Clive Barker's Hellraiser is an artistic, disturbing and original adaptation of his novel "The Hellbound Heart". I love this film, it is so unique and unusual that there isn't another movie quite like it. The special effects are phenomenal, the S&M tinged design of the hell priest "Pinhead" (played by Doug Bradley with the gravitas of a thespian stage actor) and the other cenobites is unlike anything you'll find in any other horror film. I also love that the cenobites are not the main villain of the film, they are custodians of hell, demons to some and angels to others, no other horror film uses demonic figures in this way and its a huge part of what makes Hellraiser stand out.
Every aspect of the movie oozes with a sadistic and twisted atmosphere, from its haunting use of church bells announcing the arrival of the cenobites to the slow and deliberate turns of the lament configuration as it opens a portal to a world where pleasure and pain are indivisible. A lot the reason why the first and second Hellraiser movies have received such high scores from me , other than the nostalgia I have for them are because of how well Clive Barker's ideas translate onto screen and the world building and atmosphere of both Hellraiser 1 & 2. The original Hellraiser is a brilliant horror film and one that I really shouldn't have been watching at thirteen years old, but I'm glad i did as it is was a staple in building my love for the genre.
Hellraiser 2: Hellbound, is essentially everything you want from a sequel, it expands upon the lore of the original, it features a returning cast of characters and it retains the same vision which makes its predecessor work. I always watch Hellraiser 1 and 2 together in the same night, the sequel is that close to the original film that its a natural continuation and conclusion to Kirsty Cotton's story.
This movie may even have some visual moments which rival the original film, everything involving skinless Julia as she returns from the world of the Labyrinth is so damn creepy, seedy and nasty.
Dr Channard is also a good replacement for Frank as the other central human antagonist of the movie and what they do with his character is so batshit insane that it shouldn't work but given the universe that Barker has already established it still does.
I love how they expand upon the world of the Labyrinth in Hellbound, people forget that the cenobites don't actually take people to hell in Hellraiser, and that the cenobites in fact exist in their own hellish dimension run by a diamond shaped monolith called The Leviathan. The Labyrinth is a place where they bring the unfortunate souls who solve the puzzle box to experience sensations beyond the human experience. That's so much more terrifying than hell, because to "Pinhead" and his cohorts, what they're offering isn't only suffering it's salvation.
Overall, I think Hellraiser 2 is a strong conclusion to the original movie, but it's not quite as good in my opinion, though i do still enjoy it a lot.
Its weird that this film has its defenders, I personally do not care for it at all and I think its an absolutely terrible entry in the Hellraiser franchise, it is made by people who fundamentally do not understand The Hell Priest as a character. Pinhead is not Freddy Kreuger, he shouldn't be running around manically laughing as he dispatches people. That isn't who he is at all. Hell on earth clearly tries to make Pinhead into a run of the mill slasher and I hate it for that.
On top of that the cenobites in this film are utterly ridiculous, there's even one who's face is a CD player, i mean really, come on now, who came up with this crap?. In short its so rubbish that i can't actually bring myself to re-watch it as i review this series.
I surprisingly enjoyed Hellraiser Bloodlines a lot more than i thought i would. I think its an underrated over the top sequel that has ambition and weirdly works when it shouldn't at all. The fourth film in the Hellraiser franchise is set in the present, past and future, telling a long epic sprawling story about the creation of the Lament configuration and how it has haunted the bloodline of the toy maker who was charged with its construction.
From what I understand this was the last film in the original Hellraiser continuity that was actually written to be a Hellraiser film. So, a bit of trivia going forward, films five through nine were never supposed to be Hellraiser movies but the Weinstein's just slapped Hellraiser onto any old script they had lying around because they wanted to keep the rights to the character.
Bloodlines is a fun cheesy 90's horror that's a load of fun and features a strong performance from Doug Bradley. I don't mind the studio sending The Hell Priest to space as long as they dont' mess with his character and the movie surrounding him is fun, which this one is.
Hellraiser: Inferno is the first direct to video entry in the Hellraiser franchise and while it isn't exactly a good film, it isn't bad and its core concept is stronger than the film itself. Its the first of the Hellraiser films where the studio were literally taking on discarded scripts and turning them into Hellraiser sequels by rewriting Pinhead and the cenobites into the film and honestly this movie could have worked had it featured a bigger budget and better acting, the core idea is there.
The story centers around a detective who is investigating a series of murders involving the puzzle box, a pursuit which will lead to him delving into his own private hell at the hands of the hell priest.
The acting is sub-standard from all involved, apart from Doug Bradley, who turns up to elevate what is quite a boring film at the very end and proceeds to turn this direct to video horror into an engaging dark exploration into the darkness of a man's soul....for about five minutes and then its over. I'm aware that a lot of fans online think this is an underappreciated sequel and I am certain they are basing that solely on its ending and nothing else, because that's the only single thing that works about this movie.
Add comment
Comments