20140228: Horror Review--Hellraiser 1 1987

Hellraiser 1 (1987)

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. British live action feature length film, 1987, rated R, 93 minutes, horror.
2. IMDB: 7.1/10.0 from 58,668 audience ratings. Estimated budget, 1 million USD.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 63% on the meter; 74% liked it from 67,622 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 3.3/5.0 from 1,992,811 audience ratings.
5. Written and directed by Clive Barker.
6. Starring: Andrew Robinson as Larry, Clare Higgins as Julie, Ashley Laurence as Kirsty Cotton, Sean Chapman as Frank, Oliver Smith as Frank the Monster.


2. Setup and Plot
1. Frank Cotton buys a puzzle cube in the Middle East from an East Asian man.  This was nice and ominous.  Later, in a private place of his choosing, Cotton manipulates the cube, opening it up, and gets a visitation that he may or may not have expected.


2. We jump forward in time.  A couple unlocks an 'old homestead' which has been empty for some interval, and has the associated musty smell.  We're in the UK, and the people entering are Larry and Julia, a middle class white couple.  It's been empty for close to a decade.  Larry is Frank's brother; the house belonged to their mother.  Larry supposed that Frank needed a place to hang out, or lie low, perhaps.  There is a lot of twisted religious art left behind, which Larry intends to sell off.


3. Larry and Julia have moved from Brooklyn (Larry is American) back to England, where Larry has landed a good job and Julia should be more at home.  Larry suggests Kirsty have a look at the place.  Julia seems to have reservations, and she finds pictures of her being intimate with Frank.  Larry and Kirsty (Larry's daughter) talk on the phone.  He's not happy about her getting a job; she's not happy about living with Dad and Julia.


4. So, in 13 minutes, we've got all sorts of things that could go wrong.  Demonic influences, marital infidelity, teen-aged rebelliousness, and a cuckolded husband who has been doing a slow-boil for who knows how long.  Let's not forget rising damp, insect infestation, and other vermin leftover from Frank's stay in the house.  Then there are the movers who are trying to hit on both Julia and Kirsty.  Great moving day all around.  Just to add some straight up pain, Larry cuts his hand badly while helping the movers.  His fallen blood awakens something, to the notice of the viewers, but not the characters, who scoot off to hospital.


5. Just to add to the mix, Frank shows up.  Well, something that claims to be Frank, anyway.  The hideous half-formed creature asks Julia to provide sacrifices so that his return can be complete. Larry's blood brought him just so far, but he needs more to make a full recovery to being the old Frank.  Julia decides to provide 'Frank' what he wants.


6. The rest of the film is about the rather harsh consequences of that decision.


7. Does anyone survive?


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Written and directed by Clive Barker; the best of the Hellraiser series.
2. Four stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 7/10 Netflix showed this in 4:3 aspect, even though the film was recorded in 1.85; this always means visual content has been deleted.  I hope to see this film again in its full aspect.


2. Sound: 10/10 The music by Christopher Young was effective for engendering various atmospheric moods.  The actors were miked well enough.


3. Acting: 8/10 Quite liked the performances of Clare Higgins, Andrew Robinson, and Sean Chapman.  


4. Screenplay: 10/10 Great story telling.  Manages to convey suspense and consequence as many modern films do not.


5. SFX: 7/10 SFX from 1987 look a bit dated in 2014.  However, the SFX still work well to convey the threat of the 'other' (the Cenobites) and hideous damage to the body.