Clive Barker’s Hellraiser Holds a Special Place in My Heart

I had to watch one of my favorite horror films that introduced me to some of the best body horror I have seen in a horror movie. Hellraiser is a cult classic, made by one of the iconic horror masters, Clive Barker.

Hellraiser follows the story of a young girl named Kirsty, who is informed by her father, Larry, that he bought a house to live with his new wife. He buys the home of his brother, Frank, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

There is an unfortunate twist in the beginning of the film, Frank unleashed pure evil and horrible torture upon himself, in his own home where his soul was taken to another world.

Frank is awakened when Larry accidentally cuts himself, his blood soaking into the floor of where his brother died. Frank comes back to life, but must consume blood to regain a human form.

It is up to Kirsty to put a stop to Frank before it’s too late…but she was.

Larry’s wife was in love with Frank, and she offers to help feed him human bodies to get back his skin.

Julia, Larry’s wife secretly had an affair with his brother before they got married.

How messed up is that?

Julia finds out about Frank being back from the dead, and offers to bring him humans to feed him their blood.

I guess love is truly a powerful force.

Julia then learns that Frank has a special supernatural item, that is a weird looking box. It can summon the same beasts that tortured him to death.

The Cenobites.

I was in shock to learn that the iconic Cenobites that started an entire franchise, barely had any screentime in the original film.

I actually really have no idea what the hell the Cenobites are, I think they are supposed to be otherworldly creatures from another world, I think I’m pretty close enough to what these creepy dudes are.

In the first movie, they are side characters that are there to collect the soul they lost:

Frank.

They decide to make a deal with Kirsty, who accidentally summons the Cenobites once she steals the box from Frank to escape from a horrible fate.

Kirsty’s goal is to save her father from Julia and Frank, but like I said before…she was too late.

Frank takes the skin of her father, and then he is killed by the Cenobites to seal Kristy’s deal.

Larry’s death bothered me so much. I wasn’t expecting him to die, and it was even more tragic knowing that he was betrayed by his wife and brother. His death was offscreen, making it so much worse.

Kirsty comes to her father’s house to save him, but then comes to the dark realization that Frank took his skin. He kills Julia to go after Kirsty, and she gives him up to the Cenobites.

Can I just say that the actor who played Larry did a fantastic job? His sudden transition from a kindhearted soul to a terrifying monster was perfect.

We are then given one of the most iconic kills in a horror movie, as the Cenobites rip him apart with chains to take him back to their world.

The practical effects in this scene were a whole different level!

The film ends with Kirsty defeating the Cenobites, but the box is taken away, to be given to another future victim.

Poor Kirsty. Talk about a horrible way to lose your dad…

Hellraiser is a great horror film, every horror fan that adores body horror will freaking love this movie. The gore and practical effects are awesome, and the cast is amazing!

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn