Welcome back everyone, I hope everyone's staying healthy and well. Yesterday, I talked about The Nun. And in that piece, I explained that I would be covering both of The Conjuring films and the Hellraiser films - alternating between the two. So welcome to Such Sights To Show You, our look at the Hellraiser films.
With the Hellraiser films, there are a lot of them. As of right now, there are 10 films released with the 11th arriving on October 7th on Hulu. The quality for this franchise is extremely interesting. Honestly, I'll shoot it to you straight. The films range from exceptionally well done to why? If you have seen the films before, you can tell what films fall under the why category. But that may be getting ahead of ourselves.
Hellraiser was released in 1987. It was directed and adapted by Clive Barker himself. Having the author of the original novella be in charge of the film itself is something that you honestly don't see very often. I applaud it. Clive was able to craft such a dense and living world with his story. I have not read The Hellbound Heart. So, I can't tell you how it compares.
My experience with Hellraiser is an interesting one. Growing up, my family watched a lot of horror movies. I remember a lot of times of us sitting in our living room marathoning movies on Sci-Fi, back when Sci-Fi was Sci-Fi and not SyFy. It was during those movie marathons that I caught my first watches of the Friday the 13th films and Hellraiser. It was during this marathon that had seen the first three films. I wasn't horrified. I just remember it as if it was a fever dream. It wasn't till years later that I finally had the opportunity to catch the films in their full-length glory.
The first Hellraiser film is claimed by many to be the best of the franchise. I would agree that it's fantastic. It's dark and atmospheric. It has a distinct Alice in Wonderland feel to it as Kirsty is thrown into the world of the Cenobites. A dark fairy tale. The story is wonderfully crafted. It doesn't overstep its boundaries. It's a small personal story. The synopsis is as follows: When Kirsty's father, Larry, and stepmother, Julia, move into Larry's childhood home, Kirsty and her boyfriend take a room nearby. Unfortunately for all involved, Larry's house is already occupied: before the family's arrival, Larry's disreputable brother, Frank, used a supernatural puzzle box to summon a gang of other-dimensional demon sadists. Now, Frank requires a series of blood sacrifices to escape the clutches of Pinhead and the cenobites.
One of the things that really hits for me on this rewatch is the character of Kirsty. In other horror movies, she'd be the main focus. However, in this first film, that's not the case.
No, this first film is Julia and Frank's story. A tragic twisted love story in a sense. We are given their background through flashbacks. Julia honestly feels like someone that is lost. She wanted more than Larry could give. But in becoming entangled with Frank, Julia is dragged further deeper into an abyss of emptiness. At first when Julia reconnects with Frank, she's horrified by his appearance. I mean he's a skinned corpse. That's enough to make everybody horrified. But Frank asks her to help him kill, for it's the only way to bring Frank back. And surprisingly, Julia wants to say no. However, she just can't say no to Frank and damns herself in the process. Frank is a pleasure seeker. He wants to be able to do whatever he wants and however he wants, damn the consequences. When we first meet him, he's travelling down the rabbit hole of his never-ending quest for pleasure. He's a bit rough around the edges. He's a bit hardened. It's clear that he views the world as his own personal playground. He's not wanting to tie himself down. And if he sees someone have something that he doesn't, he'll take it onto himself to get it. That's something that is clearly evident in the first meeting between Frank and Julia.
Frank's brother, Larry, is out of it. He's wanting the perfect life and everything. He wants a happy family. He wants happiness again. Yet, he's so far down his rabbit hole of that - that he can't see what's actually going on. He's a bit delusional. He sees what he wants to see. A good example of this is when he's having guests over along with Kirsty for a dinner party. Julia has already seen Frank by that point. She's trying to process all of it. She doesn't want to be around people and goes to go upstairs. Larry quickly explains that can't just send people home because it's a celebration. A house warming party. He's so focused on having that perfect time that he can't tell something is bothering Julia. He's focused on himself and ultimately that is his undoing.
Going back to Kirsty, she's a solid character. She's just coming into her own. She's wanting to get a job and her own place apart from Larry and Julia. At first, I wasn't sure if it was because Julia and her don't get along. But, I feel like part of it is she's at that age. The age of wanting to figure out who you are. With having this distance from them, she's able to see something's going on. And it leads her on the journey that changes her life forever. So, in a sense, Kirsty could be like Alice in Wonderland.
Then we have our monsters - the cenobites. In this first film, they honestly aren't in it that much. It shows just how far Frank and Julia have damned themselves by the atrocities they commit. But what we do see of the cenobites is enough to whet the appetite for more stories. There's just all this alluring mysteriousness to them. They come for those that use the box and bring them to hell. But it allows ones mind to just wonder how they turned into what they are. What was it that sent them down the path to their own damnation? And the most vocal out of all the cenobites is Pinhead. It's interesting seeing how distinct and unique he is. He commands your attention with his presence.
Every actor and actress in this film delivers an amazing performance. It's another thing that heightens the film. Every one brings so much life into their characters. It quickly establishes the world and mythos as a living breathing thing. For the most part, it is our world. But then deeper, it's the world of the Cenobites and the LeMarchand Configuration.
Hellraiser is a film that I wish I had seen sooner. It's one that I would consider to be essential for one's Horror Movie Education. It's a film that is extremely well defined and fires on all cylinders. I never once found myself bored with its pacing. It's a tragic fairy tale. And the best thing of all, it leaves you wanting more.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
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