Hail The Barker
Well Fabfunk, it's like this.
Hellraiser, the original, is truly an original. Clive Barker's vision, demonstrable in this film, is unparalled in the annalls of horror. Barker, in case you're not familiar with his work, is one of the world's foremost and innovative horror writers - I use the term 'horror' loosely as a lot of his stuff is not horror per say, in the same way a lot of Dean Koontz and Stephen King material isn't. To understand his particular take on heaven/hell it's worth noting that he had a Catholic upbringing in Liverpool (UK) - a Catholic stronghold -, and is openly gay. This obvious conflict in his upbringing, together with a supremely artistic mindset - he writes & directs for the stage, as well as paints (he currently has an exhibition on in Chicago) - heavily influences his work, and makes his contribution to horror in general, unique and incredibly important.
Hellraiser is a perfect illustration of many of Barker's ideas. A key theme is that there is no singular 'heaven' or 'hell' - only various realms of 'experience'. In this way he is very similiar to Cronenberg, who later worked with Barker on Nightbreed (and may they do so again!). Pleasure and pain are indivisible in Barker's world: what is pleasurable to one person is another man's worst nightmare, and vice versa. The 'Cenobites' are the guardians to the doorways and passageways of hell, but forget all previous conceptions of what 'hell' is - we're not talking fire and brimstone here - again, what is hell to one person is heaven to the next man. As Pinhead (the chief Cenobite) coins it, they are "Angels to some, demons to others". Barker also demonstrates some very Lovecraftian concepts - namely the existence of parallel dimensions, which may be accessed (or unleashed) through the use (or misuse) of various devices - in this case 'The Box', a calling card for the Cenobites.
Hellraiser was the first film to properly integrate fetishistic style into the horror genre. The Cenobites are truly awesome creations: part S&M, part monster. They are a kind of extreme product of S&M culture - with all the whips and whistles - taking again, the concept of pleasure through pain to it's natural and furthest conclusion. They are by turn repulsive, frightening and erotic. No other horror creation has come close to this heady fusion of gothic horror and primal sexuality, either before or since. The films influence on fetish fashion and concepts of S&M should not be understated - Hellraiser and it's sequels helped bring these concepts to the fore of extreme western popular culture. For these reasons - and these alone - Hellraiser will always remain one of the most important horror films ever made, to be held in the same seminal company as The Shining, The Exorcist, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Night/Dawn Of The Dead.
Hellraiser was Barker's directoral debut, and he unfortunately demonstrates early doors a weakness at casting/handling actors, something evident again in Nightbreed (with the sublime exception of Cronenberg). The film's effects - by Bob Keen - are outstanding, even by today's standards, and were a benchmark at the time. It becomes a little muddled in places, with lapses in continuity - what are American cops doing in London? - but there's no doubting Barker's visual flare and keen sense of suspense that is brilliantly executed everytime the Cenobites are due an appearance.
So what of the sequels? Well, Barker was not to revisit the series again as director, only as producer. Anthony Hickox's follow-up, however, was far from a disaster. It plays around with many of the ideas of the original - and there are plenty to play around with. It turns up the Lovecraftian elements of its predecessor with the lead protagonist the head of a mental institute - the films setting a metaphor for the psychological division of reality and fantasy. It also cranks up the sexual themes with a strong femme fatale role, resurrected from the original. The budget is more substantial, the gore is turned up - there's still several minutes taken out of the UK release. But the action remains in London, and the ideas are progressive - but towards the end it really begins to lose the plot a little, and gets bogged down in the concepts it is trying to explore. It is still a cut above your average horror film however, and substantially better than most sequels.
The third film moves the action to America, so it all goes to shit, and the rest of the series deteriorates from there. But catch the first two. Also try and read some of Barker's work; anyone who can write "He pulled his face off like a balaclava" is worth a look.
This movie was pretty awsome if u like the 80's B horror. Its on Netflix
Where the hell are u gonna find gravey flavored condoms in any other movie ...........huh............... I LOVE U TURKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was very excited to see the American Reunion movie. I saw American Pie just after college and remembered it was quite funny. Jim, Michelle, Oz, Heather, Stifler reunite for their high school...
this is the song to have fun on.
