In 1987, the world received a classic horror franchise in the making. Based upon a novella by Clive Barker called, The Hellbound Heart.

Barker decided that the world needed to see this story instead of reading it. Writing and directing the original film himself.

What came next was a classic late eighties horror film that spawned a unique franchise.

The Summary

Clive Barker‘s feature directing debut graphically depicts the tale of a man and wife who move into an old house and discover a hideous creature – the man’s half-brother, who is also the woman’s former lover – hiding upstairs.

Having lost his earthly body to a trio of S&M demons, the Cenobites, he is brought back into existence by a drop of blood on the floor. He soon forces his former mistress to bring him his necessary human sacrifices to complete his body… but the Cenobites won’t be happy about this. — Written by Ary Luiz Dalazen Jr., IMDb

Words to Screen

When I was young and discovering novels for the first time, I found a unique British horror writer by the name of Clive Barker. I fell in love with his work. By the time I had discovered this novella, he already turned one book into a movie, Raw Head Rex.

Then, Hellraiser slated for release. I couldn’t have been more excited. Luckily my dad was a horror fan as much as my friends, and I were. So, he took us to see it, instantly becoming one of my favorite films of that decade.

The Box

Sexual deviant Frank, played by Sean Chapman, inadvertently opens a portal to hell when he tinkers with a box he bought while abroad. The act unleashes gruesome beings called Cenobites, who tear Frank’s body apart. 

When Frank’s brother, played by Andrew Robinson and his wife, Julia, Clare Higgins, move into Frank’s old house, they accidentally bring what is left of Frank back to life.

The man then convinces Julia, his one-time lover, to lure men back to the house so he can use their blood to reconstruct himself.

The Franchise

In this little snippet of the film, we are all shown a much larger universe at work here. With nine movies under its belt, only one of which does not have Doug Bradley return as the classic villain, Pin Head.

I even used to have the vinyl model of him as well. He ranked up there with the legends to me, such as: Dracula, Frankenstein, and the like. All in all, one of my favorite movies of the late eighties.

Now, we get to see if they decide to continue the story or reboot it as has been the case with numerous films as of late. In my opinion, a solid 9 out of 10 for this classic.

A+

Edward