Based on the novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, the original Hellraiser film came out in 1987. I didn't see it until it came out on DVD. I thought it was a bloody, gory film and not really my thing. However the characters "The Cenobites" that were introduced in this film were fascinating. Especially the lead named Pinhead primarily played by Doug Bradley. I found the costuming and imagination behind the characters and world to be amazing. Since I saw the move I have read a lot of Clive Barker, and I love how while he does write scary books, they are not like Stephen King or Anne Rice, or others. The difference being that clive creates these amazing alternate worlds that humans happen to find themselves accessing. The world in the Hellraiser series is a version of Hell - all hallways, dark, light, shadows, and the Cenobites. The Cenobites are people who ended up in hell and have had physical torture applied while creating their new look. For example Pinhead - a shaved head, covered with nail size pins stuck in it in a grid pattern, black leather top with exposed nipples that are pierced and designed to always be pulling on them. It is darkly beautiful.
The story of Hellraiser revolves around a puzzle box that when opened, it opens the divide between this world and the Cenobite hell. It usually involves chains shooting out of the nowhere, embedding hooks into the person who opened the box, and eventually pulling the person apart - literally. Bloody, gory, missey, and exactly what you expect from this sort of film. The first of ten films introduces the Hellworld, and the puzzle box, and the lead Kirsty (Ashley Laurence). You can read more of a synopsis, including spoilers, at the link above. This film was written and directed by Barker and is a good introduction to the universe he created. Some of the filming may seem immature, but it was the first major film that he directed, and the only Hellraiser film that Barker directed. He sold the rights to the character/idea and walked away to do his own work.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II, released in 1988 is more of an actual sequel than the rest of the film series. They all feature the puzzle box and Cenobites in some way, but the characters change...and at times the Cenobites change as well. This film uses quite a bit of footage from the first film as quite a bit is recalling memories, and it also features Ashley Laurence returning as Kirsty.
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, from 1992, finds Pinhead imprisoned in a sculpture. As in the other films, blood helps release the characters from Hell. For example, the first movie had blood release and reanimate a dead uncle. The 2nd film has the same thing, including the same mattress, the same uncle, and his lover who was the stepmother in the first film. Anyway, the sculpture is in a gallery and the trouble begins. The gallery owner sells it to a power hunger club owner, who first starts feeding it souls in order to resurrect Pinhead. Gory, crazy ways to die in this film, and the club owner is the incredibly hot (in a 1990's way) Kevin Berhardt...who ended up marrying Apollonia Kotero (from Purple Rain) in real life.
Hellraiser: Bloodline, from 1996 really mixes it up. It starts in a space station and goes back in history to show the creation of the puzzle box. We also find the descendent of the creator of the box, and he is the one who has created the space station, and is also on the space station. There is a secondary story that introduces us to Angelique. This may be one of my more favored Hellraiser films because the premise is so wild, and the story is very fun and imaginative. This was the last film to be released in theatres - from here on out they are all direct to DVD. Read into that what you will.
From here we start getting just dark and bloody and gory. There are some interesting ideas behind the stories for sure. Hellraiser: Inferno came out in 2000, and is number five in the series. It starts the adorable Craig Sheffer, along with James Remar. I first saw Sheffer in a charming made-for-TV film named Baby Cakes that also had Rickie Lake as a lead, and he was also in the Clive Barker based film Nightbreed. James Remar you may know from Sex and The City, or as Dexter's father Harry Morgan in the Dexter series. This film focuses on Sheffer playing a corrupt detective who finds the puzzle box at a crime scene. After that point, his life falls apart.
Hellraiser: Hellseeker, from 2002 puts a different tweak on the usual storyline. In this film Ashley Laurence returns as Kirsty, and she is married to Trevor played by Dean Winters. There is a car accident where Kirsty is killed, but her body is never found. Trevor is left dealing with the guilt, as well as a head injury and memory loss. Is there a very nice twist at the end? Sure is!
Hellraiser: Deader from 2005 is another story in this world. After a certain point it seems like you don't even need to know the background or have seen the first few films - each film works as a stand-alone. This film takes place in Bucharest. A reporter is sent there to research a cult let by Winter Marchand, a descendent of the puzzle maker. Paul Rhys plays Marchand, which I love because he is well known for BBC productions, and films including the recent Saltburn. I love when an established actor takes on a film like there as it seems like he is just doing it for fun. And why not? Anyways, Winter can not open the box and so he creates a cult to get volunteers, who have experienced trauma, to open the box with the goal of Winter becoming the leader of the Cenobites. As can be expected, things do not go the way he expects.
Hellraiser: Hellworld, also from 2005, is based on a short story by Joel Soisson named "Dark Can't Breath." It was not written as part of the Hellraiser world, but adapted into that universde for this film. This film has the incredible Lance Henriksen playing a man who owns a huge mansion, and throws Hellraiser themed parties there. The invites to the parties are sent out via an online game, so the attendees are mainly teens and other young people. Naturally things get dark and bloody at the party, while also quite mysterious. It seems like the house is haunted but is it? It is quite an interesting film, and it also includes a very young Henry Cavill looking amazing and working in an American accent.
Hellraiser: Revelations from 2011 was done mainly to prevent the rights from slipping away from the studio. While interesting, it did have more violence towards women than usual. The story follows two younger men, probably just out of High School, who run away and take a trip to Mexico specifically to party, get laid, and possibly make some quick money by being drug mules. This is the first Hellraiser film where Pinhead is not played by Doug Bradley. It is a strange film, even for this series. There is a lot of sex in it, adultery, and surprisingly quite a bit of homoerotic action...and the ending has a twist that is very unexpected.
Hellraiser: Judgement from 2018 feels like the end of the series. Three detectives are investigating a series of murders. During their investigations they find themselves facing Cenobites. The film starts with Pinhead, not played by Doug Bradley again, talking to the auditor of the Stygian Inquisition. This is a side of the Hellraiser world that we have not seen before. The Stygian Inquisition is in charge of hearing the sins of those going to hell, then deciding what their fate will be. This process, naturally, is dark yet fascinating. These three detectives are all taken and face the Inquisition. Naturally one of the detectives is so bad that his sins cause serious problems with the Inquisition.
The whole film series certainly takes you on a journey. There is a constant theme and style, specifically with how the Cenobites deal with people. Beyond that, every films is similar in storyline. Someone gets dragged to hell in blood and gore. While I would not recommend watching them all back to back in a marathon, they are some fun and interesting films to watch. Especially if you like the look of the Cenobites (who end up being the stars really), and you don't mind blood and gore. And while some of the blood and gore is over the top in a Tarantino way, it isn't always that way. So be aware.
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