Hellraiser

Hellraiser was a bloody good film but part of me wishes I hadn't seen it because it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I remember renting it out on video along with A Nightmare On Elm Street back in the late 1980's. I thought Freddy Krueggar was bad but those cenobites scared the you know what out of me.

The acting is good throughout the film and praise must go to everyone. The characters were very interesting characters from the humans right up to the cenobites.

There was a lot of gore in this movie and it was quite sick at times-not a film to watch if you're eating.

The storyline of the film is a very intriguing one and very original indeed.

But those cenobites didn't half scare me particularly when that pinhead said, "We will tear your soul apart!" Then again, that is what a good horror is all about-scaring the you know what out of it's audience.

If you're looking for a quality horror movie of the 80's then check this one out. Just don't be surprised if it sends you hair grey.

Julia is forced to kill for her brother in law Larry, who's dabbled with powerful, but malign forces and been turned into a decayed, monstrous like creature. Larry is trying to regain his physical being in order to escape the creatures, The Cenobites.

Hellraiser is definitely one of those wonderful 1980's video nasties, I'm not a hundred percent sure I'd put it in the same category as Halloween or Nightmare on Elm Street, but I'm not sure if that's because of this film, or some of the atrocious followups.

Special effects that would have been quite advanced for the time, there's lots of blood and gore, and that scene where Frank initially appears is quite something.

At times it's really quite sadistic and nasty, the kind of film that you'd sneak on as a youngster, and have a few sleepless nights over. At times it's menacing, sickening and just downright twisted, yes it may look a little dated in parts, but I think it holds up well.

Great music throughout, it's so dramatic, it perfectly fits the tone of the film. The makeup is terrific, especially The Cenobites.

Clare Higgins steals it for me, I think she's great, definitely something of the femme fatale.

What is so interesting, is just how little Pin Head actually appears, even if people don't know the film.or the story, he's quite well known, he's hardly in it though.

The story holds up pretty well, I'd say it's perfect for an update, but I'm not sure that the followups have offered much.

7/10.

This surely is a very refreshing and original horror movie to watch. It doesn't has the usual formulaic ingredients in it, such as monsters or a murderous psychopathic serial killer on the loose. No screaming teenagers and no dark haunted places. All we have this time is a cube, that opens doors to hell and unleashes the bringers of pain; Pinhead and friends, who want to play with you forever.

But even that story is being somewhat pushed to the background and it focuses more on a family, of which the wife falls madly for the the no good brother of her soon to be husband. The brother however messed with the cube and got stuck in Pinhead's hell of pain. He however managed to escape it but only in a skeleton form. He needs blood to slowly regain his body and asks the wife to kill for him. This is were most of the movie its 'horror' comes from.

The movie doesn't get its horror aspects from its normal usual scare- or gross out moments. It's more a movie that works on its atmosphere and story development. Perhaps it's also due to the restrained budget, that simply forced the film-makers to be creative with the things they had at hand. The movie is no big Hollywood production and as a matter of fact it actually is an UK movie, that still got obviously aimed toward the American market as well though, in terms of its overall style.

And even though the movie was low-budget, the movie certainly did not look that way. Also its effects such as its make-up and the effects used for the more gory parts of the movie are really great looking. The make-up of course helped to make Pinhead an horror icon-figure, though in this movie he isn't even called by the name Pinhead, which was only a name that got developed later for marketing purposes.

The movie also features a great musical score by Christopher Young, that fits the movie really well. It's one of his more memorable works.

A real original horror movie, that has grown into being a classic already.

8/10

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I have seen Hellraiser many, many times; but my most recent viewing of the film was different to the rest. It was different because this was the first time that I've seen the film since reading Clive Barker's novel "The Hellbound Heart". The novel both enhanced my enjoyment for the film, and exposed some of its flaws. With the book, Barker really allows the reader to get inside the character's head, which ensures that the horror is more shocking. His descriptions are also a lot more macabre than what is shown in the film, and the way that certain things in the book are missed out/abridged shows some of the wasted opportunities of the story. This isn't really a criticism of the film, but rather of books being turned into movies on the whole. People often say that the book is better than the movie; and in this case it's true! Even so, Hellraiser is an absolute classic horror film, and easily one of the best of the eighties; not to mention all time. The plot simply follows Frank Cotton. Frank is a man in search of unknown pleasures, and in order to achieve that he buys a mysterious music box. This box does give out pleasure; but it's inflicted by a band of demons, known as 'Cenobytes' - and their idea of pleasure differs from Frank's! The story picks up when Frank's brother and his girlfriend, Julia, move into the house where Frank was taken...

The main reason Hellraiser stands out among horror films is because of its themes. Barker weaves shades of love, eroticism and, of course, pain and pleasure into his tale of demons and scarred flesh - and this really makes the film. We can care for the characters and what happens to them because of what Barker puts between them, and it's always evident that this film is head and shoulders above the rest of the schlock-horror sub-genre. The special effects, particularly on the screen time surrounding Frank, are simply stunning and show how real effects beat all this CGI rubbish hands down, while also showing that a low budget can be overcome. The film is never gratuitous with its gore or effects either, and everything in this film is there because it has to be. This is what annoys me about non-horror fans - films like this are dismissed by them because they're "too gory" or "stupid" - but Hellraiser breaks the mould because it's a truly original story and the way that Barker implements a macabre love story amidst a plethora of shocking horror is extremely skilfully handled, and more than challenges many of the so-called 'A-class' films.

A writer directing his own work tends to ensure that it will get proper treatment, and this is mostly true here. Some things have been changed from the book for no apparent reason (mostly with the characters of Larry and Kristy), but the only thing that really annoyed me was the ending. I suppose it's due to the time that it was made, but the ending feels tacked on to me. Barker's ending in the book was perfectly judged - just open enough to hint at more, while closing the story enough so that the reader is satisfied. Here, we have a schlock finale that is entertaining, but pulls away from the closed atmosphere that Barker has spent the film creating. This film differs from most other eighties horror films because of the fact that the actors are a talented bunch. You come to expect bad acting from this sort of film - but Hellraiser has none of it! The entire cast shine, with Clare Higgins making the biggest impression as the evil Julia. This was Clive Barker's directorial debut, and at times, it's clear that this is the case; but Barker makes the best of his locations, and while his camera sometimes feels enclosed; it fuses with the tragic music brilliantly, and all this helps the film to create that fabulous atmosphere so convincingly.

Overall, I have pointed out a couple of flaws here; but I really can't bring myself to give this masterpiece any less than full marks. The originality on display throughout Hellraiser is astounding, as is the atmosphere and the performances pulled out of the actors, along with the fact that this film has entertained me many times and is still as good today as the first time I saw it. All of this ensures that Hellraiser will be an endearing favourite of mine for the rest of my life. If you consider yourself a fan of horror and haven't seen this; shame on you. Make sure you read the book, too!

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.