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Overall Rating : 5/10
Directed By : Clive Barker
Doug Bradley (Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes)
Ashley Laurence (Hellbound: Hellraiser II)
Andrew Robinson (Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings)
Claire Higgins (Hellbound: Hellraiser II)
Supplied By : Anchor Bay Entertainment
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : November. 5, 2007
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| PLOT Frank, a sexual adventurer in search of new carnal pleasures, purchases a mysterious Chinese puzzle box while visiting an unnamed Third World country. Back home in England, he opens the box only to discover that he has unlocked the door to hell. Frank is pulled into another dimension, whose inhabitants, known as Cenobites, push him over the fine line between pleasure and pain by ripping him apart with tiny fish hooks. Years later, Frank's brother, Larry, moves his family into the house--to which, through some blood spilled on the attic floor, Frank returns in near-skeletal form. With the help of sister-in-law Julia--with whom he once had an affair--Frank begins sucking the life out of bodies in order to regenerate to his old form. Meanwhile, Larry's daughter from a previous marriage, Kirsty, begins to suspect her hated stepmother of having an affair, and to her horror becomes involved with Frank, the puzzle box and the Cenobites. |
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| THE REVIEW in HELLRAISER, Frank Cotton, has always been a loner. When he purchases a puzzle box from a Japanese man, that on the outside looks innocent enough, but it would be ever so dangerous. The puzzle box consumes Frank after he solves it, opening the gateway to hell, where Hell's henchman known as the "Cenobites" rip his soul apart via a set of menacing hooks. The rest of the story picks up where Frank's Brother Larry and his wife Julie move into the old family home in which Frank lived. A little run down, Larry is determined and excited to fix up the place. Little do Larry and Julia know, Frank, recently escaping from hell has made his way back to the old house and is hiding out in one of the rooms. Making himself known to only to Julia, whom is now married to Larry, but once had a fling with Frank, he goads Julia into doing his dirty work. In order to take his human form again, he needs blood and lots of it. We see as Julia, whom is somewhat mesmerized by Frank, brings in guys off the street promised them sex, but she actually plans on killing them to supply their blood to Frank. In the midst of this, the Cenobites whom get word of Frank's escape from Hell from Larry's Daughter Kirsty - prompting the Cenobites - lead by their leader "Pinhead" to reclaim Frank, sending him back to Hell with them. It won't be easy though as everyone is put in danger, most importantly Kirsty, whom fights for her life. Honestly speaking, over the years, I have watched many Horror movies of different types - but I have never found myself being a fan of HELLRAISER and it's many sequels. I have never felt the attraction to the series that many others have had on me, I mean I could probably watch any of the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE or HALLOWEEN entries on any given day... but I can't say that for a HELLRAISER film - in fact, in watching this 20th Anniversary edition, it is probably the first time in which I have saw it in it's entirety. With that said, there is one thing I can say about HELLRAISER is that it plays off much like a horrific nightmare. The setup and atmosphere of the story is quite artsy, as if one of Clive Barker's paintings had come alive. The pace is quite a mixed bag, as it starts off fast then later hits a dry spot, until near the end of the film, where it picks up and maintains at it's highest level of suspense. The film first stars out with Frank as our main character then moves to Larry. but it's not until the focus moves to Kirsty Cotton that we realize that she was always the intended focus, as by the end most of the film's suspense is spent on the development in her character and her battle with evil. HELLRAISER is a dark and gothic film in terms of it's story and overall ideas, but I feel that with this opening chapter, it only scratched the surface of a drawn out saga. The subject matter is deep and has a lot that could be told about it, yet the first film doesn't dig that deep. It simply leaves you wanting more of an expansion, and even more of the villainous Pinhead, whom is one of the more interesting aspects of the story, yet he gets limited focus here. In the end, HELLRAISER, a film that initially got an X rating due to it's gory content, is impressive, but is quite tame compared to today's typical Horror film. It's decent, but I felt as if it left us with to many unanswered desires - the obvious sequel setup. The one thing I enjoyed most about HELLRAISER was the fresh-faced performance by the beautiful and equally talented Ashley Laurence. For an actress whom was a newcomer at the time, she really gave it her all here, connecting with the audience with her body language and eyes just as much as she does with her dialogue. |
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| GORE
METER 5.5/10 Skinless bodies, bloody blows to the head by a hammer, and bodies being torn apart by hooks accompany the film. All of the gory here is nicely done |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 6/10 Christopher Young delivers a score that is as gothic as the story it's lent to - highly suspenseful and effective |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM HELLRAISER definitely isn't for everyone, and it may differ between Horror fans, who are not always in agreement as to what type of Horror they enjoy. As I said, it's decent, and definitely not a favorite of mine, but I respect what it has contributed to the genre and I know it has a cult following...and with good reason. The disc has interviews with stars Doug Bradley(Pinhead), Ashley Laurence(Kirsten Cotton), Andrew Robinson(Larry Cotton), and Composer Christopher Young. A commentary, with Laurence, and Writer/Director Clive Barker, amongst other features - It's definitely better than POLTERGEIST's 25 Anniversary disc released by Warner recently. |
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