RETRO REVIEW: Does ‘Hellraiser’ stand the test of time?

Clive Barker’s Hellraiser is approaching its 25th anniversary. So maybe it’s time to revisit the horror classic to see if the Cenobites hold up, or whether this Pandora’s Box should be shut for good.

It is a distinct pleasure to report that Barker’s brainchild is still an engaging cinematic experience. Perhaps a little of the “scare” has been buried by the horror genre’s past decade of ultra gore, but Hellraiser still is uneasily mysterious. It’s a dark, sexual look at the American family and how the choices one makes can have drastic consequences.

It’s far from a perfect film, but for 90 minutes of entertainment, it’s more than compelling.

Clare Higgins and Andrew Robinson play Julia and Larry, a married couple on the verge of fixing up a house that’s been in the family for some time. Larry’s brother, Frank (Sean Chapman), has been squatting in an upstairs bedroom, but now it’s time to make the dilapidated digs a proper home.

One would think from these early scenes that Barker is setting up just another haunted-house feature. It’s a perfect premise: Smiling adults move into a dark, dusty house. Within a few weeks they’ll be running out with ghouls chasing them down the front steps.

But, thankfully, Barker takes a million left turns, never succumbing to tired cliches. In fact, watching Hellraiser for the first time is a wholly unsettling experience, if for no other reason than the virgin audience member is unable to decipher what will happen next.

While Larry busies himself with the chores of moving in, the camera focuses in on Julia’s dark secrets. Walking around the house brings back memories of her affair with Frank, a sexual relationship she keeps hidden from everyone. From these flashbacks, we come to learn that maybe Julia has chosen the wrong sibling. With Frank, she came alive; with Larry, she’s just another housewife.

The plot is sprung into the horror medium when Larry cuts himself on a nail while moving furniture up the stairs. His blood hits the floor and we find out rather quickly that Frank isn’t gone. He’s right there in the house, waiting to be reborn after a violent death.

How did he die? Well, many of these details are smartly kept at a distance from the viewer. We know that Frank received a Pandora’s Box, or its equivalent, from an old Asian man overseas. When he opened the little contraption, he unleashed a gateway to a world of darkness. Residing in the shadows are these horribly disfigured and frightening creatures known as Cenobites. They killed Frank,  but didn’t finish the deed.

These gruesome beings are villains you’ve never seen before. Barker has not regurgitated the hockey-mask baddie or the knife-wielding psycho. He has created sado-masochistic enemies that are creepy beyond hell. They chatter their teeth as if a constant breeze is blowing. One, nicknamed Pinhead, looks like an acupuncture session gone horribly wrong. Another one looks like a pile of gooey skin.

How the Cenobites fit into the movie is left a mystery. This is frustrating, but probably the right move on Barker’s part. Knowing the chapter headings, rather than all of the details, keeps them scary and mysterious. Plus, there needs to be room for a sequel.

The performances are all fairly well conceived, with Higgins being the best of the bunch. Ashley Laurence’s Kirsty, Larry’s daughter from a previous marriage, is probably the worst of them, but then again her lines of dialogue are the cheesiest.

The special effects for a low-budget horror film from 1987 are impressive. They’re not quite on par with John Carpenter’s The Thing, but they rank as some of the best in the genre. Frank’s reemergence from the zombie state is believable and gruesome.

Hellraiser, almost 25 years after its original release, hasn’t aged much. It may not scare the socks off genre fans, but it will impress with its originality and dark, dark twists and turns.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Hellraiser

• 1987

• Written and directed by Clive Barker; based on his book

• Starring Clare Higgins, Andrew Robinson, Ashely Laurence and Sean Chapman

• Running time: 94 minutes

• Rating:

• Click here to purchase Hellraiser on DVD.