A 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. The story continues several years later, when Frank's brother, Larry (Andrew Robinson), moves into Frank's abandoned house with his daughter, Kirsty (Ashley Laurence), and his new wife, Julia (Clare Higgins). There, Hell is literally opened up as Frank is resurrected and intends to restore all his body parts and fluids.

Cast/Acting:
In this grisly and gory a** movie star Sean Chapman, Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence and Doug Bradley as Pinhead. The cast is very much average and sometimes below average.
Sean Chapman as the victim of the whole movie is really good actually. You don't get to see him too much without all that gory make-up on. While doing all his scenes, his emotions were excellent. His gruff/tough voice is very creepy though. When he's the bloody skeleton, he's scary as hell! His speaking role is pretty good too. He has a lot of emotion during those scenes. This is one of the two actors that are worth a damn!
Andrew Robinson is one of the average actors. He plays the father of Ashley and the husband of Clare. As the father, he does a pretty good job at it. He and Ashley had a lot of chemistry going between them in the scenes that they were in together. Andrew as the husband is awful. Andrew and Clare has NO chemistry whatsoever. In fact, his brother(Frank) had more chemistry going on more than Larry and Clare. Plus, him just speaking seems just plain dull. It could have been the sound in the movie but his voice isn't that great and he can't act great either. For an example, when he got his hand cut, he walked up to Clare without even yelling or screaming out in the pain. He did an awful job in this flick.
Clare Higgins isn't too great either. Sometimes, she is fantastic and sometimes she's plain awful. For her good parts, Clare did a good job on being scared in the attic and talking with Frank(as the skeleton). She did fantastic on those scenes. Her emotions were on the spot. While emotion on those scenes were good, the bad for her is that the rest of the scenes are horrible. For an example, Andrew comes in with his hand bleeding terribly(de-ja-vu) and guess what the hell she does? She just turns around facing him without even running towards him and saying; Are you alright?. No, she walks towards him and says; Is It Deep?. Also, when she saw him bleeding, she didn't even look worried about him. She just looked like she does in the flick.
Ashley Laurence--what a cutie! She's the daughter of Andrew Robinson. She's pretty good in this flick. Although, early in the movie, she's pretty average. Her emotions aren't really up to speed like her just speaking. After she encounters Sean being the skeleton, she's excellent. It seems to me that she does an excellent job on being the damsel in distress. She can scream good and being scared. She has strong emotions during the scary scenes.
Doug Bradley as Pinhead is simply great. Although, you don't see much of him but when you do, you are kind of glad to see him because of his acting. I love that line--We'll tear your soul apart. He does a great bad guy acting. You never get to see him without his Pinhead make-up though.

Gore:
Do I really need to go into this category because we mostly know about how bloody this movie is? OKAY, fine. Well, it's a real bloody mess filled with wet, wet, wet blood! In HellRaiser, you get multiple chains tearing up flesh, a bloody hand, cheek scratched grisly, meat hanging on hooks and a post, a bloody transformation, a bloody body and hammer blows. Plus, you get bloody corpses in the mix. When I say this is a really gory movie, you better believe it! I have never seen so much blood in a movie. You'll find yourself saying; Oh my God because of the blood! This movie isn't for people who have trouble seeing blood. Also, don't see the movie while eating!

Scare-Factor:
Watching this as a kid, I was scared...really scared. Now, that I am 15 years old, HellRaiser is still a scary movie. It doesn't really compare to other movies in this generation but in that generation, HellRaiser was on of the scariest films of all time. Seeing Frank(Sean) as the bloody skeleton is THE scariest. When you first watch Hellraiser, you'll encounter a chilling opening that will glue you right to the seat. After that, the movie relaxes you and this goes on for a while until that one scene that starts the movie off with a bang and continues just like the intro of the movie. For HellRaiser to be scary, please watch this movie at night AND alone.

Special-Effects:
For an '87 flick, the special effects are awesome. Now as a teenager, I never knew that they had those kind of effects 18 years ago. WOW, they are really good indeed. Seeing chains tearing up flesh are kind of cheesy because you can tell that the flesh is rubber and not real but the rest of the effects are believable. In this flick, you'll get walls bleeding, lighting techniques, an awesome and bloody body coming out from the floor, head exploding, man turning into a winged-devil, and I'm sure more. The wall bleeding is perfect. It looks so real and believable. The lighting techniques I mention are when the BOX lights up. They look real but you can tell it's CGI. It STILL looks good. Frank coming out from the floor and him becoming something is really good and you'll wonder how they did that stunt. The special effects for this movie are really good and it can't be doubted.

Sound Effects:
Once again something that really impressed me since this is an '87 flick. Here, you'll hear sharp cries from some of the creatures and enjoyable yet creepy music soundtrack that features mostly goth type of music. The music is one of the things that add to the suspense. Also, hearing blood dripping is sharp, loud and eerie. SPLAT. Hearing doors slam is also sharp and loud. OH and let's not forget about hearing the chains. WOW! I would never think to hear chains were meant to scare me but in this flick, hearing those chains means trouble(that's a compliment) because that is mostly what Pinhead uses to torture his victims. Those chains are sharp and loud. For the 80s feel, the movie has been digitally mastered with high definition sound for superior quality. All the sound effects are sharp and loud.

Cons:
Besides the acting;
We don't get to see Pinhead and his group. I think only 4 scenes tops but that isn't a bad thing since the movie bases Andrew, Clare, Sean and Ashley's relationship. The viewers see their chemistry/relationship unfold. Remember, Frank(Sean) is THE victim in this flick. At the end of the movie, Ashley is the victim.
Yes, there are plot holes in this flick. One, how the hell did Pinhead and his group become trapped in the BOX? Second, What does the end mean when a hobo turns into Satan and flies away with the BOX? I guess I'll have to wait to see HellBound: Hellraiser2 to find out why.
The 80's feel is noticeable no doubt. Back then, it wasn't noticed because it was made in the 80s. Why I say the movie feels like the 80's because there are no slashers in this flick and the outfits that the characters wear is simply 80s.


Bottom Line:
It is no doubt in my mind why HellRaiser is such a classic. It has gore that a stomach can't take, excellent special effects and sound effects for an '80s flick, suspenseful enough to keep you interested but has average acting and a few plot holes. Overall, I highly recommend this movie but I doubt many can stomach the gore in this flick.


HellRaiser Info:
Genre: Horror
Running Time: 93 minutes
Year Of Movie: 1987
Rated: R for Strong violence/gore, language and sexuality


Reviews:

We're on the edge of our seats with a feeling of uninhibited terror the whole time.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, COMBUSTIBLE CELLULOID

Against the odds, Barker produced a unique, imaginative, if not somewhat stomach-churning, work that has since earned aplace in the annals of horror cinema.
James Kendrick, Q NETWORK FILM DESK

Full of both weighty philosophical concepts and fun, over the top gore, it's got something guaranteed to please almost any genre fan.
Mike Bracken--yes he is on Epinions.com, MIKE BRACKEN'S HORROR FILMS

An imaginative, frightening debut from Clive Barker. A landmark horror film.
Blake Davis, KFOR CHANNEL 4 NEWS

Cinematic Barker at its most clever and disturbed.
Widgett Walls, NEEDCOFFEE.COM

Barker onscreen has never been better, and this movie probably did more to bring sadomasochism into the mainstream than anything before or since.
-- Luke Y. Thompson, NEW TIMES

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age