Das Tor zur Hölle

Despite appreciating horror very much (with a lot of classic ones out there, such as 'Halloween', 'Nightmare on Elm Street', 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', 'Night of the Living Dead' and 'The Exorcist', plus the best of Hammer House of Horror), even if not my favourite genre, it took me a while to get round to watching the 'Hellraiser' franchise. Due to having so much to watch and review, and the list keeps getting longer and longer.

This is the film that started the franchise off, and not only is it by far the best of the 'Hellraiser' films it also for me, and quite a few others it seems, is one of the stronger horror films of the 80s, though not quite of all time. What is meant by being by far the best of the 'Hellraiser' films is that it is the only one to be above very good, the nine sequels were very variable (leaning towards the disappointing) and the latter films particularly are suggestive of the franchise having run its course.

'Hellraiser' is notable for being the directing debut of celebrated and extremely talented author Clive Barker. His books have always been hugely compelling, with intelligent exploring of ambitious themes, vivid attention to detail and characterisation, meticulous atmosphere and distinctive chills and sense of dread, his popularity is more than well deserved. He also adapts his source material 'The Hellbound Heart', a terrific book and even better than this already very good film, and all those qualities are lifted off the pages onto the screen. It is also notable for introducing us to Pinhead, who would justifiably become a horror icon.

By all means 'Hellraiser' is not a perfect film. The ending is schlocky and at odds with the rest of the film, which was up to then very disturbing and remarkably intelligent and the ending felt like it belonged somewhere else.

Also felt that Barker's direction did occasionally show his inexperience, namely in some unfocused and not always necessary close-ups.

Most of the time though he does a great job, capturing the spirit and atmosphere of the book with ease and the momentum is never lost. 'Hellraiser' is genuinely scary with plenty of chills, unnerving dread, nail-biting suspense and a hair-raising sense of claustrophobic tension. It is very graphic but not in a cheap way, going over the top with the shock value and not pointlessly so, traps that it could easily have fallen into and ones fallen into so many times in horror. Personally thought the Cebonites were used well, they are still terrifying and using them as catalysts rather than focusing too much on them (mentioned already very well) added to the mysteriousness, they look good too.

It's not just scary though. 'Hellraiser' has truly inventive storytelling stemming from a unique premise back then and seldom equalled now. It also has some abitious themes like pain and desperation that are handled intelligently, giving the film some emotional power and surprising dimension not always found in horror, it is just so wonderful to find a film with a great concept seen recently that lives up to it and exceeds it even. Just want to say this is not trying to knock the genre at all, in case it's sounding that way. 'Hellraiser' holds up well on the visual front, some eerie camera work and lighting, the effects are far from amateurish and the make-up manages to be some of the most effective of the 80s.

The script is thoughtful with Barker's prose all over it and the characters show his attention to detailed characterisation, nobody is bland or annoying. The music doesn't seem to have pleased everybody, for me it was haunting and didn't dimish the atmosphere at all. Was surprised too by how good the acting was, have seen some terrible acting in horrors recently so this was refreshing. What a staggeringly frightening performance from Doug Bradley and Clare Higgins is particularly good of the rest of the cast.

Summing, very good with many great elements. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is certainly Clive Barker's Masterpiece. His 1987 film, "Hellraiser" is a really good example of how a late 80's horror film can work.

Nearing the 90's, horror films started to go down hill. In 1991 and 1996, we got two really good thriller horrors, being "SCREAM" and "Silence of the Lambs". This film however, was the last of it's kind to give us some good late 80's slasher craze which was still born and still very fresh with horror freaks.

I won't go into the plot because I believe everyone should have seen Hellraiser by now, if not, well GO SEE IT! All I can say is that the concepts of the box is terrific. A new way to kill a slashing demon is always a terrific and creative concept and it works really well in this one. I also love the soundtrack suite which is haunting beautiful and dramatic in parts. The actors are superb and their characters are believable.

Doug Bradley as Pinhead is the best and he knows how to give us a creepy killer which cannot be stopped. I dunno why in "Revelations" they got a different actor to play him. Doug is Pinhead, end of story.

I also like the way the death scenes and plot are shown. The director takes it a little step at a time while as most directors just go full on with the violence and exploit everything. Clive actually took his time to tell the story and that's what made most of the ending sequences and starting deaths so intense. It all left us to the core suspense.

Also, the 1987 film is the only Hellraiser film I have really liked. I've also seen part 3, 4 and 6. 3 was OK, 4 was dodgy and 6 sucked. The thing about the first film was that it had a dramatic fantasy to it, while being realistic, people were dying for real. The other Hellraiser films I have seen since then haven't really had the same impact but instead really try to rehash and be as shocking, doesn't work at all!?

My verdict on this 87 classic is a 7.5/10.

P.S: I just hope they can get this right in the remake next year.

Finally got around to watching this one. I was not into horror as a kid but as I approach middle age, it has been fun to visit these types of films for the first time.

The basic plot of Hellraiser is straight out of a1930s horror or suspense anthology radio program. This is a morality play and quite similar to those on those old-time programs like "Suspense" or "The Mysterious Traveler" people listened to up through the 1950s. However, the hellish images, nasty depictions of torment, and gross, practical gore effects give a nice coat of fresh paint to this type of story.

The direction is OK but certainly has a B-movie quality at times, much like the rest of the production. Claire Higgins is great, though. Ashley Laurence is not a great actress here but is strikingly beautiful. You could make this movie today with almost the same script and make it much scarier or even nastier if you wanted. But I think it's nice to keep it a bit cartoony, keep it fun, not nasty.

The practical gore effects still hold up for the most part. Some of the skin looks excessively rubbery but still very wince-inducing in a few scenes (especially the famous "nail on the wall" scene). Does it look real? No, but you can appreciate the work and lack of dated CGI.

No jump scares here. The movie's horror relies more on the nasty gore and hellish depictions of torture and torment.

Anyway, this is a fun movie I think. Not a great one. Mediocre acting, a very genre script and OK direction. However, it delivers fun, oldschool thrills, not far from what your grandparents heard on the radio.

I'm not sure whether to give this a 7 or an 8. I think it may deserve an 8 just based on fun factor.

Adapted by Clive Barker from his own story "The Hellbound Heart" this has long been a favorite among horror-film devotees. Clive Barker is an outstanding writer. In terms of literary style light years ahead of Stephen King. His awesomely unhinged imagination is given free rein in this tale of the darker side of the human psyche.

Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) is as immoral and perverted a scumbag as you could hope to find in the English speaking world. Ever alert to the potential for some new thrill (sexual or otherwise) Frank comes by a small carved wooden cube that just happens to be (in the right hands) a gateway to Hell. Not your normal run of the mill pit of hot sulphur fumes presided over by a horned Lucifer wielding his time-honored pitchfork, but a most unpleasant parallel dimension, home of the wickedly inventive Pinhead and his cenobite cohorts. As the series worked its way onwards, Pinhead (Bradley) became a retro cult hero much like Freddy Kreuger and was given increased screen-time!

Frank ends up paying the ultimate price in his search for new pleasures and to his everlasting discomfort, inevitably discovers the real meaning of the film's tag-line "He'll tear your soul apart." This leaves Frank's ex well and truly home-alone and she takes up with his wimpy brother Larry, crawlingly played by Andrew Robinson.

Things might have worked out for Julia (Higgins) and daughter Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) had not Larry cut his hand badly and the blood run beneath the floorboards where Frank's decimated but undead corpse responds dramatically well to the corpuscled cocktail! Frank's gory resurrection is actually one of the film's highlights, aided and abetted as it is by a superb musical score from Christopher Young!

Frank of course is a little miffed over Julia's dalliance with his brother and persuades her to bring him an assembly line of fresh meat to ensure his complexion is brought up to scratch. The demise of the first victim especially is quite shocking horror and on its own would have earned the film its "R" certificate.

Without giving anything else away, it is left to daughter Kirsty to combat both Frank, her socially distasteful step-mother and Pinhead. It is the ultimate learning curve you might say. One hell of a lot goes wrong before it starts getting any better. Frank's second whirl on the block is distinctly gruesome. Kirsty who under normal circumstances would be left a gibbering idiot, survives to take on the sequel and a further appearance by her awesomely repulsive stepmother!

You want horror? you want originality? you like blood on tap? you need HELLRAISER!

For all the above though, Barker's CANDYMAN was still better!

In a decade of cheap, exploitive slashers, we finally get this one. Relief.

Instead of some maniac ripped from Halloween, we get a simple wooden box. Simple, or so Frank thought.

What results is a cinematic masterpiece, a great mix of gore and violence, as well as a great musical score and some nice drama. The acting is fine, but there are imperfections. One common complaint: The characters are not pleasant enough we can latch onto them. Maybe that's because these seem more realistic than the characters we CAN latch onto. Just a thought, don't jump on this.

What really gets me, though, is the people calling it down, saying it's not quality entertainment. Come on guys, if it was SUPPOSED to be Shakespeare, it would not advertise as being able to "tear your soul apart."

The presence of the cenobites was originally intended not to carry the story but to emphasize it. As usual, the sequaes ignored it. Hey, merchandizing.

This is the only one of the series that depends on the story more than the demons. We hardly ever see the infamous Pinhead at all.

all in all, this was a fun movie. No Shakespeare, but it's not supposed to be. Just dramatic, gory, groundbreaking horror, delivered to us excellently by Mr. Barker.