The line "We'll tear your soul apart!" stuck with me, it's so violent and disturbing at the same time. Like the torment will reach far beyond the physical pain.
@@DiamondDead so? Are you assuming I'm Christian, and you're trying to hurt my feelings? Lol. And the new testament is the bestseller, and that was written after the reformation, so it has no violent passages, only parables. You're on about the Old Testament. But the Qu'ran, that's not changed in over 1,400 years and still teaches death of apostates, infidels, homosexuals and treating women as less than men. All religions are stupid. Anyway, I find your comment so fucking random 😂it's like you just felt the need to attack Christianity because you clearly assumed I am Christian? I have no religion, kid. Try again.
@@liammcnulty1987 New Testament has no violent passages? Have you read the Revelation of St. John? "The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle." The grapes there are human bodies.
@@Valdagast do you know what a parable is? And once again, I don't care about any religion, I just found his comment incredibly retarded and irrelevant, like he was trying to attack Christians for no reason. Otherwise why randonly single out Christianity, when the Qu'ran and the Hadiths are much, much more violent, tyrannical and authoritarian? I don't care to debate theology with you or anyone else, I just wanted to point out how stupid his comment was, and I'm return point out how stupid your comment was as well, for not understanding a parable.
"The box. You opened it. We came." Saw Doug Bradley at a con and it was really interesting listening to him talk about the making of the film, especially about Pinhead's elaborate costume and how he had to learn to walk in it without tripping on the leather skirt.
Michael Beddoe That’s as awesome as it is unsurprising. Even my childlike brain was like “whoaaa. Worst. Threat. Ever!!.” Terrifying if you even put a tiny bit of thought into it. lol 👍
Hellraiser, even though it is considered to be one of the greats, I still think it's HIGHLY underrated. It's so dark and twisted and yet so well done. It doesn't really follow the horror movie conventions of that time or past which makes it such a unique experience.
Yeah as a kid I could watch Freddy, Jason, Michael Meyers etc. But I couldn't bring myself to watch Pinhead. My brain was like NOPE, if you watch this hell spawn you will lose your soul. ; )
Talk about a series that went off the rails like a train derailing into a tank farm. With all the explosions and horrible deaths that accompanies that.
You nailed everything I feel about this film. Hellraiser is one of my favorite horror movies and is the gold standard for me in practical effects, characterization, and depth. It definitely hasn’t aged well, and there are things I see now that I missed as a kid (I actually talked my parents into letting me watch it when I was 12), but for me it is one of the best horror films made to date. Now go read the novella! It’s different, but quite good!
Oh, yeah, it's great as a horror film, classic. But the acting is pretty comical watching it now - which might be the voice dubbing done afterwards with American actors - Larry & Frank especially 😅
Sometimes it trips me out that I’ve been watching almost every single one of your videos for over 10 years now. Since I was like 15 or 16 you’ve been there for me. Thank you sincerely Chris.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II is arguably even better than this one! And the less said about all that came after the better. Except for the expanded universe through the books and comics. Those are great!
@Kaptain Lightcoin why would you want those questions answered though? I refuse to watch any sequels because I know they're full of backstory and campy exposition. I like my cenobites mysterious, difficult to quantify or pin down, incredibly powerful but not clearly defined, and ultimately because of these things, fucking scary as fuck. It sends shivers down my spine and makes my imagination run wild like all the best horror films.
the oirginal is better. better filmed. the premise better. in the original the cenobites are actually the good guys. you have two separate plots ... you have a couple of sexual sadist killers and then you have the monster cenobites who pop up near the end. esp in fist viewing... the cenobite monsters are kept hidden until the end, and this adds to the shock value.
when you look back at these films you can see how they got away with so much, because these films were alot deeper than today's horrors. it wasn't just mindless gore, etc.
When Chris mentioned that he’s going to review the two Live Action Addams Family movies, I went ahead and watched them both. I can’t wait to see what he thinks about them.
Julia Cotton is to me the scariest most evil character of the films. She scares me more the demons or creatures, even as a kid. Julia is sinister personified
When i was a kid (like 10 years ago) hellraiser 2 was the only movie i was literally scared to watch mainly because of this scene. I loved watching the first one and other sequels but not the second one
That’s kind of the whole point, (no pun intended) to mix pleasure with pain. The other beings travel through dimensions pretty much torturing souls, that’s pretty much hellraiser in a nut shell.
Massive fan now for 6 years Chris. You’ve been a massive inspiration for me to create my own RU-vid channel and even though we have never spoken, I just wanted to say thank you sir
He's the same guy who publicly skewered Night Of The Living Dead, until the film snobs in France praised it. Then he stood his ground like he had a spine and jumped on the bandwagon.
@@redjfulfer5577 any movie critic is a mixed bag, he's given a lot of really popular movies bad reviews and a lot of really not so popular movies good reviews. I mean, it's a whole business based on personal opinion
Remy N. Out of the rest, I’d possibly recommend the third one too as it’s a Pinhead at his peak without the humanity in himself & I didn’t mind the new looks of new Cenobites in the movie.
Back in the late eighties, this was one of the movies that scared me by simply looking at the VHS cover. It was the most hardcore thing I had ever seen.
i always found the idea of something being so overtly painful that past a certain threshold it actually feels amazing very horrifying . That is the most disturbing concept these movies have created. Specifically one of the later ones that was complete dogshit but the ending of it was scary to think about because after all the carnage the survivor just witnessed and went through the trouble of kicking hellraiser and his squad out of the house. She was then tempted to reopen it. The willingness to subject herself to the same body horror she just was scared of moments before was just mindboggling.
I SAW THIS WHEN I WAS 11, HOLY SHIT, I DIDNT UNDERSTAND IT, IT SCARED ME, AND I ACTUALLY THOUGHT IF I SPILL ENOUGH BLOOD ON THE FLOOR, A SCARY PERSON WILL FORM, LOL
I really like this movie, it’s the only one in the franchise I actually enjoy. Clive Barker made a very good movie! Totally agree about the practical effect!
I’m so glad you chose to look at Hellraiser. I have so much love for this film. If you ever get the chance to read The Hellbound Heart, I stand by it has the best opening chapter in a horror novel.
I love all your Horror movie reviews. I grew up on horror movies as a kid, my mom and dad were pretty into the horror genre for most of my childhood and because they were so young they still got scared and had all this enthusiasm for it that I think some of us lose when we get older. The only movie I remember not being allowed to watch was hell raiser,but my aunt let me watch it on Halloween when I was 12 and its the only horror movie I remember freaking me out. The practical special effects are brilliant and hard to forget.
I was so looking forward to this movie's release back in the day. It had been discussed in Fangoria for quite some time and I was a Clive Barker fan (cause we have the same last name!). Its theatrical debut was delayed a couple of times, but it was finally released and I loved it because it was so different. It was, more or less, "mature" and more professionally done than most, particularly by first-timers. There was style to the direction, particularly the late night scene with the lightning illuminating the portrait on the wall the way it did. Small things like that just set a mood much more than many other heavy-handed approaches. Plus, there was the story that had essentially a three-pronged attack with the Cenobites, Frank and Claire. Much like Halloween, the sequels never measured up and just continued to get sillier and sillier.
I specially love how in the novel the cenobites are not even the bad guys. When Frank opens the Lament configuration they warn him several times before they even take him to their realm. They're like: " This is very extreme", "This might not be what you expect", "Once you agree, you can't go back". They even make a deal with Kirsty to get Frank back and the don't break it. And The Engineer entrusts Kristy with the box. Frank and Julia are the actual villains of the story. But just like Jason Vorhees, the cenobites became the monsters in the sequels.
I accidentally watched Hellraiser when I was a kid browsing through channels on TV. And I have to say it was so disturbing and traumatizing I couldn’t finish it. The practical effects were definitely topnotch because the Cenobites looked so terrifying that I had nightmares about them for days. I wish I watched it as an adult though because I didn’t really understand what I was watching back then. And the kid inside me still shivers whenever I see that movie cover.
Hellraiser is one of my favorite horror series. I've always looked at this movie as a human study almost. Barker wants to tell us that humans are just as worse as demons. The Cenobites are just there to collect a soul. (specifically the one who open the box) And I like how Pinhead can accept a bargain. I rarely don't see that in a horror film and he always let Kirsty slide. I feel he respects her in some ways. There's really nothing hero is another thing that sets it apart. Kirsty bargain to save her own ass which is understandable. But as the series goes on she becomes just as evil as Pinhead. Hellraiser came out in a good time when slashers sequels were becoming pure entertainment and goofy. Hellraiser usually has kept a more serious vibe throughout the series. (except 3) Great review and keep it coming!!!
Constant K I mean I guess. Definitely felt like breaking bad to me though. But sure it probably didn’t need to be made but I enjoyed it for what it was. Can’t blame the guy for milking it for all it’s worth
Chris, thank you. Seriously, thank you for the praise and giving notoriety to this film. It’s a great film and needs to be remembered so today’s audience can appreciate good horror done right.
Loved your review. Well written and thought out, and we can see the passion in this one. This is what puts you a notch above other youtube movie reviewers.
FINALLY a FAIR non bias, non directorial, non fanboying review of a movie. Well done sir...well done! :) I look forward to others. This is my favorite part of the year as well
I think my first time watching Hellraiser was when I was 10. My family of course made me turn away from certain scenes, but I still remember liking it then. And now years later, it remains one of my favorite horror movies (and in general as well) of all time. I love movies that aren't afraid to get down and dirty, but also contain some artistic beauty. The practical effects make it all the better, it just gives me a classic and nostalgic feel. And oh, the soundtrack... I could go on and on and talk about how beautiful, seductive, and epic the score is. It's like the music itself is trying to seduce us with elegance but also bombard us with sudden epic outbursts. It's sort of reminiscent of what the cenobites stand for; pain and pleasure mixed together in one beautiful concoction. All of this applies to the second film as well, both are beautiful and on equal standing in regards to the effects, the overall movie, and the score. God, I love these movies
One of my favourite horror films ever, love the 2nd film too. And it's one of the unique and interesting horror films. Doug Bradley's performance as Pinhead was brilliant.
The fact that you reviewed this movie made me watch it, I always though about Hellraiser as that VHS you always saw in the movie store but assumed to be crap (as you also pointed our). But man was I in for a treat! The practical effects are so realistic (the flesh) that when I saw the CGI electricity I forgot this movie was made in 87! Also Andrew Robinson is an amazing actor (from naive husband to Frank) , I can't believe I never heard of him...
Really spot on review, Chris! I pretty much rate this film as a B+ also. Hellraiser is such a great and unique horror film, it's just a shame that after Hellraiser II, all the following sequels pretty much forgot the idea that the Cenobites aren't demons or lords of Hell. They're just extradimensional beings who people have perceived to be demons or angels over millennia. They care little for mankind's plights or buffing Hell, we are just tools for them; toys for their games of pleasure. That Lovecraftian element was really lost on the later instalments.
This has nothing to do with Hellraiser. I just don't do private messages. Brother as a film buff I've been disheartened by the sensationalism of today's film critics. I ignored the RU-vid recommendations but then I finally decided to watch your reviews yesterday. You're a modern day Ebert!! It's such a relief to listen to someone who delivers his reviews with a measured maturity and intelligence. P.S. I'd love to see you and Tony Baker team up for a review. P.P.S. Binging your reviews.
Man after hearing your story, its cool that you can review a film like this now in your life. And pursue film making. Good on you for seeing your dreams through.👍 And great review.
I really wished you had done a longer review where you went a bit more in depth about the novella and the movie. But I think this is one of my favorite horror movies of all time. And the novella is amazing too.
I've read the Novella many many times, first time when I was twelve. Saw it when I was fifteen, at my friends house. I have always liked this film. This and part II are the best. The rest is pretty much fodder. I know pinhead comes in later, but damn he stays in your mind. It's low budget but it still holds up even now to this day.
Hellraiser is one of my favorite horror movies. I like Hellbound (the sequel) too, but it's not as good as the first. After that, you really shouldn't watch any of the other "hellraiser" movies.