Hellraiser Quick Movie Reviews

Matthew Brady - wrote on 10/01/2022

“We have such sights to show you!” I admire the make-up, the creature designs, and the line “Jesus wept”, which was creepy and evil. The image of the creature living in the antic, with the aid of his partner in crime luring clueless victims to their bloody doom, captures the true horror of Clive Barker’s ‘Books of Blood. On the other hand, I feel like I’m the only one to say this, but I must admit, I was a bit bored watching this. I’m a bit shocked to say that. I didn’t think much was on the surface, and it didn’t engage me. But still, the impact it had on horror is admirable.

Logan D. McCoy - wrote on 10/30/2021

"Hellraiser" has some nifty effects, makeup, and production design that are sickening and memorable enough to compensate for the weak story and bad dialogue. I just don't understand what the point to it all was, and I'm still not sure what a Cenobite is even supposed to be.

PandaMonium - wrote on 10/19/2012

A cult classic and with good reason, HELLRAISER boasts one of those wildly original concepts that seem only to spring from the imagination of Clive Barker. It's gory and strange and uncomfortable - but there's a twisted sort of art to it that blurs the lines between the transcendent and the profane. The performances are not particularly strong, but the characters don't carry the film so much as the visual and auditory experience. More than twenty years later, the makeup and practical effects are still top notch and the music is fantastic. There's a reason this movie is so beloved in horror circles - it's visceral and beautiful, and everyone interested in the genre should experience it once. 4/4

Yojimbo - wrote on 09/24/2012

A rather flimsy schlock horror film that has acquired something of a cult following over the years. Some inventive make-up effects but little else.

Tjommi - wrote on 08/30/2011

Clive Barkers universe is very facinating. I have seen every Hellraiser movie and this was the one that sparked my interest. When you think of the resources they had avalible at the time the movie was made, among other things they didn't have the powerfull computers they have today to make special effects and I think most of it is very well executed. The story grabbed me and pulled me in. For the younger generation of horror lovers, if you haven't seen this one yet you have missed something important.

Unknown - wrote on 05/06/2011

I didn't know what to make of this on first viewing. I ended up watching it twice in a row before I made my final judgement. And that judgement is... it's crazy awesome! I haven't seen many other films come close to what this one presents.

TrifibianTerror - wrote on 11/05/2009

Hellraiser. The original Clive Barker horror-fest. This film is so famous because of it's well paced story, believeable yet totally fantastic characters, realistic setting, and of course, those menacing, demoniac creatures from Hell, the Cenobites. Doug Bradley really makes this films Cenobite moments effectively terrifying, his voice like some bottomless pit from which growls some elder horror of vast and terrible knowledge, whose experiences in the realms of pleasure and pain make for some totally hideous scenes. The Cenobites themselves are bizarre and disturbing, ranging from mawed demons to obese horrors and pinheaded nightmares. The first in the series, and the best. A seperate entity of terror from the rest. Go watch!

sapien - wrote on 11/09/2008

Hellraiser is an awesome, awesome movie. Pin-head is perhaps the scariest villian ever created on film. He certainly looks the scariest, anyway. Any movie that has a portal to Hell in it is going to be a mellodramatic crazy-house, and this one's no different.

Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/09/2007

The original Hellraiser ranks so high because it has everything a good horror film should: a disturbing story, even more disturbing monsters and blood, lots of blood. Clive Barker knows his stuff, and it is shown in full gory force here.