Movie title: Hellraiser
Release year:1987
Type of movie: Horror
MPAA Rating: R
Our rating: 10/10
Re-watchability: 10/10
What we thought about it:
The movie is about a mysterious puzzle box that when solved summons demons, called Cenobites, that kill you with chains and hooks. There are 3 Cenobites in total that are summoned when the box is solved, and the story line revolves around a guy named Frank who escaped from them.
When Frank’s young niece solves the puzzle box, the cenobites come to claim her soul. In return, she offers them a trade of Frank for her own soul. The Cenobites think on this and decide they have to make sure Frank actually escaped their clutches. Once they discover she is telling the truth, they allow her to trade only if she brings them Frank.
Hellraiser is the directorial debut of author Clive Barker, who also wrote the book The Hellbound Heart, upon which it is based. This movie originally received the dreaded NC-17 rating by the MPAA due to the violent nature and the graphic sex scene in this movie. Clive trimmed some of the sex scene and some of the gorier deaths out of the movie. Hellraiser was filmed with a $1,000,000 budget in a house they purchased, not on a sound stage which is why so many of the shots are from specific angles. This fairly low budget forced Clive to be more creative when filming.
Hellraiser is a welcome break from the slasher genre of horror that seems to have been the rage at the time that Hellraiser was filmed. It didn’t follow the formula of teens getting picked off by silent killers or getting killed in their sleep. Instead, it focused on deeper elements such as what happens when you make deals with the devil and the ramifications of one’s actions in life. Ultimately it is a good vs evil story-line, but one with Clive’s own unique view of it. It spawned multiple sequels and is pending a reboot that is still awaiting Clive to sign off on its approval.
Our favorite character in the movie is the lead Cenobite, played by Doug Bradley. The lead Cenobite wasn’t called pinhead in this movie. The nickname pinhead came after the movie was released and fans dubbed the lead Cenobite pinhead due to the pins in his head. The way Doug talks and the way he makes this character all around spooky is our reason for picking him as our favorite character in this movie.
Our least favorite character in the movie would have to be Frank. From the very first scene you meet Frank, you learn he isn’t a very good person. He brought the box home with the intention of doing awful things. He just didn’t know that the box was designed to kill him. It wasn’t your ordinary puzzle box. We also disliked Frank because we felt the actor who portrayed Frank could have done a better acting job. He was just flat the entire movie, although he did improvise the line “Jesus wept” right before he had his head torn into a thousand pieces by hooks and chains.
This movie does show its age. It was filmed 30 years ago, when the special effects that existed was nothing like what is available today. It is definitely a go-to movie for us around Halloween and so it seems appropriate we review it in October. We also enjoy it because it’s fresh, no matter how many times we view it. We always find Hellraiser is a good watch. We recommend that if you’re a fan of horror movies and haven’t seen this film, it is a must see. If you have seen this film, watch it again. It is just that good.
