Related
Hellraiserhas become a funny horror classic , although not in an obvious way . When most the great unwashed think of Clive Barker ’s blood - splattered movie debut , they think of Pinhead , the cenobites , and perhaps Julia ’s evil - female monarch face as she kills innocent men with her hammer . On the aerofoil , Hellraiseris graphic and really horrific , yet beneath it is a sexual subtext that is more than just the status quo .
Hellraiserwas released in 1987 during the ' 80s horror boom alongside many other democratic repulsion franchises , such asHalloweenandA Nightmare on Elm Street . However , Hellraiserwas different from the slasher - picture show nature of its contemporaries , offering a completely original visual modality . At its heart , Hellraiseris a dearest story about sexual compulsion , and the thing it says about sexuality are pretty extreme .
Related : Everything We Know About The Hellraiser Movie Reboot
The concept and script forHellraisercame completelyfrom the psyche of Clive Barker , who publish and directed the moviebased upon his book , The Hellbound Heart . Barker is an openly gay humankind . He came out when he was 18 , and now hold out in Beverly Hills with his partner . He won a GLAAD Media Award in 2004 , and it could be argued that his sexuality underpins all of his work , thereby makingHellraisera part of homophile refinement . however , Hellraiserhas become a queer horror classic for much more than this dewy-eyed fact .
Why Hellraiser Is Considered Queer Horror
Hellraiseris separate as Queer Horror on Shudder , and has been consider to be in this class for a long meter for good reason . The movie begin with Frank Cotton , a pagan seem for the ultimate sexual experience . By exchange " small favors " , perhaps of a sexual nature , he is able to get his hands on theLament Configuration , a mystifier box he believes hold in a supreme sensual experience . However , when he ’s greeted by the coenobite , who regard nuisance as the ultimate pleasure , he realizes he ’s gone too far . Frank has a rather misrepresented gumption of sexuality . Even before he’staken by the cenobites , he engages often in tearing , sexual acts , admit a sexual practice scene that was film with Julia that the censor forced Barker to cut from the original motion-picture photography . In other discussion , Hellraiserportrays sexuality as far more open and fluid than the usual , conservative horror movie figure of speech in which promiscuous - and often straightforward - teenagers are typically the first victims of the killer .
As for the cenobites themselves , their designs were immediately inspired by S&M clubs , both visually and emotionally . In an interview withThe Guardian , Barker mouth about an underground golf-club in New York call Cellblock 28 which had a hard-core S&M nighttime . This cabaret is where Barker fancy hoi polloi being pierce and cut on purpose and he witnessed the extremes people would go to for sex .
" I was validating a lifestyle , " Barker say in his interview with The Guardian . " It was a solemnisation of the beauty of these strange secret rite . ” Indeed , the S&M vibe of the cinema has made it democratic with the twirl comic - con bunch , even over 30 years after its release , constantly cementingHellraiser’splace as a queer horror classic .
Next : Hellraiser : Pinhead ’s Design & Character Inspiration explain