Having suffered through Twilight, and having never actually seen the entirety of Hellraiser, I felt it was all two fitting to watch this immediately. Giant rubber monsters aside, it did not disappoint.
Hellraiser follows the story of Larry and his wife Julia. Larry recently has been promoted and moves back into the family home that his brother was recently squatting in. With no sign of Frank (Larry’s brother) around, the family begins their lives anew. Julia finds some photos in Frank’s old things and the audience is treated to flashbacks of her and Frank having a torrid affair. When Larry cuts his hand moving in and a few drops of blood are spilled on the floor upstairs, he unknowingly brings his brother back from hell. Julia finds Franks gooey, not completely formed body and makes a deal with him to kill strangers to fully bring Frank back. Things get a bit weird when the daughter arrives during one of Franks feeding sessions, and only get stranger from there.
Let’s get one thing out of the way up front, Hellraiser is about sex. Julia had an affair with Frank years ago and, quite obviously, had a great time in doing so. She apparently made some pact with Frank to do “anything” to stay with him. Frank was in to some pretty kinky stuff and finds a puzzle box that he thinks will bring him the ultimate in pleasure, only to find that it literally rips him apart. Julia is so ready to jump Frank again that she kills several guys, including her husband, to get him back on top of her. Sure he wanted a bunch of dudes dead, went to hell and back, and has some serious psychotic issues but, you gotta hand it to the guy, he keeps the ladies satisfied.
Hellraiser is a classic horror film from Clive Barker. It went on to spawn several sequels and more than a few spin-offs. It’s was a total success. I am ashamed to say that I had never seen it in it’s entirety until today. I was told a long time ago that it was a love story, but lemme tell you one thing, it most assuredly is NOT about love. Lust, maybe, but not love. For a movie that is twenty five years old, it stands up well. It’s well acted, well directed, and even though the rubber monsters were a bit cheesy, the make up artist for the “Cenobites” as well as Frank’s pre-transformation are absolutely awesome. While I wasn’t at any point scared during the film, I did not want to stop watching it until it was over. This, more than anything, says a lot about Hellraiser. Maybe I will watch the other films in the core series now too. … Finally.
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