Until the third act of the film, the audiences knows that something more than a simple jump-scare is coming their way. “ proved to the modern-day horror audience you can incorporate violence, horror, sexual desires and still maintain a simple yet powerful story.”Ĭlive Barker brings forth a weary and bleak energy between the family and juxtaposes this with the sense of dread. Despite Julia having an invigorated disposition at the thought of being with Frank again, the film exposes us to the uncomfortable relationship that Julia has with Larry, as well as her stepdaughter Kirsty (Ashley Laurence). He informs Julia for them to be together he will need human blood to restore his body. He is barely skin and bones at this point. However, Frank has a partially formed body. Upon arriving there, an emotionally void Julia discovers that her former lover Frank is hiding in one of the upstairs rooms. Sometime later, we are introduced to Frank’s brother Larry (Andrew Robinson) and his wife Julia (Clare Higgins), who are moving into Larry and Frank’s childhood home. However, upon solving the puzzle box, hooked chains attach themselves to his body, and he is torn apart. Frank (Sean Chapman) purchases a puzzle box in Morocco, in the hope of finding otherworldly gratification. Hellraiser depicts the alluring mystique and horrors of carnal pleasures and sadomasochism in the form of a simple puzzle box. With these themes put in place for its viewers, accompanied by some of the most innovative practical FX for a film of this calibre, Hellraiser began its 35 year legacy. Hellraiser showcased a fear and horror of the unknown, an insatiable lust for hedonism, and intertwined this with a story of a somewhat strained family dynamic. Hellraiser encapsulates a unique and bleak tone in comparison to the already-established horror heavyweights of the day. On September 18, 1987, Clive Barker unleashed a new kind of hell for a modern-day horror audience.

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