Movies you love 🎬

[Janiya]

If I had to watch one movie for the rest of my life it would be this.

[Lucem Ferre]

Here's something a little more schlocky - and probably not for @ribbons !!

I love Hellraiser 2: Hellbound



I've actually read most of Clive Barker's fiction and find him to be a creative author who's sometimes willing to go far. These things describe Hellbound as well. It's imaginative and it certainly goes far.

If you're not familiar with Hellraiser, the stories typically involve the lament configuration, a puzzle box that, if solved, will open a portal to hell and summon cenobites. The cenobites are people who came to hell, possibly by solving the puzzle, then got tortured, mutilated and disfigured by the god Leviathan and turned into powerful servants. They're also sadomasochistic, so when they say they have pleasures to show you, they mean torture. Yet, in these early movies, they are more like enforcers of hell's rules and laws rather than evil beings pursuing selfish agendas.

Many might enjoy the first movie, directed by Barker himself, more. BUT the first had a very small stage (a house) and offered a mere glimpse into this twisted fantasy world. What this sequel does very well is expand on what the cenobites are, what Leviathan is, what hell is like and so on. It's horror, yes, but also a dark fantasy movie - like a twisted version of Labyrinth. And I love the world building and dark fantasy aspects of this.

As examples of Barker's creativity, hell (or at least this part of it) is a labyrinth:



Towering above it is Leviathan, its ruler:



But rather than your typical meaty demon, Leviathan is like a floating geometric construct, slowly rotating and sending beams of darkness that has a disturbing effect on those it touches.

How awesome is that?

Also, I love how sinister this movie is. Don't worry - it's not a video nasty - but it keeps up the theme of skinless people and has one of the most hilariously evil insane asylums of any 80s movie.



The movie's villain and his origin story is also a delight, even if his powers are a bit weird. And who doesn't like Doug Bradley as Pinhead, now fleshed out with a human backstory as the hedonistic Elliott Spencer who once sealed his fate when he himself sought out and solved the lament configuration.

This movie is by no means perfect. It's also got a very cheap monster, some cheap sets, occasionally weird special effects and one or two plot things that literally make no sense. But hey, it's a B movie! It comes with the territory.

So if you're up for a gory, sinister ride, this one's a lot of fun 🙂

I recently watched all the movies. And read 2 of the books, the only ones written by Barker. And read majority of the comics.

The books are good, the comics vary but are for the most part decent, but don't watch all of the movies.

[Guybrush]

I recently watched all the movies. And read 2 of the books, the only ones written by Barker. And read majority of the comics.

The books are good, the comics vary but are for the most part decent, but don't watch all of the movies.

I also read the books and a lot of the comics. I have not seen all the movies, but up to and including the sixth (I think) plus the reboot.

The disappointing thing about Hellraiser is how quickly the things that made it magical disappear. Even The Scarlet Gospel undermines what made it unique and interesting in the first place.. baffling.

[Lucem Ferre]

That's  true. Explaining the mechanisms and politics of hell was a bad move when the mystery of the cenobites was far more intriguing. The stories should focus more on the people that open the box instead, imo.

[Trollheart]

I love Barker but I found the only movie I watched based on his Cabal, Nightbreed, to be sorely lacking in sticking to the story. I loved The Books of Blood, Imajica, The Great and Secret Show, Weaveworld but if I remember I found Everville hard to get into. Having read his books though (and seen Nightbreed) I doubt I'd be able to watch any film adaptations such as Hellraiser. Too visceral. I can watch vampire movies and not worry too much about gore, but the idea of the Cenobites scares me and I'm not too ready yet to walk into Hell. I'd probably be interested in seeing adaptations of his more fantasy works, such as Weaveworld and Imajica and maybe The Great and Secret Show.

[Guybrush]

I read Cabal, The Damnation Game, The Thief of Always, Weaveworld, much of Books of Blood and of course The Scarlet Gospel. I may be forgetting something, but I don't think I ever read The Great and Secret Show or Imajica.

I do like his writing style and his novels, but I think what I appreciate the most may be his short stories.

Edit:

By the way, he also directed the 1995 fantasy horror Lord of Illusions which I remember as decent and entertaining.