Hellraiser Review

Written by: Moviemaven   

What's your pleasure, Sir?  Have you ever had the notion to experience the pleasure beyond pain?  Welcome to Clive Barker's world where the two are indivisible.

Frank Cotton had this desire.  When he purchased the mysterious puzzle box, the Lament Configuration, he hoped to find the ultimate gratification.  Solving the box summons the Cenobites.  They are demons to some, angels to others.  Once you call them, they will take you to the very limits of your body and soul.  But be warned, for desire has a price.  There is no escape, no changing your mind.  If you summon them, you are theirs.  And you just may find that some experiences are too much to bear. Clive Barker's masterpiece of flesh and gore takes us to the limits of our imaginations.  He skillfully leads us through a maze of agony and ecstasy.

After Frank disappears, his brother, Larry and his wife, Julia reclaim the old home.  An accident leads to Frank's return but he is not whole.  He requires more blood to complete his shredded body.  Julia, having once been a lover of Frank's, agrees to help him by providing the blood of men.  Larry is none the wiser.  His daughter, Kirstie, discovers the secrets of the box and offers to help the Cenobites find their missing victim in exchange for her own life.  The Cenobites are greedy, though, and always hungry for souls.  They care not whether you open the box on purpose.

A gorehound's delight, Hellraiser is oozing with blood and goo.  Though the effects are straight from the eighties and sometimes on the hokey side (see flashes of blue lightning, etc.), it is swimming in slimy body parts and intense scenes of ripping flesh.  Oddly erotic at times and exceedlingly disturbing, it is not for the faint of heart.

So, I ask you again.  What is your pleasure, Sir?  Do you long to see how far you can go?  Do you wish to test the limits of pleasure and pain?  To push through the boundaries of the flesh?  Tread lightly in this unholy world of torture and be careful what you wish for.  Some doors are never meant to be opened.