Hellraiser – Hella’ sick fun

Okay, even if you haven’t seen ‘Hellraiser’ then you’re probably aware of its existence simply by browsing video boxes in the rental store.  It was the one that made you stop, stare and ultimately either run away and have nightmares for the rest of your life, or rent it out as quickly as possible just to see what it was all about.  Although, based on today’s movie-watching trends, the average film-buff has probably never taken a wander up and down the aisles of a Blockbuster store and therefore has never seen ‘Pinhead’s’ screaming face in all its glory.

The basic premise of ‘Hellraiser’ revolves around a supernatural puzzle box that, when opened, unleashes a quartet of mutilated demons, known as ‘Cenobites,’ who want to tear your flesh from your body – simply for their enjoyment!  And, when your typically wicked stepmother’s evil lover returns from hell to stir up trouble among her (vaguely) happy family, she agrees to help him in his quest to escape the pursuing Cenobites by generally murdering unsuspecting men in order to give him the required amount of blood.  Unfortunately, this doesn’t bode well for her legal husband or his daughter.

I mentioned that if you’ve seen the front cover of ‘Hellraiser’ then it would stick in your head (like a load of pins to be precise).  That’s because most marketing was centred around the ‘lead Cenobite’ or ‘Pinhead’ as he was duly christened.  If ever practical make-up was used to good (and horrific!) effect it was here.  The Cenobites do really have to be seen to believed. ‘Hellraiser’ isn’t for the faint-hearted – there’s tonnes of blood and gore, mainly involving skinless corpses running around murdering people.  Now, that in itself may be enough to put people off watching it, however, as I said, it’s the Cenobites who are the real stars.

For some they may not be in the film for as long as audiences may have liked (a fact that was somewhat rectified in the sequel), but, when they’re there, they do steal every scene (and possibly your soul).  I haven’t read the book that ‘Hellraiser’ was based on, so I can’t really comment on how well it adheres to the source material, but, for once, the writer (Clive Barker) was actually allowed to adapt his own work for the big screen.  I don’t know how faithful it is, but I do know that it’s a memorable experience that die-hard horror fans need to see.  Just don’t eat anything before you sit down.  If you’re afraid of the ‘red stuff’ in general, this one really isn’t for you.

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather