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Hellraiser
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Hellraiser (1987) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 4)
Hellraiser (1987) -- An unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover, who's being chased by demons after he escaped from their sado-masochistic Hell.
Hellraiser (1987) -- An unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover, who's being chased by demons after he escaped from their sado-masochistic Hell.
Hellraiser (1987) -- Movieplayer.it - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   20,330 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 9% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Clive Barker (novel)
Clive Barker (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Hellraiser on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 September 1987 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Still Raising Hell [20th Anniversary Re-Issue] more
Plot:
An unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover, who's being chased by demons after he escaped from their sado-masochistic Hell. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
2 wins & 5 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(253 articles)
See Slipknot's Short Film Snuff Starring Some Familiar Faces
 (From Dread Central. 18 December 2009, 3:29 PM, PST)

Updated: Slipknot Unveil 'Snuff'
 (From FEARnet. 18 December 2009, 11:37 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Bloody good show, Mr. Barker! more (255 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)
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Directed by
Clive Barker 
 
Writing credits
Clive Barker (novel "The Hellbound Heart")

Clive Barker (screenplay)

Produced by
Mark Armstrong .... executive producer
Christopher Figg .... producer
Selwyn Roberts .... associate producer
David Saunders .... executive producer
Christopher Webster .... executive producer
 
Original Music by
Christopher Young 
 
Cinematography by
Robin Vidgeon 
 
Film Editing by
Richard Marden 
Tony Randel (uncredited)
 
Casting by
Sheila Trezise 
 
Production Design by
Michael Buchanan  (as Mike Buchanan)
 
Art Direction by
Jocelyn James 
 
Costume Design by
Joanna Johnston 
 
Makeup Department
Nigel Booth .... special makeup effects and creature crew
Julian Caldow .... special makeup effects and creature crew
Paul Catling .... special makeup effects and creature crew
Stuart Conran .... special makeup effects and creature crew
Dave Elsey .... special makeup effects and creature crew
Little John .... special makeup effects and creature crew
Bob Keen .... special makeup effects designer
Dave Keen .... special makeup effects and creature crew (as David Keen)
William Petty .... special makeup effects and creature crew
Geoffrey Portass .... special makeup effects workshop supervisor (as Geoff Portass)
Roy Puddefoot .... special makeup effects and creature crew
Jason Reed .... special makeup effects and creature crew
Ian Rolph .... special makeup effects and creature crew
Jim Sandys .... special makeup effects and creature crew
Simon Sayce .... special makeup effects and creature crew
Aileen Seaton .... hair stylist
Sally Sutton .... makeup artist
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Selwyn Roberts .... first assistant director
Waldo Roeg .... second assistant director
Rupert Ryle-Hodges .... third assistant director
 
Art Department
Ron Allett .... property master
Derek Ede .... stand-by stagehand
Steve Ede .... chargehand carpenter
Belinda Edwards .... production buyer
Richard Harris .... stand-by rigger
Floyd Jones Hughes .... sketch artist
Colin Lovering .... stand-by painter
Gerry O'Connor .... prop stand-by
Steve Payne .... dressing props
John Potter .... stand-by carpenter
Paul Purdy .... stand-by props (as Paul Purdey)
John Rankin .... construction stand-by
Mark Stevenson .... art department assistant
Paul Turner .... stand-by props
 
Sound Department
Stephen Banks .... Jobfit trainee
David Beesley .... assistant sound effects editor
Michael A. Carter .... dubbing mixer (as Michael Carter)
Joe Gilmore .... assistant dubbing editor
Graham V. Hartstone .... chief dubbing mixer (as Graham Hartstone)
John Ireland .... sound effects editor
Nicolas Le Messurier .... dubbing mixer (as Nicolas Lemessurier)
Tony Message .... dubbing editor
John Midgley .... sound mixer
Clive Osborne .... boom operator (as Clive Osbourne)
 
Special Effects by
Cliff Wallace .... special makeup effects technician
 
Visual Effects by
Richard Dimbleby .... optical printer (as Dick Dimbleby)
Don Lee .... digital compositor
Peter Swinson .... optical printer
Peter Watson .... optical supervisor
Nick Xypnitos .... animator
 
Stunts
Jim Dowdall .... stunt arranger
Bill Weston .... stunts
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Tom Collins .... still photographer
Gary Donague .... best boy (as Gary Donoghue)
Tim Field .... camera operator: rostrum camera
Steve Foster .... gaffer
Katya Grenfell .... additional still photographer
Andrew C. Hebden .... electrician (as Andrew Hebden)
Gary Hutchings .... camera grip
Clive Mackey .... clapper loader
Danny Shelmerdine .... focus puller
Ray Wardley .... electrician
David Worley .... camera operator
 
Casting Department
Ping Mudie .... assistant to casting director
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Daryl Bristow .... wardrobe supervisor
Brian Cox .... wardrobe assistant
Jane Howells .... wardrobe assistant
Ro Sylvester-Fisher .... costume assistant: Cenobite costumes (as Rosemary Sylvester Fisher)
Jane Wildgoose .... costume designer: Cenobite costumes
 
Editorial Department
Roy Birchley .... first assistant editor
Tim Grover .... second assistant editor
 
Music Department
Jeff Vaughn .... music recordist
Paul Francis Witt .... conductor
Paul Francis Witt .... music consultant
Anne Atkins Young .... music supervisor
Christopher Young .... orchestrator
 
Transportation Department
John Collins .... unit driver
Terry English .... unit driver
Micky Grover .... unit driver
Ron Narduzzo .... unit driver
 
Other crew
Tom Calderaro .... synthesiser programming
John Charles .... software manager: Sony DAC
Robert Fabbri .... floor runner
Alan Harris .... stand-in
Steve Jones .... unit publicist
Su Lim .... assistant to producer
Alex Matcham .... production auditor
Selby McReery .... assistant to producer
Richard Morrison .... title designer
Patricia Poole .... production accountant (as Pat Poole)
Carmella Prudente .... jobfit trainee
Kathy Sinclair .... stand-in
Clare St. John .... production coordinator
Jane Studd .... location manager
Alan Sutton .... fire safety coordinator
Ene Watts .... script supervisor
Mark Zimoski .... consultant: percussion (as Mark Zimowski)
 
Thanks
John Dunne .... thanks
Marie Fisher .... thanks
Piers Gibson .... thanks
John Gregson .... thanks
Christopher Hobbs .... thanks
R.J. Kizer .... thanks
Alan Parker .... special thanks
Tony Randel .... thanks (as Anthony Randel)
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsSpecial EffectsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Clive Barker's Hellraiser (UK) (complete title)
Sadomasochists from Beyond the Grave (USA) (working title)
Clive Barker's Hellraiser I: The Original (Netherlands) (DVD title) [nl]
Fogo Maldito (Portugal) [pt]
Hellraiser (Greece) [el]
Hellraiser - Das Tor zur Hölle (West Germany) [de]
Hellraiser, le pacte (France) [fr]
Hellraiser, los que traen el infierno (Spain) [es]
Renascido do Inferno (Brazil) (working title) [pt]
Shaitan Ka Beta (India: Hindi title) [hi]
Wyslannik piekiel (Poland) [pl]
more
Runtime:
94 min | Sweden:89 min (cut version) | Finland:86 min (cut)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Finland:K-18 (uncut) (1998) (2002) | West Germany:18 (video rating) (cut) | New Zealand:R16 | Belgium:16 (video rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1998) | Australia:M (theatrical rating) | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:18A (Alberta) (re-rating) (2000) | Denmark:15 (DVD rating) | France:-12 | Iceland:(Banned) | Iceland:16 (cut) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:15 (original rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 (DVD rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #28562) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
It took six hours to apply the prosthetic Cenobite makeup on Doug Bradley. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The number of cups on the table during the opening scene (where Frank buys the box) changes from one to two then back to one. more
Quotes:
Kirsty Cotton: It's just a puzzle box!
Lead Cenobite: Oh, no. It is a means to summon us.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Shrieker (1998) more

FAQ

How is the film different from the novel?
more
26 out of 33 people found the following comment useful.
Bloody good show, Mr. Barker!, 5 June 2004
8/10
Author: Scott LeBrun from Winnipeg, Canada

Famed horror / fantasy novelist Clive Barker wrote and directed this gory, nasty and fun exercise in which Larry (Andrew Robinson) and his wife Julia (Clare Higgins) move into a big house where Larry's brother Frank has been imprisoned after solving an elaborate puzzle box. Larry wounds himself and his blood brings Frank back to life as a skinless, oozing creature who needs the blood of others in order to put himself back together. Julia, terrified but obviously intrigued (she had had an affair with Frank when he was still alive) lures men back to the house where she fatally bludgeons them with a hammer so Frank can feast on their blood. Into this mess steps Larry's daughter Kirsty (Ashley Laurence), who makes the acquaintance of the masochistic beings, the Cenobites, from whom Frank had escaped.

The most mind-boggling thing about this film is its legacy - after a few theatrical sequels, direct-to-video-and-DVD sequels have been produced ad nauseum. Please, people, the world does not need any more "Hellraiser" films! Give it a rest! Anyway, like I said, this initial entry is outlandishly gruesome - even inclining towards a kind of sadistic eroticism. Sometimes, gore can actually be arty and a thing of a dark kind of beauty, and these film-makers know it. How else to describe it? The Cenobite characters are memorable - especially Pincushion-Head - sorry, I mean Pinhead (Doug Bradley) who is only identified as "The Lead Cenobite" in the credits of this film.

"Hellraiser" is a capable film-making debut for Barker, who succeeded in making it fun entertainment.

"Hellbound: Hellraiser II" came out the following year.

8/10

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Message Boards

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What scares you? jeffsmithsucks
Just saw this... do the sequels get better?I casnq
Do nuns appear in this film? cjcairns02
Jesus wept briokid911
Jesus Wept haroldoftherocks
How'd Julia end up on the Bed in the end? CaffeineAddict84
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