Java_Joe This is the original which introduced us to Pinhead, the Cenobites and the Lament Configuration. And it's been downhill ever since. When some of the Hellraiser movies literally started as something else and were rewritten as Hellraiser movies you know you're asking for trouble. But we don't find that here. We have a good horror movie from the mind of Clive Barker. The story is pretty generic or at least it starts that way. A woman and her husband move into the house that was owned by his brother. The same brother that she had been having an affair with. But he disappeared under mysterious circumstances and this is her husband's attempt to repair his crumbling marriage. This is not really looking up for him.A drop of spilled blood in the attic resurrects the brother who shows up as a skinless and bloody corpse. The wife, who still loves the brother, finds him and agrees to harvest some blood so that he can come back completely to life. She does, he's restored and we're introduced to the Lament Configuration. It's a puzzle box. One that when you open it summons the Cenobites who will introduce you to a new world of carnal pleasures. Pleasures like getting ripped up by hooks and chains and having your body modified in unpleasant ways. Their reasoning is they no longer feel the difference between pleasure and pain and are simply seeking new experiences and want to share them.It's an interesting idea in which the Cenobites are not so much evil as just beyond our understanding. There's plenty of blood, quite a bit of gore and just enough menace from Pinhead, the lead Cenobite, to instill actual fear.It's a good example of what a horror movie can be without getting too caught up in just throwing blood and guts at the audience for an hour and a half and the occasional jump scare. The makers of horror movies should take note.

Stephen Abell Before Fifty Shades of Grey, there was One Shade of Cenobite... and it was blood red... and it spilt out beautifully.I have to say that besides Hitchcock's movies this is one decent story adaptation. This could be that the writer and the director are one in the same - the great Clive Barker. However, I think where this supercedes all the other writer cum director flicks out there is that each was a separate project. He wrote the story to be a story, not as a concept to behind making a movie. And, I think that is where most writer/directors fail... oh, I had a good idea for a film, quick write the script...So if you don't know the story yet, it's about the Cotton family. After being willed a house, Larry (Robinson) and Julia (Higgins) decide to check it out, with the possibility of moving in. Kirsty (Laurence), their daughter, plays the independence card and rents out a room in the town, instead of moving in. However, something isn't quite right in their new abode. Julia is having daydreams about her affair with Larry's brother Frank (Chapman), who is the black sheep of the family - and a sexual sadomasochist to boot. While moving in Larry cuts his hand. He rushes to Julia for help as he's hemophobic. His spilt blood soaks into the floor of the attic and starts Frank's rebirth... and hell will follow after...Another bonus for the film and the audience is that Barker is an all-round artist. He not only writes but paints and draws, and directs both movies and plays, which allows him to put his art and imagination into his work. This being his first film you begin to get an inkling of what this guy is capable of. In Hellraiser he plays with camera shots and angles, manipulates light to create atmosphere, he even gives us some realistic nightmare visions.The special effects, especially the "wet-work" and Franks rebirth in particular, still look good today and will send a shiver down your spine and make your stomach twitch. Though truthfully, the computer visuals are dated and now detract the viewer's attention from the film... I literally shook my head and cringed inwardly at how bad these now look. The thing is, I didn't like them originally, I thought they were nasty and cheap. They also appear to have been added after the fact as none of the actors even acknowledge the floating stars or the electric blue light (except for when it shocks them). It would be nice if somebody could remaster this like Star Trek (the original series) and Star Wars, just to update these tired looking CGI.The acting is okay, though at times the voices seem wrong. It feels and looks like Franks American voice was overdubbed a millisecond or two out of time and at a different pitch and volume than the others. There are a few scenes where this also happens with Kirsty and her boyfriend Steve (Hines). Though, if you've watched plenty of dubbed martial arts movies, like myself, it's not too much of a distraction.If you've not watched this film yet and you claim to be a horror or a dark fantasy fan then get yourselves a copy and enjoy... If you have a copy and not watched it for a while, dust it off and enjoy. There's a reason this became an instant horror classic on its release, it was different, innovative, and walked the tightrope of wickedness. Well worth a watch... again... and again... and again... until you hear the scratching in the walls and creak of timbers and the clunking of chains...

Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki I enjoyed this a lot more than my first viewing of it, likely fifteen years ago. A woman has to basically harvest souls for her half-zombie ex-lover, so he can feed on their life energies, and return to life, and escape a group of sadomasochistic demons sent to reclaim him, and take him back to Hell. When her second husband is claimed victim, his college-aged daughter investigates, and learns his horrifying fate. Some surprising twists, good looking lighting and colour pallet reminded me of some old giallo films, like something Mario Bava, or Michele Soavi ( one of my favourites ) might have done. Andrew Robinson is always fun to watch, and always reminds me of Scorpio, from Dirty Harry. Ashley Laurence is adorable, she makes a great contrast to the gruesome tale playing out. The house itself almost becomes a character in its own right, by the end of the film.

simonconnolly72-467-863881 I saw this when it came out and I was 15. I remember it being highly original for it's time and a very refreshing change from the usual horror fare. Though probably not understanding everything about it at 15, there was enough to keep me intrigued. Now 30 years later I watch it and feel a little disappointed. It still is a highly original film and concept, but it just feels a little dated. The script is pretty bad and contrived, and the acting is pretty poor all round. Frank's voice even sounds badly dubbed. The whole cenobyte thing is still quite creepy and interesting to watch but generally the rest of the film is so so.