Hellraiser

Pros: Exceedingly dark, impressive special effects for the era, great story...
Cons: Very, very gory if that's a problem for you...

I don’t remember the first time I saw Hellraiser (1987), but I remember the first time it actually sunk in. I’d just finished reading the story it was based on—The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker—and decided to once again watch the film. Needless to ...

Pros: Gore, special effects, sound effects, Ashley Laurence
Cons: Acting, not enough of Pinhead, plot holes, 80's feel.

A globe-trotting pervert Frank (Sean Chapman) -- a connoisseur of sexual depravity seeking the ultimate sensual experience -- purchases a small, intricate puzzle box from an unseen dealer in an unspecified country. Upon solving the puzzle, Frank opens ...

Pros: A dark, intelligent horror film
Cons: Some cheesy effects

What’s this? A 1980s horror film that does not feature tons of scantily-clad teens running from a masked psycho? Indeed, Clive Barker’s 1987 film Hellraiser is something very different in the horror genre. This disturbing, violent film is ...

Pros: EW GROSS (yes, that's a pro, somehow, haha). Cenobites. Woot.
Cons: Messy, messy, messy (so if you don't like messy, then pass)

I remember the days of when I was younger and perusing the video store for something that didn’t suck and that I hadn’t seen yet. I always remembered seeing the covers for the Hellraiser films with the head hellguy Pinhead (is that his ...

Pros: Clive Barker's cult classic still is as gross as it is engrossing.
Cons: Be prepared to pay $20 yet again for this admittedly worthy new special edition.

How many times can one talk about HELLRAISER? That is the question raised as early as 2000 by its creator, Clive Barker, in a brief retrospective on the adaptation of one of his own short stories ("The Hellbound Heart," first published in 1986) he ...

Pros: Acting,story,most effects,score
Cons: not the quickest pace,a little gory for some

Just in time for Halloween, I thought I would treat myself to the new Anchor Bay Lament Configuration Hellraiser box set, consisting of the first three movies and a bonus disc, despite my love of horror movies, my only past experience with the Hellraiser ...

Pros: Fresh story, believable characters, horrific monster creations, atmosphere, Christopher Young's haunting score.
Cons: Geographical confusion, some lame/underdeveloped plot points, extremely dark in nature, the bad ending.

Clive Barker first came into prominence on the horror scene when he published a trilogy of short stories in the mid-80's titled The Books of Blood. His stories were at once sexual and gruesome, and all around frightening. Even the Master of Horror ...

Pros: interesting storyline, Pinhead, some good gore
Cons: pace is a little slow in spots

Hellraiser: New World Pictures/ Cinemarque Entertainment BV
Rating: USA: R/ UK: 18/ France: -12/ Germany: 18/ Australia: R/ Sweden: 15/ Norway: 18/ Finland: K-16

After seeing the less than stellar onscreen results of UNDERWORLD (aka...

Pros: Visuals are unforgettable, excellent story, original
Cons: More gruesome than scary if that's a bad thing for you

One movie that I’ve strayed away from reviewing would be Hellraiser, let along any of the straight-to-video sequels in this eight-part thus far series. I wasn’t really raised on this set of horror movies per se as I was with other ...

Pros: Visuals, mythology, great score, acting is fine for the genre
Cons: Some poor fxs at the end

My dear friend Darkofknight knows what I generally think of horror movies. While I might be described, somewhat overmuch, as a fan, I think that 90 percent of them are an absolute waste of time. Not even in the good, Ramboesque kind of pleasant way ...

Pros: An original visual style, terrifying creatures.
Cons: May not be suitable for small children.

A real modern classic. It features many things absent in most of my favorite horror films: Plot, atmosphere, acting, and a scary story. Novelist Clive Barker proves he can handle directing a movie, at least better than his buddy Stephen King can.
...

Pros: Tense, scary, great creature designs, nice gore
Cons: Some dated effects, bits of cruddy acting

Clive Barker is one of the most vibrant and unique voices in horror working today. He often combines fantastical, Lovecraftian worlds and concepts with a dark and twisted modern vision. His creations operate with the mannered formality of an Elizabethan...

Pros: A dark dramatic film that's unique even to this day, scary in spots
Cons: Those watching this for Pinhead will likely be dissapointed

As a wee little guy I would often see many movie covers, and like many impressinable young children, thought horror films would all hold horrors that would haunt me for years. When I first heared of Hellraiser, I thought it would be about the Cenobyte ...

Pros: Good acting, great gore effects, interesting original plot
Cons: Not for the wee ones

This movie is one of my all time favorites, especially because of the fact that it creeps me out. Made back in a time when originality was waning and the “slashers” ruled (don’t get me wrong, I love slashers), Clive Barker came along to create a movie...

Pros: Smart horror film based on dread
Cons: Pretty low-budget; effects don't hold up

In the 1980's, most highbrow critics declared the horror film dead. The kinds of horror films we got then were usually comedies in nature, like "Evil Dead 2" (1987) or "Re-Animator" (1985) or were full of sudden...