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Hellraiser

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1:27

Hellraiser

R

Released Sep 18, 1987

1h 33m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

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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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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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

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Eric G

Great effects, character design and a really captivating story. The gore makes you cringe, the humor makes you smile, and every scene leaves you wanting more.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/16/25

Full Review

Gabriel L

I loved this movie. The special effects and makeup are incredible for the time. The cenobites acted as a cool threat that was looking in the background, and the plot is really interesting

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/30/25

Full Review

Adam B

It is very easy for stories of such darkness and depravity to feel miserable and unwatchable in a movie standpoint. However, Hellraiser is able to be as dark as it wishes will keeping you invested with great effects, good performances, and some of the most iconic villain designs in horror with the Cenobites: Pinhead and his Gash (yes, the offical term). Their backseat role feels sensible in this movie, unlike the rest of this franchise.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/08/25

Full Review

Josh A

This movie is absolutely crazy. That's the best way to describe it. It's like Demon 79 but darker and fused with The 9th Circle (the short film where Art the Clown first appeared). Let's begin. The plot is worth talking about as it is interesting. A guy manages to escape hell but needs people to be killed in order to regain his normal form. It's crazy and works well, adding horror as the guy, named Frank Cotton, slowly but surely regains his flesh but turns into a blood-soaked figure. And there's also the Cenobites, who are mysterious and look cool. The film is also absolutely crazy. Like, the way the Cenobites are summoned is a puzzle cube, they rip people apart with chains, and a dragon steals the box at the end. Well, a demon that looks like a dragon at least. We don't see much of hell but what we see is cool. We see it more next film anyways. Overall, a crazy movie and a very good movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/16/25

Full Review

Justin I

I was really looking forward to watching this movie after playing the video game Dead by Daylight. As the lead cenobite better known as "Pinhead" is a playable character. Boy was I disappointed. The film is boring and the cenobites are barely in the film. Just about an unfaithful wife who lures men to her house to resurrect her husband's dead brother who she slept with before and it was a really good time for her. The acting is bad. It's not scary. just gory. I would not recommend watching this film. The cenobites are a great design.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/15/25

Full Review

Chris B

Boring and rubbish. This movie was not scary at all.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/06/25

Full Review

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Clive Barker

Director

Andrew Robinson

Larry Cotton

Clare Higgins

Julia Cotton

Ashley Laurence

Kirsty Cotton

Sean Chapman

Frank Cotton

Oliver Smith

Frank the Monster

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Hellraiser: Trailer 1

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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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