We'll Tear Your Soul Apart (Movie only) (Hellraiser (DVD))

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Hellraiser (DVD)
Date:	24/02/07 (405 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Seminal horror flick

Disadvantages: Weak sfx at times

The horror/fantasy genre has been a notoriously difficult one in which to be genuinely original in for some time so it’s an event when something comes along that stands out as unusual. Most work is derivative for the most part, often exploitational to find an audience without the backing of a decent story. “Hellraiser” is a seminal movie from 1987 that finally gave the horror genre something fresh and new and became a franchise, catapulting the author Clive Barker into the long overdue limelight.

Frank Cotton is a man who lives life on the edge. With blurred boundaries of decency and a warped version of right and wrong, he purchases an ancient puzzle box that can supposedly take him to the very boundaries of ecstasy. However, on discovering its secret, he is taken instead to the depths of the Hell of pain and terror where horrific creatures impose the ultimate in sadomasochism in an alternate dimension of death and decay. Frank’s brother Larry moves into the empty house in which Frank’s soul is now trapped under the floorboards. Following an accident to his hand in which blood seeps through the floor, Frank’s soul absorbs the red corpuscles and starts to re-generate. Needing more blood to recover, he talks his ex-lover and wife of Larry - Julia - into helping him by luring lonely men to the bedroom and killing them in order for him to extract their blood. Meanwhile, his original captors and jailors - the cruel cenobites - are oblivious to his “escape”. Kirsty, Larry’s daughter and Julia’s step daughter, stumbles upon the plot and flees to seek advice along with the puzzle box, recovered during a melee with the half-formed Frank. Unfortunately, she works out how to open it and is confronted by the Cenobites. Bargaining for her very soul, she tells them that she can lead them to Frank.

Written and directed by Clive Barker, “Hellraiser” was inspired by Barker’s novella “The Hellbound Heart”. Exploring the boundaries of masochism and cruelty, the movie translated Barker’s lurid imagination into a cinematic work of great craft and creativity. Not only is it a great story but the movie illustrates graphic horror in a form of exploitation that re-enforces the story rather than simply replacing it entirely as in so many low-budget horror flicks. For Barker himself, it went to show how multi-skilled he actually is through his books, movies, artwork and screenplays that have taken him from Liverpool to his home in Los Angeles.

For a low budget production, the cast is exemplary. Andrew Robinson is suitably naïve as Larry Cotton, Clare Higgins is despicably convincing as Frank Cotton’s partner in crime and both Sean Chapman (Frank Cotton) and Ashley Laurence (Kirsty Cotton) take their respective roles as the evil Frank and the impressionable teenager, Kirsty, to a level that makes the script work. The stars of the show are undoubtedly the Cenobites and, within that horrific entourage, Douglas Brady as “Pinhead” became one of the best known movie monsters of all time, ironically after nearly turning the role down in favour of one of the mattress movers instead so that the audience could see his actual face! Apart from the impressive acting for a horror movie, I adore some of the lines used in the movie including the seminal quote from Pinhead when confronting Kirsty in the hospital ward. As Pinhead and the others surround a frightened Kirsty, having assured her that “We have such sights to show you”, Pinhead utters in a gravelly voice "We will tear your soul apart".

The main set pieces are breathtaking. From Frank’s initial encounter in which he becomes lanced through various parts of his body skin by numerous meat hooks, whilst a rotating totem is covered in dead flesh and blood, to the explosive finale which must depict one of the most painful exits in cinema history, Barker’s imagination is allowed to run riot, taking the audience to the very depths of Hades and a closer inspection of its demons. So typical of the author, the movie is full of symbols and hidden meanings, hence the presence throughout of the locust eating tramp and his closing challenge “What’s your pleasure, sir?”

The only drawback with the movie is that the restricted budget meant that some of the scenes aren’t quite as convincing as others and the special effects fall short of what might have been possible with more money. In particular, Kirsty’s struggle with one of the rather ugly minions from Hell looks like a battle with a muppet-esque creation of Frank Oz as opposed to anything more sinister, despite the frantic background music intended to pump up the viewer’s adrenaline. Notwithstanding, on the whole the special effects and, in particular, costume and make up do a staggeringly good job of convincing us that there really are dark creatures from Hell and the metamorphosis of Frank from abandoned skeleton to half-formed creature is as impressive as it is creative.

“Hellraiser” went on to spawn a whole sequence of progressively worse sequels although the second movie was equally as good as its original. With a great, sweeping musical score from Christopher Young, the movie transported an original concept and a unique author into the public eye and proved a watershed in its genre. Many movies have tried to imitate it since but none can match that special magic that came with this outstanding British creation from the late 80s. At only 94 minutes long with an 18 certificate, this is a movie for adults only. I’ve seen the movie several times now including a recent TV re-run and simply love it. In 2006 Clive Barker announced that he was to write a re-make of the original movie, presumably to release a bigger budget production for a whole, new audience. We await with baited breath and for fans of horror/fantasy, the original remains a must-see. For everyone else, this is one for horror fanatics only due to the gore and violence. Be careful, this movie could tear your soul apart.

Thanks for reading

Mara

More info at:www.hellraiserthemovie.com/

DVD available from Amazon from £4.97

Summary: Overview of "Hellraiser"