Hellraiser (1987)

An unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover, who's being chased by demons after he escaped from their sado-masochistic Hell.

Director:

Clive Barker

Stars:

Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andrew Robinson	...	Larry
Clare Higgins	...	Julia
Ashley Laurence	...	Kirsty Cotton
Sean Chapman	...	Frank
Oliver Smith	...	Frank the Monster
Robert Hines	...	Steve
Anthony Allen	...	1st Victim
Leon Davis	...	2nd Victim
Michael Cassidy	...	3rd Victim
Frank Baker	...	Derelict
Kenneth Nelson	...	Bill
Gay Baynes	...	Evelyn
Niall Buggy	...	Dinner Guest
Dave Atkins	...	Moving Man 1
Oliver Parker	...	Moving Man 2

Storyline

Clive Barker's feature directing debut graphically depicts the tale of a man and wife who move into an old house and discover a hideous creature - the man's half-brother, who is also the woman's former lover - hiding upstairs. Having lost his earthly body to a trio of S&M demons, the Cenobites, he is brought back into existence by a drop of blood on the floor. He soon forces his former mistress to bring him his necessary human sacrifices to complete his body... but the Cenobites won't be happy about this.

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Plot Keywords:

cenobites | demon | hell | creature | blood | 

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Taglines:

Still Raising Hell [20th Anniversary Re-Issue]

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sadomasochists from Beyond the Grave

Filming Locations:

187 Dollis Hill Lane, Dollis Hill, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$14,564,027 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinemarque Entertainment BV, Film Futures, Rivdel Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 89 min (cut) 86 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Doug Bradley's character was named "Priest" in the earliest drafts of the script and ultimately became simply "Lead Cenobite" in the shooting script. "Pinhead" originated as a nickname for the character that simply stuck and began being used in the sequels. Barker disliked the name, finding it undignified, and in his Hellraiser comic series produced for BOOM! in 2011 had characters refer to Pinhead as "Priest." He also maintains that the character has a "true Cenobite name" that he intends to reveal in a forthcoming work. Similarly, the Female Cenobite was designated "Deep Throat" on set, though the overtly sexual nature of the moniker led to her simply being billed as "Female Cenobite" again in the sequel.

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Goofs

Throughout most of the film, Larry has a bandage on his right hand. When he talks to Julia through the bathroom door, Larry's bandage is on his left hand.

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Quotes

Frank (wearing Larry's skin): Stay with us. We can all be happy here.
Kirsty Cotton: No...
Frank (wearing Larry's skin): Come to daddy!
Kirsty Cotton: Oh my God!
Frank (wearing Larry's skin): Come... to daddy!

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Connections

Referenced in Hellraiser 2003 Live DVD (2003)

User Reviews

One of the more original horror movies around.

This surely is a very refreshing and original horror movie to watch. It doesn't has the usual formulaic ingredients in it, such as monsters or a murderous psychopathic serial killer on the loose. No screaming teenagers and no dark haunted places. All we have this time is a cube, that opens doors to hell and unleashes the bringers of pain; Pinhead and friends, who want to play with you forever.

But even that story is being somewhat pushed to the background and it focuses more on a family, of which the wife falls madly for the the no good brother of her soon to be husband. The brother however messed with the cube and got stuck in Pinhead's hell of pain. He however managed to escape it but only in a skeleton form. He needs blood to slowly regain his body and asks the wife to kill for him. This is were most of the movie its 'horror' comes from.

The movie doesn't get its horror aspects from its normal usual scare- or gross out moments. It's more a movie that works on its atmosphere and story development. Perhaps it's also due to the restrained budget, that simply forced the film-makers to be creative with the things they had at hand. The movie is no big Hollywood production and as a matter of fact it actually is an UK movie, that still got obviously aimed toward the American market as well though, in terms of its overall style.

And even though the movie was low-budget, the movie certainly did not look that way. Also its effects such as its make-up and the effects used for the more gory parts of the movie are really great looking. The make-up of course helped to make Pinhead an horror icon-figure, though in this movie he isn't even called by the name Pinhead, which was only a name that got developed later for marketing purposes.

The movie also features a great musical score by Christopher Young, that fits the movie really well. It's one of his more memorable works.

A real original horror movie, that has grown into being a classic already.

8/10

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