Hellraiser

Rating:
Summary: Clive Barker's Hellraiser
Review: Clive Barker's Hellraiser is a classic among horror films. In a way it started a new real of horror films focusing on the pain and misery hell is, along with the inhabitants
of hell.

This is not the first time, the issue of hell has been brought into a horror movie zombies movies use the theme of hell being unleashed in their plot. Lucio Fulci in his movie ''The Beyond'' is another movie that uses that theme well.

Made in 1987, the film is still a pretty good flick to watch during this time of year.
The plot of the film is probably a little hard to swallow, but onscreen it sure worked.
Julia Cotton (Claire Higgins) is having an affair with the brother of her husband Larry Cotton (Andrew Robinson). Apparently Frank (the brother of Larry is killed (played by Sean Chapman), but through the gates of hell is resurrected as a monster. That is because Claire opens up the pandora's box (puzzle box) which opens up the gates of hell. In order to gain his human form , Frank must absord literally the skin and tissue of his victims.

Yes ''Hellraiser'' and it's sequels contain graphic violence and thus if you are not a fan of horror you probably be better of passing it of. That's not to say that ''Hellraiser'' craze isn't good, their are good movies, and they have inspired
other newer movies to up the ante as far as scaryness and violence is concerned.

Clive Barker's special effects for hellraising were crude but effective. The thing about Clive Barker's ''Hellraiser'' movies is that unlike other cheap sequels to horror hits like
''Halloween'', each sequel ''Hellraiser'' gets better and better, loading more special effects, gore, and suspense.

Eventually Claire and the newly formed Frank now then sets their sites on killing everyone in their house including Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) and Larry Cotton.

However a monster from hell named Pinhead (Douglas Bradley) is thriving to inflict his pain of hell into others and so now now Kirsty and Larry have quite a few problems in front of them. They got this evil maniac Frank and now this monster known as a cenobite , Pinhead who wants to get out of hell and cause mayhem.

''Hellraiser'' is a good horror flick. It's use of the macabre, suspense and phsycial attack on the senses with its graphic theme made it stand out from other horror flicks. It's probably the series has lasted so long up to the new ''Hellraiser: Hellseeker'' sequel.

Rating:
Summary: The Hellbound Heart.....
Review: Hellraiser is a fantastic film. If you haven't seen it, you probably have a false idea of what this movie is about. The "Pinhead" cenobite on the box cover instantly conveys the impression that the movie is some sort of slasher film with this character as the killer. Hellraiser is not this kind of film. In fact, the cenobyte mythos is nothing more than part of a backstory that gives purpose to what is happening in the main story. The main story itself is about the sinister and dark side of human nature; our carnal desires for pleasure and what the evil individuals are willing to do to fulfil these desires.
Frank is a man who lives for pleasure. He has lived a life of debauchery to the point that everyday sex, drugs, etc. fails to satiate his desires any longer. His search for pleasure leads him to his death at the hands of the cenobytes (watch the film).
Julia is a woman with secrets. She pretends to be a loving and faithful wife, while hiding an affair with Frank.
Without giving too much away, Julia finds out that Frank can be returned to life. Julia is willing to commit murder to bring Frank back, but the cenobytes cannot allow this to happen.

That's a pretty poor synopsis of Hellraiser's storyline, I know, but that is it in a nutshell. It isn't a scary movie; it's a disturbing movie. It's also a highly original movie. I can't think of too many horror genre films with Hellraiser's intelligent character-based fiction. It's a real pity that the sequels descended into the realm of rediculous mockeries of the original.
Here's hoping that Clive Barker finishes his excellent, wizard of oz-likem, Abarat series and brings us more of what he arguably does best...macabre and imaginitive fiction.

Rating:
Summary: More Than Just A Low-Budget Horror Attempt
Review: while the 80's were filled with cheesy horror flicks that unsuccessfully attempted to shock, scare, disturb, and get you thinking about life and its meanings, there were a few that could be held up as movies that did so. hellraiser is certainly one of them. the story is (mostly) about a man named frank who has tried every pleasure known to the public man. but there is a pleasure that is not known to many men, and the men who do know of it are most likely dead. it is a box that holds the pleasures to heaven and to hell. when frank uses this puzzle-box in a ritual alone in his attic, he summons the cenobites. the cenobites are demons--or to some, angels. but regardless of their position in good and evil, they do hold the keys to hell (well, they're not literally keys, but you know what i mean). after frank gets torn to shreds and taken to hell, we zip to the near future where franks brother and his wife are moving into his old house. the wife is a devilish woman--she even cheated on her husband with frank right before the marriage. she had promised him at that time that she would "do anything..." for him. well, the time has come to do something for him. frank has escaped hell by a little blood that was spilled on the floor where he had died. a bloody skeleton frank tells his brothers wife (you know, the devilish one that had had an affair with him) that he can be restored back to life through human blood that she gives him. so she brings men that are expecting prostitution to her house when no one else is there, takes them to the attic, and kills them so frank can suck the bloody life out of them and gradually get his skin back. that is the basic foundation of the storyline. but that is surely not all! when you throw kirsty (the womans husbands daughter) in there along with a loose puzzle-box, you've got much trouble. basically, this film is about the moral issues of desire and the trouble that comes with greedy pleasure. but you'll barely catch that lesson behind all of this neat horror story. frank is only part of the sickness and horror in the movie. obviously, this movie has much to do about hell, satan, and the cenobites. the now legendary pinhead makes his appearance in here--but not many times. you won't get alot of pinhead, or even alot of the cenobites. but they're shown enough to do well with the story. there is also a big two or three part monster that is in there, satan (which you find out about him in the end), lots of disgusting special effects for corpses, terror behind each corner, suspense, satisfying imaginative scenes, and so much more! this isn't exactly a true classic in my mind, but its for sure a monument in the history of cinema. the extra features are okay; the featurette is the best part of the extras. so if you like movies about hell, demons, magical boxes, underestimated power, and life in general being forced into and hour and a half of pure horror fun, then get this now! i can't argue with anyone who claims this to be a great movie--it truly is. you'll just have to see it for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: You can't not love Clive Barker
Review: Memo to Clive Barker: A genius move casting Andrew J. Robinson ("Garak" on "Star Trek:Deep Space Nine"), the American Geoffrey Rush, in this pic.

Rating:
Summary: good
Review: Pinhead is the second best horror movie killer of all time.. next to michael myers.. he has one liners and he just doesnt care.. he is RUTHLESS

Rating:
Summary: "We have such sights to show you."
Review: Of all the horror characters from the 1980s, Freddy Kreuger with his bladed glove, Jason wearing his hockey mask, the leader of the Cenobites from the film "Hellraiser" stands supreme. I hate his nickname, "Pinhead," which suggest minimal intelligence and a gullible nature. He has neither. Rather, he is a General of Demons! Now for the film. This movie does have flaws: a dated feel and look which is all the more obvious when looking at the style of clothes and haircuts these actors donned; the most repellent flaw here are some cheesy special effects that end the movie on a campy note. These flaws are altogether unfortunate because the ideas here are fantastic and gruesome. In particular, I was extremely disappointed when this film did not recieve an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup. Only a year before this film came out, "The Fly" won the Oscar for Best Makeup for similarly grotesque and realistic creations. Clive Barker brings his book "The Hellbound Heart" to the screen with surprising effectiveness, using religious imagery that is absent from the novella, and motivating all of the actors here to not treat this like a B-movie; and the dialogue here is a vast improvement over that in the novella. The best acting performance comes from Claire Higgins who practically carries this film showing great range of emotion from lust to absolute horror in a state of intense believability. Hers is my personal favorite performance here, but by no means is it the only notable one. There are two Franks. The Frank who longs for new experiences, "pain and pleasure...indivisible," and Frank the Monster who is the personification of evil: selfish, scheming, and murderously manipulative. Both actors shine. As for Ashley Laurence, this is her first film; and while she overacts occasionally, she also has many impressive moments of genuine emotion. I've seen this film a dozen times, at least, and at no time in any of the "Hellraiser" films that followed this one do the Cenobites look and feel this malevolent. However, it is not uncommon to find fans of the series favoring "Hellbound: Hellraiser 2" over the original. I prefer the first one because the acting is better, the story is more eerie and reminiscent of the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, the dialogue is sharper than the novella, and there is a sense of inspired "we've got nothing to lose" ambience from everyone involved in every scene. This DVD also has THX surround sound which is a huge improvement over my previous EP VHS tape. This DVD is easy to recommend.

Rating:
Summary: A Most Misunderstood Horror Film
Review: I love to read what others say about "Hellraiser," but it never fails to amaze me, even in regards to people who love this film, how much many misunderstand it. People write on & on what great horror icons the "Cenobites" are, & yes this is true, they have made a huge impact to cinema horror, but the "Cenobites" are not what this truly intelligent horror film is about...no, not at all!

This is a film about Frank & Julia. Frank will stop at nothing to find the next thrill, even if it means his physical & metaphysical destruction. Julia is the cool aloof wife of Larry, Frank's brother. Julia is seduced by Frank's dark & sadistic sexual aura, though that same aura lay dormant in Julia until Frank awakened it by seducing Julia before her wedding to Larry. "I'll do anything," Julia desperately confesses to Frank to keep his affection. Little does Julia dream that in the future that will be exactly what she has to do to keep Frank, after he unleashes "the Box," & its horror, the Cenobites. In what is truly an Oscar worthy performance, Julia (Claire Higgins) the aloof, but so far non-threating wife transforms into the murderous, cold, calculating queen bitch, to ressurect & have Frank. To bad we've not seen more of her in other films.

Yes, "Hellraiser" is about treachery in the family, the worse sort, deception & murder. "Hellraiser" is about blind love. Larry's unswerving devotion to Julia, which makes him the last to know, & seals his doom. "Hellraiser" is about the tragic plight of Kristy trying to save her father. What could be worse than knowing a loved one is going to be murdered & you could not stop it? "Hellraiser" is about real life plausible situations that are better off left alone, the darkest part of the human psyche, to want something so bad you're will to sacrifice anything & anyone to achieve it, maybe even your self. "Hellraiser" aptly uses the theme of don't tempt fate ("the Box"), unless your prepared to be taken by it, as the "Cenobites" so profoundly demonstrat.

So yes, the true monster of this story is ambition & want. The "Cenobites" are just a cataclysmic vehicle (a very disturbing one) to carry Julia & Frank to their just deserts in the end. "Hellraiser" made the "Cenobites" seem like ultimate bogeymen by giving them little screen time & keeping them mysteriously cryptic to the audience, something later films could've benefited from. Thus "Pinhead" & crew were much more menacing & potent in this first, & by far the best, most intelligent film of the series, & in horror cinema.... But again, it was Julia & Frank, & their ambition & want that were the true terrors here. Nothing is more disturbing & horrific than discovering someone(s) you love & trust will eventually murder you.

Chilling!


Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but flawed 80s horror
Review: You've read the plot synopsis so I'm not going to bore you with that. I'll just tell you what I liked and disliked about the film:

The Good: "Hellraiser" really delivers the goods as far as gore, it features interesting characters, it's well-filmed and Barker maintains some strong sexual overtones throughout. The Cenobites are horror icons (particularly Pinhead) and Frank makes a believable and strong villain. Barker's vision is wildly original, especially when you consider the glut of teen slasher films that were coming out at the time.

The Bad: Barker's vision is so ambitious that at times the special effects can't keep up. In particular, a strange scorpion-beast thingy that looks to me like something out of "Labyrinth," and at the end of the movie the Cenobites disappearing in a very cheesy, 80s electronic fadeaway. At times, the movie also veers a little too close to dark fantasy (a criticism of Barker's writing, too) and in my opinion "Hellraiser" might have been better if he played it as a straight horror film.

Overall these are minor quibbles. "Hellraiser" is an excellent film and certainly one of the better horror movies of the 80s. I personally just prefer the second intallment; I think that's where Barker's vision really comes together.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT MOVIE
Review: Hellraiser,they don't get much better than it.With probably the most compelling storylines in horror movie history and the man himself the legendary Pinhead who demonstrates eternal pain and suffering and doesn't use a knife or a claw to kill his victims no he uses a puzzle box in which the victim summons him and his army of cenobites without even knowing it.Then he sends chainsand hooks flying out of the walls and tortures them for eternity.Now on to the movie,The latest victim Frank who by all means deserves it this guy is a criminal,murderer,etc and he buys the puzzle from an unknown man in an unknown country then he is performing some demonic thing with the puzzle then chains and hooks rip him to shreds.Later his half brother and wife who was having an affair with Frank move into the house where the stuff happened and soon the wife finds Frank and begins to assist him in rebuilding his own body and how he does that is she uses her sex appeal to lure [hot] men up to the attic and she kills them and he uses their flesh to rebuild himself.Meanwhile Frank hasn't much time because Pinhead is comin for Frank.So get Hellraiser it;s a gory treat for Hardcore fans.Watch out contains Strong Violence,gore,languge,and lots of sex so keep away from children.

Rating:
Summary: Bad acting, bad writing, bad directing, bad film
Review: Clive Barker is a genius - when it comes to writing books for children or young adults. Witness the books ARABAT or THE THIEF OF ALWAYS. Truly brilliant, and some of the best reading I've encountered for that group. But as far as his films...

Lord of Illusions was terrible, and Hellraiser, although it introduced the interesting character of Pinhead, wasn't any better. For the time period during which it was made, the special effects were quite good, I'll give him that, but beyond that - just too many absurdities. You could see him thinking, "OK, what do I need to move from point A to point B", and the solutions he came up with were usually deserving of a good laugh.

I've harped on this in many reviews of horror films, and it's why my reviews of horror films tend to be short - *things have to make sense*. If they don't make sense, the film isn't scary. If the elements aren't scary, then they don't add up to a good horror film. Horror films are intended to frighten people. If you're not frightened, the film has failed.

I wasn't frightened. I feel sorry for people that were.