"Jesus wept..."Clive Barker is an English horror author with a notable bibliography that includes The Damnation Game, Imajica and Sacrament. But it's his second novel, The Hellbound Heart (1986), that has had the most influence over the public's perception of Barker's work. Particularly for film fans, as it was his sophomore novel that provided the basis for his debut movie Hellraiser in 1987...
As well as being a celebrated author, Barker has always maintained a keen interest in film making. Indeed, two experimental short films, The Forbidden and Salome, received critical acclaim when they were later released on DVD. But the feature-film Hellraiser remains Barkers most celebrated work, with him writing and directing this influential late-80s horror...
The story concerns Larry Cotton (Andrew Robinson), who moves into his dead brother's abandoned house in England, with his wife Julia (Clare Higgins) -- who once had an affair with Larry's brother Frank -- and their teenage daughter Kirsty (Ashley Laurence). During their move, Larry accidentally cuts his hand on a protruding nail and a drip of blood is consumed by the floorboards of an empty room...
Unbeknownst to Larry, his dead brother's spirit uses that drop of blood to regenerate a physical form -- later appearing as a bloody corpse to Julia, and imploring her to help him escape a hellish dimension he was swallowed into, after he solved a mysterious puzzle box...
Now, you may have noticed I haven't even used the word "Pinhead" yet. But yes, Hellraiser is best known for actor Doug Bradley's evil demon (a Cenobite), who earned the nickname "Pinhead" because his shaven head is covered in equally-spaced nails. In the film's script he's simple called Lead Cenobite...
It's another interesting example of a minor character later becoming the iconic face you associate with a franchise (just as Jason Vorhees was basically a cameo in Friday The 13th). Even stranger, Pinhead is Barker's second success at inadvertently creating a horror icon, after his short story The Forbidden became The Candyman in 1992.
Made for just $1 million, Hellraiser took $20 million at the box-office. It has spawned 7 increasingly sillier sequels: '88s Hellraiser II, '92s Hell On Earth, '96s Bloodline, '00s Inferno, '02s Hellseeker and '05s Deader and Hellworld.
Clive Barker himself is currently producing a Hellraiser remake, scheduled for a 2008 release, which he will write. Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury are directing, following their critically-lauded debut film Inside. The duo have confirmed their Barker-scripted remake will have a new story and a new Pinhead...
Trivia1. It took actor Doug Bradley 6 hours to have his make-up applied.
2. Hellraiser's original title was Sadomasochists From Beyond The Grave!
3. The address of the abandoned house is 55 Ludobivo Place, named after The Ludovici Institute where Alex was deprogrammed in A Clockwork Orange.
4. The original VHS release offered a bonus feature; a bizarre Home Shopping Channel sketch where a creepy old lady sold merchandise from the film!
5. The poor special effects at the film's end were a direct result of the low budget. Clive Barker as and an unknown "Greek guy" hand-animated the effects themselves over a weekend, whilst getting very drunk.
6. Actor Andrew Robinson convinced Clive Barker to change a line in the script from "Fuck you" to the now classic "Jesus wept".
Links
Revelations - Official Clive Barker Resource
Hellraiser: The Hellbound Web
