History Film / HellRaiser

A 1987 film based on CliveBarker's novella ''The Hellbound Heart'', ''Hellraiser'' has gone on to spawn eight sequels (only one of which - the second - Barker was directly involved with) as well as an upcoming remake. The series has at its heart a puzzle box known as the Lament Configuration, which when properly solved summons the Cenobites, a cadre of sadomasochistic {{Humanoid Abomination}}s. The mascot of the series is the only recurring Cenobyte after the second film, the iconic Pinhead, played by Doug Bradley. He was given a choice, when filming the first movie, to play either the Cenobite or a workman who showed up for all of ten seconds - bet he's happy he went with the Cenobite.

* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: The cenobites are an extreme example of this. They've been quite literally turned into monsters by years of hellish torment. Also Frank, debatably. Even if he was a scheming jerk as a human, he didn't turn into a sadistic, vampiric killer until he had spent years in hell with the Cenobites.

* OffTheShelfFX: Pinhead's "pins" in ''Hellbound'' are Q-tips without the cottonballs, painted gray.

* TookALevelInBadass: [[spoiler:Julia]] went from being a reluctant and remorseful killer who tried her best to save [[spoiler:Larry Cotton]] from Frank in the first film to a hardened killer in the second, who took great joy in being evil. Probably an after-effect from being [[spoiler:betrayed, killed, tortured and ressurected.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: Yes, [[SerialEscalation even for a series like this]]. The fifth (''Inferno'') and sixth (''Hellseeker'') films don't have the {{Gorn}} from the other films and are more psychological, dealing with characters who have become ensnared by the box. Instead of immediately getting dragged in and ripped apart by Pinhead and his cronies, they live out a personal Hell with manifestations of their wrongdoings tormenting them. [[DownerEnding No happy endings are to be found here]]. At the end, Pinhead - who acts more like a judge - Gives a HannibalLecture and drops a LaserGuidedKarma bomb on our JerkAss protagonists.

* DidNotDoTheResearch: People who describe (or [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch dismiss]]) ''Hellworld'' as "Pinhead killing hackers online".

* WeaponOfChoice: The hooked chains.

* WordsDoNotMakeTheMagic: One character in the series solves puzzles reflexively, as she has a psychological detachment that forces her to do so, whether she wants to or not. She's given the Lament Configuration so that someone else can sacrifice her to the Cenobites, while he can safely watch what happens. The Cenobites ignore her, and proceed to hunt him -- his was the desire that led to the box opening.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Viewers may recognize Kirsty's father as [[DeepSpaceNine plain, simple Garak]].

** ''Hell on Earth'' has [[DeepSpaceNine Jadzia Dax]].

* ThisIsSPARTA: "We'll tear your soul...APAAAAAAHHHHT."

** This is one interpretation of Inferno. While it can be argued [[spoiler: that he's stuck in a GroundhogdayLoop forever]], it can also be read as him [[spoiler: escaping his IronicHell via suicide, jolting him back into the real world, but knowing that he'll be haunted by his HellRealization forever]].

* SmithWillSuffice: This exchange from ''Hell on Earth'':
-->'''J.P. Monroe''': "Jesus Christ!"
-->'''Pinhead''': "Not quite."

* TooKinkyToTorture: Though the viewer [[YourMileageMayVary might feel sorry]] for him at first, [[spoiler:Channard]]'s reaction after [[spoiler:his transformation into a cenobite]] is to question why he had any doubts about it.

* AbusivelySexy: The ''Hellraiser'' films have this as a component, creeping most viewers out even further. "We have such sights to show you". The novel version ''The Hellbound Heart'' has the initial description of the female cenobite invoke piercing fetishism.

* WordsDoNotMakeTheMagic: One character in the series solves it reflexively, as she has a psychological detachment that forces her to do so, whether she wants to or not. She's given a box so that someone else can sacrifice her to the Cenobites, while he can safely watch what happens. The Cenobites ignore her, and proceed to hunt him -- his was the desire that led to the box opening.

** Arguably Inferno. It's implied that [[spoiler: Joseph escaped from his IronicHell by killing himself, thus returning to the real world.]] However, now [[spoiler: he's had a HeelRealization that will haunt him for the rest of his life.]]

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The music for the first film was originally done by Coil (they were hired by CliveBarker after he listened to one of their albums and nearly got sick due to how brutal their music was) but the studio ended up rejecting it due to its HighOctaneNightmareFuel content. Their score ended up getting released separately and Christopher Young did the score that ended up in the film (which launched his career as a composer).

* AscendedExtra: In the book, Pinhead is present but is not the lead Cenobite. The female Cenobite, the Chatterer, and the Engineer all have more prominent roles, but the film adaptation prevented this. The Chatterer could not speak (and the actor could not see), the Engineer was completely remade to the point it's unrecognizable and arguably demoted to a BigLippedAlligatorMoment when it does appear, and the female Cenobite, while capable of speaking, has makeup that severely limited the actress' head and facial movements. Though fixed by the sequel, these problems meant Pinhead took point.

[[quoteright:328:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cenobites.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:328:From left to right: Butterball, Pinhead, The Female, and The Chatterer]]

A 1987 film based on CliveBarker's novella ''The Hellbound Heart'', ''Hellraiser'' has gone on to spawn eight sequels (only one of which - the second - Barker was directly involved with) as well as an upcoming remake. The series has at its heart a puzzle box known as the Lament Configuration, which when properly solved summons the Cenobites, a cadre of sadomasochistic {{HumanoidAbomination}}s. The mascot of the series is the only recurring Cenobyte after the second film, the iconic Pinhead, played by Doug Bradley. He was given a choice, when filming the first movie, to play either the Cenobite or a workman who showed up for all of ten seconds - bet he's happy he went with the Cenobite.

A 1987 film based on CliveBarker's novella ''The Hellbound Heart'', ''Hellraiser'' has gone on to spawn eight sequels (only one of which - the second - Barker was directly involved with) as well as an upcoming remake. The series has at its heart a puzzle box known as the Lament Configuration, which when properly solved summons the Cenobites, a cadre of demonic entities which have expanded their ranks since the first film, with the only constant after the second film being the iconic Pinhead, played by Doug Bradley (who was given a choice, when filming the first movie, to play the Cenobite or a workman who showed up for all of ten seconds - bet he's happy he went with the Cenobite).

* {{Cross-Melting Aura}}: Pinhead melts a cross and badly burns a priest.

** Arguably Inferno. It's implied that [[spoiler: Joseph escaped from his PersonalHell by killing himself, thus returning to the real world.]] However, now [[spoiler: he's had a HeelRealization that will haunt him for the rest of his life.]]

* AndIMustScream

* DarkerAndEdgier: Yes, [[BeyondTheImpossible even for a series like this]]. The fifth (''Inferno'') and sixth (''Hellseeker'') films don't have the {{Gorn}} from the other films and are more psychological, dealing with characters who have become ensnared by the box. Instead of immediately getting dragged in and ripped apart by Pinhead and his cronies, they live out a personal Hell with manifestations of their wrongdoings tormenting them. [[DownerEnding No happy endings are to be found here]]. At the end, Pinhead - who acts more like a judge - Gives a HannibalLecture and drops a LaserGuidedKarma bomb on our JerkAss protagonists.

* AbusivelySexy: The ''Hellraiser'' films have this as a component, creeping most viewers out even further. "We have such sights to show you". The novel version ''The Hellbound Heart'' is not written this way, however.
** YourMileageMayVary on that last bit. The initial description of the female cenobite does invoke piercing fetishism.

* [[BeatStillMyHeart Beat Still, My Heart]]: The second and fourth films.

* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: The cenobites are an extreme example of this. They've been quite literally turned into monsters by years of hellish torment. Also Frank, debatably. Even if he was a scheming jerk as a human, he didn't turn into a sadistic, vampiric kiler until he had spent years in hell with the Cenobites.

* BittersweetEnding: End of the first film. [[spoiler: Kirsty is safe. The Cenobites have been defeated, and she has escaped the flaming wreakage of her father's home with her boyfriend... doesn't make her dad any less dead]].

** Um. In the first movie, Pinhead says that if the girl doesn't bring her Frank than they'll tear her soul apart (and he says it as if he's warning her). What constitutes as pleasure for them might be torture for us but they're completely aware of it; they even act upset that someone has escaped their grasps.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Yes, [[BeyondTheImpossible even for a series like this]]. The fifth (''Inferno'') and sixth (''Hellseeker'') films don't have the gratuitous {{Gorn}} from the other films and are more psychological, dealing with characters who have become ensnared by the box. Instead of immediately getting dragged in and ripped apart by Pinhead and his cronies, they live out a personal Hell with manifestations of their wrongdoings tormenting them. [[DownerEnding No happy endings are to be found here]]. At the end, Pinhead - who acts more like a judge - Gives a HannibalLecture and drops a LaserGuidedKarma bomb on our JerkAss protagonists.

* EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench: Angelique originally had [[FetishFuel a really hot accent]]. It [[ExecutiveMeddling was cut]].

* {{Gorn}}: You think?

* [[RecycledInSpace Recycled IN SPACE!]] - ''Bloodline''.

* SinisterShades: The Butterball Cenobite, who wears shades because [[NightmareFuel his eyes are sewn shut]].

* StartOfDarkness: Again Kirsty... arguably.
** [[spoiler: Steven]] in ''Revelations,'' although we see the end result [[spoiler: of him as the second Pinhead]] before seeing the start in flashbacks. Also Emma, who ends the film holding the Lament Configuration with a satisfied look on her face, after Pinhead's called her out on being the type of person who will eventually open it.

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Larry]] from the first film. Paying so little attention to your house and to your wife's strange behavior can get you killed. And [[spoiler:Kyle]] from the second. Oh dear God, where to begin? Went to a house where [[spoiler:Julia]] was, then decided to split up, didn't ask a strange woman who she was and what was doing there, and when she started to behave oddly didn't run away. {{WhatAnIdiot}} indeed.

* EstrogenBrigadeBait: Pinhead's human self, Captain Elliot Spencer... and probably Pinhead himself.