Hellraiser (1987)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Clive Barker

Writers:

Clive Barker (novel)
Clive Barker (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Still Raising Hell [20th Anniversary Re-Issue]

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Cenobites | Demon | Hell | Blood | House

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Andrew Robinson	...	Larry
Clare Higgins	...	Julia
Ashley Laurence	...	Kirsty
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

Also Known As:

Clive Barker's Hellraiser (UK) (complete title)
Sadomasochists from Beyond the Grave (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min | Sweden:89 min (cut version) | Finland:86 min (cut)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (uncut) (1998) (2002) | West Germany:18 (video rating) (cut) | New Zealand:R16 | Belgium:16 (video rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1998) | Australia:M (theatrical rating) | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:18A (Alberta) (re-rating) (2000) | Denmark:15 (DVD rating) | France:-12 | Iceland:(Banned) | Iceland:16 (cut) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:15 (original rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 (DVD rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #28562) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Cinemarque Entertainment BV

Trivia:

The film's working title was "Sadomasochists From Beyond The Grave".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Kirsty first wakes up in the hospital bed, the tray-table in front of her is empty. The doctor comes in and deposits the puzzle box on the table. He says he'll get her a phone after they've talked. However, directly after he leaves, we see that a phone has appeared on the table. It is neither mentioned nor used.

Quotes:

Lead Cenobite: We'll tear your soul apart!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Conversations with Dead People (#7.7)" (2002)

Bloody good show, Mr. Barker!

Famed horror / fantasy novelist Clive Barker wrote and directed this gory, nasty and fun exercise in which Larry (Andrew Robinson) and his wife Julia (Clare Higgins) move into a big house where Larry's brother Frank has been imprisoned after solving an elaborate puzzle box. Larry wounds himself and his blood brings Frank back to life as a skinless, oozing creature who needs the blood of others in order to put himself back together. Julia, terrified but obviously intrigued (she had had an affair with Frank when he was still alive) lures men back to the house where she fatally bludgeons them with a hammer so Frank can feast on their blood. Into this mess steps Larry's daughter Kirsty (Ashley Laurence), who makes the acquaintance of the masochistic beings, the Cenobites, from whom Frank had escaped.

The most mind-boggling thing about this film is its legacy - after a few theatrical sequels, direct-to-video-and-DVD sequels have been produced ad nauseum. Please, people, the world does not need any more "Hellraiser" films! Give it a rest! Anyway, like I said, this initial entry is outlandishly gruesome - even inclining towards a kind of sadistic eroticism. Sometimes, gore can actually be arty and a thing of a dark kind of beauty, and these film-makers know it. How else to describe it? The Cenobite characters are memorable - especially Pincushion-Head - sorry, I mean Pinhead (Doug Bradley) who is only identified as "The Lead Cenobite" in the credits of this film.

"Hellraiser" is a capable film-making debut for Barker, who succeeded in making it fun entertainment.

"Hellbound: Hellraiser II" came out the following year.

8/10