Well folks there we have it, the entire “Hellraiser” franchise film by film.
I must admit I had a-lot of fun diving back in-to this series, You see I hadn’t watched the films in quite a while as I have to watch a-lot of other stuff, mainly new films (hey, it’s my job) so I often don’t get chance to rummage back into my golden oldies. I had forgotten how much I actually enjoyed it and how much of an impact ‘Pinhead’ and his Cenobites made on screen, they’re visually stunning yet frightening at the same time which isn’t easy to pull off.
The films would never have been made if it wasn’t for Clive Barkers book “The Hellbound Heart”. Now if you’ve never read it then I highly recommend you do, it’s a fantastic read and very gripping. The book is just as frightening, if not more than what you witnessed on screen as Barker lets your imagination run wild with the novel, he truly is a master of his craft.
Talking of Clive Barker, I’d LOVE to have seen return to the series and give it a new lease of life, just like when Wes Craven returned to the “Elm Street” series (twice). He knew the character inside out and brought back the Horror factor to his villain and I feel that Barker could have done the same with his creation, can you imagine if he had, I wonder how the franchise would have changed?
Now we can’t talk about the films andnot bring up the Cenobites, it’s not all about ‘Pinhead’ (more on him later) but also the group behind him are just as great, I remember being terrified of the ‘Chatterer’ Cenobite when I was young, I think the fact that they’re more mysterious that it brings on an eerie feeling when you see them on screen. They did change through-out the series and if I’m honest they weren’t all great but when they were good, they were brilliant and I’d love to have seen them do more on screen than just stand there but they did add a great quality to the group.
Now of-course we have to discuss ‘Pinhead’ , the leader and vocal point of the group. Doug Bradley certainly the character come to life and you can tell he enjoyed playing the role, hell it made him a Horror legend and the character an icon to many so why wouldn’t he?! ‘Pinhead’ is easily one of the Horror genre’s greatest characters and for 8 out of 9 films he brought a fright factor whether he was on screen for 20 seconds or 20 minutes.
Now when I first started these reviews I stated that – “I feel that the franchise is often looked down on as the films go on and I wanted to have my say about them”. Hopefully I’ve made some of you have a re-think about some of the later entries, I’m just glad to have had the chance to have had my say about them but I do suggest you give them another try.
When recently asked about his inspiration behind the “Hellraiser” series Clive Barker stated: “I knew that lying behind all of horror fiction was a barely concealed fascination with forbidden sex. In so many horror movies sex is the unspoken motive power, and I wanted to bring that subtext into the light. And see what power horror still had when its greatest force was exposed. That meant, in the case of “Hellraiser”, examining in images the dark beauty of sadomasochism, which had always held a profound fascination for me. “
Well I hope you’ve enjoyed the “Hellraiser” franchise, I know I’ve had fun reviewing them. Well that’s enough from me so instead I’ll leave you in the company of the star of the franchise, ‘Pinhead’:
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