Review #951: 'Hellraiser' (1987)

Upon its release in 1987, Stephen King was quoted as saying, about Hellraiser, "I have seen the future of horror, and his name is Clive Barker." The backing of such an icon of horror is high praise indeed, and the fact that Hellraiser still holds up today, 28 years after its release, is a testament to the quality of Clive Barker's hellish vision, based on his own novella, The Hellbound Heart. In an era full of horror movies fronted by broad, almost comic villains, and audiences preferences leaning towards bland American slashers, Hellraiser took a stance as a serious piece of work - rich in atmosphere, disturbing in tone and visually arresting - the foundations on which horror classics are built.

Contrary to popular belief (and his over-exposure in the - currently - 8 sequels), Pinhead (Doug Bradley) and his entourage of grotesque Cenobites remain in the background for the majority of the first instalment. The plot instead focuses the grisly fate and gradual re-birth of thrill-seeking scumbag Frank (Sean Chapman), who, in seeking the ultimate sexual enlightenment, purchases a mysterious puzzle box from a Chinese man which opens the gates of Hell when solved. Frank manages to do so, and is impaled by hooks and dragged into a world of torture, mutilation and degradation. Some time later, Frank's brother Larry (Andrew Robinson) and his second wife Julia (Clare Higgins) move into the home previously inhabited by Frank. While moving furniture, Larry cuts his hand on a protruding nail, inadvertently bringing Frank back from Hell and igniting his gruesome re-birth.

The plot treads carefully between being mysterious and plain confusing. There are no attempts made to explain just why Larry's blood brings Frank back into the real world and what exactly Frank was hoping to achieve by experiencing Hell, but these small details become insignificant in the wake of such visual splendour and immersing atmosphere. It can also be forgiven for some soap-opera dramatics as Julia's previous infidelity with Frank is exposed, and her manipulation into bringing Frank bodies to feed on while her suspicious step-daughter Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) keep her a watchful eye. Hellraiser employs a slow, careful build-up, so when the true horror springs into life near the end and the Cenobites rear their ugly heads, it is all the more effective for it.

Now a fully-fledged horror icon, Pinhead and his cronies are a strange manifestation of deformed monsters and bondage fetishism. They arrive with skin pinned back in various abominable positions, parts of their face and torso pierced with all manners of tools and devices, and all twisted beyond the point of no return by their experiences searching for the ultimate pleasures of the flesh. Part BDSM nightmare and part body horror, Hellraiser's climax is still one of the most disturbing things ever filmed without being particularly scary. Despite its narrative flaws and wobbly plot explanations, Clive Barker's film stands out as one of the finest of its era, spinning a complex and dark mythology around a low-key plot, with the uncanny ability to creep under your skin and stay there for a significant amount of time afterwards.


Directed by: Clive Barker
Starring: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman, Doug Bradley
Country: UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie