Written and directed by Clive Barker, Hellraiser is one of the greatest UK horror films. Unfortunately it is often overlooked given its gruesome content and emphasis on blood. Made on a shoestring budget, the unique imagination, design and vision of Barker are captured with true unrestrained horror. This was the debut of Pinhead and his team of evil demons, the first of many nocturnal visits to our world. Hellraiser may have continued with varying degrees of success yet the original is still the strongest offering.
A thematically rich if somewhat crudely executed blend of horrors that are visceral, bodily, familial and otherworldly.
I left it too long to get around to watching Hellraiser. I should have watched this as an impressionable teenager. Now in my late 40s, it was all a bit little bit silly.
Clive Barker's debut film is very imaginative in with its visuals and easy-to-peel puzzle box, it falls down with the performances which are larger stilted - also, the script is all surface and isn't very good at all. So, it gets 2 stars purely for the 'look' and the really good practical effects - some of which are still impressive by comparison to what we're seeing in low-budget horror today in 2022. Points for Doug Bradley as Pinhead! He gets too talkative in a later films, in this film he still had mystery! An instant icon.
If only Hellraiser had good actors and a good script, it could have been something truly scary and awesome. It's neither.
3 out of 10