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Hellraiser

Play trailer 1:27 Poster for Hellraiser R Released Sep 18, 1987 1h 33m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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70% Tomatometer 53 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Sexual deviant Frank (Sean Chapman) inadvertently opens a portal to hell when he tinkers with a box he bought while abroad. The act unleashes gruesome beings called Cenobites, who tear Frank's body apart. When Frank's brother (Andrew Robinson) and his wife, Julia (Clare Higgins), move into Frank's old house, they accidentally bring what is left of Frank back to life. Frank then convinces Julia, his one-time lover, to lure men back to the house so he can use their blood to reconstruct himself.
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Hellraiser

Hellraiser

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Critics Consensus

Elevated by writer-director Clive Barker's fiendishly unique vision, Hellraiser offers a disquieting - and sadistically smart - alternative to mindless gore.

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Critics Reviews

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Chris Stuckmann ChrisStuckmann.com The reason the movie works as well as it does is because of its human characters. Rated: B+ Oct 14, 2019 Full Review William Thomas Empire Magazine Horror is at its best when it's relentless. Clive Barker knows this, and his debut feature as director is so gleefully vicious, so relentlessly grim that it's going to be very hard for fans of the genre not to like it. Rated: 4/5 Nov 13, 2017 Full Review Bob McCabe Empire Magazine With Hellraiser, Clive Barker created one of the most genuinely disturbing movies of the last 20 years. Rated: 4/5 Nov 13, 2017 Full Review Grant Hermanns Screen Rant Clive Barker's original adaptation of his Hellbound Heart novella, Hellraiser, remains a tightly-paced genre classic, despite its narrative flaws. Rated: 8/10 Feb 7, 2025 Full Review Michael Sragow San Francisco Examiner The acclaimed young fiction writer turned filmmaker, Clive Barker, here wears his heart on his sleeve -- along with his brains and his intestines... By pushing his horror gimmicks to the limit, Barker becomes a pain for the audience. Rated: 1.5/4 Sep 21, 2022 Full Review Trace Thurman Horror Queers Podcast Sexy, gooey and filled with imagination, Hellraiser is Clive Barker's magnum opus. Rated: 4.5/5 Sep 20, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Joseph S D In the Navy we saw this shortly after it came out - out at sea - in a rough patch. I don't think anyone got any sleep that night. Your average sailor is pretty well hardened to horror pics, but this one... Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/06/25 Full Review Kevin P Intriguing mystery of character motivations behind their fixation and history with the cenobites. Great creature work and character design for all of the cenobites. Solid acting from Pinhead's actor. Can't tell if Julia's affair is a well-done portrayal of assault or a poor framing of it as a consensual affair. I was really invested in the Frank storyline where he coerced Julia to help rejuvenate him back to life. I ironically lost some interest when it devolved to typical “undignified screaming & crying final girl chased by monsters” stuff with the cenobites & Kirsty. Or when the hospital conveniently keeps Kirsty hostage by locking her in without explaining what’s going on even though they legally can't do that since she isn't institutionalized (God, I hate that trope in horror movies). But then it gets interesting again when Kirsty offers to trade Frank's soul for hers to the cenobites with a pretty cool climax that ties it all together with some crazy body horror brought to life from insane practical effects. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/25 Full Review Ricardo d Lá quando eu era criança, tinha muito medo dos cenobites. Este filme passava no SBT, eu ia assistir e depois me borrava de medo. Mas hoje, sei do que tinha medo, era da maquiagem. Todo o filme se baseia na reconstrução do Frank, que é maravilhosa, considerando um filme de orçamento baixo. Isso é inesquecível. Mas o roteiro, e as atuações são bem fracas. Aliás não sei como o filme se manteve com tantas continuações. Este é um daqueles filmes onde torço para o vilão. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/05/25 Full Review Kat A Maybe I would have enjoyed this at the time it came out, but having watched it in 2024 as an adult, I can't really appreciate what they were trying to do. I found it more funny than scary. Lady lures men to house as sacrifices to bring her husband's brother (and former slam piece) back from a gooey existence is the actual plot. It has little to do with hell or cenobites, to my great disappointment. Still, it was nice to see what people reference in shows/movies now. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/31/24 Full Review James B This film is terrifying and has some of the best gore I've ever seen and the actors are just simply amazing in this. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/28/24 Full Review ItzBloxxyCool S Hellraiser… Yeah it’s pretty okay. I did almost fall asleep through this movie because of how somewhat boring it is. This movie starts with Frank solving the cube then getting killed off in a very gross and gruesome way. It’s great. Anyways, we go to the plot where a family moves into a house and we meet some characters played actually really well. The whole thing where this woman was killing people to get flesh for him was actually pretty interesting though. The cenobites are actually played great and Pinhead is actually an well-written and cool antagonist. Overall, the movie is okay with some issues that make it a major snooze-fest and great gore. 6.4/10 Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/17/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Hellraiser

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Movie Info

Synopsis Sexual deviant Frank (Sean Chapman) inadvertently opens a portal to hell when he tinkers with a box he bought while abroad. The act unleashes gruesome beings called Cenobites, who tear Frank's body apart. When Frank's brother (Andrew Robinson) and his wife, Julia (Clare Higgins), move into Frank's old house, they accidentally bring what is left of Frank back to life. Frank then convinces Julia, his one-time lover, to lure men back to the house so he can use their blood to reconstruct himself.
Director
Clive Barker
Producer
Christopher Figg
Screenwriter
Clive Barker
Distributor
New World Pictures, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Image Entertainment Inc.
Production Co
Rivdel Films
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 18, 1987, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Feb 5, 2025
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 25, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$13.3M
Runtime
1h 33m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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