Oh, fond memories. I couldn’t find nightbreed (so if anyone posts links to that as well, thank you and I love you), so I thought I’d bring up yet another classic from both the horror archives and from the mind of clive barker. I remember being 11 and quite solidly petrified of this film, not least of all because of how uncompromisingly brutal, but at the same time beautiful it can be. The stop frame animation in this film, the look of pinhead have always been something of an inspiration to me, and the reason I fell in love with film in general so deeply. I think Hellraiser is, at least to me a classic because I’ve always felt that Clive Barker is much more raw and passionate than his contemporaries; most of his stories involve some manner of domination of submission of will from one person to another; an underlying hedonistic feeling of enjoying those things that society normally finds taboo. This, in essence is what Frank, in the form of the perverse, sadistic Pinhead embodies, and as a child made him far more frightening than the likes of Freddy Kreuger or Jason, or Michael ever could be. With these villains, the victims didn’t know what was going to happen to them, such is the nature of stalker/slasher movies; but in hellraiser, even in the trailer you’re told - “we’ll tear your soul apart”.

Excellent film, and a piece of an era long gone, and if you haven’t seen this one, I would heartily recommend watching it tonight with the lights off and a bunch of good friends. If you have, sit back and allow yourself to enjoy the story once more, as this one will never get old. Unlike anything after Hellraiser 2.

Quality: The screens don’t show it, but but you’ll be stolen by the beautifully crisp picture and sound for high definition viewing. I plan to enjoy this tonight.

Synopsis: The feature-film debut of multi-talented filmmaker Clive Barker, this grim and surreal project is based on the writer/director’s own novella The Hell-Bound Heart. The film opens with a chilling prologue in which globe-trotting pervert Frank (Sean Chapman) — a connoisseur of sexual depravity seeking the ultimate sensual experience — purchases a small, intricate puzzle box from an unseen dealer in an unspecified country. Upon solving the puzzle, Frank opens the door to a hellish alternate universe and is promptly torn to ribbons by a network of hooks and chains; his strewn body parts are subsequently collected by the Cenobites — grotesque, S & M-clad denizens of hell.

Ratings: IMDB: 7.0/10.0 (19,906 votes) | RT: 62%

Genre: Horror
Directed by: Clive Barker
Starring: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman, Oliver Smith
Language: English
First Cinematic Release: 13 May 1987 (France)

Release Name: Hellraiser.1987.1080p.BD9.x264-BDiSC
Video: x264 @ 10900 Kbps- 1920×1080px (WxH) - AR: 16/9 - FPS: 23.976 fps
Audio: AC3 @ 640 Kbps (Constant) - 6 channels
Size: 81 Files @ 7.6 GB
Runtime: Release - 93 mins | Official - 94 mins
Filename: bdisc-hr-bd9

Links: NFO, Wikipedia, YouTube Trailer
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