Hellraiser
Encyclopedia
Hellraiser is a 1987 British and American horror film
based upon the novella The Hellbound Heart
by Clive Barker
, who also wrote the screenplay and directed the film. Hellraiser explores themes of sadomasochism and morality under duress and fear. The film spawned a series of sequels. A remake was announced and will be presented in 3D. Hellraiser was number 19 on the cable channel Bravo's list of the 100 Scariest Movie Moments
.
, Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman
) buys an antique puzzle box
from a dealer. Back in the attic of his house in London, Frank solves the puzzle box, prompting hooked chains to emerge from it and tear him to pieces. Monsters appear and inspect the remains, arranging together the scattered pieces of Frank's face. Their leader, "Pinhead
" (Doug Bradley
), picks up the box and twists it back into its original state, taking Frank's remnants back to their realm with them and restoring the room to normal.
Sometime later, Frank's brother Larry (Andrew Robinson) arrives at the house along with his second wife, Julia (Clare Higgins
), who previously had an affair with Frank. The pair know Frank as an avowed hedonist
and petty criminal, and, presuming that he is either in jail or in some exotic location, decide to move in. Larry's teenage daughter, Kirsty Cotton
(Ashley Laurence
), chooses not to live with her stepmother and moves into her own place. While moving into the house, Larry cuts his hand on a nail, and drips blood on the attic floor. The blood somehow reaches Frank in his prison in the monsters' realm, partially restoring his body and allowing him to escape to the attic.
That night, Julia finds Frank (now portrayed by Oliver Smith
) in the attic; still obsessed with him after their affair, she agrees to harvest blood for him so that he can fully restore his body and they can run away together. The next day, Julia begins picking up men in bars and bringing them back to the house, where she murders them with a hammer; Frank then consumes their blood and internal organs, progressively regenerating his own body. Once he has regained enough strength, Frank explains to Julia that he had exhausted all sensory experiences and sought out the puzzle box on the promise that it would open a portal to a realm of new carnal pleasures. Instead, it opened up a portal to the realm of the "Cenobites
," who have since taken Frank as their prisoner and subjected him to extreme, sadomasochistic torture.
Meanwhile, Kirsty spies Julia bringing men to the house and, believing her to be having an affair, follows her to the attic one afternoon, where she interrupts a murder. Frank attacks her, but panics when Kirsty grabs the puzzle box. Kirsty throws the box out the window, proving enough of a distraction for her to escape. Outside the house, she retrieves the puzzle box and runs away, but collapses from exhaustion shortly thereafter. After being taken to the hospital, Kirsty solves the puzzle box, summoning the Cenobites. Pinhead explains that while the Cenobites have been perceived as Angel
s and Demon
s, they are simply "explorers" of carnal experience, practicing a form of sadomasochism so extreme that it transcends the boundary between pain and pleasure. Although they initially attempt to force Kirsty to return with them to their realm, Pinhead becomes indignant at the suggestion one of their "subjects" has escaped, and agrees to free Kirsty in exchange for taking them to Frank.
Kirsty returns home, where Larry tells her that he has confronted and killed Frank. Larry shows her a bloodied corpse in the attic, but his language and mannerisms ultimately lead Kirsty to realize that Frank has in fact killed her father, and is now wearing his flesh like a suit. Frank pursues Kirsty through the house with a knife, inadvertently killing Julia in the process. He eventually corners Kirsty in the attic, where he brags about having killed his brother. The admission summons up the Cenobites, who ensnare him with chains and tear him to pieces. They then attempt to renege on their deal with Kirsty and take her back to their realm. Kirsty's boyfriend, Steve arrives and looks for Kirsty. Kirsty defeats the cenobites by reversing the motions needed to open the puzzle box, sending them back to their realm. Kirsty and Steve leave the house together.
Afterwards, Kirsty tries to burn the box in a garbage dump. A vagrant enters the flames and retrieves the box before transforming into a winged creature and flying away. The film ends with the box back in the hands of the merchant who sold it to Frank, asking another prospective customer, "What's your pleasure, sir?"
originally commissioned a soundtrack for Hellraiser from the industrial
band Coil
. The music they supplied was rejected, and Christopher Young
provided a more traditional orchestral score for the finished movie. Coil's score, which was apparently described by Barker in a complimentary manner as being "bowel churning", has been released in isolation as The Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser
and as part of the compilation Unnatural History II
(CD) (1995).
Coil's original theme was later covered by the Italian black metal band Aborym
on their debut album Kali Yuga Bizarre.
Christopher Young went on to contribute the soundtrack to the first sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II
, for which he won a Saturn Award for Best Music
. Subsequent movies in the series used music by different composers.
The Swedish death metal
band Entombed
recorded a cover version of Young's score (along with sample quotes from the film) and released it on their EP
Hollowman
.
UK black metal
band Anaal Nathrakh
sampled Frank Cotton's final words and used in the track "Tractatus Alogico Misanthropicus". Canadian band Skinny Puppy
also sampled "Jesus Wept" in the track "Fascist Jock Itch", as did Belgian Industrial act Suicide Commando
for their track "Jesus Wept" on their Mindstrip album. More recently, the EBM group Project Rotten sampled Pinhead's line "Oh, no tears please, it's a waste of good suffering!" in their track "Confessions of a Killer".
Various extreme metal bands have also taken parts of the film to use as samples, as introductions to songs. The most common part of the film sampled is Pinhead's famous line "We'll tear your soul apart"
Track listing
hailed Barker, and is quoted as saying "I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker."
However, critic Roger Ebert
was less than enthusiastic, commenting "This is a movie without wit, style or reason, and the true horror is that actors were made to portray, and technicians to realize, its bankruptcy of imagination. Maybe Stephen King was thinking of a different Clive Barker."
As of November 2011, Hellraiser holds a 63% "Fresh" rating on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes
based on 32 reviews.
in a Limited Edition tin case which included a 48-page colour booklet and a reproduction theatrical poster for both films.
' remake of Hellraiser was announced in November 2006. On October 20, 2010, it was officially announced that Patrick Lussier
and Todd Farmer
will be directing and writing, respectively, the reboot of the Hellraiser franchise. The film's story will differ from the original film, as Lussier and Farmer did not want to retell the original story out of respect for Clive Barker's work. The film will instead focus on the world and function of the puzzle box. Production will begin in either late 2011 or sometime in 2012 with a 2013 release date. Clive Barker
will serve as producer on the project. Recently, Farmer confirmed that both he and Lussier are no longer attached to the project.
.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
based upon the novella The Hellbound Heart
The Hellbound Heart
The Hellbound Heart is a horror novella by Clive Barker, first published in November 1986 by Dark Harvest in the third volume of their Night Visions anthology series, and notable for becoming the basis for the 1987 movie Hellraiser and its franchise...
by Clive Barker
Clive Barker
Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...
, who also wrote the screenplay and directed the film. Hellraiser explores themes of sadomasochism and morality under duress and fear. The film spawned a series of sequels. A remake was announced and will be presented in 3D. Hellraiser was number 19 on the cable channel Bravo's list of the 100 Scariest Movie Moments
100 Scariest Movie Moments
The 100 Scariest Movie Moments is a television documentary miniseries that first aired in late October 2004 on Bravo. Aired in five 60-minute segments, the miniseries counts down what producer Anthony Timpone, writer Patrick Moses, and director Kevin Kaufman have determined as the 100 most...
.
Plot
Somewhere in MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman
Sean Chapman
Sean Chapman is an English-born actor. He is best known for playing Frank Cotton in Clive Barker's Hellraiser, and its sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II. He is also known for voicing the character Sgt...
) buys an antique puzzle box
Lemarchand's box
Lemarchand's box is a fictional lock puzzle or puzzle box appearing in horror stories by Clive Barker, or in works based on his original stories. The best known of these boxes is the Lament Configuration, which features prominently throughout the Hellraiser movie series. This was designed and made...
from a dealer. Back in the attic of his house in London, Frank solves the puzzle box, prompting hooked chains to emerge from it and tear him to pieces. Monsters appear and inspect the remains, arranging together the scattered pieces of Frank's face. Their leader, "Pinhead
Pinhead (Hellraiser)
Pinhead is a fictional character from the Hellraiser series. Created by Clive Barker and portrayed by Doug Bradley, Pinhead is a prominent figure in the series, mostly featured as the main antagonist....
" (Doug Bradley
Doug Bradley
Douglas William "Doug" Bradley is an English actor best known for his roles in the Hellraiser film series.- Early life :Bradley was born in Liverpool, England...
), picks up the box and twists it back into its original state, taking Frank's remnants back to their realm with them and restoring the room to normal.
Sometime later, Frank's brother Larry (Andrew Robinson) arrives at the house along with his second wife, Julia (Clare Higgins
Clare Higgins
Mary Clare Higgins, a Democrat, was elected to her first term as Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts in November 1999; she took office in January 2000. She was elected to a sixth two-yearterm in November 2009...
), who previously had an affair with Frank. The pair know Frank as an avowed hedonist
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
and petty criminal, and, presuming that he is either in jail or in some exotic location, decide to move in. Larry's teenage daughter, Kirsty Cotton
Kirsty Cotton
For the EastEnders character, see Dotty CottonKirsty Cotton is a fictional character from the Hellraiser series of films. Created by writer Clive Barker, the character first appears in the 1987 film Hellraiser and is based upon the character of the same name from the novel The Hellbound Heart...
(Ashley Laurence
Ashley Laurence
Ashley Laurence is an American film and television actress. She is noted for her appearances in horror films, particularly the Hellraiser series.-Career:...
), chooses not to live with her stepmother and moves into her own place. While moving into the house, Larry cuts his hand on a nail, and drips blood on the attic floor. The blood somehow reaches Frank in his prison in the monsters' realm, partially restoring his body and allowing him to escape to the attic.
That night, Julia finds Frank (now portrayed by Oliver Smith
Oliver Smith (actor)
Oliver Smith is an English actor. He is probably best known for playing the role of Frank The Monster from the original Hellraiser film in 1987, as well as Mr. Browning and Skinless Frank from Hellbound: Hellraiser II film in 1988...
) in the attic; still obsessed with him after their affair, she agrees to harvest blood for him so that he can fully restore his body and they can run away together. The next day, Julia begins picking up men in bars and bringing them back to the house, where she murders them with a hammer; Frank then consumes their blood and internal organs, progressively regenerating his own body. Once he has regained enough strength, Frank explains to Julia that he had exhausted all sensory experiences and sought out the puzzle box on the promise that it would open a portal to a realm of new carnal pleasures. Instead, it opened up a portal to the realm of the "Cenobites
Cenobite (Hellraiser)
The Cenobites are extradimensional beings who appear in the works of Clive Barker, including the novella The Hellbound Heart and the nine Hellraiser films...
," who have since taken Frank as their prisoner and subjected him to extreme, sadomasochistic torture.
Meanwhile, Kirsty spies Julia bringing men to the house and, believing her to be having an affair, follows her to the attic one afternoon, where she interrupts a murder. Frank attacks her, but panics when Kirsty grabs the puzzle box. Kirsty throws the box out the window, proving enough of a distraction for her to escape. Outside the house, she retrieves the puzzle box and runs away, but collapses from exhaustion shortly thereafter. After being taken to the hospital, Kirsty solves the puzzle box, summoning the Cenobites. Pinhead explains that while the Cenobites have been perceived as Angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s and Demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s, they are simply "explorers" of carnal experience, practicing a form of sadomasochism so extreme that it transcends the boundary between pain and pleasure. Although they initially attempt to force Kirsty to return with them to their realm, Pinhead becomes indignant at the suggestion one of their "subjects" has escaped, and agrees to free Kirsty in exchange for taking them to Frank.
Kirsty returns home, where Larry tells her that he has confronted and killed Frank. Larry shows her a bloodied corpse in the attic, but his language and mannerisms ultimately lead Kirsty to realize that Frank has in fact killed her father, and is now wearing his flesh like a suit. Frank pursues Kirsty through the house with a knife, inadvertently killing Julia in the process. He eventually corners Kirsty in the attic, where he brags about having killed his brother. The admission summons up the Cenobites, who ensnare him with chains and tear him to pieces. They then attempt to renege on their deal with Kirsty and take her back to their realm. Kirsty's boyfriend, Steve arrives and looks for Kirsty. Kirsty defeats the cenobites by reversing the motions needed to open the puzzle box, sending them back to their realm. Kirsty and Steve leave the house together.
Afterwards, Kirsty tries to burn the box in a garbage dump. A vagrant enters the flames and retrieves the box before transforming into a winged creature and flying away. The film ends with the box back in the hands of the merchant who sold it to Frank, asking another prospective customer, "What's your pleasure, sir?"
Cast
- Andrew Robinson as Larry Cotton / Frank Cotton (Disguised in Larry's skin)
- Clare Higgins as Julia Cotton
- Ashley LaurenceAshley LaurenceAshley Laurence is an American film and television actress. She is noted for her appearances in horror films, particularly the Hellraiser series.-Career:...
as Kirsty CottonKirsty CottonFor the EastEnders character, see Dotty CottonKirsty Cotton is a fictional character from the Hellraiser series of films. Created by writer Clive Barker, the character first appears in the 1987 film Hellraiser and is based upon the character of the same name from the novel The Hellbound Heart... - Oliver SmithOliver Smith (actor)Oliver Smith is an English actor. He is probably best known for playing the role of Frank The Monster from the original Hellraiser film in 1987, as well as Mr. Browning and Skinless Frank from Hellbound: Hellraiser II film in 1988...
as "Skinless" Frank / Frank The Monster - Robert Hines as Steve
- Sean ChapmanSean ChapmanSean Chapman is an English-born actor. He is best known for playing Frank Cotton in Clive Barker's Hellraiser, and its sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II. He is also known for voicing the character Sgt...
as Frank Cotton - Anthony Allen as Victim #1
- Leon Davis as Victim #2
- Michael Cassidy as Sykes (Victim #3)
- Frank Baker as Derelict
- Kenneth NelsonKenneth NelsonKenneth Nelson was an American actor.Born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Nelson appeared in several television series in the late 1940s, Captain Video and His Video Rangers and The Aldrich Family among them...
as Bill - Gay Baynes as Evelyn
- Niall BuggyNiall BuggyNiall Buggy is an Irish actor who has worked extensively on the stage and screen in Ireland, the UK and the US. Some of his more well known roles include the lead in Brian Friel's, Uncle Vanya, for which he won an Irish Theatre Award and an Olivier Award for Dead Funny...
as Dinner Guest - Dave AtkinsDave Atkins (actor)Dave Atkins was an English actor mostly known for portraying Sharkey in Britannia Hospital, Moving Man #1 in Clive Barker's Hellraiser in 1987, and pub landlord Les in Men Behaving Badly....
as Moving Man #1 - Oliver ParkerOliver ParkerOliver Parker is an English film director.-Biography:Parker was born in London, the son of Jillian, Lady Parker, a writer and GP , and Sir Peter Parker, formerly Chief executive of British Rail...
as Moving Man #2 - Pamela Sholto as Complaining Customer
- Doug BradleyDoug BradleyDouglas William "Doug" Bradley is an English actor best known for his roles in the Hellraiser film series.- Early life :Bradley was born in Liverpool, England...
as Pinhead/Lead CenobitePinhead (Hellraiser)Pinhead is a fictional character from the Hellraiser series. Created by Clive Barker and portrayed by Doug Bradley, Pinhead is a prominent figure in the series, mostly featured as the main antagonist.... - Nicholas VinceNicholas VinceNicholas Vince was born in West Germany in 1958 and lives in South London. Whilst he was at Mountview Theatre Academy, he met Clive Barker and was later cast as The Chatterer Cenobite in Hellraiser in 1987 and in its sequel Hellbound: Hellraiser II in 1988. He also played the Chatterer II. Vince...
as Chattering CenobiteChattererChatterer is a fictional antagonistic character appearing in the Hellraiser film series and the only Cenobite besides the group's leader, Pinhead to appear in more than two Hellraiser films. He is a Cenobite, an order of extradimensional sadomasochists who experiment in an extreme form of hedonism... - Simon BamfordSimon BamfordSimon John Bamford in Bedford, England is an English film, television and stage actor. He is well known for playing the Butterball Cenobite in Hellraiser in 1987 and in its sequel Hellbound: Hellraiser II in 1988.-Career:...
as ButterballButterball CenobiteButterball is a character from Clive Barker's Hellraiser franchise. He is a Cenobite, a group of extradimensional beings who experiment in forms of extreme sadomasochism as part of a religious devotion to hedonism... - Grace Kirby as Female CenobiteFemale CenobiteThe Female Cenobite is a Cenobite appearing in the movies Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II and in Clive Barker's comic book sequel to Hellbound published by BOOM! comics in 2011. The role was played by Grace Kirby in the first film and Barbie Wilde in the sequel.-Appearance:Like all...
- Sharon Bower as Nurse
- Raul Newney as Doctor Joey Baxter
- Zach Duncan as Perverted Janitor
Soundtrack
Clive BarkerClive Barker
Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...
originally commissioned a soundtrack for Hellraiser from the industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
band Coil
Coil (band)
Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...
. The music they supplied was rejected, and Christopher Young
Christopher Young
Christopher Young is an American music composer for both film and television.Many of his music compositions are for horror films, including Hellraiser, Tales from the Hood, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Urban Legend, and Drag Me to Hell...
provided a more traditional orchestral score for the finished movie. Coil's score, which was apparently described by Barker in a complimentary manner as being "bowel churning", has been released in isolation as The Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser
The Unreleased Themes For Hellraiser
The Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser was the fourth album that Coil released in the year 1987. The album was released on the CD, cassette and 10″ vinyl...
and as part of the compilation Unnatural History II
Unnatural History II
Unnatural History II was the second in a series of three compilation albums by Coil. Unlike Stolen & Contaminated Songs and Gold Is The Metal With The Broadest Shoulders, Unnatural History II collects songs from more than a single era of Coil's work.-Compilation origins:"Red Weather" originally...
(CD) (1995).
Coil's original theme was later covered by the Italian black metal band Aborym
Aborym
Aborym is an Italian/Norwegian industrial black metal band, initially hailing from Taranto, Apulia, in Italy. The band has described their music as "alien-black-hard/industrial", whilst Allmusic described them as playing "a truly original brand of futuristic black metal [with] jagged samples,...
on their debut album Kali Yuga Bizarre.
Christopher Young went on to contribute the soundtrack to the first sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II
Hellbound: Hellraiser II
Hellbound: Hellraiser II is a 1988 horror film directed by Tony Randel. It draws heavily upon, and was made by much of the same cast and crew as its precursor, Hellraiser.-Summary:...
, for which he won a Saturn Award for Best Music
Saturn Award for Best Music
The following is a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Music.-Multiple Winners:*John Williams - 7 awards*Danny Elfman - 5 awards*James Horner - 3 awards*Alan Silvestri - 3 awards*Alan Menken - 2 awards*John Ottman - 2 awards*Miklós Rózsa - 2 awards...
. Subsequent movies in the series used music by different composers.
The Swedish death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
band Entombed
Entombed (band)
Entombed is a Swedish death metal band which formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist. Though Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal which initially differed itself from its American counterpart with its distinct guitar tone, by the early 1990s their sound had...
recorded a cover version of Young's score (along with sample quotes from the film) and released it on their EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Hollowman
Hollowman
Hollowman is an EP released by Entombed on Earache Records in 1993. The 1996 reissue featured bonus track "God of Thunder" which was previously released on Out of Hand single.-Track listing:-Credits:*Tomas Skogsberg - Producer, Engineer...
.
UK black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band Anaal Nathrakh
Anaal Nathrakh
Anaal Nathrakh are a British extreme metal band formed in 1999 who fuse black metal, grindcore, death metal and industrial music. They are currently signed to Candlelight Records....
sampled Frank Cotton's final words and used in the track "Tractatus Alogico Misanthropicus". Canadian band Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial musical group, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1982. The group is widely considered to be the founders of the electro-industrial genre....
also sampled "Jesus Wept" in the track "Fascist Jock Itch", as did Belgian Industrial act Suicide Commando
Suicide Commando
Suicide Commando is a Belgian electro-industrial act created by Johan van Roy in 1986.- History :Johan van Roy, Suicide Commando's only member, began experimenting with electronic music in 1986. Three years later he released his first tape under the moniker Suicide Commando, and made an appearance...
for their track "Jesus Wept" on their Mindstrip album. More recently, the EBM group Project Rotten sampled Pinhead's line "Oh, no tears please, it's a waste of good suffering!" in their track "Confessions of a Killer".
Various extreme metal bands have also taken parts of the film to use as samples, as introductions to songs. The most common part of the film sampled is Pinhead's famous line "We'll tear your soul apart"
Track listing
- "Hellraiser" – 1:43
- "Resurrection" – 2:32
- "Hellbound Heart" – 5:05
- "The Lament Configuration" – 3:31
- "Reunion" – 3:11
- "A Quick Death" – 1:16
- "Seduction and Pursuit" – 3:01
- "In Love's Name" – 2:56
- "The Cenobites" – 4:13
- "The Rat Race Slice Quartet" – 3:15
- "Re-Resurrection" – 2:34
- "Uncle Frank" – 2:59
- "Brought on by Night" – 2:18
- "Another Puzzle" – 4:06
- Total length: 42:40
Reception
Released in the United Kingdom and United States in September 1987. It grossed $14,564,000 the United States and Canada. Critically, the film received mixed to positive reviews. The UK press championed the picture upon its release. Stephen KingStephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
hailed Barker, and is quoted as saying "I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker."
However, critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
was less than enthusiastic, commenting "This is a movie without wit, style or reason, and the true horror is that actors were made to portray, and technicians to realize, its bankruptcy of imagination. Maybe Stephen King was thinking of a different Clive Barker."
As of November 2011, Hellraiser holds a 63% "Fresh" rating on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on 32 reviews.
DVD releases
In North America, Hellraiser has been released by Anchor Bay three times, all of which are the original 93 minute version of the film (this is the only version to ever be released on DVD). The original DVD release was a "bare-bones" release and is now out of print. It was re-issued in 2000 with a new 5.1 mix mastered in THX. Finally, it was packaged along with Hellbound: Hellraiser IIHellbound: Hellraiser II
Hellbound: Hellraiser II is a 1988 horror film directed by Tony Randel. It draws heavily upon, and was made by much of the same cast and crew as its precursor, Hellraiser.-Summary:...
in a Limited Edition tin case which included a 48-page colour booklet and a reproduction theatrical poster for both films.
Remake
Dimension FilmsDimension Films
Dimension Films is a motion picture unit currently a part of The Weinstein Company. It was formerly used as Bob Weinstein's label within Miramax Films, to produce and release genre films...
' remake of Hellraiser was announced in November 2006. On October 20, 2010, it was officially announced that Patrick Lussier
Patrick Lussier
Patrick Lussier is a Canadian horror and thriller genre writer, editor and director.- Career :Lussier has worked as a film editor on most of Wes Craven's latter films, including Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Vampire in Brooklyn, Scream and Red Eye and has directed films including Dracula 2000, The...
and Todd Farmer
Todd Farmer
Todd Farmer is an American writer and actor, having written the scripts for Jason X , Messengers 2: The Scarecrow , My Bloody Valentine 3D , and Drive Angry .-Early life:...
will be directing and writing, respectively, the reboot of the Hellraiser franchise. The film's story will differ from the original film, as Lussier and Farmer did not want to retell the original story out of respect for Clive Barker's work. The film will instead focus on the world and function of the puzzle box. Production will begin in either late 2011 or sometime in 2012 with a 2013 release date. Clive Barker
Clive Barker
Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...
will serve as producer on the project. Recently, Farmer confirmed that both he and Lussier are no longer attached to the project.
Comic books
The Hellraiser franchise was adapted to comic book form in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Three volumes are available digitally exclusively through Devil's Due DigitalDevil's Due Digital
Devil’s Due Digital Inc. is an American digital publishing company established in 2010 by cofounders Mark Thompson of Checker Book Publishing Group and Josh Blaylock of Devil’s Due Publishing.-History:...
.
External links
- Hellraiser digital comics from Devil's Due DigitalDevil's Due DigitalDevil’s Due Digital Inc. is an American digital publishing company established in 2010 by cofounders Mark Thompson of Checker Book Publishing Group and Josh Blaylock of Devil’s Due Publishing.-History:...