Want to talk about a film that holds up? Let’s talk about Hellraiser. This movie is a creative and unique gore-fest that still looks great 30 years later. This film is a great example of why using quality practical effects will always be superior to CGI. The gore in this film is STILL brutally sickening, and that’s due to special effects done right.
This film begins with Frank, a man looking for the ultimate of physical pleasures, solving a puzzle box, only to be torn apart by hooks and chains, vanishing into another dimension. We flash to his relatives, his niece Kirsty is a young woman whose father, Larry is moving into the family home with his new wife Julia. Kirsty does not care for Julia as she cheated on Larry with Frank. While moving in the furniture, Larry gets a cut. His blood seeps through the floor, resurrecting Frank’s bloody, skinless, malformed body. Julia finds him and agrees to bring him people to feed on so he can be restored to his human form. Seeing Julia bring home men leads Kirsty to believe that her stepmother is having an affair, so she barges in to confront her. She instead finds Frank feeding on a victim. She steals the puzzle box and escapes. Solving the puzzle summons the Cenobites, explorers from across dimensions that seek the extremes of carnal pleasures (and pain). Kirsty strikes up a deal to return Frank to them for her freedom, but it becomes more difficult than she originally thought.
This is one of my favorite horror movies. The acting is great from the entire cast, they are all so committed to their characters and this strange world they are existing in. Secondly, as I already stated, the effects hold up spectacularly. The gore and character design is unique and gruesome in the best way possible. Living in an age of reboots and sequels, a problem that is extending well beyond the horror genre at this point, the originality of this film really shines. However, one downside may be that because it is a unique storyline, it may be difficult to follow at times, as the rules of the universe can be slightly unclear (a problem that worsens as the franchise progresses).
In my opinion, this film is a horror classic and any horror fan should check it out for a refreshing, bloody good time.
Netflix available? Streaming and DVD
Hulu available? Yes
Xfinity available? Yes, for a fee.
Rating: 4.5/5
Final Girl Horror Reviews 