Hellraiser. 1987. UK. Written and directed by Clive Barker. Based on a novel by Clive Barker. With Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins and Ashley Laurence. 35mm. 93 min.
Frank Cotton, convinced he has tasted the very limits of earthly sensual and carnal knowledge, finds an ornate puzzle box that summons the Cenobites: “Explorers in the further regions of experience. Demons to some, angels to others.” For his trouble, he is trapped in a Hell-adjacent realm where pain and pleasure are indivisible. That is, until his brother Larry, niece Kirsty, and sister-in-law Julia move into the old house, and a few droplets of blood on the floor bring Frank, now skinless and desperate for more flesh, back into our world. Frank’s old flame Julia proves all too willing to serve up victims to complete his escape, but the Cenobites don’t have an open-door policy. Adapted by Clive Barker, and based on his novella The Hellbound Heart (which he reportedly almost titled Sadomasochists from Hell), the film’s sadomasochistic themes and fluid view of sexuality draw heavily on Barker’s stint as a sex worker, and the Cenobites’ leather gear and body modifications were inspired by a “very hard S&M night” at an underground club in 1980s New York. As Barker told The Guardian, “I was validating a lifestyle. It was a celebration of the beauty of these strange secret rituals.”