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Review: Hellraiser (1987)
Hellraiser marks the directorial debut of British horror scribe Clive Barker and based on the author’s novella The Hellbound Heart. It is a grisly, gory tale quite unlike any other horror film in recent memory—rivaling perhaps most of David Cronenberg’s cinematic efforts—and a strong constitution should be strongly recommended before viewers subject themselves to watching this film. For those with cast-iron stomachs, Hellraiser is actually worth a look.
Larry (Andrew Robinson) and his new bride Julia (Clare Higgins) move into an old and rather eerie England residence. Some time ago, the husband’s loser of a brother Frank (Sean Chapman) lusted after his sister-in-law and Julia didn’t exactly stop things untill the louse disappeared. Frank found an odd game cube , and unleashed forces that he did not quite comprehend. The brother-in-law resulted in him not feeling or looking at all like his old, sleazy self.
While moving into his new digs, the husband gets a nasty wound and it somehow manages to physically begin reforming his brother. The man’s lovely daughter Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) drops by for a visit. Stepmother Julia has been engaging in foul deeds which prompt a visit from Frank. It turns out that he is sought by a trio of ashen-skinned, leather-clad demons called Cenobites.
As the leader of the terror-inducing trio, Pinhead (Doug Bradley) is menacingly charismatic. he speaks with such flawless diction in a voice which will freeze, not chill, spines. Pinhead certainly makes for perhaps the most terrifying of cinematic bogeymen in recent memory. Much more so than such franchise frighteners as Michael Myers (Halloween), Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th), and Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street). Bradley virtually makes them seem as malevolent as the big bad wolf or just about any other faerie tale menace.
Barker was also responsible for Rawhead Rex which was adapted for the screen last year but not by him. It is an effort nothing like the almost laughable film directing debut of Steven King. The prolific horror scribe, some might recall, gave audiences the super lousy Maximum Overdrive. Hellraiser offers an abundance of some gripping terror which is not offered up with the often unnecessary schlock so commonplace in current horror films. It is recommended but with reservations; it is definitely not for the sqeamish
Robert Baum is Currently a Bryn Mawr, PA-based film afficanado and pop culture junkie.
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