Hellraiser
Published November 1, 2025
Film info
- Title Hellraiser
- Director Clive Barker
- Year 1987
- Run time 1hr 34m
- Genres Horror, Thriller, Fantasy
- Tagline Demon to some. Angel to others.
A hedonistic man finds a mysterious puzzle box that summons a group of gruesome beings known as the Cenobites. These otherworldly entities open the doors to a dominion where pain and pleasure are indivisible.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:13 | You know it’s good when the special effects make up gets a pre-film credit. |
| 7:13 | “I’ve never known him to kick cash out of bed.” Odd phrase. |
| 11:34 | Moving a mattress up the stairs… who doesn’t want to yell ‘pivot!’? |
| 16:41 | Frank was really creepy even back then. This doesn’t bode well. |
| 22:16 | Oh god, it’s disgusting. The creaking noises! |
| 38:01 | I mean, there’s love and then there’s this. |
| 44:06 | Monkey screams are an unfair jump scare. |
| 1:03:15 | I wasn’t planning to, but am never fiddling with a puzzle box in future. |
| 1:07:14 | “Demons to some, angels to others.” |
| 1:22:31 | This woman is going to need some serious therapy. SO GROSS. |
Thoughts
This movie is something else. The concept itself is pretty out there - guy buys puzzle box to look for some kind of kinky experimental situations, which he ends up getting from extra-terrestrial beings who also go around killing people. It’s gruesome from the get-go, that extended sequence of Frank coming back out of the floorboards, creepy as anything. I can see why Pinhead is the famous character that has endured, but all of the aliens were well done and disgusting in equal measure. Awful but in a good way, this is a great horror movie.
Rating: 4 / 5