Hellraiser (1987)

Good, just not great, 21 February 2005

(From IMDb) Clive Barker's feature directing debut graphically depicts the tale of a man and wife who move into an old house and discover a hideous creature - the man's half-brother, who is also the woman's former lover - hiding upstairs. Having lost his earthly body to a trio of S&M demons, the Cenobites, he is brought back into existence by a drop of blood on the floor. He soon forces his former mistress to bring him his necessary human sacrifices to complete his body... but the Cenobites won't be happy about this.

I've always thought that Hellraiser is a good movie, but I am not as "in love" with it as a lot of horror fans. The special effects seem to be one of the major draws and, while I agree that they are very well done, I'm just not into a lot of gore effects. I will give the special effects people credit for some jaw dropping moments. If this movie were made today, CGI would replace (and ruin) a lot of what's seen. Hellraiser is one of the better examples of what can be done with "real" effects.

Pinhead and, to a lesser extent, the other Cenobites have become cultural icons. But, in Hellraiser, they are given so little screen time that they are really nothing more than minor supporting players. Watching the movie, you learn very little about the Cenobites and how they came to be (it's not until the sequels that we learn anything about their origin). Had there never been all of the sequels, I contend that Pinhead and his buddys wouldn't be nearly as "famous" as they are.

I suppose my biggest problem with the movie is the characters. For me to completely enjoy a horror movie, there has to be someone I care about. None of these characters are worth empathy. I suppose the daughter could be a character I could care about, but she has so little screen time until she's under attack that I never felt as if I knew her.

7/10