FRANCHISE ME: HELLRAISER

Fantastic. Love this film to death until the final ten minutes and you nailed everything which irriates me about the conclusion. Really interested in what you make of Hellbound and the DTV sequels.

I fucked up my timing with this series. I thought the newest film was coming out this month, instead of mid-October. So I guess it will have to hit a hiatus for a few weeks before I can close it out.

I'm definitely interested in hearing your thoughts on that. It's a hell of a bullet to take for your readers.

The only Hellraiser film I like.  And I love it.  Back in the good old days when Bradley's character didn't have a stupid, Fango-ready nickname.  He was this amazing, consummately British post-Hammer icon, regal and terrifying.  Love The Engineer and its upside-down crazy anatomy.  LOVE the bone dragon at the end... my eyes bugged out when he showed up on the big screen in '87!  The Elm Street series was on the verge of falling apart into special effects parody.  And I wanted something new and original.  Here was a horror movie with a capital 'H' that offered big ideas, mind-fucking imagery, and a serious attitude.  Like I said, those were the days.

A few things you didn't address:

Christopher Young's masterful music, which goes a long way to making the film work.

The cinematography.  Like the music, it made a small movie look much bigger.

The oddball dubbing designed to make London vaguely "American" (right down the the "Are you alright?" dude with the Yankees cap... WTF?!?)

These etherial immortal demons getting taken out by some falling plaster and stuff... that I hated.

It's my belief (born out by the sequels I saw) that the Cenobites and their Hell are a concept and world that works best with only tiny glimpses.  The more light and attention you throw on them, the sillier they come off.

I am so ready for this. Can't wait for Hellbound.
 

Ding! Young's score here is amazing. I'm also a big fan of Simon Boswell's Lord of Illusions score. Clive Barker has had it good with composers.

Was anyone else totally pissed off back in the 80s by the initial US VHS rental version which immediately split the end credits screen with a commercial bugging you to buy Hellraiser merchandise?  I must have screamed curses at Freddy Krueger and New Line back then for the trend they had started.

Reposted from the front page, because paragraph breaks work here.

The superlative categories you come up with for each franchise you cover are among the highlights of this series of articles.  “Best Badass Pinhead Line” and “Best Whimsical Pinhead Line” are in keeping with that fine tradition.

I agree that the decision to have the Cenobites welsh on their bargain with Kirsty is some bullshit, but I quite like the idea (if not the execution) of the hobo as a disguised demon whose job it is to repo the box so it can go back on the market.

I find Larry, the cuckolded husband, to be a more effective character than you did.  I agree completely that he’s unlikeable, and making a victim unlikeable in these sorts of films is usually an accident.  Here, though, I read it as a deliberate decision.  His childish reaction to his injury and his completely passive nonresponse to some greasy Flock of Seagulls fan hitting on his daughter make him just as pathetic as the cockwhipped Julia.  These are the sad, small people that Frank held himself above when he bought the puzzle box, and their frailty makes the cosmic grandeur of the Cenobites look tempting in comparison.

I quite agree on the score.  I haven't seen the entire thing since its theatrical run, but I recall Nightbreed having a soundtrack that suited it perfectly as well.

Another part I still love:  sudden long corridors leading to eternity, with a wailing infant heard in the distance.  Creepy.

And Kristy may not be the best horror heroine ever, but she's still pretty cool.  "You want it?  You want it?  FUCKING HAVE IT!!!"  Awesome.  She's easy on the eyes too.

Also, juxtaposing Larry's imminent hand gouging with Julia's memories of getting properly laid, finishing with... TATTOO ORGASM!

"It's yours Mr. Cotton. It always was." I love how that old Asian guy sounds like James Hong.

I was introduced to this back in the mid-90's thanks to the USA Network showing the first 2 films a lot. Always dug those, and they are the best of the series. I'm looking forward to your takes on 3 and 4, as well as the DTV films that all seem to have the same basic plot. Keep 'em coming Joshua!

I love how Frank turns into an Asian guy when he gets reamed with the chains at the end. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rene (Mr.Eko) 

"It's yours Mr. Cotton. It always was." I love how that old Asian guy sounds like James Hong.

My fave moment from Clive's commentary track:  Describing how all the animation effects (when the Cenobites are banished back to Hell) were frame by frame hand-painted by Barker and a friend over a weekend while both of them got totally shit-faced to make the tedious job more fun.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc Phibes 

My fave moment from Clive's commentary track:  Describing how all the animation effects (when the Cenobites are banished back to Hell) were frame by frame hand-painted by Barker and a friend over a weekend while both of them got totally shit-faced to make the tedious job more fun.

It shows. Boom! Zing!

They had zero money in the budget by then.  No one else was available.  In their no-budget pre-CGI situation, I can't see how being sober would have made things much better in the long run.  In an era where every grade Z Syfy flick has sterile cartoony CGI, I find their work rather charming.

Turning Kristy from a friend with an unrequited crush to the daughter is, save for the ending, the only gripe I have with this movie. It gave her actions against Julia a self serving aspect that made her a much more interesting character. The Cenobites are, especially in concept, head to head with the Xenomorph as my favorite monsters. I love their background, their lore, their design. This kept me on board this series for at least two sequels more than I'd otherwise give it. And I think this is the one movie that captured the most just how horny Barker's horror is. Which is my main complaint against Nightbreed.

Sorry - are you saying that Nightbreed is too horny?  Or not horny enough?

I thought the film captured the essence of The Hellbound Heart very well. The 80's fashion makes it look a liitle dated now of course but the Cenobites fit my picture of them while i was reading the novella.

Though i notice The Cenobites in Barker's book are a little more polite than their film versions. When Frank first meets them in the book, Pinhead just calmly explains to him who they are and what they offer. They don't just grab the guy. In fact, the Cenobites even warn him that there's no going back after this.

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Originally Posted by avoideverything 

Sorry - are you saying that Nightbreed is too horny?  Or not horny enough?

Not nearly horny enough. There isn't a scene that's even close to the one with Boone first turning in jail in front of Lori. Probably my favorite thing Barker ever wrote.

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Originally Posted by stelios 

Not nearly thorny enough.

 

did we even watch the same movie??

I've gone through so many phases with this film. When I first saw it as a kid I was expecting Freddy Krueger shenanigans and thought it was nonsense. Then I kept rewatching it over the years, to the point where I started to appreciate how unique it was and what it was trying to do. Then I became convinced that it was a near masterpiece. Now Josh has me reconsidering it's clunky elements and I'm seeing it for what it probably is: a greatly inspired but pretty flawed work.

I actually watched this for the first time just a few months ago on Netflix, and I'm relieved to discover that the hobo dragon thing at the end did not in fact make any damn sense whatsoever.

Did anyone else ever get the impression that, aside from the fact that he obviously wants to rape her now, Frank had sexually abused Kirsty when she was younger?

Anyway, I absolutely fucking love this film.  As far as I am concerned this and Hellbound are a two-part masterpieces..........despite their flaws.  The sequence when Kirsty first solves the box and the Cenobites arrive is utterly fantastic.  Out of the three films he has directed, Barker really hasn't made a bad film yet.  While again flawed, I love the ever living shit out of both Nightbreed and Lord of Illusions.  I really would love to see him get back in the director's chair at some point...............be it on the ever-promised Nightbreed 2, another D'Amour tale, or something entirely different.

Also, Christopher Young was a composing god then AND still is today.  The man doesn't get anywhere near the respect he deserves, outside of maybe Sam Raimi.

Rene and I were having a conversation about this and he pointed out the fact that there are dildos strapped to the pillar when you first see it in the film.  I had never noticed that before myself.

I noticed that only after multiple viewings, only because Barker pointed them out.  And now that I see the dildos, I hate them because they look nothing more or less that the rubber sex toys they are.  Oh, well.  Gone in a flash.

Pretty awesome analysis of the film here: http://www.collativelearning.com/HELLRAISER%20analysis.html

First learned about this website over at BAD. His analysis of The Thing (whether or not Childs is assimilated at the end) is mindblowing, and I've heard good things about his The Shining analysis.

That's a pretty interesting site overall.  I've considered order one or two of his compilations from time to time, but haven't succumb to the temptation just yet.

Hey party people. I'm attending Fantastic Fest, so there will be a bit of a slow down on this, likely until FF is over. But my soul will continue getting torn apart soon enough!

Josh, you do realise you don't have to do Hellraiser Revelations, right? Even Barker has disowned that crap.

Have fun at Fantestic Fest!

Oh, I'm going the distance baby.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joshua Miller 

Hey party people. I'm attending Fantastic Fest, so there will be a bit of a slow down on this, likely until FF is over. But my soul will continue getting torn apart soon enough!

Have fun!  The sweet suffering will be here when you get back!  Given the circumstances and the next entry, you will be wasting a big opportunity if you don't begin your next article with "And to think, I hesitated!".  Anyway, your pause will allow me to catch up on a lot of other things that I need to watch.

All that aside, why in the world did the filmmakers think that Julia would end up being the face of evil in this franchise?  I have absolutely no problem with the character or Claire Higgins performance in the first two films, but I fail to see anything truly iconic about the character that would have caused her to remain a lasting force.  Just curious.

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.D. Bob Plissken 

Have fun!  The sweet suffering will be here when you get back!  Given the circumstances and the next entry, you will be wasting a big opportunity if you don't begin your next article with "And to think, I hesitated!".  Anyway, your pause will allow me to catch up on a lot of other things that I need to watch.

 

 

All that aside, why in the world did the filmmakers think that Julia would end up being the face of evil in this franchise?  I have absolutely no problem with the character or Claire Higgins performance in the first two films, but I fail to see anything truly iconic about the character that would have caused her to remain a lasting force.  Just curious.

The (rather on-the-nose) Wicked Stepmother archetype works very well in Hellbound, and the series did work better when Pinhead's presence was as a mediator between real evil (namely Julia and Frank), but her absence isn't felt in later entries. For better or worse. There's an attempt to recapture her role with Angelique in the fourth movie, but by the end she's fallen in line as a Cenobite behind Pinhead so it's all for naught. 

Pinhead or not, I just have a hard time picturing a series of films developed around the character.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bartleby_Scriven 

.......and the series did work better when Pinhead's presence was as a mediator between real evil (namely Julia and Frank).
 

Very much agreed and one of the main reasons why I thought Inferno was so refreshing when it came out.  I'm sure we'll be discussing this particular subject A LOT over the next few installments, so I'll save my larger observations for later.

If you live in the Pittsburgh area, the Oaks Theater in Oakmont is showing Hellraiser this Friday at 10:00PM and Saturday at midnight. The special guest host is Doug Bradley.

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Originally Posted by Chaz 

If you live in the Pittsburgh area, the Oaks Theater in Oakmont is showing Hellraiser this Friday at 10:00PM and Saturday at midnight. The special guest host is Doug Bradley.

If I didn't have bills to pay, my ass would be hopping in the car tomorrow to attend that in a heartbeat!

Clive Barker is now writing the HELLRAISER Comic series for BOOM Comics.

Just read the first 4 issues. It's really not that bad.

As a diehard fan of Lord of Illusions and the (early) Hellraiser films, I'm still impatiently waiting for The Scarlett Gospels to be published (once the editing is done).

Anyone else reading the HELLRAISER Comic?

They are doing something interesting with the Kristy Cotton character.

My review of the first seven issues.

I've enjoyed the series so far, although it's left Kirsty as an ill-defined character. This new direction should grant her more personality, and I wonder what it means for Captain Spencer.

I've only read the first 4 issues, but i noticed a lot of references to other of Clive Barker's works. I'll read the rest, when the second trade paperback comes out (which will in Feb 2012)

You're a blessing, Felix. Those are cool references for the in-crowd, but apart of my reviewing focuses on accessibility and a big problem with this current Hellraiser series is new readers might find it baffling.

Thanks! Just happy to help. I think it was nice of Barker to include all those subtle references in his comic. Makes it all part of a shared universe.

And speaking as someone who's somewhat familiar of Barker's works, this makes Leviathan a less monolithic entity than the previous Marvel continuity alluded.

There are many powers and Gods in the Barkerverse. Some of them quite benign.

Some new Pinhead Concept art.

Oh Christ, it looks like a fucking video game character. Concept artists are eating themselves at this point, it all looks like the same fucking stuff.

Just read the Vol 2: Trade Paperback of the new Hellraiser comic series. Collecting issues 5-8.

Awesome stuff. Written by Clive Barker himself.

The Hellraiser comic is pretty damn good. Wouldnt it be awesome if they made a film based on it?

At this point, all we can do is hope that they Weinsteins lose the rights to the franchise.................which could very well happen if they don't get their act together.  Free of their hands, we at least have a chance of getting a good film.  Same goes for the Halloween franchise.

Like I said in my review of the comic, I get the feeling Barker is using a lot of what would've been in his novel The Scarlet Gospels (the Harry D'Amour connection, Pinhead "dying"). I wonder if that will ever be published...

I don't know why it wouldn't be.  Last I read, he's finished writing it and he's moved on to editing it with a friend.