Customer Reviews

Hellraiser 1 [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

One of my favorite horror movies and a classic ahead of it's time.Hellraiser is a very imaginitive and unique horror classic.It was made I believe in the late 80's and it delivers the goods;story wise,gore wise and the soundtrack is one of my favorites,done by Christopher young(Nightmare on elm street 2).Move over Stephen King,here comes Clive Barker.

wow.this movie is truly an experience.love it or hate,when it's over it
will probably stick with you for awhile.for me,i thought this movie was
brilliant.it had a great story to it,with great characters.i guess you
would call a it horror movie,but i would call it more of an experience.
there are some gory scenes in the movie,and there are some scenes that
are disturbing and even repulsive.but the gore and guts are done much
more tastefully here than in most 'horror' movies.and there is actually
a story that all of this fits into.i didn't find it gratuitous at
all.there are some things in the movie that could certainly be
offensive to some people.there is some religious themes that some
people would find less than positive.and there a lot themes and images
in this movie that i don't think had been explored much before,if at
all.in my mind,the main villain in this movie(though i don't think he's
really a villain in the usual sense) dubbed Pinhead(for obvious
reasons)is possibly the most iconic(or at least should be)character of
at least the last thirty years.that may sound like an exaggeration,but
the other big name screen villains don't hold a candle to this
character.there was just so much more thought gone that went into the
character.the others,not so much.anyway,if you are able to throw away
all any preconceived notions and see this film for what it is,i think
you will get something out of it.what that something will be is hard to
say,but it might be different for each person.this is all just my
opinion,but for me,i have to give this movie a perfect 5/5 for being a
true cinematic achievement.

Yes my friends here we are again with another cut version of a film on DVD.
How sad the state of the industry.As a consumer I really feel a big let down(i.e.cheated) with these people/companies who are just out to get their bucks and seem to have no remorse or moral sense of obligation to the people who buy their products.Let's look around for a moment.
We have two of tinseltowns' biggest names Lucas and Spielberg.Lucas up until recently refused to release the original theatrical versions of the original Star Wars trilogy.When he finally did(after years of fan "begging") they are in a terribly poor state of transfer,alongside his newer "vision" versions(in pristine condition,thank you very much!).Spielberg has outright refused to release the theatrical version of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" on DVD ....period.It's gone though quite a few incantations on DVD.But the slipcases of the versions out there won't tell you this isn't the original version.Then we have the huge Star Trek franchise with its' first movie "Star Trek-the Motion Picture".It has not been made available on DVD in it's original theatrical form either.But AT LEAST they tell you up front the one they do have is a new "directors cut".
Then you have MGM that tells you one thing(on the slipcase,on the DVD,etc) but it's another when you buy and watch.Case in point:"The Frankie and Annette" collection(see my review)where the entire collection is supposedly widescreen and it isn't.Then you have a very minor company that re-releases a Laurel and Hardy classic"March of the Wooden Soldiers"(see my review)that is supposed to be one thing and upon close examination not up to the hype of its' creators.And on and on,ad nauseum.
Now we come to Hellraiser.A wonderful movie of its' genre....I would even daresay a classic in some respects.An original in thinking and execution.I liked this movie when I saw it in theaters upon release and watching it on VHS some time after;both were identical in footage.I recently picked this DVD version up and was astonished at how much had been cut out.
Now the print itself is in good shape and the sound has been reworked nicely but Freddy Krueger himself couldn't have done a better slash job than this.
The films impact and meaning has been greatly diminished by the elimination of alot of gory sequences and alot of the eroticisim.It's almost a made for TV release print.There are things you find that don't make alot of sense.For example you see Frank at one point sucking the life out of his sister in law on the stairs.She slumps down there and the action continues.Much later we see a short shot of her now on an upstairs bed(in worse shape than on the stairs)being held in place by the hook chains and holding the cube in her hands.? How did she get there,one wonders?
An example of the eroticism would be to look at the beginning of Hellraiser Two.It starts out with a flashback montage taking actuals clips from the first one.There is a short scene of Frank and the sister in law making out on the upstairs bed.....hmm,you might not recall having seen that in the first one and you would be right;that's because it wasn't in this versions' first one.
The list goes on and on but suffice to say Anchor bay isn't going to be releasing it in its' original form and uncut any time soon.Even the 20th anniversary edition coming out soon apparently has the same print and just a few more extras,that's all.
So my advice to you all is AVOID any print released by Anchor Bay now and in the future unless the slipcover explicitly tells you it is "complete and uncut".Because in this version,as B.B.King so eloquently put it,"the thrill has gone".

This was a big deal when it was originally released in 1987. Looking at it today, the acting is terrible (biggest weak point), the effects are rather dated, the movie is slow to get going, but ends rather well and the storyline is quite originally. Verdict: It's a classic...but just barely. If "classic" horrors like Evil Dead, Halloween, Friday the 13th, the Howling and Rosemary's Baby are all in this list of horror classics, this one would make the cut, but it's at the bottom of the list. It's the worst of the best, but yes, still a classic, and much much better than all of its sequels released in the last 12 years.

Back when I was a kid I always heard about the guy called 'Pinhead' in a movie called 'Hellraiser', but always assumed it was just another lousy slasher series. But after seeing a clip from Hellraiser (of a man being shredded by chains) and its awesome trailer on the Boogeymen compilation DVD, I really wanted to see this movie. I was not disappointed. Hellraiser blew my mind.

First off, I really liked the audio commentary on this DVD. Director and writer Clive Barker and star Ashley Laurence do an informative commentary that is moderated by Peter Atkins (who wrote the sequel). It's great to see a commentary where everyone looks back on their earliest work and says what they like about it, what they don't like about it, laugh at a few parts of the film, and experience some nostalgia as they recall what went into the making of Hellraiser. When you listen to this commentary, you get the feeling that the atmosphere on the set was warm and inviting, not cold and impersonal (as big budget films seem to be). You get the same feeling from the commentary on the Hellraiser II DVD.

The violence committed by the demons (called cenobites) in Hellraiser is usually praised by the lowbrow fans of the series. But hell, I'm more lowbrow than anyone else. Like most Hellraiser fans, I can't get enough of the cenobites, especially the Lead Cenobite. But a lot of us tend to overlook the murders committed by Julia and Frank. Frank is in an interesting position - he was tortured and murdered by the cenobites, then (his soul?) escaped from hell. After what looks like a very painful regeneration sequence for Frank, he is presumably dismayed to realize that his body hasn't finished regenerating. Frank's a living corpse, and is so weak that he can only drag himself across a floor. Knowing that blood gives him strength and allows his body to continue regenerating he asks his former flame Julia to help him out. In case you can't see where this is going, a lot of men end up being led to their doom after having their brains bashed in with a hammer. These murders are shown in gruesome fashion - it isn't just some guy getting hit on the head and falling unconscious without feeling a thing. I liked seeing Julia's evolution from a lonely housewife to an evil seductress who has become completely desensitized to killing. Frank absorbs the blood of Julia's victims - each murder brings Frank another step closer to gaining the rest of his body. But you just know the cenobites are bound to make another appearance - and they won't be happy.

The 'Lead Cenobite' is excellently played by Doug Bradley. This Lead Cenobite would later become known among fans as 'Pinhead' - a rather crude and completely inappropriate name. I'm assuming that the Lead Cenobite is never referred to as 'Pinhead' in any of the Hellraiser movies, and that it's just a nickname the fans have for that cenobite. Barker's Pinhead is an obviously witty fellow, as evidenced by his line "No tears please... it's a waste of good suffering!" Pinhead is certainly not a comedian - but in Hellraiser II, with a different writer and director, we see a very different Pinhead. No longer is he the angry, straight-faced, and no-nonsense cenobite leader. He is a very comical fellow in the sequel, who enjoys inflicting pain and playing mindgames. If anything, Barker's Pinhead seemed to regard torturing the solvers of the puzzle box as a chore - a task that was once fun but is now so repetitive that he just wants to do the job as quickly as possible and be done with it. But while he finds his job boring, he also seems to have a very strong work ethic. It's as if Hell has set out some strict rules that govern the use of the puzzle box that the cenobites must follow and enforce. This becomes more apparent in Hellraiser II (when Tiffany solves the box) and Pinhead calls off his eager associates. I guess if you prefer Pinhead's no-nonsense style in Hellraiser, you won't be too fond of his more relaxed style in Hellraiser II. I liked Barker's Pinhead a lot. But I prefer the Pinhead of Hellraiser II - he is more entertaining. If Pinhead was straight-faced in all the sequels, he would get boring after a while. One movie with the raw and humorless Pinhead is enough. Pinhead has a great sense of humor in Hellraiser II, as perverse as it is. I look forward to seeing more of it in the sequels - even though I heard they're all crappy.

The 'Chatterer' and 'Butterball' cenobites are entertaining, even though they don't say a word and don't really do anything except hang around in the background. But they look cool, and it's not necessary for anyone besides Pinhead and the Female Cenobite to do all the talking anyway. The Butterball cenobite looks a little silly (he is wearing shades afterall), but the reason he wears them is revealed at the end of the movie, and it's a really cool reason. The Female Cenobite is the most frightening character in the movie - it's all in her eyes and the way she talks.

As they note on the commentary, Hellraiser is a disturbing movie, not a scary movie. Even I found it disturbing the first time I saw it. Frank described his own grisly torture - hanging upside down by his ankles, while being spun around in mid-air as he had metal hooks digging into his dangling body - as a painful AND sensual experience. Fascinating. That flashback sequence had some of the coolest imagery in movie history. Considering the low-budget, this film did a hell of a lot with less. Ultimately, Hellraiser helped push the envelope of our trashy pop culture to places it feared to go. Some of the acting was a little weak, but Hellraiser is good enough to give it five stars.

Ok, I will try to keep this brief. Hellraiser is incredible for it's originality in story line; leaving behind the god/satan area of evil and just going straight an other worldly group of creatures that teach that there is no difference between pleasure and pain- there is only sensation. That is not a topic that most horror flicks venture(although that point is not as explored in the movie as in the novella).

Plus, any movie that has a character say,"Jesus wept" just as he is about to be torn apart by hooks (and yes that line was improvised) gets major brownie points in my book.

Hellraiser is way better than candyman, i loved it.
I was'nt going to watch it at first because i had watched the third one before and dind'nt think much to it.
When i watched it i loved it and now i am wanting to watch the 2nd one but people have told me that it is very boring so i will consider watching it.

Produced in 1987, Hellraiser was not only a much welcomed relief to the horror genre, but it was extremely original.

I watched it again in 2004, and despite it reeking of the 80's (hairdo's, fashions, some special effects), it still works and is quite clever. Even the effects are very well done considering the year they were done.

The storyline is something I have not seen before and that's what makes it so special. A genuinely creepy tale, that will make you look away on more than one occasion. A man takes possession of a special box that can open the doors of hell if not careful! He is not careful and telling anymore would spoil this exciting tale.

A must own for horror fans. The DVD sports a nicely cleaned up transfer.

Hellraiser is a really cool horror film. Sure the effcts are horrible, but you have to itmit, it had a great plot. Some guy named Frank gets a puzzle box from the devil. When he opens it, he is taken to hell by an evil demon named Pinhead. Frank gets out of hell, and meets his fromer lover, who is trying to make him normal again. Meanwhile, Pinhead and his demons are looking for Frank. This is a real cool movie. The best Clive Baker movie by far.

I've seen this film a zillion times in my local shop, and finally decided to get it, due my Dad showing an interest in it. I'd never heard of Pinhead before - just knew of his face due to seeing it on the DVD!

I actually enjoyed this film, but I doubt I would ever watch it again. It's a one-time only film I thought. I found it extremely dated, but that's only to be expected. It was quite hilarious looking at Julie's (Clare Higgins) outrageous makeup, multi-coloured eyeshadow right up to the eyebrows! Oh, the 80s. What a decade.

I didn't really find it that scary - gory more than anything. There was a certain scene (where Kirsty's - Ashley Laurence - character is in hospital, and starts playing with the box) that reminded me of Labyrinth slightly. She was running through a seemingly endless corridor, whereas Jennifer Connolly was running through a maze.

Clare Higgins was extremely familiar - she had one of those faces. I've looked at what she's done, but she hasn't done anything I recognise, so I guess she reminds me of someone from Neighbours/Prisoner, or some other Australian show! She had that kinda look about her!

For all you film score fanatics out there, Christopher Young (Sweet November) does a brilliant score to this. It's not that intrusive, as any good score should be, and it highlights all the good parts of the movie.

So I liked this film - that means someone out there is removing it from their wishlist right about ... now!