"Secret of the box" HELLRAISER - film analysis by Rob Ager

[macdaddylorenzo]

0:28 are you saying "are testament to the mad satanism" or "mass satinism" or something else?

Thanks a lot!

[robag88]

@macdaddylorenzo Lol if I remember correctly it was "mass hedonism"

[macdaddylorenzo]

@robag88 aaah, that's a bit different, lol!  thanks :p

[g2g4m10]

I bet that Clive Barker didn't even think about half of this lol

[robag88]

@g2g4m10 I bet you didn't even think before making that assumption lol

[TheSorrow696]

@robag88 Remember frank start smiling as he was getting  rip to shreds again by the hooks ,it was creepy like he was enjoying it,then he licked his lips ,and Said Jesuss Wept... ! Clive Barker is sick a fuck,yet awsome too!

[AlhazredsGamingGoo]

@TheSorrow696 That was apparently an ad-lib by the actor; the scripted line was something like "fuck you" and he thought "jesus wept" would sound better.

[robag88]

@AlhazredsGamingGoo Yes, that's mentioned in the full version of the vid. He and Barker agreed on it on set.

[TheSorrow696]

Cursty It 's me, uncle frank! You remember dnt you? Come to daddy!

[robag88]

@TheSorrow696 I remember laughing my head off at those lines when I first saw the movie in my teens :)

[JohnSCostello]

She lost her virginity but she still has the box it came in.

[bob101910]

I thought the ending was a loose reference to Hell. I forgot which religion it was, but isn't there one that believes that Hell is reliving your death over and over again?

I'd like to see an analysis of the other Hellraisers, even though some make it very clear what they are going for. For example there is 1 that makes it clear that the man is in a Hell that I described earlier. He dies at the end, then the movie restarts. In another they are focusing on the pain for pleasure aspect.

[radiationtherapyband]

When the first Cenobite arrives, he shoves two fingers in her mouth; another sexual reference. Well done.

[TheMrJizzus]

I think the box/tv set ultimately symbolizes human mind and it's curiosity. If the tv set is demonstrating Kirsty's sexual curiosity by the blooming flower, so she is directly connected to the idea that we are what we eat, or see in this case, because in the time there were more tv sets in the US than human beings, which compares us directly to the box as an exchange of infromation, much like Wolf Vostel's work by using tv sets to represent human beings in a consumist society, Kirsty's libido.

[galactu3]

A tenuous argument to say the least. Videodrome is much closer to the point you seem to want to force here.

[robag88]

@galactu3 It's not a point I want to force. The details are there in the film relating the box to the television. Videodrome does follow a similar fractal logic I agree and being that Barker was a huge fan of Cronenberg you be well onto something, perhaps Videodrome was Barker's inspiration for the similarity of themes.

[luis939]

I pretty much agree, but when Clive Barker made the film, he made it for the movies, i.e. a flat screen, I'm not sure he was thinking of making a "TV movie"

[robag88]

@luis939 Sure. The box as tv doesn't mean the film was just made for tv. He couldn't have justified putting a cinema screen in the hospital set, nor would a cinema screen give off static.

[jdmdrew]

Never stop making these

[opiumrebel]

2:48 don't the light emissions look like sperm cells.

[robag88]

@opiumrebel Lol ... yes, they do.

[alexmcvey]

@robag88 I noticed they looked like sperm cells too. What's interesting, is when Kirstie open the box, they're little pink things instead.

[steveoco1]

@opiumrebel That is a good spot, they were unique in effect compared other static, which means they were pre planned... designed to look that way. i am surprised, Rob did not mention it in the video.

[raisismith]

I've always said that the BOX in Hellraiser represented the Television, just like in Poltergeist- "there here!"

[Bassbait]

This movie is pretty good. Pretty, pretty, pretty good.

But although the movie was pretty scary the first few times through, I always found the Engineer to be really cheesy. It's weird how every single horror movie is somehow playing to our crotch. The Shining, Hellraiser, Alien, are all trying to arouse us and make us flaccid at the same time. And all of them are commenting on things in the process. Pretty interesting, but if I were to make a horror movie, I would go a different route.

[VorpalDerringer]

@Bassbait They're universal factors--two things that unite humanity--sex, and violence.

[Bassbait]

@VorpalDerringer Ya, but it's not like those are the only two. I would honestly like to see a horror movie with no violence or sex involved, and see how it turns out. A G rated horror movie. The closest I've found is 2001, which isn't a horror movie. Not that R rated horror movies are bad or anything, I love lots of horror movies, but it really would be a change to see a horror movie that can get in your skin without playing on the same themes over and over.

[qoaa]

@Bassbait Check out Disney's old horror, The Watcher in the Woods. it was creepy, and was PG rated, no sex and not really violent, especially being a disney film, but Betty Davis was great in it.

[maxonfire67]

Hey Rob, can you do an analysis of Brazil?

[joe6panther6]

Explicit deviance is what Clive Barker is ALL about.

[symbal777]

keep up the great work, rob!

hope you review videodrome soon

[EverEvolvingApe]

After I watch a robag88`s movie analysis, I have to rewatch the movie!

[Kira2457]

I very much enjoy your videos and analysis. As long as you keep making these, I'll keep enjoying them :)

And will you ever do Dark City?

[thumminxy]

I really hope we get another worthwhile Hellraiser film.

The comics were amazing too!

[TatooineBoy]

You talked about horror and pornography in this review in a very interesting way and I feel you really should review Videodrome wich deals with both of these topics.

[robag88]

@TatooineBoy Yes, videodrome is already on my to do list :)

[TheEL337dude]

nice one.

[hesbatting1000]

Fascinating stuff... Now that I've watched all your movie reviews (several times) I'm beginning to notice patterns and parallels in various films myself. Thanks for all the insight!!

[hurin11000]

This is not how you drink absinthe. You have to dissolve the sugar before adding it.

[Nic33rd]

You're the best, Rob!

[julianamercy]

Rob...sweet! :)

and I loved the Aliens analysis too

[TaffyRaphie]

GIVE ME MORE ANALYSES!

[ssallen1s]

Speaking of sexual curiosity in Hellraiser, I suggest you should break down a modern day pornography video to look for hidden themes.

[robag88]

@ssallen1s It wouldn't be allowed on Youtube.

[dkuyk91]

Ooh...you should do a "Jacob's Ladder" analysis. I feel like that's another psychological horror movie that has lots of hidden meaning in it. At least from what I remember.

[featheon]

No need to say "even if the author didn't intend it," Rob. Semiotics is about the construction of the text by interpreter. Remember Barthes' "Death of the Author."

[progrockcoffee]

What's your pleasure?

[Fistwagon]

Good stuff as always. I don't know what it is about Hellraiser but it makes me feel sick every time I see it. It's nowhere close to the goriest movie I ever saw, it just has that physical effect on me. Feeling a bit pukey just seeing this review. :x

[swordofisis]

You nailed the BOX Thanks Pythagoras, and Plato! And through Gnosticism and Neo-Platonism some Archon morphed into the angel god used for his creative voice. Metatron and his hyper-cube, stepping through the star-gate of cosmic consciousness, creating the flower (and tree) of life and our astral plane of existence... And said it was good. LOL.. What a funny guy that St. Augustine of Hippo. Was probably a mushroom-tea drinking, mandala painting hippy with a god complex. Awesome vid btw!

[JeanCocteau777]

Wonder if the PuzzleBox is related to that mysterious box in Mullholland Drive.



[WJValente]

Another excellent analysis! I haven't seen the movie in a long, long time, but this makes me want to see it again! May I also suggest that next time you turn up the volume on the audio when recording your voice-over. Sometimes, it is a bit hard to hear you.

[ZanyAnton]

What's up with all the phallic symbols in movies?

[kevycanavan]

great stuff



[olivermusic123]

notice the sexual nature of the 'chatterer' cenobite's fingers in her mouth.

[robag88]

@olivermusic123 Yes. A lot like Max Cady and Danni in Scorcese's Cape Fear.

[cujo76]

thank you......

[KajiCarson]

Although a brief vid, these are some very astute observations! Makes me wanna watch the film again. :D

[Fawltykog]

I noticed that the 'exploding' light fitting is petal shaped. 2.31

Informative as ever, keep up the good work.

[TheWCWite]

Welcome back Rob, I was wondering when you would make a new review! This movie scared the shit out of me when I was a kid.

[daywalker48603]

She really should stop playing with her box. She'll go blind.

[robag88]

@daywalker48603 Lol. I had that thought, but stopped short of saying it in the vid.

[snakejohnson]

@robag88 you guys are terrible. LOL

[daywalker48603]

@robag88 Lol! Sorry, bro. Couldn't resist! Part IV of the Turn In Your Grave series is fantastic, btw!

[diegobdias1981]

always a great work Rob, congratulation man.

Hugs frow Brazil.

Diego