Kirsty is brought to an institution after the death of her family, where the occult-obsessive head resurrects Julia and unleashes the Cenobites once again.
After an odd new medical student arrives on campus, a dedicated local and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue.
Director:
Stuart Gordon
Stars:
Jeffrey Combs,
Bruce Abbott,
Barbara Crampton
In the 22nd century, a scientist attempts to right the wrong his ancestor created: the puzzle box that opens the gates of Hell and unleashes Pinhead and his Cenobite legions.
Director:
Kevin Yagher
Stars:
Bruce Ramsay,
Valentina Vargas,
Doug Bradley
The monstrous spirit of a slain child murderer seeks revenge by invading the dreams of teenagers whose parents were responsible for his untimely death.
Director:
Wes Craven
Stars:
Heather Langenkamp,
Johnny Depp,
Robert Englund
Two siblings and three of their friends en route to visit their grandfather's grave in Texas end up falling victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths and must survive the terrors of Leatherface and his family.
When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
A ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a bloodthirsty, flesh-eating breed of monsters who are ravaging the East Coast of the United States.
When Kirsty's father, Larry, and stepmother, Julia, move into Larry's childhood home, Kirsty and her boyfriend take a room nearby. Unfortunately for all involved, Larry's house is already occupied: before the family's arrival, Larry's disreputable brother, Frank, used a supernatural puzzle box to summon a gang of other-dimensional demon sadists. Now, Frank requires a series of blood sacrifices to escape the clutches of Pinhead and the cenobites.Written by
mrosesteed
In his DVD commentary, Clive Barker explained that filming the movie in an actual house forced him to be creative in his cinematography. There was often only room for a single camera and this explains why many of the shots are from only one angle. In particular, vertical movement was often the only movement available to the camera operators, which explains many of the overhead and zoom shots. Only one room in the house, the attic, was shot on a soundstage, but only the FX shots used this attic set. See more »
Goofs
At the start of the film where Frank is buying the box, when the camera is zoomed in on the box, you see two glasses, but when the camera is zoomed out there is only one on the table. Also throughout these shots, everything on the table moves around. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Asian Merchant:
[the Asian Merchant greets Frank]
What's your pleasure, Mr. Cotton?
Frank Cotton:
The box.
See more »
Alternate Versions
The scene of the victim pleading for his life could only be found on subscription TV channels in the UK until the release of the British DVD version, which restores the missing shot of Julia's first victim pleading, but only on the widescreen version. The pan-and-scan version, on the other side of the disc, still has only one "please!". See more »
Clive Barker's debut feature is one of the most original horror films of the 80's. Unlike many genre offerings from that decade this one is not formulaic at all. It's chiefly for this reason that Hellraiser is respected. Barker proved himself to be something of a talent and one who would end up directing very little else unfortunately.
Hellraiser is a story about the occult but like no other film of that sub-genre. Instead of the typical demonic creatures you would see in many other films of this type, this one introduces the Cenobites. These denizens of hell are a good deal more memorable, and have a somewhat S&M styling that gives them added deviancy. They look highly original. Throughout the film there are a series of visually spectacular set-pieces. The look and atmosphere of Hellraiser belies is very modest budget. Barker and his team consistently make the most of their meagre resources and it's never obvious that this is so low-budget.
The celebrated fantasy moments are well off-set by a story of a dysfunctional family. The characters are all well rounded and believable which again is not a typical aspect of an 80's horror movie. The performances are universally strong, including an atypically good guy role for Andrew Robinson who was most famous for playing the psychopath Scorpio in Dirty Harry.
All in all, a quality production. And one of the most iconic horror flicks of the 80's.
6 of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Clive Barker's debut feature is one of the most original horror films of the 80's. Unlike many genre offerings from that decade this one is not formulaic at all. It's chiefly for this reason that Hellraiser is respected. Barker proved himself to be something of a talent and one who would end up directing very little else unfortunately.
Hellraiser is a story about the occult but like no other film of that sub-genre. Instead of the typical demonic creatures you would see in many other films of this type, this one introduces the Cenobites. These denizens of hell are a good deal more memorable, and have a somewhat S&M styling that gives them added deviancy. They look highly original. Throughout the film there are a series of visually spectacular set-pieces. The look and atmosphere of Hellraiser belies is very modest budget. Barker and his team consistently make the most of their meagre resources and it's never obvious that this is so low-budget.
The celebrated fantasy moments are well off-set by a story of a dysfunctional family. The characters are all well rounded and believable which again is not a typical aspect of an 80's horror movie. The performances are universally strong, including an atypically good guy role for Andrew Robinson who was most famous for playing the psychopath Scorpio in Dirty Harry.
All in all, a quality production. And one of the most iconic horror flicks of the 80's.