The Hellraiser Franchise
 

Yes the scene was cut by 4 seconds for its 1988 video release, the cuts were waived in 1998. The scene is always intact on C4.

Hellraiser 2 is also uncut now as well. I preferred the sequel myself.

The cut was to the bloke pleading for his life, if I remember correctly, before being finished off. I don't like any of these films.

The sequel was originally the heavily edited R-rated print, which was then cut further by the BBFC for video. The Anchor Bay releases are the unrated/uncut version.

I liked the original but preferred the sequel too. The rest were awful. :ack:

Hellraiser sequels are ok.Part 2 is ok but very cheesy part 3 blows(workprint is better),the release cut of part 4 is bad but the workprint is good,part 5-Inferno meh not good not bad, 6 and 7 are not rlly hellraiser films but are good,part 6 Hellseaker is more like Jacobs Ladder a man with memory loss trying to find who killed his wife (Kristy Cotton),i also like 7-Deader,a reporter investigating a cult,then theirs part 8 Hellworld this ranks as one of the worst films i have ever seen its so unbelievably bad(and i like uwe films and like house of the dead!),Lance Henriksen must have rlly needed the cash.I can see why they haven't released them over here but they look good in your dvd collection

I have Hellraiser on VHS and it includes "The Art of Clive Barker" which I have never seen appear on any of the DVD releases. It's great too! :D

Yeah! I have that one too and am glad I held on to it, given the doc's absence in the otherwise excellent ABUK box set.


As for a quick run down of the "Hellraiser" films:

-The first one is a modern classic in the best sense of the word, great performances, great direction , great score....only Kirsty's boyfriend gets a bit irritating towards the end...but who's perfect!:D
--"Hellbound" is my fave too, but it should be best watched back-to-back with the first film for full pleasure.
-"Hell on Earth" is the early 90's (as in "Nightmare on Elm Street") idea of a "Hellraiser" for the US teen market, yet director Anthony Hickox still manages to pull off an entertaining, slick, fast and gory ride...you shouldn't expect the heights of either the first or the second flick though....
-"Bloodline" is my least favourite entry in the whole series: No wonder Kevin Yagher jumped the ship considering in which direction "Dimension" went with this one. Watchable, but one hell of a missed opportunity!:(
-"Inferno": "Hellraiser" as a cop thriller? Well, at least Pinhead works better in his supporting role than as the "Freddy clone of the previous two films.
-"Hellseeker": As DTDVD B-fare, it works well enough to pass as a poor man's "Jacob's Ladder".
- "Deader": This one has some atmospheric scenes and an overall more interesting plot going for it, though I hear some already complaining about too little screentime for Pinhead etc....I liked it.
-"Hellworld": This is the slasher movie amongst the "Hellraiser" flicks and viewed as such- particularly compared to the somewhat similarly themed "Halloween: Resurrection"- it doesn't fare too bad. Despite that I've always had a soft spot for a movie featuring a babe in tight leatherpants getting chased through the woods....:p

I saw the Hellraiser cube for £28 in CEX the other day. I got mine brand new from Music Zone ( R.I.P) for £12.99.

The Cube is the first three films + full frame H3 on disc 4 along with the Barker short films Salome and the Forbidden.

The first 2 are the only ones really worth having I'd guess, 3 was alright but cheesy, if the production values went any lower than that I'd worry.

2 is my favourite as it does what the first couldn't, giving you a real look into the world of hellraiser.

I'm a big fan of the first 3 Hellraiser films - yes, I do like part 3. Hellraiser 2: Hellbound is probably my favourite, though. Saying that, when I saw Hellraiser when it first came out back in the 80's, I was blown away by it. I'd never seen anything quite like it - until the sequel, which even managed to outdo its predecessor.

So yes, put me down as a huge fan. I regularly watch the first 3 films.

I like all the first three & four has its moments (Shame it was drastically edited),but the rest are poor.

I'm a big fan of the Hellraiser films. The first two are absolute classics and while they may not be up to the same standard I've always thought the other sequels were decent enough (though I've yet to see 'Deader' and 'Hellworld'). I've always had a soft spot for part 3 in particular, it's a tad cheesey but it's got some decent gore and offers a nice insight into Pinheads background/ origin etc. I was a bit disapointed with 'Inferno' but 'Bloodline' and 'Hellseeker' both have their moments aswell.

The first Hellraiser is a great film

Not really seen much of the sequels.

I have a good idea what they will be like :ack:

Original is best for me.

i watched part 6 again the other night its better than i thought and it was nice to see chatter and butterball back

The original Hellraiser has had a decent BD release and I know there's a US bargain box set of later sequels but how about II & III? The AB puzzle box DVD set has served me well over the years but I'd upgrade if there's a decent HD alternative. Anyone know if the any of the import BDs are worthwhile?

Not heard anything about this before, but the Pitch Trailer included on this site looks promising.
Possible Hellraiser reboot titled Hellraiser:Origins, new look Pinhead (not bad either tbh) and possible new designs for the Engineer and Leviathan

Hellraiser : Origins

I enjoy the first film, something about it gives me horror nostalgia, i could never afford the second film on VHS so i only had the third and fouth. still i would say the first three are great films. i love my copy of Hellbound heart too, anyone into reading that enjoyes the first film will enjoy the book. it's cheap too! finally Hellraiser gave us one of the most memorable horror quotes...

"Jesus....Wept" Improvised gold. lol.

I'm one of the few who likes all the Doug Bradley Hellraiser films.

Even the much maligned direct to dvd sequels are enjoyable in their own way. Yes even the Saw rip off Hellworld.

No doubting that the first two are the best. Hellraiser is one of the pinnacles of horror for me. I think its down to the grotesque creations thrown at us via Clive Barkers fertile S&M fueled imagination, and the fact the demons are present in the other films always makes them worthwhile.

I too like them all, Hellworld being my least favourite. Even Revelations is pretty good, just a shame Doug Bradley didn't reprise his role because Pinhead just isn't the same without him

Its the Hellraiser style imagery that i loved about Frankenstein's Army and Necromentia.

With a little tinkering both could have been Hellraiser films. In fact in the case of Necromentia a change of title would have done it. :lol:

Yeah, Necromentia definitely had a Hellraiser feel to it :nod:

Now here is my story with the Cenobites...

I stumbled into the premier of Hellraiser in Berlin, as irt looked just like the film for me (I was so right!) and I had recently discovere Clive through Fangoria and really liked what he wrote, I cannot recall if I was beyond the Books of Blood 1-3 by then... So I went in anticipation and was surprised that Clive was there himself, had a short intro speech and sat down to watch the film with us - a nice gesture! I saw him leave pretty angered during the end tiltles and since I am one who sits untill the last words have scrolled by, I was the last to leave the room at the exit door, I bumped into Clive who was rushing back in, said a short thank you and he said "Oh your English is really good, come hide with me!" - weird, but I thought why not. So we hid behind a curtain that was at that exit door and he pointed me out to two odd looking dudes, saying "I am supposed to give them an interview but their English is so horrible, I do not feel like it". So we waited until they left and he gave me the 30 minutes that had been scheduled for the interview - bummer it was only a chat as memories fade in time, but it was good and I got a lot of questions answered and he told me about his anger about all the censor cuts made to the film and how he sees the world of the cenobites, how Stephen King's praise of his works helped him get a good deal and how he sees horror and was annoyed by many films under that label and so on... Great 30 minutes indeed, he also gave me his agent's address to stay in touch, which stupid me did not...:( But he remembered me as I learned when a schoolmate of my sister was in the US and stumbled into the filming of Lord of Illusions and got into a short chat with Clive and when he mentioned he was from berlin, Clive said that he once had a very nice chat there and got to hear "I know, heard him talk about it many times!" :lol: And Clive laughed along when he learned that we know each other through my sister...

OK, enough about that, but the talk kept a certain view of the cenobite world pretty active in my head and that was (and probably still is) why I do not like part 2 much - it breaks with too many rules that Clive set in his head but left open a bit in the film...

I never saw part 3 until decades later and it was just fun, no more no less...

I had the chance to see part 4 at the Fantasy Film Fest in a raw cut version and I liked it but never got to see that version again, recuts made it somehow weirder, i need to rewatch it to really know...

And what came after that was just pure collection work, not really Hellraiser at all, more like Pinhead Movie of the Week, some ok, some complete crap...

And the last one? I did not even dare to watch it, no Bradley, no Hellraiser - full stop!

Sorry about my lil excerpt from my Diary of a Madman :cool:

I got my Books of Blood 1 - 6 signed by Clive Barker many years ago at the Forbidden Planet book store in London, and he came across to me as a very friendly guy who had a lot of time for his fans. :cool:
The first Hellraiser flick is probably my favourite of the series, closely followed by the sequel.

I could not get the volumes 4-6 in Berlin, or they would have been too expensive back then, so I had them on my shopping list when I had a vacation in London and literally stumbled over Forbidden Planet by mistake as I took a right turn instead of a left turn (I was walking ;)) and there it was and I asked if they had these books and was told that they still had a few signed copies left over from a signing session, so I carefully asked how much more these will cost and the guy laughed and gave me the wonderful info that they charge the cover price - I was so happy and spent a long time in that shop, still the old address in Oxfort Street as far as I remember...

The London megastore is 179 Shaftesbury Avenue. Those copies of Books of Blood you picked up were probably left over from the same signing session I attended. :)

WTF :eek:??? Awsome!!!

I know! I've watched it a few times since yesterday

I know that you know, but I wonder a little about the practically non-existent reactions to the video on this thread.

Everybody watch the video Rik posted and give your opinion, it's ****ing awsome!

It does look good. My only reservation comes from the concept designs. It looks a bit CGI heavy with the environments. Hellraiser worked for me as it was set on earth bringing the horrors of hell to us.

I watched the trailer and looked at the stills and thought "Silent Hill" without the imagination.

Silent Hill's crap as well.

True, but it looks amazing.

I loved Silent Hill.

This does look crap though. Way too much CGI (the way of the film world is though nowadays unfortuntately).

I'd heard that the 'Origins' film was being scrapped and instead Barker was penning a new sequel with Bradley returning as Pinhead? I guess from this trailer that the information in regards to the sequel was not correct.

I'd heard that too, from Clive himself (not personally, he didn't come round for a brew or owt), then the week after; this is all over the internet so I don't know what the crack is regarding either at the minute

I know that, but I was referring to the old address in the mid 80s, the new address I found almost by chance again, when I walked up from Piccy to Totty C Rd. :cool:

Great shop, I spent quite some time there again this year in spring and found a very nice Mexican restaurant closeby, but that's another story (what luck that I just had lunch! :lol:)

I really like the HELLRAISER films, even INFERNO I findis a good cop thriller

I love Hellraiser I,II & III I am not keen on Bloodlines,Inferno is watchable,I do however like Hellseeker (Hellraiser 6) alot. 7 & 8 are nothing to write home about, and 9 (remake) well Let's just say "LOL" and let that say it all.