Clive Barker's Hellraiser

Howdy all. So we had a vote process and I still say it is rigged but nevertheless it is what the people demanded. It is Ape Law! So with that in mind, we journey back to a collective of evil, lack of continuity and completely failing to remember its own rules. We hop in the Wayback Machine (Kids, ask your parents and grandparents about that joke) and we go to the year of 1987 when Horror author Clive Barker (The Damnation Game, The Hellbound Heart, The Scarlet Gospels, Weaveworld, Cabal, The Thief of Aleays and Sacrament) a man Stephen King referred as the Future of Horror was dissatisfied with director George Pavlou (Underworld a.k.a. Transmutations and Rawhide Rex) so took it upon himself to bring the pages to life and basically disturb the hell out of the VHS generation. This is Hellraiser.

Frank (Sean Chapman of Private Party, The New Statesman, Gems, The Fourth Protocol, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Ellington and The Sea Change) is a disturbing fellow.   The Lament Configuration (The puzzle box) has been made ready for soulless Frank to purchase from a little market vendor of which was always intended to.  Linking a world full of pleasure, torment, sex and death.  Well this flick brings all to the table.  Slaps you in the face with it just to see your reaction.

Man, this guys sneezes, he can kill half the room he is facing.

It has been several months after Frank's disappearance, so his brother Larry (Andrew Robinson of Dirty Harry, Hellraiser, Matlock, Child's Play 3, Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, The Pretender, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and JAG) and his frigid wife Juila (Claire Higgings of Pride and Prejudice, The Citadel, Mitch,After the War, Homefront, Eastenders and Doctor Who) check out the abandoned house that is in need of a major airing out and clean up. Cue 80s montage of scrubbing and trash bag shenanigans!!

Ahem. Perhaps a bit more somber approach is needed. Julia apparently knows no joy in her life, let alone from her easily intimidated husband and her step-daughter Kristy (Ashley Laurence of Highway to Heaven, Hellraiser, Monsters, Mikey, Duece Coupe, Lurking Fear, Warlock III: The End of Innocence, Gentle Ben 2: Black Gold and Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder) who has the audacity to try and connect with Julia. Yeah she only had eyes for hubby's bro, Frank.

Oh sacred decoder ring. Give me the pleasures I beg of thee!!

But Frank is not nearly as gone as everyone thinks. Signs of life in the house as discarded food, a lumpy mattress and yet no Frank. Larry insists that the house will be cleaned up and will be up and running and He and Julia will be happy together. In spite of, she has next to no interest in him and she comes off as a dirty girl that likes it a bit rough and raw.

Larry is dealing with the strain of his love of his daughter and the hopes of love with his new wife but the two clearly do not care for each other. Also our protagonist is definitely Kirsty. Good, decent person that doesn't have to be virginal to qualify as pure of heart. No offense to Larry intended buuuut.. yeah he is as bland as beef broth. I am just curious what he does for the risque. Tonight honey, you can be on top! OooOo edgy.

After an accident of Larry's, Juila and Kristy go to the hospital as Larry cannot handle blood well and Frank seems to be stop motioning his way through the floor boards, resurrecting himself to meat and bone.

Portrait of the Sexually Dissatisfied.

Kristy seems to be having prophetic dreams of blood and suffering and shrugs a lot of it off as just being a girl or something to that effect.  STOP THAT!    How else are you going to roam into grocery stores, bus stops or laundromats and turn to people saying, " I see you in my dreams of blood..."

For Julia it is really about good and evil. Safe and secure Larry or dark and dangerous Frank. So while Larry is at work, Julia uses hapless men to...reconstitute Frank. Sorry too boring? To re-animate and bring living nerve endings and flesh to a being that clearly was sentenced to Hell and is making his way back into the world. Ewww!!! 

 Frank must have been a damn good lover because he looks like jerky through a lot of this film. A quick thought. There would be the smell of putrefaction, right? These bodies are rotting out as this is dark works.   Eh, whatever.   Not sure what is more disturbing.   Frank looking like a living anatomy doll or Julia's coifed 80s hair.   Frank explains the exquisite pleasures and pains the puzzle box can bring. Doorways to Heaven or Hell and he didn't care which. ALWAYS CARE, FRANK!   

 So Frank is on a bit of a time clock. To escape, he has to be completely flesh bound or the Cenobites with take him back to play with. 

RonCo's new face rejuvenation!

Kristy encounters the puzzle box as well, endures some corridor monsters, a few dated FX and overall a creepy atmosphere she concludes, Puzzle Box Bad. The cenobites start appearing doing other worldly creepy crap and while her soul will be a tasty tidbit, they're concerned that Franky boy isn't playing by the rules. Lead Cenobite (Yes I mean Doug Bradley as Pinhead) informs Kristy they will have Frank and her as well if she crosses them.

Will Hell become of Earth??? Isn't it disturbing how many doorways there are to Hell??

When I first saw this film I was 9 and could not fully process all the nuances of the movie.  The way good and evil where so close together.  From compassion to sadism to generosity to object cruelty, the film shows both sides of the coin closer than most horror films have the guts to do. Apparently Barker encountered the greatest evil of them all. The dreaded MPAA. 

They lost their shit seeing too many pelvic thrusts during a lustful sex scene, too much gore and it being sick and remorseless.  That being said, it is not a bad film.  It is as much lighthearted as it is dark and ominous. There is a balance actually shown in people, environments and even family members.   Barker crafted this warped world that actually shows off sinister needs and the true dark side of the soul but it also established there are rules to life and the universe.

Marvel Comics Presents: Beef Jerky Man!