Hellraiser: A Review

[BelatedCommiseration]

Interesting. I understood the cenobites are more central in the novella, which I have yet to read, but I still feel that the ideas the film poses, such as the thin line between heaven and hell, pleasure and pain and existence through this idea in various means, forms and planes is extremely thought provoking. The only effect that really jarred me in the film was that 'hanging monster sperm' (as I call him) ceneobite who was obviously fake and you could even see the people pushing him!

[tuberofyou1]

you make a mediocre movie sound like an incredible work of art lol, I enjoyed the concept of the movie and the scenes with the cenobytes but the cenobytes were only in the movie for a total of like 5 minutes, the majority of the movie was just frank trying to become a person again by sucking the life out of the other people, dragged on, and i dont get why people dont just say they want pleasure, then the cenobytes would be angels, but frank says he doesnt care, so he gets hell, dumbass

[BleedingWalls420]

Great review. Hellraiser freaked me out as a kid. Two scenes in particular are where the skeletal figure pulls himself out of the bed and where that horrid looking monster chases them down that dark hallway.

[XHeath86]

Ive read the Hellbound Heart, enjoyed it immensely, the films also, Clive Barker is one cool dude, interesting review.

[waterangel251983]

Gotta love that Clive lol. I take it you've probably read Coldheart Canyon as well? I really hope that becomes a movie.

[00MORDRED]

~hell bound heart~

can't wait to read it....my local book store sucks....have to order it.

[Lee201024]

A classic review, i'm actually about to read the Hellbound Heart, it arrived in the post today, i also admire the film, Hellraiser, seen it countless times, have a huge respect for Clive Barker, he's one talented writer etc etc.

[ccabrera153]

@Lee201024 Me too I have discovered this excellent series I want to explore every facet of it.

[Westwoodboy1]

It angered me that they blurred out the accents and changed it to american!

[DarkHeartedMusician]

Thanks Elegy.

I actually knew that Barker created a higher plane that was different from the traditional view of the judeo-christian "heaven and hell". I'm sorry that I didn't specify, my apologies.

So there are in fact two different higher states of conciousness in the Hellraiser universe? A positive one and a "negative" one? Well, depends on interpretation I guess. As Pinhead stated that the cenobites were "demons to some, and angles to others..."

[DarkHeartedMusician]

Question: It is mentioned that the Lament Configuration can unlock the gates to either heaven or hell. But, does it mean a literal "heaven/paradise", or does it mean the same exact place as "hell", but just from a perspective of a person who would enjoy the pleasures/pain of the experience that the cenobites would place upon them?

[ExaggeratedElegy]

@DarkHeartedMusician

Hey there Darkhearted. Barker has been very clear in stating that in this instance the terms "Heaven" and "Hell" are just memetic markers meant to signifiy particular states of being: they are not the mythologicallly specific judeo-christianic Heaven and Hell; rather a state (or states) that transcend the limitations of both.

George

[DarkHeartedMusician]

Excellent review!

Hellraiser is prehaps the most wicked and twisted horror concept that I've ever seen captured in mainstream film. It's so evil, perverse, sadistic and repulsive. And yet I also find it to be so erotic, charming and spiritual. A very paradoxical work of art...as you mentioned...

[TheTruePhantasm]

Hellraiser fantastic film mixing wonderful sadomasochistic desires with gruesome fascinating torture scenes

[deceptifan1993]

is that cube the one you build with the reel toys seires 1 figures?

[Vange1us]

I adore Hellraiser, hehe.

Might recommend one or two of the post-Hellraiser 4 DVDs if I could remember which ones they were; there were two that struck me as getting the idea right despite a wonky execution, but I forgot their titles.

(Not Hellworld. ;) )

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Hey Vange1us, I stopped watching the films after Hellraiser 4, which was just....ugh, too painful to even speak about (and not in a good way). I did catch "Inferno" in passing; it wasn't too bad a film, it was just obvious that the Hellraiser motiff had been tagged on in order to draw in an established audience. The others I don't know a great deal about (though heard that Kirsty reappeared in one of them?!?!?!)

[Vange1us]

I did some wiki-ing: Inferno was one of the two I was talking about. XD The Kirsty one was the other, called Hellseeker. I think I liked them because they felt like...fan-made ventures that were provided with Doug Bradley.

Found the lead cenobite interesting in them- he was closer to the original two films, but kind of...less patient and 'friendly'. Like if slashervillain-Pinhead got given a really stern dressing down by some Hell General and was told "Do your DAMN job PROPERLY, mister".

[bugmusk6]

by far the best review of this movie so far!!! besides the American accents part lol. Finally somebody gets whats under the surface of the movie great job man!!!!

[Bluedragon111]

Fascinating. You make it so much more interesting than any of the offical film critics.

Makes me want to check it out. Nice one!

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Hey Bluedragon, it is a genuinely (though somewhat perversely) fascinating piece of work. though I much prefer Barker's novels, Hellraiser really does deserve its status as a classic of modern horror.

[somethinglacking1]

I must say this is an absoloutly fantastic review! For once we get someone who not only speaks about the film as a surface horror movie but who also goes beyond the surface, talking about it deeper and on a more poetic level- certainly a unique and refreshing style, and you have embraced what Barker was trying to convey with the picture (and novel's) premise and explain this clearly too. Really excellent, well spoken and intelligent review. Kudos to you, sir!

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Thank you very much indeed :). I did hope to do the film and novella both justice; they really are quite amazing examples of just how interesting and multi-faceted "horror" (for want of a better term) can be.

[RichardRoy2]

Fascinating. Sometimes you wonder if the desire to experience such agony would be to remove a fear we all have; fear of the unknown.

[Android369]

you should be very careful what you wish for...it just might come true. >:-P

i like the fact about the blurring lines in such as they represent very equivocal, indicative and

unconsciously the puzzles of reality.

i loved the pending chains in the film and its sounding but the meaning of every sign in it is quite astonishing and immense.

a classic horror movie indeed, nice review George

Regards Kai

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Hey there Android, oh yes; the old Faustian dillemma :) It seems to be a consistent theme of Barker's work; that of the pact with a price; sometimes it's worth it, sometimes it isn't; mostly it's ambiguous. And thank you for the kind words; there's certainly more to come :)

George

[VincentWomack]

omg... another disappeared beard. first SamProof now you. Is it "Shave it off"-Month or something?

yeah I now the girls like it that way....

Hellraiser... haven't seen that for a long long time and at that time, when I watched a horror film, which was seldom enough, there were more of the scary kind. Mostly Freddy.

I was always more the SciFi Guy ;)

[ExaggeratedElegy]

'tis the mystery of the missing beards :) I'm a big fan of sci fi too, but as with horror, I'm very picky; I think I might do a review of Blade Runner or A Scanner Darkly at some point in the future :)

[VincentWomack]

before I had my little speech problem I wanted to make among others a "Is Deckard a replicant?" video because I still get asked that question every now and then.

A review from you would surely be great, but I was actually hoping to get a Transformers review/rant from you ;) 

but Dick is ok too^^

[ExaggeratedElegy]

I find Hellraiser two to be extremely interesting; it has the same sense of profundity as the first and, like the first, plays around with some extremely big ideas on a very modest budget. The others become successively more appalling with each installment, to the point where the Hellraiser tag is obviously tacked on and incidental. I also despise the way they reduce Pinhead and the cenobites to little more than Freddy Kreuger-esque uber-monsters.

[WolfKang1]

I loved the original 2 hellraiser films. The ones after that seemed to parody (badly) the content of what had come before. I especially enjoyed your opinions in this review also. I have yet to read the book but I dare say I will get to it at some point if I can find a copy in the local book store. Outstanding video as always George.

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Hey Gerard! I agree completely; the first two Hellraiser films are flawed but brilliant gems, examples of that rare species of horror that I suppose you could call "Meta-Horror;" the horror of ideas. The book is well worth checking out; it is very much the story in embryonic form; it was one of the first of Barker's written and published works, but is still far superior to those works churned out by authors far more established.

[thecollector75]

great review, loved some of the phrases from the films. my brother has a pinhead statue and it has the soundbite, my fave is " dont cry, its a waste of good suffering " graham

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Thank you Graham. Though the films vary in quality, one thing I will say: Pinhead remains consistently quotable throughout :)

[thecollector75]

i liked i think it was hellraiser 4, the 1 set in space...

[benbis81]

Great review on an great film franchise

[SICMetal74]

I love Clive Barker!

[jacksonsw]

One of my favorites also, great review. One of the best i have ever seen.

good work

[clawdfrawg]

Strange, the trailer looked so crappy I could never get passed It & watch the movie.

[kinglaffo]

I haven't sat down to really watch the films yet but I've seen them in bits and pieces. I saw some crazy scene in one of them where two guys had their faces screwed together or some such, heh, good times!

I agree with you very much about modern "torture porn" type films!

A shame about the dubbing. Nothing like poor voice over to completely rape the proper context and mood intended!

An entertaining and intriguing review, marvelous work sir

[primus1873]

now that's different but very interesting plus MMM smooth.

[tattimusprime]

killer review ! ilove the first hellraiser but i haven't seen all of them:( i really liked to see something new and different as far as reviews go.are you planning on doing more old horror reviews?like C.H.U.D,the reanimater ,gholies,slumber party massacre 20 lol that would kick ass.you brought back some great memories George.makes me want to look up some of the oldies of horror.great job

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Hey tattimus, I was actually thinking of doing a series on all of my favourites: The (original) Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Night of the Living Dead, The Evil Dead, Alien, the Shining and the rest :)

[tattimusprime]

your talking my language now my friend.i will be waiting on the edge of my seat for the reviews:)

[deicidalistic]

You better give Pinhead back his box! Also be careful how and where you touch upon its surface as you handle it. Chains and hooks await the unwary. "Demons to some, angels to others" indeed await your slightest err.

[RadarKat73080]

Robert Englund said he needed a beer after seeing Hellraiser. When Freddy Kruger is disturbed, you know you have something.

[MarasVeil]

I liked the visceral nature of the first film but the cinematic forays lost me after the second. I love C. Barker's books and prefer to let them unfold in my imagination. Please take care with that little box. It would be a pity for you to get drawn inside of it and never come out.

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Hello Anne, I do adore Barker's very peculiar brand of surreal metaphysics; its operation outside of any particular constraint or ideology is, insofar as I'm concerned, the very definition of what is divine in humanity. The fact that he doesn't ignore the mundane or the carnal in doing so, but rather acknowledges them as simply parts of the same quintessential machine is also something I rarely come across in those categorised as his contemporaries.

Hope that this finds you well,

George

[Shadizar666]

Love the "excentric and going mad" scientist hairdo

[mrblanchard1985]

i watched all 8 hellraisers in 2 days the other month with my fiance :-)

[whitem5000]

luv your vids!

[DasAmericanAtheist]

I've never watched Hellraiser...but I think I must after this!

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Hey DAA, I can heartily recommend it, though I suggest preparing yourself if you're of a sensitive disposition; this movie is an ASSAULT on senses and sensibilities alike :). Oh, and avoid the sequels like the plague :)

[ExaggeratedElegy]

...movie "monsters" lack. I haven't seen the Midnight Meat Train yet, though I am very eager to do so despite the slating it recieved in the popular press.

[TGApuleius]

Midnight Meat Train has a pretty good interview with Barker in the special features. He mainly talks about his love for painting and shows off his studio - and the volume of his work is unreal - but he also has a great bit where he uses an image of a swirl to describe his style and purpose.

I absolutely love the first and second, hate the third, and the rest come across as they are - movies with the mythos tacked on. A shame. The comics are marvelous!

Also: Nice review!

[ExaggeratedElegy]

I'm a Barker acolyte :) I have a fervent ambition to find my way to California, hide in the bushes outside of his house and jumo him when he emerges ;) (in a friendly manner, of course ;) ). Any of the films after Hellraiser 2 are pretty much trash; they reduce Pinhead to just another rather silly, glib horror movie mega monster, which is a crying shame. I completely agree about the codes and laws to which they adhere; they helped lend the characters purpose and definiton that too many...

[ilovemess]

there you are!

another fragment of the man!

revealed during a very modern arrangement of light and sound

but really one things and no things

he lost his beard, that man

and has revealled... an intention?...an accident?...a fascination with action figures?

aka plastic, molded and absent of engagement except that which is humanely applied and considered.

ray

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Hello Ray!

Yes, a little more of my fearsome visage hath been revealed; look upon it well, and TREMBLE!! MUAHuahAUAhAUAHAUhauaHAAHAAAAA­!!

And yes, a little more of my, ah, obsessions perhaps revealed in thsi video too. As to how deep they go, well, that's for me to know and others to discover...perhaps at their peril ;).

Hope that this finds you well, sir.

George

[jiidee]

The idea essentially being that the box takes the form of a crossword in a discarded newspaper on the tube. Where anyone ever to complete it the train would enter a tunnel and the unlucky passenger would not exit out the other end. The later Hellraiser films are a total travesty...but i did like hellworld. Lance Henkrison...woot.

[ExaggeratedElegy]

In the expanded mythology, it tales very particular acts to summon the cenobites, each of which is idiosyncratic to the potential summoner. Some do it via elaborate acts of carnality, others through butchery; some solve word puzzles. there's even an excellent story in which a blind composer does it by creating a very particular piece of music.

[jiidee]

I don't know what more disconcerting.The fact that you're waving the..box..around like a chew toy or your freshly unshaven visage.I forget what did barker call the creatures that were briedly mentioned weaveworld that were obviously references to the xenobites..i remember it sounded ...medical...or...sharp.. Also i forget where i heard it but i was informed about an idea as to a non conventional form of laments configuration...

[ExaggeratedElegy]

He refers to them as "other-worldly surgeons" that Immacolata's acolyte summoned by accident. She then does him the service of "taking his soul" and resurrecting him as "The Rake," which then gets flattened by a train :). There are references in Hellraiser 2 to other boxes (you see them in Channard's study) and there's alot of fan created mythology about other "configurations" (the Pandemonium Configuration, for example).

[jiidee]

I require more lore of the deviant persuasion. What other fiction of deliberately degenerate character sis kicking about in that noodle. If nothing else then i demand more hellraiser! Basically anything that doesn't confirm to your breakfast cereal fantasy or horror tripe. I need something more interesting than that.

[ProjectPaladin]

I recently stumbled across a graphic study regarding the "new" pinhead, actually quite dieappointing...

Regarding the movie(s), they should stay with the original design, put forward by Barker...

It would be like having Freddie Kruger not played by Robert Englund... But actually I'm curious what the outcome of this project will be...

Afterall, the movies left the role of the engineer quite aside... With exception of the 5th, where Pinhead is called the engineer - as I recall it -

[destrond69]

also... about the box itself... Damn am I happy Movie Megatron didn't find that instead of the allspark cube :D

[destrond69]

... I enjoy the hell out of this move, I've followed the subsequent films until they went direct to video... hell in space? but yes the first one does offer the viewer a mirror to look at themselves with. Fortunately or not, the current remake push in horror these days means someone is going to have another go at this... I just hope it is someone who sees the story for what it is. and not another slasher film

[zombiesmasher]

Hellraiser is one of my Fave movies, we're expecting a special edition box set (shaped like the puzzle box) of the first 3 movies being released in north america any day now - can't wait to get my hands on it :-)

Jesus wept...

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Yes, I have that edition; it also has two of Barker's student films; Salome and The Forbidden, both of which more than make up for the scabrous atrocity that is Hellraiser 3 :)

[zombiesmasher]

Excellent!

*shivers* Hellraiser 3 - I would have been perfectly happy with just the first 2 in the box set.

Ok, I also have a soft spot for "Inferno" :-)

[ProjectPaladin]

Ah, another club-member... I have long searched for an uncut version of the first movie, just to find that the next best one would be one bought in england...

You might have heard, that some kind of remake is planned, eventually again with the help of Barker, I honestly hope so, otherwise they shouldn't bother...

As of now there is not much revealed, hopefully Doug Bradley resumes his now in 7 Sequels performed and adored role...

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Yes, apparently Barker has written the script and has significant involvement. Still, I'm not holding out much hope, especially after the slew of GOD AWFUL so-called "horror" remakes that have infested cinema screens of late.

[Tineafa]

You seem like the kind of guy who would appreciate a night of BDSM.

[ExaggeratedElegy]

You've no idea >:)

[Tineafa]

You've got me interested now :p You seem like the dominant type?

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Oh no, I much prefer someone else to be i control :).

[TheTempusFugitive]

Noooo, sans beard! Still can't complain. liked the little review :), which by the way you instilled with more than alittle of the menace of the cenobites themselves :P.

ps I wouldn't worry about being entertaining because I'm sure we all agree, you are :D

[ExaggeratedElegy]

Yes, the beard has been temporarily banished to whatever infernal regions it came from. As for menacing, you should see my Baron Frank N Furter Halloween get up :).

Regards,

George

[UnderdarkChaos]

A great video, One of my favorite movies A++!!!

[ExaggeratedElegy]

It's one of those wonderful movies that has a very particular power over its audience for its faults. I particularly like the bravura of Frank's rebirth scene that is at once gruesome and celebratory. I'm not convinced that the movie would be any better made with a better budget or more modern effects either.

[transfan1988]

I´ve never really watch a Hellraiser movie... I don´t understand the pleasure/pain thing.

[ExaggeratedElegy]

It is something of an abstruse area :) Barker handles it incredibly well though.