Fin's Review: Hellraiser

Hellraiser is a tough watch, and I mean that in a good way.

Although Hellraiser has always been in the background of my horror thought, for some reason I have always avoided it. I've always seen it as a needlessly violent and to be honest trashy horror film, as well as been put off by what I saw as sado-masochistic undertones. I couldn't have been more wrong. Hellrasier is in fact a very skillfully made and artful addition to the horror canon. Although a very different film, like The Exorcist it actually has a traditionalist message running through it and can be seen as an attack on the hedonistic and moral revisionist thought which dominates modern society. It argues that the pursuit of pleasure purely for pleasure's sake will ultimately lead to physical and moral degradation.

This film is a disturbing and uncomfortable experience but, like all the best horror, it is definitely an 'experience'. I find it odd that this film, although widely known, does not receive more recognition. Clive Barker is on excellent form and his sharp direction creates an ominous doom-laden atmosphere from the start. The acting is universally strong. The film also contains some of the most incredibly creative and stunning imagery I have ever seen in a horror film; two notable moments are the scene in the hospital ward after Kirsty has opened the puzzle box and the IV drip bag fills with blood, and when the walls of the hospital explode with an eerie light indicating the arrival of the cenobites.

The special effects are awesome and are up there with The Thing as the best horror special effects of the 80s. The scene when Frank is born again and literally grows out of the floor has to be seen to be believed. Frank's return from the cenobite layer begins with a pool of goo until out of nowhere a barely human form begins to ooze and meld out of the goo. This scene, Frank's dripping skinless body and the infamous cenobites are a remarkable achievement in the pre-CGI era. Bob Keen, the effects designer, should have won an Oscar.

I cannot talk about this film without discussing Pinhead and the cenobites - undoubtedly some of the most hideous and balls-out villains you are ever likely to see. Pinhead has now become a horror icon, along with his pleasure-seeking buddies, and as a result it is difficult to view them with fresh eyes, but they are a truly unique addition to the horror pantheon. The internal twistedness of the cenobites is reflected in the twisted nature of their bodies - the cenobites are horrific but their genius lies in the fact that we can still see their humanity and what they perhaps once used to be.



Fundamentally it is difficult to sum up the visceral experience of watching Hellraiser. Although I'm not usually a fan of gore, in this film the gore and viscera merge with the darkness of the movie to create an artistic masterpiece. If you haven't seen this movie, make sure you do.

Clarky's Review: Hellraiser

This week Ally brought something to the table that was an unknown to the rest of us with neither Fin or myself had seen it before - Hellraiser. The reason, in my case anyway, that I had not viewed this particular film already was that, from what I knew of the Hellraiser franchise, this film was not for me. Or so I thought.

Thinking of Hellraiser, before I saw it this week, the iconic image that would instantly pop into my head was that of Pinhead. And I would imagine that the film was extremely gory, in bad taste, a video nasty of the 80's and not worth my time. Unfortunately, I think this is mainly due the age old horror problem of sequels continually adhering to the law of diminishing returns, and getting more and more extreme in order to try and get viewers to come back for more. However, I should caveat that last statement that this is again based on my preconception of the Hellraiser franchise (until I checked IMDB I had no idea quite how many sequels this had spawned) and my general experience with other horror franchises (I can only hope that the remaining Hellraiser films will confound my expectations as much as this one did, and that I will be forced to write a retraction in future horror club reviews!).

Firstly, whilst there are certainly a great number of unsettling images in the film, they are there to unsettle you, rather than to shock, as with some lesser horror films. It has to be said that the special effects in this film are some of the best I have ever seen even rivalling Horror Club favourite The Thing. Without these effects, or if it was made today (apparently Hollywood has another remake in the works, just what the world needs another Michael Bay Platinum Dunes music video glossy horror remake of a classic, in 3D!) I don't think the film would be as strong as it is. Thats not to say that I wasn't engaged in the story, but the entire film I forgot Frank was a special effect.

Unlike CGI in modern films, which can be jarring and remove you from a film, I was transported to another world when watching Hellraiser. In fact the only scene that has dated badly is at the end where they use computer effects! The fact that someone put so much love, time and effort into creating these models gives the viewer a real sense of admiration when watching the film. Whereas, rightly or wrongly, I view CGI as a cheat, something that can be knocked up by anyone who can be bothered learning programming. There is no skill to it, its all about coding. But making various models of Frank as he struggles through the various states of recomposition - that takes real skill and ingenuity and craftmanship. Added to this there were also some genuinely cinematic and arthouse shots in this. The whole film looked fantastic.

Pinhead himself actually only appears in the film for a matter of minutes, and arguably is not the villain of the piece. I would suggest that this is Frank or even Frank, and human, nature's inability to be content with what he has and to constantly seek something bigger and better. Inevitably Franks downfall, and his corruptive influence on Julia (even before the Lament Configuration is solved), is his inability to control his emotions and desires and to live within the moral code that the rest of us do. Indeed, all the "victims" in the film give in to their carnal desires before they meet their maker, with the exception of Larry.

Franks search for the limits of pleasure lead him to the Cenobites, who "treat" him to sadomasochistic experiences where pleasure and pain are indivisible, and so the horror begins...

I would also like to note that whilst I originally thought Andrew Robinson, playing Larry, was one of the weakest things about the film originally, his portrayal needs to be admired as a whole, and he is simply astonishing at the end in his transformation. Like many of my ideas about Hellraiser, I had to eat my words once again whilst viewing the film.

In summary, if you've not seen Hellraiser and consider yourself a horror fan go out and get it. You will be rewarded with an original screenplay, some stunning visual effects, a glorious looking film, some fantastic quotes and a few genuine scares. Ignore Roger Eberts pleas that this film shows a bankruptcy of imagination, quite the opposite. Sit down and you will be rewarded with a stunning film that will also haunt you. The experiences of pain and pleasure truly are indivisible.

Ally's Review: Hellraiser

I first watched Hellraiser when I was 12 years old. I had a TV in my bedroom and I sneakily watched it on a very low volume to avoid detection from my parents. It was a terrible mistake. It remains the most terrifying film-watching experience I’ve ever had (although House of the Devil ran it close last year) and still to this day I’m not sure why I didn’t turn it off. All I remembered about it was hooks & chains, and those chattering teeth...

Watching it as (kind of) an adult was a completely different experience. I think there is a misconception about this film that it is unnecessarily violent or silly, I suppose this is a charge frequently levelled at the majority (all?) horror films, but I couldn’t disagree more with this perception of Hellraiser. It’s actually a pretty astonishing film.

From the opening shot of dirty fingernails completing a cash transaction, you know that you're not going to have a comfortable experience watching this movie. Throughout this film there are some incredibly grotesque images that make the viewer squirm. There are also moments that will make you jump, and scenes where the tension is near unbearable. In other words, it ticks many of the horror boxes that we love so much. There are also iconic characters; Pinhead is now regarded as one the most recognisable of all horror ‘villains’, and his cronies (the other Cenobites) are just as memorable. Yet they don’t really make this film, just like the other ticked boxes don’t. There is a real depth to this film that, for whatever reason, is overlooked.

The destructive pursuit of the ultimate in sensory experience heaps misery upon all of the main characters. To begin with, we have Frank – a selfish scumbag who buys a mysterious puzzle box, which when solved opens a gateway to hell. He is determined to find the ultimate in pleasure and pain, but he finds much more than he bargained for at the hands of the Cenobites. Through good fortune he manages to escape and returns, in a physically diminished form, back to his deceased mother’s house. The house is now occupied by his estranged brother and his wife, Julia. Through flashbacks we learn that Julia had an affair with Frank before she married his brother, and she’s the one who finds him hiding away in a room in the house. She soon learns that in order for him to be fully restored she will need to bring him fresh blood...

It has been described as a love story, but I think that it’s really about infatuation. Julia is infatuated with Frank, and it is that desire to reconnect with her own ultimate sensory experience that drives the film towards misery for all involved. In her own way she is following Frank’s own selfish, self-destructive path perfectly.

Frank uses her to get what he needs, and his power over her is extraordinary, but it certainly isn’t love. Claire Higgins does an excellent job of giving the character of Julia real depth and sadness. We can feel her unsatisfied emptiness from the start, and we follow her from initial reluctance right through to full complicity, which eventually dooms her.

Even without the icons of horror, the jumps and the absolutely stunning special effects (surely the best of the 80s?)... this is an excellent film. It’s by no means a perfect film, but the script and acting make it a really compelling and involving movie. There are also some incredible shots and jaw-dropping visuals, which probably haven’t been given the recognition that they are due. The tight angles on the staircase, in particular, enhance the overall feel of the movie. It all goes to show what a talent Clive Barker is (although what a strange mind he must have to come up with some of his ideas). It has also made me curious to watch some of the Hellraiser sequels to see if they are really as bad as I’ve been led to believe.

This film will make me rethink the order of my horror movie top 10. I may need to make room for this truly unique movie.

Essential viewing for any horror fan.