What is your favourite 'Hellraiser' movie?

[Fearonsarms]

Originally Posted by Gh0st

I personally liked the 2nd one more. I love the scene in which Kristy reminded the Cenobites that they were once human, amazing acting in that scene by Doug Bradley, you can see how touched his character is.

That's a great scene :)

[horcrux2007]

I'm surprised I'm not dead because I know a lot of people that love that movie.

[Sculpt]

Originally Posted by horcrux2007

I'm surprised I'm not dead because I know a lot of people that love that movie.

In time...

[horcrux2007]

Originally Posted by Sculpt

In time...

There's another movie that I'm not particularly keen on that I'm not even gonna bring up because it's a classic.

[horcrux2007]

I can see why you didn't particularly like Hellraiser. I wasn't keen on it either the first time I watched it, but I gave it another shot and loved it.

[Sculpt]

I was very mixed on Hellraiser -- loved the box to other dimension concept and interactions. But the human characters & their interactions left a lot to be desired, especially the mom and the undead ex-lover.

[The Villain]

Originally Posted by Sculpt

I was very mixed on Hellraiser -- loved the box to other dimension concept and interactions. But the human characters & their interactions left a lot to be desired, especially the mom and the undead ex-lover.

Yeah they focused too much on that but I actually think the box and the cenobites work better when they're not the main focus or else you end up with Hellraiser 3

[horcrux2007]

Originally Posted by The Villain

Yeah they focused too much on that but I actually think the box and the cenobites work better when they're not the main focus or else you end up with Hellraiser 3

That was by far the worst of the first 4 movies. They turned Hellraiser into a fucking slasher series!

[The Villain]

Originally Posted by horcrux2007

That was by far the worst of the first 4 movies. They turned Hellraiser into a fucking slasher series!

Yeah and tried to make Pinhead into a witty Freddy Krueger type which didn't work at all.

[Sculpt]

Originally Posted by The Villain

Yeah they focused too much on that but I actually think the box and the cenobites work better when they're not the main focus or else you end up with Hellraiser 3

I agree, 9 times out of 10 the Cenobites shouldn't be the main focus; so the human main characters have to offer something to draw you in & to care about them. With Hellraiser I didn't find much of anything with the main characters to latch onto -- I didn't care about them. Eventually I cared about & identified with the daughter, but only through her interaction with the box & Cenobites.

As has been said many times, & I wholehearted agree, the key for a horror film is for the audience to care about & empathize with the characters so they experience the horror with them. Otherwise you might as well page through a Fangora magazine.

Originally Posted by Straker

As for Hellraiser, its a masochistic masterpiece and the character interactions and relationships are what makes the first movie so great. Its focuses on two of the staples of horror, sex and death until there's nothing left but a bloody mess. What more do you want?

I want more from the characters, to make it a story, not a exploitumentary.

I agree with you, there's more there (masochism) then meets the eye, but with the ex-lover, I didn't find it particularly engaging.

I agree sex is a staple in Horror, but only in the sense it's a staple in life and all films - "sex" as in "mate interest" is a staple in all fiction film. I would say Horror film simply focuses more on the visceral side of everything, including sex. If a film offers nothing but the boobs-gore, boobs-gore button pushing formula, I don't think that makes it more classic Horror, & certainly not a better film. (Not talking about Hellraiser.)

Netflix has uploaded a ton of Hellraiser' films. I've only seen Hellraiser. Can anyone recommend the best ones, story/character-wise?