Hellraiser Reviews

Excellent Horror Classic - Still Holds Up Today

Even though this movie was made 18 YEARS AGO it still rates amongst one of the best even against todays standards. Very gory and is capable of making you cringe at times due to the torture scenes - which adds to the creepy scary feel of the movie. Pinhead is excellent! Hadn't thought about this movie in a while , until another visit to Blackpool Pleasure Beach were I went inside the PASAJE DE TERROR (were real people dress as horror movie characters and chase you around.) This time I came face to face with Pinhead and was absolutely terrified! Inspired me to watch Hellraiser again and enjoy a real horror movie instead of watching the usual drivel that gets churned out of studios these days. DEFINATELY WORTH A WATCH

Intelligent Horror, rare

Cliver Barkers original Hellraiser should really be seen as its own film, separate from the ridiculous franchise it spawned. The Faustian themes of pleasure and pain having no distinction is really interesting, particularly when it relates to the female lead having an affair and living to regret it. The murders she needs to commit by having more affairs are analogous to trying to erase the painful memory by reliving it over and over, instead making the memory more apparent. The Cenobites are understated and therefore hold a majestic centrepiece to the movie. I just really wished they'd not resorted to the yellow graphics when destroying the cenobites at the end. When Bud Fox is watching Hellraiser in Wall St, it hammers the movie home as a cult classic, to be enjoyed if you're stressed late at night.

[Highly rated reviewer]

The best of the Hellraiser series

The best of the 8 Hellraiser movies (which in part could be due to Clive Barker having more involvement in this film than any other in the series), which is hugely entertaining at times with great visuals and a good story. There is solid acting from all involved, good use of music and some great-looking Cenobite characters – Pinhead(Doug Bradley) in particular stands-out. It is also very bloody and violent, with some very good effects which still look good in 2006 and has a great ending (the hooks) which has been copied many times since. My only real complaints with the film are that there is not really enough use of the Cenobites and the weak way the Cenobites are defeated in the end.

Excellent Horror Classic - Still Holds Up Today

Even though this movie was made 18 YEARS AGO it still rates amongst one of the best even against todays standards. Very gory and is capable of making you cringe at times due to the torture scenes - which adds to the creepy scary feel of the movie. Pinhead is excellent! Hadn't thought about this movie in a while , until another visit to Blackpool Pleasure Beach were I went inside the PASAJE DE TERROR (were real people dress as horror movie characters and chase you around.) This time I came face to face with Pinhead and was absolutely terrified! Inspired me to watch Hellraiser again and enjoy a real horror movie instead of watching the usual drivel that gets churned out of studios these days. DEFINATELY WORTH A WATCH

'Hellraiser' is an absolute classic, born from the mind of Clive Barker. The film is still a benchmark for today's young hungry film directors, with the hook scene in particular being a major influence on a similar moment in the recent 'Saw 3'. Briefly, the story is about a puzzle box which opens a gateway to hell. The cenobites, which are hellspawn led by the demented Pinhead (not referred to by that name in this film), arrive in our world to deal only punishment, torture and death. And so begins a series of fantastic gore set-pieces and great chemistry between the lead characters. It's only a shame that they decided to continue this series further, as we're now on our 7th sequel. You know you're in trouble when you take Pinhead into space! Forget those and remember this - an inspired and morbid horror entry that is rightfully seen as a classic of its time.