What Made Hellraiser an 80s Horror Classic
You might say that the 1980s were the golden age of horror movies due to its sheer volume of ground-breaking classics like Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Child’s Play and Hellraiser.
Like the other films mentioned, Hellraiser broke the mold not only in its clever use of gore and violence but also with its twisted plot and memorable villains, particularly Pinhead.
The Original Hellraiser Story
The story begins with a man solving a puzzle box, a central plot element, which happens to summon demons from hell. Nobody escapes them. However in this one particular case, drops of blood were able to resurrect him in an old home. As an ex lover to a cheating wife he is able to convince her to lure naive men into the attic so they could be killed and their blood be used to rebuild his body. The special effects used in his transformation are noteworthy as well as in the rest of the film.
Hellraiser (No Major Spoilers)
Eventually the daughter of the family gets involved and finds the monstrosity in the attic. She finds the puzzle box and solves it, summoning demons to take her away. She bargains with them by letting them know that someone did escape them and she would help them capture him instead. Around this time in the movie we begin to see pathways with monsters and other crazy things. Hellraiser makes great use of practical special effects with bizarre looking monsters that really do look like they came straight out of hell. The intriguing nature of the puzzle box and the effects of the demons create a movie that draws your interest until its very end.
Haven’t seen Hellraiser yet? All I have to say is: why the hell not?
Hellraiser is a classic 80s horror movie that is definitely worth your time.