Pinhead fromHellraiseris one of the most iconic repugnance villain of all meter ; his Maker , Clive Barker , took inspiration for his design from all over the earth to make his instantly recognizable features .

WhenHellraiserwas released in 1987 , it change the face of repugnance and precede a newfangled kind of horror villain . Pinhead is intelligent and articulate , slightly reminiscent of Count Dracula . This is a departure from other   horror antagonist who became far-famed in the 1980s ; the others are either soundless Orcinus orca like Michael Myers inHalloweenor glib and cheesy like Freddy Krueger inANightmare on Elm Street . Hellraiserbrought audiences a more self-respecting villain , one who was once human and now lives in a state of perpetual mourning for his past , where neither annoyance nor pleasure can touch on him .

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Imagery from Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

Pinhead is a coenobite that presides over an extradimensional region name The Labyrinth , whichin posterior picture show becomes known as " Hell . “He is one of the leaders of the cenobites , an entity dedicate to the practice of pleasure and pain , mostly taking the form of sadomasochistic torture . He and other cenobites are muster when someone on Earth opens a teaser box known as the Lament Configuration . Although he is only a small part of the firstHellraiserfilm , he charm audience not only because of Doug Bradley ’s glorious performance as Pinhead but also because of his striking appearance need geometric scarification and jeweled   nail jut out from   his skull and face . However , the design conception go away through several iterations before becoming the visually iconic Pinhead see today .

Hellraiser: Pinhead’s Inspiration And Design

When Clive Barker was designing the cenobite , he in the beginning took inspiration from African fetish sculptures , especially when it came to Pinhead ’s appearance . He also drew from his experience visiting S&M clubs from different portion of the macrocosm , including in Amsterdam and New York , as well as touchwood manner and Catholicism . Although today the word coenobite is often synonymous with Barker ’s creations , the word itself simply refers to a priest or religious drawing card .

Originally , Pinhead was plainly one of several of these " religious " leaders , or cenobites , that came out of a collaboration between Barker and the design team from   the firstHellraisermovie . However , after the team had finish the design of all of the cenobites , the pinheaded one was the clear standout and became the loss leader .   During development , Barker holler the cenobites " hell priest " , and told the pattern team to make costumes for four or five " super - butchers " .

Before this , Clive Barker claims   that an earlier incarnation of Pinhead appeared in his 1973 swordplay , Hunters in the Snow , as an undead inquisitor and torturer . Also , the oarlock design was inhale by a prop he used in an other short film to produce a picky shadow burden . Barker wanted to recreate this issue with Pinhead , the pins twine the darkness around his head teacher . In fact , it was because of this effect that the design team starting yell the " lead cenobite " Pinhead , a name that stuck , despite   how much Barker disliked it , feel it had a   disparaging intension that did not fit the intelligent nobility of the character . Nevertheless , Pinhead remains thedefining characterof theHellraiserfranchise , includingmovie rebootand even anupcoming HBO serial .

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Hellraiser: Captain Elliot Spencer who becomes Pinhead.

Hellraiser Pinhead original design sketches.

Hellraiser