THE ‘HELLRAISER’ TRILOGY (1987-1992)

Hellraiser, at its start, seemed like the least likely horror film to spawn a franchise for many reasons — the first of those being the extremely odd and daring subject matter. Though Hellraiser was released in the ‘80s – the very decade that saw the first installments in what would become major horror franchises – Hellraiser wasn’t simply about a maniac with an unforgettable appearance mowing down the innocent. Halloween, though made in 1978, officially became a franchise in 1981 when its sequel was released; many would argue that, though it was not the first official slasher film ever made, it was the first that would kick-start the genre and inspire a storm of imitators, which directly led to the creation of the Friday the 13th franchise. But whether you’re talking about a legitimately classy film like Halloween, or a slice of popcorn escapism like Friday the 13th, neither film would be fairly labeled as complex. Their concepts could be broken down into one sentence.

Hellraiser's couldn’t.

Hellraiser was sicker, slimier, angrier, and more depraved. On its surface it was about a mysterious puzzle box that had the power to open the gates of hell and allow demons (to some, angels to others) to emerge. But below that it was about sexual depravity, about the limits one kind of individual wanted to reach. It was about finding that straddling line between pain and pleasure. And honestly, it introduced certain taboos into the mainstream (well, the semi-mainstream) that had never been discussed in such a public way...unless you had read director Clive Barker’s writing at that point. The mastermind behind “The Hellbound Heart,” which was later fleshed out into the screenplay for Hellraiser, had been having that discussion for years.

Following the groundbreaking original film, eight sequels (!) would eventually follow, more and more shifting Pinhead – originally just one of many demons (called Cenobites) who was never intended to be the focal point – into the limelight. And, as was usually the case, his character would appear in each subsequently diminishing entry, soon becoming DTV franchise fodder like Puppetmaster and the Corn kids. Like many other horror franchises, how they play out in their latter entries seldom resemble how they looked in their earliest days. In the first Hellraiser, Pinhead appears fleetingly – not the main antagonist, but a monster whom one must face when seeking the ultimate pleasure. By the final entry (at least the final one with Bradley), Pinhead had become a ghost haunting a website (or something) and swinging machetes into teens’ necks, cutting their heads off with a snarl. (Seriously.) He became the very thing Barker hadn’t intended, as Pinhead’s introduction into pop culture grouped his Hellraiser in with all the other horror properties…where it didn’t belong.

Made with a very low budget, Hellraiser was the horror film no one was expecting. By the time its release year of 1987 rolled around, the Friday the 13th franchise was already on its seventh entry; Halloween and A Nightmare On Elm Street, their fifth. And already their concepts were starting to wear thin. Clive Barker, after having had no success with a handful of short experimental films based on his own short stories, wrote and directed the ’87 horror cheapie about a shaky marriage with a history of familial infidelity and a desire for a new beginning, both shaken by the reappearance of a familiar face. (Well, kind of.) Not at all your typical ’80s horror (despite the hero being a plucky teen girl, played by Ashley Laurence), Hellraiser was about the limits of desire, the consequences of self-destructive behavior, and the lengths one will go for what they perceive to be love. The faces remain the same in Hellraiser, but the real faces behind them often change. Larry Cotton (Dirty Harry’s Andrew Robinson) and his wife Julia (Clare Higgins) have moved back to Larry’s old family home (never given a specific location, but one which was originally meant to be London). It’s the same house that bore witness to the former immediate scene of Larry’s brother, Frank (Sean Chapman) having opened the puzzle box and being ripped apart by the Cenobites for his troubles. It’s there, following a bit of unexplained bloody voodoo, that Frank is resurrected as a slimy skinless humanoid, whom Julia discovers living in the attic. Being that Frank and Julia had engaged in a bit of coitus prior to her wedding to Larry, she still desires him (either emotionally or sexually), so when Frank orders her to bring him blood by any means necessary in an effort to continue reforming his body, Julia agrees. But it’s when Larry’s daughter, Kirsty (Laurence) comes to visit that Julie and Frank’s scheme gets a little complicated.

It goes without saying that the first Hellraiser is the best in the series, though many fans would point to its immediate sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, as the superior entry (more on that in a bit). Celebrated for its inventive practical effects in the same way as John Carpenter’s The Thing, Hellraiser plays out like a doomed romance, with Julia becoming a murderess to reform Frank in hopes that they would again be together. In spite of all the grime and grit and spilled blood, it’s actually a sad story – a Greek tragedy that unfolds with equal levels Shakespearean drama and EC Comics irony. And yes, despite the original intention for Julia to actually be seen as the main villain and the takeaway face of Hellraiser, it would be Doug Bradley as Pinhead who would inadvertently walk away with the final association with the Hellraiser brand. His impressive appearance, along with fellow Cenobites Chatterer, Butterball, and “Female Cenobite” (she got the short stick in the names department), though limited to roughly ten minutes, would be powerful and effective enough to not only spawn a franchise but inherit the mantle of the main villain going forward.

Call it the return of New World Pictures as financier, or the short amount of time between films, or the returning of much of the creative force (sans Clive Barker, who only provided a rough outline of the story), Hellbound: Hellraiser II feels like not just a natural sequel, but the second half of the overall Hellraiser story. Following Uncle Frank and Julia’s comeuppance, Kirsty, understandably, now finds herself a patient at the Channard Institute for the mentally ill as police try to piece together what exactly happened in that house. Very unfortunately for Kirsty, Dr. Channard himself (Kenneth Cranham), harbors the same blood-thirsty need for the next level of passion-meets-pain, and has been researching the puzzle box for years (and who seriously looks like Old Tom Hardy). In one of the most uncomfortable scenes to ever appear in a horror film, which sees a mentally ill patient slicing himself with a straight razor to kill the bugs he believes are crawling all over him, his torrential blood flow leaks onto the stolen mattress on which Julia had perished in the previous film, resurrecting her, and she becomes Channard’s guide directly into the pits of hell. Meanwhile, Kirsty does stuff involving a mute girl at the hospital who just so happens to really enjoy puzzles; for their troubles, they also end up in hell.

Aesthetically, Hellbound: Hellraiser II really does play out like a natural second half, but in doing so also becomes somewhat lost in its own story. Unsure of what it wants to be, it sacrifices some of its sexual daringness in favor of focusing much of its journey on its descent into hell, where Kirsty believes her father to be, and who’s in need of rescue following a dream in which he appeared to her in skinless form, scrawling bloodily on the wall, “I AM IN HELL HELP ME.” Julia (a returning Clare Higgins) is certainly sexier and more diabolical, but compared to the conflicted iteration of herself in the first film, she comes off less interesting. Once she’s reborn and her skinless ass groped by Dr. Channard, she’s given absolutely nothing to do except walk around and grin big.

By this time it had become apparent that Doug Bradley’s Pinhead was the star, and though his screen time in the makeup isn’t necessarily increased, his character is fleshed out, being ret-conned as a former British soldier during the first World War who opens the puzzle box and subsequently becomes the pointy-faced demon we all know and love. Hellbound: Hellraiser II boasts some interesting and impressive visuals from first-time director Tony Randel, taking over for Barker, but also a few asinine “twists” – such as “Satan” being a gigantic puzzle box which shoots lasers, or — my favorite  — Frank revealing himself as the one who appeared to Kirsty and wrote her the bloody note, all in an effort to lure her into hell so they could bang.

This was Frank’s big idea.

Way to go Frank.

And it’s with Hellraiser’s third film that Pinhead is made the front-and-center villain, receiving a boost in screen time and a copy of Freddy Krueger’s Official Guide to Awful Ironic Puns. Screenwriter Peter Atkins, who returns from duties on Hellbound: Hellraiser II, again scripts this entry – one that he admits isn’t very far removed from the original intention, but who is also happy to admit that the new rights holders of the Hellraiser franchise wanted different things from what came before. Basically, they wanted their own horror villain to turn into a sadistic sidesplitting bad guy to lure in a different kind of audience (the kind who thought Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare was just a total hoot). They got their wish.

Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth focuses on a reporter named Joey Summerskill who stumbles ass-backwards into a Pinhead-like situation after witnessing a poor guy stabbed with rusty chains being wheeled into an operating room one night at the hospital, putting her directly on the bloody path of Pinhead, recently freed from a statue (?) by a New York playboy who fancies himself worthy of sitting at the right hand of the king of Hell. (He’s basically the new Julia, only intensely punchable.) If there’s a reason that logline sounds stupid, it’s because it is. Very much so. Except for watching Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth turn a once-frightening demon into a pun-dropping pain in the ass who – no bullshit – turns people into Cenobites that have cameras in their heads or can fire CDs like saw blades – this second sequel doesn’t offer much depth, daringness, or really anything at all besides yet another example of diminishing returns. Pinhead’s sad transition into Freddy Krueger-lite was inevitably completed, aided by a more than willing Anthony Hickox (the Waxworks series) stepping into the director’s chair for Tony Randel, who wisely opted not to return.

Dimension Films would maintain their hold on the franchise, turning out one entry after another, but after the spectacular failure of Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (credited to phantom director Alan Smithee, which in movie talk means RUN), ironically, non-Hellraiser related horror scripts would be picked up by the production house, rewritten to include Pinhead and Hellraiser elements, and would then actually offer far more solid one-offs than the series’ earlier official sequels. (I’ll defend Scott Derrickson’s Hellraiser: Inferno from now until the end of time – the first sequel to go direct to video, but the best since the original.) The Hellraiser franchise continues to chug along, with a new entry—Hellraiser: Judgment—released in 2018. It’s the tenth film of the franchise and the second subsequent sequel on which Doug Bradley has passed, so that probably tells you everything you need to know. For almost ten years, Dimension Films have been trying to bring a proper remake of Hellraiser to life, and all kinds of interesting people – from Inside's Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury to Drive Angry's Todd Farmer and Patrick Lussier – have taken a crack. Currently the task rests in the hands of super hack writer David S. Goyer, but word has been quiet, so who really knows what's going on? One thing is certain: you can't keep a good bad guy down, and Pinhead will return – one way or the other.

IT AIN'T THAT BAD: HELLRAISER: INFERNO

In this column, movies with less-than-stellar reputations are fairly and objectively defended. Full disclaimer establishes that said movies aren’t perfect, and aren’t close to being such, but contain an undeniable amount of worth that begs you for a second chance. Films chosen are based on their general reception by both critics and audiences, more often than not falling into the negative. Every film, no matter how dismal, has at least one good quality. As they say, it ain’t that bad. 

Spoilers abound. 

I know what you must be thinking: I’ve lost my mind to even consider a direct-to-video sequel to Hellraiser (a Part Five, even) as not just good, but deserving of your praise and attention.

As long-running horror franchises tend to do, the Hellraiser series fell further off the rails with each new entry—many would argue as early as its third, after which the Hellraiser brand never really recovered. Following the debacle that was Hellraiser: Bloodline (featuring a revolving door of directors and consistent script changes), there was really nowhere else to go, continuity-wise. Perhaps that’s why each sequel to follow Bloodline (Inferno, Hellseeker, Deader, and Hellworld) were original non-Hellraiser scripts doctored to appear part of the franchise. (The Weinsteins were somewhat infamous for doing this to their horror properties – I believe Children of the Corn suffered the same fate.) And maybe that’s why these entries were better than any of the theatrically released sequels. (Yes, I am including Hellbound in that group, for I was never a fan of that entry.)

With interest, I delved into negative reviews by movie fans to ascertain what it is about this entry they just didn’t like. After all, Inferno had all the requisite Hellraiser iconography: chains tearing through flesh, creepy sexual intonations, an array of masticated cenobites, and gruesome bloody deaths. “Pinhead is barely in it!” I read. (Count his screen time in the first Hellraiser.) “He’s not even the villain!” (Was he ever meant to be?)

If a person wanted to argue with me that Inferno was a weak Hellraiser film because it failed to carry on the spirit established by Clive Barker in the first two films, I wouldn't have much of an argument. That person would be right. But that doesn't mean Hellraiser: Inferno should be outright dismissed, either. Because it's a rather strong film with strong performances, creepy imagery, and unflinching gore gags.

Detective Joseph Thorne (Craig Scheffer) is a born puzzle solver. His affinity for chess and word riddles alludes to his natural decision/desire to become a detective with the police department. He's not exactly a model human being, however. This comes across rather quickly.

While tending to the scene of a homicide along with his partner Tony Nenonen (Nicholas Turturro), he discovers that the slain was actually an old school mate of his. Discovered at the scene are a child's dismembered finger (somehow embedded into the wax of a candle) and the infamous puzzle box—one, if opened, that releases all manner of evil onto the world. Being that it's in Joseph's nature, he opens the box...and his private hell begins. He's soon thrust into a nightmarish world where he begins tracking a faceless figure responsible for the methodical killing off of individuals who played a part in Thorne's own misspent life. This investigation leads him into the most wild of places—even crossing paths with a cowboy for whom the faceless figure seems to be working. By film's end we realize that Thorne isn't just trying to find the mastermind behind all of this—dubbed The Engineer—but he's also trying to salvage his own innocence.

Craig Scheffer was born to play a douche bag. He’s immensely talented as an actor, but with that grating voice and that evil smirk, he was genetically designed to be a character that dares you to sympathize with him. He plays Joseph incredibly close to the vest, pushing the idea of “unlikable” to its limits, but yet you still do manage to hope he can somehow find his way out of the rabbit hole through which he descends for nearly the entire running time. Watch him steal money from a crime scene, blackmail his partner, do coke and bang whores, and physically assault suspects—all while his family waits for him at home. But also watch him feel compelled to do his job and attempt to save this child he believes kidnapped and in the possession of a severely fucked-up madman. Watch him care about another human being that he’s never met. The character of Joseph is as gray as they come: not all good, but not all bad, either. He’s flawed, as we all are, but not undeserving of empathy.

Doug Bradley returns for his fifth time, donning the pins and leather bondage costume to play Pinhead, and though in later years he never withheld his extreme dissatisfaction with the film’s end result, he does his typical job here. Pinhead, as well as Bradley’s interpretation of him, hasn't really changed since the first film, so the continuity is serviceable and satisfying. Bradley, a self-proclaimed atheist, claims that the “hell” featured in the first two Hellraiser films wasn’t of the Christian idea of hell, but the indefinable idea of hell. He sums up his presence in the film as being a “folksy moralist”—a sort of “Uncle Pinhead” who equates his monologue at the film’s conclusion to him warning children to look both ways before they cross the street. Clearly he’s not happy to have been a part of the experience (and is even one of those who claims he was barely in it—which, again…count his screen time in the first film). While I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of his opinions on each entry, I’d be utterly mystified to hear that he considered something like Hellworld or Deader to be superior. Still, Pinhead remains very much a behind-the-scenes figure (as his character works best in small doses) and acts more as a judge and jury rather than the executioner. It’s less like he’s the primary motivator in all of Joseph’s victimization, and more like he happened to be walking by Joseph in hell and opted for a closer look.

Dad from "Dexter" (James Remar) shows up, nearly unrecognizable behind his beard and priest garb, to play Joseph's psychoanalyst of sorts. He offers a rather soft and paternal performance—one of the rare uncorrupted characters in Inferno's line-up. He helps Joseph to organize his frazzled mind and provides him with a rational voice.

Hellraiser: Inferno was directed by Scott Derrickson, with whom I like to think horror fans have grown quite familiar. He did, after all, direct this year’s creepfest Sinister (sequel coming soon!) and the similarly dismissed and unheralded The Exorcism of Emily Rose. His script (co-written with Paul Harris Boardman, who is also providing the screenplay for the Memphis Three film Devil’s Knot) is certainly unlike the other films in the series, but not unlike films we have seen before. There is a reason why the film is called Inferno, after all, as it’s about a man journeying through his own private and specific hell. Only this time his goal isn't to save his departed beloved, but to confront a life lived poorly and selfishly with little regard for how he treated others.

One of Derrickson's strong points as a filmmaker is his ability to create unnerving imagery. Except for his overblown (and studio-tampered) big budget remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, he has yet to make a genre film that doesn't contain at least one legitimately creepy set piece. The Exorcism of Emily Rose was bolstered by passersby with dripping faces and Jennifer Carpenter's own unnatural abilities as a dancer to contort her own body to uncomfortable positions. And Sinister was dripping with eerie visages—namely the creation of main boogey baddie Bughuul. Inferno's new Cenobites (featuring a new take on 'The Chatterer") are quite effective—they tread that fine line Barker established by making them horrifying, but also undeniably erotic.

Being that I am a horror aficionado, I have quite a few films at home on the ol' shelf. I used to be of the mind that if you owned one entry in an established series, you should own all of them. I was a completist in that sense. Which means that even though I may have only liked Child's Play 1 and 2, I owned all five. I eventually defeated that mindset and cleaned out a lot of garbage. As far as the Hellraiser series is concerned, I own two entries: the first film, and this one. If you remove yourself from the idea that the Hellraiser series tells one continuous story (and dear god, you know it doesn't—they gave up on that long ago), you'll find a lot to admire about Inferno. Yes, the name Hellraiser was bulldozed into the title, but blame the Weinsteins. Don't blame the filmmakers. Because they contributed a pretty solid horror film—one that predates the 1987 release of the first film and harks back to the real inspiration: a divine poem from the 14th century.