Greetings, and welcome back to October Horror Fest! Today, we will be looking into one of the most famous horror films ever made, and how it still survives today. It’s a world of paranoia, the paranormal, and of course, lots and lots of blood. It’s also another Rule #1 movie. Thank you Randy! Bear with me my friends, as we go straight down to hell. Without further ado, sit back, relax, turn off the lights, grab some Candy and Popcorn, and let’s review…
Hellraiser (1987)
Our film starts off “calm”, but don’t worry everyone, the blood is coming. We begin our movie in Morocco, where a man named Frank Cotton pays A LOT of money to buy a small puzzle box. The man selling it to him asks what his pleasure is, Frank responds by saying the box. Frank is the biggest sexual deviant probably in movies ever, his character inspires MANY others. And, he is willing to do whatever it takes to obtain the otherworldly pleasure he desires. We cut to Frank in his attic, as he sits down, solves the box, opening it. Lightning shoots out of it, and we see the horrors it contains…
Fog begins pouring through the windows and doors, and it’s hellish. Hooked chains appear from within the walls and SHOOT out at Frank, digging into his skin. He screams, as he is pulled apart. Yeah. We see the carnage that is unleashed, as Pinhead, one of the most famous horror icons of all time, appears. He closes the box, puts the pieces of Frank’s face back together, and everything goes back to normal.
We cut to sometime later, where the house still sits dormant. This is, until Frank’s brother Larry opens the door, starting the events to come. He is accompanied by his second wife Julia. The two have been going through a rough patch to say the least, and Larry bought the house to at least try and rebuild the relationship he is so close to losing. Julia and Larry separate to explore, and Julia comes across the bed of Frank. It’s covered in artifacts from his “encounters”, and has several photographs encased within a box. Julia opens it, and views them all. Downstairs, Kristy, Larry’s daughter, calls. She is AWESOME, and is immediately joining the Horror Fest Final Girls Tier List. You’ll see. Larry begs for his daughter to come over to try and connect to Julia. Kristy promises she will, but is occupied with her apartment and trying to find a job. The relationship between Father and Daughter is strained as well, but the two love each other very much. Julia leaves the upstairs room, looking quite shaken, but she hides this from her husband. She agrees to move in, and we cut to Sunday, move in day.
Kristy walks through the city in a beautiful shot, and arrives at the house as Larry works with movers. Larry is overjoyed to see his daughter, and the movers look at her due to her looks. She walks throughout the house, eager to be there. Upstairs, we learn something shocking. Julia is sitting, still acting cold toward her family. She looks down, and in her hand, IS A PHOTO OF HER AND FRANK? Yes, everyone. Before Julia married Larry, she loved Frank, and had an affair with him during the engagement. Larry is COMPLETELY unaware of this. We see a flashback to the affair. As the affair flashback continues, we see downstairs, where Larry cuts his hand on a nail while moving in. We end the flashback, with Julia promising she will do anything Frank wants, as long as he stays.
In the present, Larry runs to Julia with his injured hand. Larry is a bit of a loser, which characterizes him. He isn’t good with blood, but Julia tries to wrap his hand. However, they’re in the attic. Larry’s blood drips onto the floor, and disappears, entering the floor. As the pair rush to the hospital, we see what the blood does. In an absolutely horrific but AMAZING PRACTICAL EFFECT WAYY FAMOUS shot, a monstrous, horrific, ghoulish Frank emerges from the floor. He’s alive, but looks like a demon. Literally. That night, the family and some friends had dinner. Kristy is there with a boy, and they totally are into each other. But, before the dinner can conclude, Julia excuses herself, saying she feels ill.
She walks upstairs to the attic, and finds Frank. She is absolutely shocked and terrified, as Frank says not to look at him. He explains that the blood on the floor brought him back. Julia is still obsessed with the man, and SOMEHOW, agrees to get him more blood to fully heal him. They want to run away together. Kristy encounters Julia on the stairs, and it’s intense, before Kristy leaves, still feeling suspicious of Julia. She and Steve, her now boyfriend, kiss.
Julia walks back upstairs, and talks to Frank. We see a flashback to when she said she would do anything for him, and she fully agrees to bring him back. That night, Kristy has a nightmare of her father being killed. She calls him, and he says he’s alright, although Kristy is still nervous. And, the next morning, Julia’s plan begins. She goes to a bar, and gets a man to her house. The man obviously wants to hook up with Julia, but that was her plan all along. She brings him to the attic, and kills him with a hammer. Julia is covered in blood, and travels to the bathroom when Frank crawls toward the body. Julia re-enters the room, and Frank is still skinless, but looks more like a person. In an amazing famous shot once again, Frank raises his arms next to the sunlight flooding through the window. Frank wants to touch Julia, and says his trademark, disgusting line. “Come to Daddy.” Larry enters the house, and asks for Julia. Julia says she isn’t feeling well, and continues to disguise her true intentions, as she rushes to wipe the blood off of her. Julia enters the room once more, and begins to talk to Frank, where he hits us with some good old fashioned exposition.
When Frank ran out of all sensory pleasure experiences on Earth, he still wanted more. He always wants more. Due to this, Frank’s search for the puzzle box began. He knew that it would open the realm to new pleasures, new pain, new everything. He wanted it. And, he got it. He opened the box, and was treated to the hell that came with it. But there’s one thing Frank didn’t mention. The cenobites. The Cenobites, led by Pinhead, truly don’t have an explanation, but they are monsters. Frank was able to give them the slip, and that’s why he’s on the run.
We cut to Kristy at her work, when a disheveled homeless man walks in. He acts like a pretty big creep to Kirsty, and disrupts the store. However, remember him! Back at the house, Julia lures yet another man into the attic, killing him. Frank uses this man to become more like a person again, now being able to wear clothing. Julia notices Frank holding the puzzle box, and he explains it to her. It opens doors. Dangerous doors. She touches it, and we see exactly what happened to Frank, and the absolute gore of it all. After seeing this, Julia once again repeats her commitment to “save” Frank, and get him away from the Cenobites forever. These two SUCK. Downstairs, Julia and Larry watch a movie. However, she isn’t phased by the horror film, due to what the box showed her. Larry is extremely confused, until he hears something from upstairs. It’s Frank. He’s close to finding him. Larry is dedicated to going upstairs, but Julia stops him at every turn. Eventually, he does get up, and Frank is actually able to hide. Julia starts passionately kissing Larry to stop him, which of course works. The two head to the bedroom, and in a scene that had my heart racing, Frank emerges from the closet. He walks over to the two, Larry not seeing him.
Julia begins to scream, begging Frank to spare Larry. Frank does, but not before Larry is deeply hurt, thinking she was screaming at him. Larry goes out to dinner with Kristy, where she once again agrees to come over, after he vents his frustration and confusion about Julia to her. However, Julia’s plan falls apart. The next day, Julia goes to bring another man to the house, and once he gets upstairs, he is fully attacked by Frank. The need for secrecy is over. BUT, remember how I said Kristy was coming over? She arrives, and sees Julia bring the man into the house. Kristy gets upstairs, and in a horrific moment, she finds her uncle. She finds Frank. He immediately pins her to a wall, and in a scene which is legitimately DISGUSTING, Frank begins to advance on Kristy, saying once again, “Come to Daddy”. BUT, Kristy is able to injure Frank. SHE GRABS THE PUZZLE BOX, and bolts. She runs down the street, until she finally collapses. Bystanders rush her to the hospital, where she wakes up. Kristy waits in the hospital, but somehow, something…. feels… off…
Kristy is still clutching the box, and literally completely randomly, solves it. She has the power. After she solves the box, a massive hallway appears. It’s like it goes on forever. She enters the hallway, and runs through it. She keeps going and going and going, until a MASSIVE ABSOLUTELY INSANE hulking creature shows up. It is called the Engineer, and it chases her. Kirsty runs and runs, and eventually makes it back to the hospital room. However, nothing is okay. Smoke begins to fill up the room, as the Cenobites appear. They apprehend Kristy, as they speak, explaining who they are. Pinhead takes center stage, explaining in an awesome monologue. They are the Cenobites, and they have been seen as both Gods and Angels. However, they are truly explorers, who now do not know the boundaries between pain and pleasure. They go to take Kristy back with them, but she screams. She opened the box, and the Cenobites wanted her. However, she explains that she will take the Cenobites to Frank. They are amused by the offer, and actually agree. HOWEVER, Frank MUST confess to avoiding and escaping them. Kristy runs back to her house, as we see Larry return home. Julia talks to him, saying that she can’t even explain. It’s best that he sees for himself…
We see Julia sitting down, and she undresses. Larry enters, and touches Julia’s face. BUT, a bit of blood lands on her face. The pair go upstairs, and of course, Rule #1 it. After they finish, Kristy arrives, panicked and crying, but determined. She begs to see her father. And, she does. Larry comes downstairs, and tells his daughter that he is truly okay. But, Julia is smiling. Kristy knows something is wrong. She rushes upstairs, and sees a flayed corpse on the ground. She goes back down, and Larry comforts her, saying that it’s Frank. He took care of him. Julia and Larry advance on Kristy, before Larry says one final sentence. “Come to Daddy”.
It’s Frank, and he murdered his brother. He is wearing his skin. YEAH. He once again sexually advances on her, but she says no once again, and runs. Frank is now done. It’s time. He runs after Kristy with a knife, BUT KILLS JULIA INSTEAD. He stabs her without remorse, and drains her life force just because he can. Frank rushes to the attic, and finally corners Kristy. He is about to end her life, and he confesses to killing her father. BUT, it all stops when fog pours into the room. It’s the Cenobites…
They heard the confession, and they saw through the ruse. They know it’s Frank. They tell Kristy to shield her eyes, as the hooks appear once more. In an even more brutal scene than last time. After the Cenobites finally truly kill Frank, they turn their eyes on Kristy. The final battle begins. They go to double cross her, but Kristy pulls the box from the cold, dead hands of Julia. She begins to use the box backwards, banishing all of the Cenobites back to their realm. Steve arrives, and the couple escape the collapsing house. The fire completely burns down the house, including the final remaining picture of Frank. Kristy chucks the box into a fire, and watches it burn. BUT, the homeless man appears. He, unphased, reaches into the fire and pulls out the box. THEN, HE BECOMES A DISGUSTING CENOBITE DRAGON and flies away. Kristy and Steve watch it fly. Our film ends with the box in the hands of the same exact vendor as the beginning, as he makes a new sale of the box to a new, poor soul…
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING! Hellraiser, although absolutely insane, is one of my favorite horror movies. It has it all, and is such a good watch when you can really get into it. However, it isn’t for all! BUT, thank you all so much once again. And remember, we have such sights to show you…
