The Impact of Hellraiser: The Film that Changed Cinema
How a book author pissed off Britain, Roger Ebert and changed cinema in the process.
Hello Drafters,
In honor of Halloween, I will tackle films that shift the horror culture.
Today I’ll be breaking down what’s widely considered one of the greatest horror films that subsequently launched one of the worst horror franchises, the story of Clive Barker's Hellraiser films.
The little film that upended Great Britain pissed off Roger Ebert and inspired every Hot Topic to sell leather and chains every Halloween to your local sadomasochist.
Hellraiser begins.
The year is 1986. Clive Barker was given a budget of one million dollars to write and direct Hellraiser. He turns his 1986 novella, "Hellbound Heart," into a family goth drama that intertwines with a mysterious puzzle box that offers an ultimate and sadomasochistic pleasure to anybody who solves it.
Over many sequels, people have attempted to unlock its secrets.
The film is widely regarded as a low-budget goth masterpiece.
When Barker introduces viewers to the Cenobites, he does so with a touch of imagination, practical special effects, and puppets. The Cenobites are a race of sadists who threaten their human victims with sensual experiences far beyond their (or our) tired understanding of pleasure and pain.
Hellraiser is Unleashed in cinemas
American censors initially gave it an "X" rating, and to get an "R", they had to take a spanking from a flashback scene and shorten the on-screen violence.
Upon its release, Roger Ebert was quoted as saying:
This is a movie without wit, style, or reason, and the true horror is that actors were made to portray, and technicians to realize, its bankruptcy of imagination.
This was only the first of many criticisms aimed at the film. Hellraiser was so controversial in the United Kingdom that he sat with college students and defended his art in a segment called "Open to Question."
The audience of college students spouts emotional outrage about the film, and during the chat, they condemn and blame Clive for a host of things, including:
The increase in brutal assaults on the elderly in the U.K.
Inspiring murders and future serial killers.
Are you a masochist that wants to watch people die in life?
All the controversies between the MPAA, critiques, and warnings of violence only helped the film become a hit grossing 4 million dollars on its opening weekend.
Hellraiser grossed $33m worldwide.
After which, with hit films and the movie industry, comes a story of greed as old as time.
Clive Barker's rights as a contributor were revoked, and subsequent films were made without his input. The original movie's writer, creator, and director was not consulted.
Since the original's release, Hellraiser has produced an astonishing eight sequels and prequels; of those eight films, only THREE ever saw a theatrical release.
The only film in the entire series I can stand behind is the O.G. original one. A true trailblazer for independent cinema and filmmaking.
Watch the original Hellraiser instead of the new Hulu remake.
Thank me later.
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