Tribe of Stephen

[Urban Legend]

Does anybody know or remember Hellraiser ?

I mean the original movie (1987)... because the sequels are a bit so-so... and now one movie is produced every year but is directly released on DVD, ... so ...

By the way, the make-up are great ! (a bit too gore along the sequels in my opinion)

Hellraiser is a horror film exploring the themes of sadomasochism and morals under duress. It is based on the critically acclaimed novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, who also wrote the screenplay and directed the film.

The original working title for the film was Sadomasochists From Beyond the Grave.

The basic plot of the film revolves around a puzzle box which, when properly manipulated, summons the Cenobites, who take the user of the box away into their world of endless sensuality.

Frank Cotton uses the box, and it is already too late for Frank as he realizes that the Cenobites' idea of pleasure may not be that of mortals, and that he has doomed himself to an eternity of torture, rather than pleasure as humans understand it. His soul is possessed and his body reduced to a withered heart beneath the floorboards of his house, while his soul continues to endure the Cenobites' torments in their universe of pain.

Plot:

Frank's brother Larry, as well as the rest of the Cotton family, moves into the house, and a drop of blood brings Frank back to life—partially. His heart beats again, and the bone and organs of his body return, but he lacks skin and flesh. Julia, who was once Frank's lover, takes pity on him and agrees to help restore him. She seduces men in bars, brings them up to the empty attic room where Frank hides, and kills them. Frank consumes their bodies, regenerating more of his own flesh each time.

Kirsty, Julia's stepdaughter, discovers what is going on, but too late to save her father, whose skin Frank takes and wears. Eventually, Kirsty uses the puzzle box to summon the Cenobites, and delivers Frank back into their tender mercies. As hundreds of hooks pierce and stretch his skin, Frank's last words on Earth are "Jesus wept."...


Stephen Norrington participated to the make-up of Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) (aka Hellraiser 4).

[deezelboy]

Hellraiser's got a special place in my heart!

For one, it was one of the best horror movies to come out of the 1980's.

For two, it was the best horror film to come out of the UK in the 1980's (IMHO excluder included!).

And for three, it prompted me to start up a very brief and amateurish horror fanzine in my youth. As a result of this I got to talk/interview with Barker and some of the cast and crew, which was quite fascinating. Sorry, this sounds like a lot of name-dropping, but it's actually quite nostalgic for me!

Erm... the sequels. Yes. Most seemed to take a direct 180 degree turn away from what Hellraiser was about, IMHO. I've watched a couple of the later ones, the straight-to-video ones, and, erm.... Some aren't too bad, alkthough seemingly light years away from Hellraiser, and some were just absolutely awful (no. IV springs to mind here!).

But, yeah, long term fan.