Hellraiser is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker in his directorial debut. Based on Barker's 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart, the film's plot concerns a mystical puzzle box that summons the Cenobites, a group of extra-dimensional, sadomasochistic beings who cannot differentiate between pain and pleasure. It stars Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, and Doug Bradley as the leader of the Cenobites, identified in the sequels as "Pinhead".
The Hellbound Heart is a horror novella by Clive Barker, first published in November 1986 by Dark Harvest in the third volume of its Night Visions anthology series. The story features a hedonist criminal acquiring a mystical puzzle box, the LeMarchand Configuration, which can be used to summon the Cenobites, demonic beings who do not distinguish between pain and pleasure. He escapes the Cenobites and, with help, resorts to murder to restore himself to full life. Later on, the puzzle box is found by another.
The Cenobites are fictional, extra-dimensional, and seemingly demonic beings who appear in the works of Clive Barker. Introduced in Barker's 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart, they also appear in its sequel novel The Scarlet Gospels, the Hellraiser films, and in Hellraiser comic books published (intermittently) between 1987 and 2017. In the 1987 novel Weaveworld, they are mentioned in passing as "The Surgeons". The Cenobites appear in prose stories authorized but not written by Clive Barker, such as the anthology Hellbound Hearts edited by Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan, the novella Hellraiser: The Toll, and the novel Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell written by Paul Kane.
Pinhead is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Hellraiser franchise. The character first appeared as an unnamed figure in the 1986 Clive Barker novella The Hellbound Heart. When Clive Barker adapted the novella into the 1987 film Hellraiser, he referred to the character in early drafts as "the Priest" but the final film gave no name. The production and make-up crew nicknamed the character "Pinhead"—derived from his bald head studded with nails—and fans accepted the sobriquet. The name was then used in press materials, tie-in media, and on-screen in some of the film's sequels, although Barker himself despises the moniker.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II is a 1988 supernatural horror film directed by Tony Randel and starring Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Kenneth Cranham and Doug Bradley. It is the second film in the Hellraiser franchise, and draws heavily upon its precursor, Hellraiser, which was released a year before with much of the same cast and crew. Laurence reprises her role as Kirsty Cotton, who is admitted into a psychiatric hospital after the events of the first film. There, the head doctor (Cranham) unleashes the Cenobites, a group of sadomasochistic beings from another dimension.
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth is a 1992 American supernatural horror film and the third installment in the Hellraiser film series. It was directed by Anthony Hickox and stars Terry Farrell, Paula Marshall, Kevin Bernhardt, and Doug Bradley. Ashley Laurence, who starred in the previous two films, reprises her role as Kirsty Cotton in a cameo appearance.
Hellraiser: Bloodline is a 1996 American science fiction horror film and the fourth installment in the Hellraiser series, which serves as both a prequel and a sequel. Directed by Kevin Yagher and Joe Chappelle, the film stars Doug Bradley as Pinhead, reprising his role and now the only remaining original character and cast member. It also features Bruce Ramsay, Valentina Vargas, Kim Myers and Adam Scott in his first major film role. It was the last Hellraiser film to be released theatrically and the last to have any major official involvement with series creator Clive Barker until the 2022 reboot.
Hellraiser is a British-American horror media franchise that consists of eleven films, as well as various comic books, and additional merchandise and media. Based on the novella The Hellbound Heart by English author Clive Barker, the franchise centers around the Cenobites which includes the primary antagonist named Pinhead.
George Meeker was an American character film and Broadway actor.
Kirsty is a fictional character from the Hellraiser media franchise. Created by writer Clive Barker, Kirsty first appears in the 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart. Her full name is identified in the sequels as Kirsty Singer, before being adapted in the 1987 film adaptation Hellraiser as Kirsty Cotton. The character served as a major focus in the original film and its sequel Hellbound: Hellraiser II, later playing a supporting role in Hellraiser VI: Hellseeker. In all of her appearances in the film series, she was portrayed by actress Ashley Laurence. The film describes her as being Larry Cotton's daughter, while in the novel she is simply a friend of his.
George Edwin Eldredge was an American actor who appeared in over 180 movies during a career that stretched from the 1930s to the early 1960s. He also had a prolific television career during the 1950s. He was the older brother of actor John Dornin Eldredge.
Paul John Perri is an American-Canadian film and television actor. Perri is best known for portraying Edwards and Skinless Parker in Hellraiser: Bloodline, Harry Hume from Chaos, and as Dr. Sidney Bloom from Manhunter.
Vincent Tong is a Canadian voice actor. His voice roles include Gene Khan / The Mandarin in Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Toro in Sushi Pack, Henry in Kid vs. Kat, Garble, Flash Sentry, and Sandbar in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Daniel in Voltron Force, Kai in Ninjago, Antaeus "Ant" Nekton in The Deep as well as Jestro in Nexo Knights and Eugene Wong in DreamWorks Peacock animated series Dragons: The Nine Realms. He also voiced Euden in Dragalia Lost before being replaced by Victor Hunter.
Frank Reppy Wilcox was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films and television series, as well as Broadway plays.
Carl Jaffe was a German actor. Jaffe trained on the stage in his native Hamburg, Kassel and Wiesbaden before moving to Berlin, where his career began to develop.
Hellraiser: Revelations is a 2011 American horror film written by Gary J. Tunnicliffe and directed by Víctor Garcia. It is the ninth film in the Hellraiser film series. It follows the fates of two friends who discover a puzzle box that opens a gateway to a realm inhabited by sadomasochistic monsters known as the Cenobites. The film stars Steven Brand, Nick Eversman, Tracey Fairaway, and Stephan Smith Collins.
Hellraiser: Judgment is a 2018 American horror film written and directed by Gary J. Tunnicliffe, based on the characters created by Clive Barker. The tenth installment in the Hellraiser film series, the film stars Damon Carney, Randy Wayne, Alexandra Harris, Heather Langenkamp, and Paul T. Taylor, and centers on three police detectives who, investigating a series of murders, are confronted by the denizens of hell. The film expands the fictional universe by introducing a new faction of hell: the Stygian Inquisition. While the Cenobites offer sadomasochistic pleasures to humans that enter their dominion, the Inquisition processes the souls of sinners. Tunnicliffe plays the Inquisition's auditor, a prominent role in the film.
Chatterer is a fictional character appearing in the Hellraiser film series. He is a Cenobite, an order of extradimensional sadomasochists who experiment in extreme forms of hedonism. His name comes from the constant clicking of his teeth, his only means of communication. He serves the Cenobites' leader Pinhead. Chatterer has become a fan favourite character in the Hellraiser franchise.
Hellraiser is a 2022 supernatural horror film directed by David Bruckner, with a screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, from a screen story co-written with David S. Goyer. A reboot of the Hellraiser franchise, the eleventh installment overall, and the second adaptation of the 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker following the 1987 film, the film stars Odessa A'zion as a young woman recovering from addiction who ends up with a mechanical puzzle box that can summon the Cenobites, humanoid beings who thrive on pain being pleasure. Jamie Clayton, Adam Faison, Drew Starkey, Brandon Flynn, Aoife Hinds, Jason Liles, Yinka Olorunnife, Selina Lo, Zachary Hing, Kit Clarke, Goran Višnjić, and Hiam Abbass appear in supporting roles.
