Review of Hellraiser (1987) by Jacob S — 02 Jun 2012

Clive Barker's Hellraiser (1987) is a brilliantly shot film from Clive Barker, known for his twisted horror stories. Although, this film features a high level of gore- especially for a film from the 1980s (even more gory than the many other slashers of the same time), it has an interesting story and impressive acting.

Before proceeding with my review I would like to mention that this review contains spoilers, so if you do not wish for elements of the story to be revealed DISCONTINUE reading, personally I do not believe that they will affect anything, but I wanted to mention it anyway.

The film is an interesting story on immorality and sexual desire. For example, the character of Frank Cotton uses Julia Cotton (it is implied that the two love each other, although that is questionable) to acquire the necessary parts to become whole.

On the same note, she herself is not a good character because she is responsible for the killing of several people (though in some ways she is better because she tries to prevent the death of her husband Larry Cotton for a while).

The same is true of the Cenobites (who are actually not the primary antagonists of this film), who kill people using brutal methods, although many of these people often deserve the punishment receive.

The film is also adept at using camera angles that allow one to really feel what the characters are feeling. Thus, proving that Clive Barker is as talented at directing, as he is at writing, which is not always the case for great writers (For example Stephen King who produced an atrocious film called Maximum Overdrive, despite being a brilliant writer).

One last note is the score which was absolutely brilliant (and is one of my top ten favorite scores of any movie) and added a great deal to the film. Ultimately, Clive Barker's Hellraiser (1987) is a must-see film for any horror movie or even regular movie fan with a brilliant story (and moral message), film techniques, acting, and score, as long as you can get through the intense level of gore and sexual content.