Hellraiser (2022) #488

Watch the trailer here!

    After all of the fanfare, the buildup, excitement, and naysayers full of doubt, the long-awaited revival of "Hellraiser" has arrived! Now that it has had some time to be seen by the masses and picked apart by those who didn't care for it for one reason or another, I'm here to share my thoughts about the eleventh film of this beloved franchise. I enjoyed the movie and recognize that it is not a direct sequel to any of the films but rather a clever reimagining of the powers of the puzzle box and its wicked guardians.

While the original narrative is about a degenerate rake seeking supreme pleasure obtained by solving a mysterious puzzle box, this outing offers additional "prizes" to choose from if you can solve the puzzle. Replacing Frank, we have Voight, an ultra-rich entrepreneur who is collecting victims to solve the puzzle box in order to achieve the final configuration. The film begins with his latest victim, Joey, being ripped apart by the chains and hooks after he solves the puzzle while attending a lavish party. 

The story then refocuses on Riley, a struggling former drug addict who is trying to balance life between her new bad influence boyfriend Trevor and her estranged brother Matt and his circle of friends. Trevor convinces Riley to help him with a heist but all they find is the strange and unassuming puzzle box within a safe. When Riley returns home, she has an argument with Matt who accuses her of using again. She leaves to a park and solves the puzzle, barely missing getting cut by a blade that springs forth from the box. Matt comes looking for her, is cut by the box, and accidently becomes the next victim and is taken as a sacrifice by the Cenobites. Matt's boyfriend Colin and his roommate Nora help Riley and Trevor search for Matt and try to solve the mystery around the puzzle box.

Riely and her friends are eventually led to Voight's abandoned mansion, itself a puzzle box of sorts that very reminiscent of the house from "Thir13en Ghosts". As they come closer to finding out the truth about the box, the Cenobites make their presence further known and try to regain the puzzle box by whatever means necessary. They demand sacrifices, even at the expense of sacrificing one of their own, and if enough tributes are offered, who will receive the "gift" and what will they choose?

I appreciate the risks they took narratively and I feel it stays true to both the original "Hellraiser" film and the novella "The Hellbound Heart". Yes, the story is about the demonic Cenobites but it's more focused on desire from those tempted by the puzzle box. The make-up for the Cenobites is creative and clean, and that might be the only real low point of the film; for so many open wounds, they tend to be extremely dry.

Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005)

In the mid 1980’s, Lance Henriksen was offered the role of Uncle Frank in the original “Hellraiser”. He turned it down only because he wanted to star in the vampire film “Near Dark”. So almost twenty years later Mr. Henriksen is offered and accepts a role in the “Hellraiser” franchise, staring as The Host in ”Hellraiser: Hellworld”. This film also stars the yet unknown actor who would one day be the next Superman, Henry Cavill. “Hellworld” also marks Doug Bradley’s eighth appearance as Pinhead, a horror icon as timeless as Jason, Michael, or Freddy.  This is also Rick Bota’s third and final “Hellraiser” film that he has directed.

“Hellraiser: Hellworld” is considered by most to be the most disliked of the “Hellraiser” films, or at least it was until “Revelations” came along. I personally really enjoyed “Hellworld” because as I’ve mentioned before, I was a fan of the “Hellraiser” comics of the 1990’s and this feels like it could have been one of the stories. “Hellraiser” at its core it all about the human condition and what people are willing to do to fulfill their desires. In this instance, it’s not about pleasure or wealth but about revenge which as we all know is still one of the seven deadly sins.

The Host has lost his son after committing suicide, being driven to do so after becoming addicted to an online game based on “Hellraiser”, the Cenobites, and the Lament Configuration. The Host blames his son’s friends because they introduced him to the game and didn’t try to stop him from killing himself. So two years later he throws a party and invites the friends (who think they won the invites by beating a section of Hellworld”. They arrive at a house out in the woods that is full of sexy revelers, all who wearing masquerade masks. Each person is given a cell phone and a mask and is taken on a private tour by the Host himself. No one knows who the Host is so they don’t have any reason to be suspicious. Because of this, he is able to poison the friends before letting them join the party. The film continues with hallucinations of Pinhead and other Cenobites, waking up in a coffin buried alive, and dying from their terrors. Two survive and the Host meets his end when he solves the real Lament Configuration and learns that “Hellraiser” is not a game….

Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

The seventh film in the “Hellraiser” series is “Deader”. The title refers to the cult-like group that follows Winter LeMarchand, a decedent of the creator of the Lament Configuration. He believes that he is the rightful heir of the Box and should be the ruler of the Cenobites. The only problem is the fact that he can’t open the box himself. So he creates a cult of down and out and emotionally damaged individuals that he kills and then brings back to life through necromancy in hopes that they are now able to open the Lament Configuration for him. The cult gains some level of fame and attracts the attention of a media editor who sends his best reporter Amy to investigate the story. Amy finds the Box, gets wrapped up in the cult, is killed and brought back, ultimately solving the Lament Configuration and allowing Pinhead and his Cenobites to damn the cult before killing them all. Rather than go to Hell with Pinhead, Amy kills herself and the movie ends.

Like the last two movies, this storyline came from a generic script that was then adapted to fit in the “Hellraiser” elements. While the first two feel like natural fits, this one takes a touch of forgiveness from the viewing in accepting all that’s going on. Surprisingly though, the movie is fun to watch and the plot is best ignored for serious thought. The nearly the best film nor is it nearly the worst film in the franchise, “Deader” is just there to give the fans more Pinhead and another way to look at the “Hellraiser” world.

Hellraiser: Inferno (2002)

Where the first four "Hellraiser" movies where in chronological order, the fifth film in the franchise is the first of the stand-alone productions. The viewer will need to have some seen at least the first film in order to truly enjoy this movie, in my opinion, but it is the first attempt to get back to the feeling and nature of the original movie. This is not hero versus Pinhead but rather a story about an individual's dark journey into sin and the "priest" that meets him at the end.  Pinhead is meant to issue pain and pleasure in the name of his master Leviathan and that is exactly what he does.

This, and the next few films, upset lesser horror fans because Pinhead doesn't appear until the very end. They want him to go around killing people from opening to closing credits. But Pinhead is not a slasher killer like Jason or Freddy. He is merely the result of the main characters actions and I prefer him this way.

I really enjoyed the Cenobites in this film; they are kept simple and haunting. Along with Pinhead there are two almost faceless women who try to seduce the main character as well as a new Chatterer who seems to be only a set of shoulders and a head!

Finally, the movie stars Craig Shaffer who played Boone in Clive Barkers “Nightbreed”. I think this was a great casting choice because he fit the role well and did a great job as well as being a familiar name to fans of Clive Barker and bringing those fans back to the tarnished “Hellraiser” brand.

Simply stated, this film is about Detective Joseph Thorne, a corrupt cop who steals evidence, frames his partner, cheats on his wife with prostitutes, and doesn’t visit his parents in the old folks home (how ghastly!). He is on the case of trying to solve a grisly murder involving a former high school classmate who met his end after solving the Lament Configuration. The more Detective Thorne learns, the more people around him begin to die and slowly frames him as the only suspect for these foul deeds.

Favorite moment - My favorite moment, although very brief, was when Detective Thorne reached out to his daughter and her arm breaks off. It was something that I was not expecting and brought a heavy sense of gravitas to the scene.

Hellraiser 4: Bloodlines (1996)

“Hellraiser 4: Bloodlines” is my personal least favorite of the series of Hellraiser movies. The largest sin, pardon the pun, this film makes is allowing Pinhead to talk too much. And the things he says! Now that he is a full on Cenobite again and not a raging freed demon, he needs to be contained and silent, speaking only the most delicious quotable lines possible. Instead we get to see him plotting with Angelique and telling her how Hell has changed since she’s been gone. I don’t have any ill feelings towards Doug Bradley at all but this is a character that should been seen, briefly, and speak even less.

The second horrible sin this movie makes is introducing the Hell princess Angelique. This character is not a Cenobite but is a demon that was summoned using the Lament Configuration and who brings life to the sacrificed girl who died in the ritual. This is the first time that the Lament Configuration is used, showing the viewing how it gained its unholy power to open the gates to Hell, aka the Labyrinth. So Angelique is bound to the summoner’s apprentice Jacques, who lives with her for a few centuries until she decides that she has to go to America, and when Jacques says no, she kills him because the rule is to never “stand in Hell’s way”. Convenient; meh. At least it’s clear why she can walk around and exist in this realm. What I really HATE is when she has a homeless guy solve the Lament Configuration and summons Pinhead, Pinhead doesn’t return back to Hell afterwards. What??? Why not??? This movie breaks and ignores the mythos that has been carefully crafted since 1987. Boo!

The main theme of this film is exploring the creation of the Lament Configuration and creator and two of his descendants and their attempt to destroy Pinhead once and for all. First of all, Cenobites are minions of Hell and server Leviathan. They do not exist simply because the Lament Configuration was created. And again we see Cenobites created in this realm and not by Leviathan who serve Pinhead directly. Second, it takes desire to open the box which should mean that a remote controlled robot should not have the ability to open the Configuration. Third and final, before the film was made I had read a fantastic comic that describe the creation of the Configuration and Philip L’Merchant; this character might have had a different first name but he was an evil S.O.B and nothing like the whiney little punk in the movie. The saddest part of all is that this was written by Peter Atkins who wrote “Hellraiser 2 and 3” and had Clive Barker as an executive producer. Clive had the chance to save this franchise and slap Peter upside the head but I guess he was too busy with “Lord of Illusions” to look at the script before filming began. 

Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth (1992)

“Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth” continues to add to the Hellraiser mythos by exploring even further the history of Eliot Spencer, aka Pinhead. We see that he was a solider for the British Army during what appears to be World War One, engaging in the vicious trench warfare that occurred. Surely there couldn’t be anything more horrific than what he say there, right?

The film fully excepts the odd offer that “Hellraiser 2: Hellbound” ended with, the bizarre and grotesque living pillar that has both the Lament Configuration and Pinhead’s face engraved into it. This object is bought as an art piece, unknown to the buyer that the essence of the Cenobite is trapped within. After a bit of blood is splashed onto the pillar, Pinhead’s essence awakens. Trapped within, Pinhead is forced to promise and deceive the owner with assurances of power if he brings Pinhead a sacrifice in blood. Just like the bed and the floorboards from the first two movies, blood plays an important role. I have to say that this is a super unique concept that proves to work out amazingly well in the movie.

Pinhead and the Lament Configuration are the only parts of the mythos that appear in every Hellraiser film. The introduction of the Lament Configuration in this film is fuzzy at best. The movie opens with a victim being rushed into a hospital with fish-hooked chains piercing his skin, which become electrified when the doctors try to help him. He drops the Lament Configuration before going into the operating room and a girl who was with him picks it up. So how did the Box break free from the pillar? What did the guy do to get chained? This is never explained and this is something that should have been.

Unfortunately this movie is where the franchise begins to fail in my opinion. It makes sense when Pinhead is talking to J.P while trapped in the pillar but he keeps talking throughout the film. There are plenty of great quotes once again but I feel that Pinhead lost his sense of somber-seriousness. In the novella “The Hellbound Heart”, Pinhead was referred to as the Priest and I felt that was what he was in the first two films. Granted, he’s now a pure demon let loose in the streets of LA, but come on!

The second aspect of this movie I don’t care for is how there are new Cenobites. We can see directly how they are themed and it’s a bit heavy handed. Plus the fact that they aren’t people who solved the Lament Configuration but only victims of the insane Pinhead.

Kirsty makes a brief appearance in the film in recordings from interviews that Dr. Channard performed from the previous film. This time the protagonist is a reporter named Joey, played by Terry Ferrell (right before she became famous as 7of9 in Deep Space Nine).

Joey comes across a story that could make her career as a news reporter; a murder involving fish-hooked chains that is connected to the Boiler Room and its owner J.P Monore. Joey befriends Terri, a girl who has history with J.P. As they try to unravel the mystery, J.P is seduced by the essence of Pinhead, trapped within a living pillar. Suffice to say, J.P ends up as the sacrifice, Terri suffers her own tragic end, and Pinhead turns the Boiler Room into an absolute hell. Joey learns about Eliot through her dreams and is told that he can help her if she can bring Pinhead to him. As she tries this, this is faced with a new breed of Cenobites created by Pinhead who include her old cameraman and the DJ from the dance club. Even Terri has been turned into a Cenobite, which at this point is just silly. Eventually Joey is able to get Pinhead and Eliot together and now has to deal with a restored and dreadful Pinhead.

Hellraiser 2: Hellbound (1988)

“Hellraiser 2: Hellbound” is the strongest film in the franchise after the original, and in some ways it’s even stronger. This movie takes all of the elements from the first film and adds to it, showing us that the Cenobites were once humans who had dared to open the box, and for one reason or another, were chosen to become “higher beings” and enteral minions of Leviathan, the Lord of the Labyrinth. We get to see the inside of the Labyrinth as well, how different rooms are dedicated to an individual’s personal hell.

“Hellraiser 2: Hellbound” brings back The Four Cenobites that we met in “Hellraiser”; Butterball, Chatterer, Deepthroat, and Pinhead. Their dialogue is sparser and full of delicious quotes. And as I already hinted at, we get to see a brief glimpse of what they looked like when they were still alive. The main human characters from the first film also return. Kirsty and Julia are again the film’s main protagonist and antagonist while Uncle Frank makes his appearance as they walk through the halls of the Labyrinth. In this film, it is Julia’s turn to be summoned by blood and her readjustment to the normal world.

We are also introduced to Dr. Phillip Channard, a physiatrist who is obsessed with the secrets of the puzzle box. It is he who brings Julia back from Hell and in turn is guided into the depths of the Labyrinth. Dr. Channard proves to be a vicious antagonist as well as he goes on a bloody rampage killing his patients as well as going toe to toe with The Four Cenobites. One of the best moments of the film is when we get to see Dr. Channard’s office and the various fake Lament Configurations that he has collected over the years. It is also in his files that we see paper records of Pinhead’s human form.

The film begins right after Kirsty escapes from the house and the Cenobites (the skeleton dragon at the end of the original is ignored). Kirsty wakes up in a mental hospital and is kept there after she tells the authorities her story about the Cenobites and the murders that Julia performed for Frank. No one believes her but Dr. Channard’s assistant Kyle is sympathetic to her story. He snoops around the doctor’s office and watches in horror as an insane patient is given a knife in which he begins to cut himself with. The patient is sitting on the bed that Julia was killed on and as his blood soaks into the mattress, a skinless Julia’s climbs out of it and kills the man. She sees Channard and asks him for help, which he does. Kyle runs back to Kirsty and tells her what he saw; she demands to be released from the hospital and taken to Julia. Kyle breaks her out and together they go to Channard’s house.

Channard in the meantime has dressed Julia in medical bandages and has begun supplying Julia with the victims she needs to be whole again. Kyle meets Julia and falls victim to her life-sucking ability. Kirsty arrives to late but before she can do anything, Channard shows up with a young girl, Tiffany.  who solves puzzles. Channard gives Tiffany the real Lament Configuration, which she solves and opens the gateway to the Labyrinth. The Cenobites come and realize that Tiffany did not summon them with her own will and proceed to look for those responsible, but Channard, Julia, and Kirsty have already snuck into Hell. The remainder of the film showcases the images of Hell, the showdown between Julia and Kirsty, the transformation of Dr. Channard and his blood thirsty rampage that brings him face to face with Pinhead and the other Cenobites.

Author's Note - The Hellraiser Series

Clive Barker had no idea what he was starting when he directed “Hellraiser. It was his directing debut, and using an adaption of his novella “The Hellbound Heart”, Clive introduced us to the Cenobites, four demon-like explorers of sensation and sensuality, the likes that horror fans had never seen before. At the time these four beings didn’t even have names but that wasn’t going to be the case for long because as soon as critics and fans saw the movie, the four were quickly and lovingly named.

Butterball

Chatterer

Deepthroat or Female Cenobite

And Pinhead

And with “Hellraiser”, a mythos began. What started off as a movie about a love triangle and a girl dealing with the monsters that are brought about from the love affair grew into a series of movies that explored the beginnings, the desires, and the consequences of dealing with the supernatural Cenobites. Some movies added to the mythos while others strayed. One thing is certain, Pinhead reigns supreme in these films and proves time and time again that he is one of the best horror figures of all time.

And whatever you do, don’t open the box.

Hellraiser (1987)

Why did the 80's give us the majority of the horror movie icons that we have today? Was it really that messed up of a time period and I just didn’t notice? Was it a display of fiction reflecting reality because of the famous serial killers around the U.S.? I hope not, but you have to admit that plenty of movie villains came out that decade!

We already had Michael Myers and Leatherface from the late 70’s and they were soon joined by Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and a psychopathic doll named Chucky. And lest we forget the Cenobite originally known as Priest, quickly renamed by the press and marketing teams as Pinhead. Pinhead was an instant fan favorite, the assumed leader of a band of summoned demons and the standard bearer for Clive Barker's professional directorial debut in the movie "Hellraiser". It what really makes the Cenobites unique in “Hellraiser” is that they are not the real villains in the film but are merely the consequence of opening a fancy puzzle box…

Frank wants to experience the ultimate pleasures and when he opens the mysterious puzzle box, that’s exactly what he finds. If you think being pulled apart of large hooks on chains is your idea of ultimate pleasure. A few months later, Frank’s brother Larry and his wife Julia move into the house where Frank performed his final acts. Larry accidentally cuts himself while helping the moving crew and the blood that falls onto the floor is just enough to summon Frank back from Hell. Julia, who was having an affair with Frank, discovers him and finds that he is just bone and muscle, and agrees to help him find new flesh.  Kirsty, Larry’s daughter, thinks something is suspicious when she noticed that Julia is bringing strange men to the house during the middle of the day. She goes in to see what’s going on but is attacked by Frank. Kristy is able to obtain the puzzle box, and while recuperating at a hospital, she accidentally summons the Cenobites. Right before they are to claim her as their prize, she tells them that Frank had escaped from Hell and that she could take them to him. And thus a deal with the demons is made…

“Hellraiser” was adapted from Barker’s novella “The Hell Bound Heart”. It’s pretty faithful to the original story with only a few minor details being changed. The only real change I remember off hand is that in the story, Kirsty was Larry’s best friend. I see why she was changed to be his daughter for the film but it wasn’t all that important.

Favorite moment – When the Cenobites first appear. They walk in cool and calm, each taking its place in the room and in order. The when Pinhead first speaks, it sends chills down your spine…at least the first time you see the movie.

Author's Note - Clive Barker

Clive Barker is one of the horror industry’s most recognizable names in the world today. First and foremost, Barker is a prolific writer, having completed several collections of short stories and dozens of novels. He is also passionate about painting and his drawings, sketching out and visually creating the worlds and characters that he is writing about. But Barker is perhaps best known for directing two movies that introduced the world to his creations Pinhead and the Candyman, two devilish beings that come directly from his writing. Even though he has been involved in over a dozen major movies, he has only directed three of them;”Hellraiser”, “Candyman”, and “The Lord of Illusions”.

I am truly delighted to be reviewing the work of one of my favorite horror director/writers of all time, Clive Barker. I began to read his work when I was 16 and found that I could not get enough of it. Over the years I’ve the majority of his work and even had the privilege to meet him at a book signing for his book “Sacrament”. One of the aspects about his work that I really enjoy is how he melds horror and fantasy together and how he isn’t afraid to deal with the metaphysical and intangible. His work goes beyond “Hellraiser” or “Candyman”, so I understand how some people who love those films are at times put off by his other less than outright horrific stories. Barker is a man with range and vision, an explorer who is untethered to everyday limits and boundaries.

I follow Clive on Facebook and he had the most insightful quotes. I love that he is so open and commutative with his fan base. Here are a few recent examples.

“Before I did Hellraiser, I went to my local library to find a book on film directing, and they had two but they were both checked out and I thought, "Oh, I'm so fucked, I don't even have a book!"

“Our lives are full of miraculous little things that happen. It's difficult to remember the miraculous moment when you first realize that you're in love, or the miraculous moment when you hear a piece of music for the first time, which moves you in an extraordinary way.”

“I want to be remembered as an imaginer, someone who used his imagination as a way to journey beyond the limits of self, beyond the limits of flesh and blood, beyond the limits of even perhaps life itself, in order to discover some sense of order in what appears to be a disordered universe. I'm using my imagination to find meaning, both for myself and, I hope, for you.”