Hellraiser (film series)

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Hellraiser is a series of horror films exploring the themes of sadomasochism and morals under duress. The first film is based on the critically acclaimed novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, who also wrote the screenplay and directed the first film. As of 2006, there have been seven sequels.

Contents 1 The films 1.1 Hellraiser (1987) 1.2 Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) 1.3 Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992) 1.4 Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) 1.5 Hellraiser: Inferno (2000) 1.6 Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002) 1.7 Hellraiser: Deader (2005) 1.8 Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005) 1.9 Clive Barker Presents: Hellraiser (2009) 2 Fan films 3 References 4 External links

[edit] The films

[edit] Hellraiser (1987)

Main article: Hellraiser

Directed by Clive Barker
Country: - United Kingdom.

Frank Cotton is a man looking for the pleasures of life. He buys a mysterious box called The Lament Configuration. He goes to his house and solves the box. To his dismay, he is hooked and torn apart by the Cenobites. The movie then shifts to Julia who is a dishonest wife of Larry Cotton. Julia had an affair with Frank years ago and is not happy with Larry. While moving a mattress, Larry cuts his hand on a nail resulting in blood falling on the floor where Frank died. Frank is resurrected but also incomplete. Julia ends up helping Frank by finding 3 victims and giving them to Frank. Kirsty is the daughter of Larry and escapes from Frank. She also takes the box and solves it. She discovers that the cenobites inhabit it. The ending suggests that Julia and Frank both die and the cenobites are sent back to Hell.

[edit] Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)

Main article: Hellbound: Hellraiser II

Directed by Tony Randel. Filmed in Technicolor.
Country: - United Kingdom.

This movie takes place after the original Hellraiser. After escaping the Cenobites, Kirsty is sent to a mental institution to recover. Doctor Channard is interested in the pain and pleasure of the Lament Configuration. Despite Kirsty's wish, Channard gets a mentally challenged patient to revive the skinless Julia. She later eats enough bodies to finish her body. In the process, Kirsty and Tiffany wander into Hell and meet Pinhead and the Cenobites again. Tiffany becomes lost but encounters Leviathan, Lord of Hell. Meanwhile Kirsty looks for her dad but runs into Frank. Eventually, Julia pushes Channard into a cenobite chamber and he becomes The Channard Cenobite. Afterwards, Kirsty talks Pinhead into saving them until Channard arrives and kills them off. The end has Channard dying by his own desires and Tiffany and Kirsty escaping Hell.

[edit] Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)

Main article: Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth

Directed by Anthony Hickox.
Country: - U.S.A

After the confrontation in Hellbound: Hellraiser II, the Cenobite Pinhead is trapped, along with the puzzle box, amongst the writhing figures and distorted faces etched into the surface of an intricately carved pillar. The pillar is bought by the rich and spoiled J.P. Monroe (Kevin Bernhardt), owner of a famous club called The Boiler Room. An ambitious young television reporter, Joey Summerskill (Terry Farrell), slowly begins to learn about Pinhead and the mysterious puzzle box. She is introduced to the pain the box can bring, when she views a teenage club-goer being ripped apart by the box's chains in a hospital emergency room. She tracks the box and a young woman named Terri (Paula Marshall) to The Boiler Room, from which Terri and her boyfriend had stolen the puzzle box.

[edit] Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)

Main article: Hellraiser: Bloodline

Directed by Alan Smithee
Country: - U.S.A.

This film tells the story of the original creator of the Lament Configuration, a toymaker named Philip Lemarchand, commissioned by a Duc de L'Isle, a wealthy Aristocrat, master of the dark arts who wished to open a gateway to Hell in order to enslave a demon. It presents the story of the later Lemarchand/Merchant bloodline and their unconscious bond with the Lament Configuration, a plot to create a new design, the Elysium Configuration, able to close the gateway opened by the first box and banish the Cenobites. The film has Pinhead finally being destroyed. However this is actually the final story in the series, as the following direct-to-dvd films such as Inferno and Hellseeker are prequels.

[edit] Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)

Main article: Hellraiser: Inferno

Directed by Scott Derrickson
Country: - U.S.A.

Hellraiser: Inferno is more of a psychological thriller to the Hellraiser series. The plot is about an intelligent cop who lets greed and corruption completely destroy his life and all of the people in it. This film returns to the franchise's roots. It revolves around one person being punished for opening the Lament Configuration and cheating on his wife in the process.

[edit] Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)

Main article: Hellraiser: Hellseeker

Directed by Rick Bota.
Country: - Canada

Dean Winters plays Trevor, who survives a car accident that apparently kills his wife Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence), when their car plunges off of a bridge into the river below. Trevor manages to escape with his life, but, divers find both car doors open, there is no sign of Kirsty.

One month later, Trevor wakes up in a hospital and realizes that his wife is missing, but because of a head injury, his memory is uncertain and he cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality. Trevor finds himself the prime suspect in a murder case, and has two homicide detectives on his tail. Many strange events befall him, until the Cenobite Pinhead shows him reality. The film brings back Ashley Laurence as Kirsty Cotton, who appeared in the first three Hellraiser installments.

[edit] Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

Main article: Hellraiser: Deader

Directed by Rick Bota. It was released in the United States on June 7, 2005.
Country: - U.S.A | Romania

A female reporter for a London newspaper is sent to Bucharest to investigate an underground suicide cult who can bring back the dead. She is quickly drawn into their dark world and soon can see no way out other than to join them. Pinhead and his followers appear at the end to claim the person who opened the box.

[edit] Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005)

Main article: Hellraiser: Hellworld

Directed by Rick Bota.
Country: - U.S.A

The movie starts with five friends at a funeral for a friend who died because of his obsession for a game "Hellworld". Two years following that event, the same five friends each complete the Lament Configuration on a website and earn an invitation to the party "Hellworld" at the Leviathan House. Arriving at the house "The Host" of the party (Lance Henriksen) takes the friends on a tour through the many layers of the home and its history which sets the stage for the introductions of "Pinhead" (Doug Bradley) and the other Cenobites. The remainder of the movie falls on Chelsea (Katheryn Winnick) and Jake (Christopher Jacot) as they struggle to escape "The Host" and the Cenobites.

[edit] Clive Barker Presents: Hellraiser (2009)

Dimension Studios is working to develop a remake of the original Hellraiser. Originally, Cliver Barker's official website stated that he would be writing the remake to Hellraiser.^[1] In an interview, Barker stated that he had turned in a 45-page treatment which outlined a film that was filled with "horror and drama".^[2] On October 13, 2007, Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, the directors of the French horror film Inside, confirmed that they are attached to write and direct the new film. In the interview, Maury and Bustillo explained that they do not plan to make a true remake of Clive Barker's original film. The film will not remake all of the movie but will feature new things. The film will feature a "new Pinhead" and a new story. Bustillo and Maury contend that Barker is backing them 100% which he has also stated. However their Barker-supported script was rejected by Dimension and they were replaced with the writers of Feast and Saw IV. Citing creative differences the directors left the project which currently has no director attached. Barker has been notably silent on these latest developments.^[3] Set to release January 9, 2009.^[4]

[edit] Fan films

There is an expanding base of Hellraiser-themed fan films that are either complete or in various stages of production.

• No More Souls was written and directed by makeup effects guru Gary J. Tunnicliffe. It was released as a hidden feature on the commercial DVD release of Hellraiser: Deader.^[5]

• The Hellraiser Chronicles: A Question of Faith^[6] was the first completed fan film and is a British short film that was completed in 2004. Directed by professional filmmaker R.N. Millward (Cherry Orchard, Last Meal, Twisted Souls, Woes of the Departed), this film was designed to recapture as much of the mood and atmosphere of the original as possible. This film is currently doing the festival rounds, and has received very positive reviews, some of which are available on IMDB. ^[7]

• Skankobite^[8] is a Hellraiser parody fan film, made by David Lindabury in 2005. The film's runtime is 8 minutes and is available on DVD.^[9]

• Hellraiser: Prophecy^[10][11] is a crossover fan film, combining the themes from Hellraiser and the 1995 Christopher Walken film The Prophecy. This film was completed in March, 2006, and premiered on 24 March 2006 at I-CON XXV.^[12] The total runtime is 22 minutes. Two teaser trailers are available at the official website ^[13]. The film has been reviewed by the Reel Horror Podcast^[14] and The Horror Podcast^[15]. The fan film was released on the Internet via YouTube in two parts.

• Hellraiser: Apocalypse is a web-only parody.^[16]

• Hellraiser: Early Grave is a four-minute short depicting a lone military officer's run-in with the forces of Leviathan.^[17]

• The Hellraiser Chronicles: Lifebringer is a project from the creator of two fan films, Obsession (abandoned) and Game of Chance.^[18] The film is in post-production and a trailer is on youtube.

• Hellraiser: Masala Nightmares is a fan film set in India. There is a short teaser film on YouTube with original footage shot on location in Pakistan.^[19]

• Hellraiser: Deader - Winter's Lament^[20] is a fan film prequel to the seventh Hellraiser studio film and will be a character study examining the backstory of the antagonist "Winter" from Hellraiser: Deader. The events of the film will span nine years and intersect events from Hellraiser: Bloodline, Hellraiser: Deader and the fan film Hellraiser: Prophecy. The film is currently in post-production, with a trailer currently on YouTube.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Hellraiser at the Internet Movie Database
• Hellbound: Hellraiser II at the Internet Movie Database
• Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth at the Internet Movie Database
• Hellraiser: Bloodline at the Internet Movie Database
• Hellraiser: Inferno at the Internet Movie Database
• Hellraiser: Hellseeker at the Internet Movie Database
• Hellraiser: Deader at the Internet Movie Database
• Hellraiser: Hellworld at the Internet Movie Database
• Clive Barker Presents: Hellraiser (2009) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Hellraiser Chronicles: A Question of Faith at the Internet Movie Database
• Hellraiser: Prophecy at the Internet Movie Database
• Hellraiser: The Hellbound Web

v • d • e Hellraiser series Films: Hellraiser • Hellbound: Hellraiser II • Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth • Hellraiser: Bloodline • Hellraiser: Inferno • Hellraiser: Hellseeker • Hellraiser: Deader • Hellraiser: Hellworld Remake: Clive Barker Presents: Hellraiser (2009) Cenobites: Pinhead • Channard Cenobite • Chatterer • Female Cenobite Related topics: Clive Barker • Doug Bradley • Philip Lemarchand • Lemarchand's box • The Hellbound Heart