Film ...And His Name is John Cenobite!
Hellraiser tells the story of a mysterious puzzle box which, when solved, summons a group of demonic BDSM themed, skinless monsters - "cenobites" - who promise to grant wishes. Much like any cautionary tale about being careful what you wish for, it turns out that asking anything of these guys is a really bad idea. You see, the cenobites follow an obscure Eldritch code of conduct and expect humans to do the same. They genuinely believe we want to be dragged into hell and ripped apart by chains. It's all a big silly misunderstanding!
Whilst it is formatted like a traditional slasher horror, what with our main characters being a group of obnoxious young people who are there purely to be murdered, Hellraiser feels like a different sort of beast. Despite the levels violence harkening back to the mid 2000s gore porn Saw/Hostel movies, it feels a bit more earnt here; the horror is deeply existential in nature, positioning mankind on a precarious ledge, ready to tip into a greater universe of endless suffering. And its not just some metaphysical horror waiting for us on the other side, its a deeply physical nightmare where our bodies are perpetually butchered. Audiences don't have that god fearing terror of hell like they once did in older times, so this movie explores that terror in a secular way. Which is all great!
Unfortunately, it still has some of the pitfalls of a typical slasher movie. Most of the characters are vaguely defined and underwritten. When they talk, its usually just to yell "what's happening?" or "what the fuck?" over and over. Which I guess is what I would do in the circumstances as well, but it is still really annoying to watch. With the exception of the protagonist, I didn't really care or relate to any of these goons. That matters even more in this story, as the protagonist has some degree of control over who is next to be killed by the cenobites. And whilst its supposed to be an awful dilemma for her to make these decisions, for me I just want her to get on with it and kill these idiots.
Fortunately, the real stars of the show are the cenobites themselves. They are a brilliant pieces of modern monster movie makeup, each with elaborate and imaginative designs. They do not let down, they are so weird, elegant and brutal that they more than make up for the rest of the cast. I want to see more entries to this franchise, just to see what these charming freaks get up to next.
I had a decent enough time with the movie, it is a cut above the typical horror flick, but don't expect anything ground breaking. Some people might be put off with the cringe inflicting gore, others live for that stuff. So be forewarned.
Film Hellraiser, exquisitely distilled.
This was a really fun experience taking the franchise into more confident scripting and direction.
In this take, the Cenobites answer the call of their puzzle box, but every time the box is solved, a blade emerges to confirm the victim by taking the blood of the solver. Whoever is marked by the configuration will be claimed by the Cenobites, but if it is not the solver, they proceed to witness the next configuration. Six cube faces, six configurations, and six lives claimed for the original solver will grant them an audience with the Leviathan god where they may take one of the six boons offered, represented by each configuration. Here, the "Lament configuration" is the box form which is the first of the six stages.
With this, struggling addict Riley comes across the box on a heist with her boyfriend. Not cut by the box, her brother is instead marked and taken, and the Cenobites haunt Riley. She wrestles with losing more lives for her to get her wish for her brother restored— keeping the human sacrifice element of older films as a part of the Cenobites' game instead of a process to defy them. The ritual process and pursuit of the gift is framed as a dangerous addiction to parallel Riley's struggles, and the story shows the collateral damage and warped morality of addiction well with the ritual game being alluring but wrong.
The film is visually strong. The puzzle box's solving processes are depicted more intuitively, while its transformations are able to be more elaborate. The Cenobites are beautifully grotesque, trading leather for bare flesh and muscle. Jamie Clayton is magnetic as the Priest/Pinhead, and the Cenobites are rightly staged as uncanny and holy in their menace. They feel inhuman and worthy of awe, even if the film doesn't frame their eroticism quite as much.
The drama is mixed. No one seems to like each other even as they express care, so it's hard to latch on, and the slasher formula is a little odd but wears okay due to it landing on Riley. There are later twists that seem to exist purely for her moral absolution, and a lot collides in the ending, but the film still succeeds with the idea of Riley wearing her responsibility, standing for her owning the damage she caused even before. Under the addiction lens, it's fair that there's something greater to blame. I also respected the movie for interrogating its own rules in a scenario where a loophole is prodded successfully to the heroes' advantage. It was a smart moment that felt satisfying. I liked these new Cenobites as gift-givers with painful requirements and a different sense of reward. It worked for their sense of menace and the hero's victory. I also liked the mansion with Artemis Fowl-esque preparation for them. This is good ritual horror.
I had a good time with this film. It felt like unfolding a mystery even to those who know this franchise, and the wait for the Cenobites wasn't dull, even though they remain a highlight.