Cyclonus
09-27-2002, 03:41 PM
Hellraiser (1987)
Director: Clive Barker
Cast: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman, Oliver Smith, Doug Bradley, Robert Hines
Screenwriter: Clive Barker, based on his novella "The Hellbound Heart"
Producer: Christopher Figg
A New World Pictures release
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/6304808879.01.MZZZZZZZ.gif
A wise man once said, "If you want something done right, do it yourself." After being displeased with previous film adaptations of his works, horror novelist Clive Barker did just that. Hellraiser is not a masterpiece as some claim, but it is an intelligent, well-crafted horror drama. One remarkable aspect of the film is the strength of its domestic conflict: infidelity, loveless marriage, and the conflict within stepfamilies. As I recall, another reviewer boldly stated that these plot elements are strong enough to sustain their own film, without the supernatural aspects. He may be right.
It is amazing how effortlessly the everyday drama of the Cotton household blends with the fantastic situations that soon crop up. Much of the credit for this belongs to Clare Higgins, whose honest reaction to the situation makes the devilish goings-on more credible. How would people truly react when confronted with the otherworldly? Hellraiser may provide the answer.
Kudos, too, to the technical work, aptly done despite budget constraints. Frank's resurrection scene makes astonishing use of old-fashioned special-effects technology. It would not have been nearly as effective with CGI. The Cenobite designs are excellent, as is the makeup work done for skinless Frank. Notice that the violence, as graphic as it is, never seems exploitive. It's just there, unlike other 1980's horror films where the object is just to show as much gore as possible within time and budget.
Hellraiser has held up very well over the last fifteen years. True, the pacing is somewhat uneven, and some of the ending seems pretty throwaway. Nonetheless, the film has offered us some of the most truly horrifying, bizarre images in fright cinema.
7/10.
Director: Clive Barker
Cast: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman, Oliver Smith, Doug Bradley, Robert Hines
Screenwriter: Clive Barker, based on his novella "The Hellbound Heart"
Producer: Christopher Figg
A New World Pictures release
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/6304808879.01.MZZZZZZZ.gif
A wise man once said, "If you want something done right, do it yourself." After being displeased with previous film adaptations of his works, horror novelist Clive Barker did just that. Hellraiser is not a masterpiece as some claim, but it is an intelligent, well-crafted horror drama. One remarkable aspect of the film is the strength of its domestic conflict: infidelity, loveless marriage, and the conflict within stepfamilies. As I recall, another reviewer boldly stated that these plot elements are strong enough to sustain their own film, without the supernatural aspects. He may be right.
It is amazing how effortlessly the everyday drama of the Cotton household blends with the fantastic situations that soon crop up. Much of the credit for this belongs to Clare Higgins, whose honest reaction to the situation makes the devilish goings-on more credible. How would people truly react when confronted with the otherworldly? Hellraiser may provide the answer.
Kudos, too, to the technical work, aptly done despite budget constraints. Frank's resurrection scene makes astonishing use of old-fashioned special-effects technology. It would not have been nearly as effective with CGI. The Cenobite designs are excellent, as is the makeup work done for skinless Frank. Notice that the violence, as graphic as it is, never seems exploitive. It's just there, unlike other 1980's horror films where the object is just to show as much gore as possible within time and budget.
Hellraiser has held up very well over the last fifteen years. True, the pacing is somewhat uneven, and some of the ending seems pretty throwaway. Nonetheless, the film has offered us some of the most truly horrifying, bizarre images in fright cinema.
7/10.