Snippitts of Illusions

I like the film Hellraiser. To a point. That point occurs about 10 minutes from the end of the film, when it falls apart. The problem with the film in the last 10 minutes is one of the reasons I like the film to begin with: The Cenobites. For those who don't know, the Cenobites are "demons" from else where that explore the relationship between pleasure and pain through torture. They wear leather, have unspeakable alterations made to their flesh, and appear as if they must be in great pain all the time. Their leader (literally "Lead Cenobite" in the credits) has become the iconic Pinhead of the franchise, though the first film is truly where he (and the others) soars in their role.
The attractions of the Cenobites are twofold: their grotesque beauty, and their enigmatic presence. They are beautiful, in a very disturbing way. Certainly flayed skin, pierced muscle and carved bone holds little actual attraction, yet you can't help but appreciate the artfulness of it all. Like an H.R. Giger painting there is a morbid beauty to the Cenobites that can be appreciated, if not actually enjoyed by the viewer of the film.
Their presence is an enigma in many ways: where did they come from. Ostensibly from hell, but it's obviously not from any hell that we understand in the western or eastern sense of the word. Their presence is a further mystery by what they actually are (ruined in the second film, which is one reason I don't particularly care for it.) The only real clue to what they are comes from a single line bit of dialogue:
"What are you?"
"Explorers in the further regions of experience. Demons to some. Angels to others."

Very non-specific. They can be both things, sometimes at once. That makes them intriguing to me, and the fact they have very little dialogue through most of the film aides in this.

Now, as for my beef with the last 10 minutes, well, it is also due to 2 specific reasons: The sudden change of the Cenobites from amoral judges/executioners to the scary bad guy of the film, and the fact that very thing contradicts the novella from which the film is based. Up until the last 10 minutes of the film, it's Kirsty’s uncle Frank who is obviously the antagonist of the film. He's blatantly evil, seducing Kirsty's stepmother before her wedding. He uses her lust for him to convince her to commit murder after murder (culminating with the murder of his own brother at the end of the film.) It was Frank who opened the puzzle box to summon the Cenobites to begin with. There's a long cat and mouse with Frank and Kirsty at the end of the film, in which he seeks to kill her, and apparently have sex with her, and retrieve the puzzle box. Kirsty has made a deal with the Cenobites to get her Uncle Frank "to confess himself" to them. Which she finally manages to do. They capture Frank, and The Lead Cenobite tells her that "This is not for your eyes." as he closes the door on her when they take Frank back to "hell". Suddenly, each of the Cenobites begin showing up one after the other while Kirsty and her boyfriend try escaping the collapsing house. This is after they had already told her they would let her go. She 'unsolves' the puzzle box to banish them (except for the last one, who is apparently killed by the collapsing ceiling of the house). That's the bit that has always bothered me, and contradicts the novella: the sudden change of attitude. The Cenobites got Frank, they agreed to let Kirsty go if she could get Frank to admit who he was, then they decide to get her (and her boyfriend who shows up... pretty much when the Cenobites decide to get her) pretty much making them total douche's. One could argue that they were demons, so were simply lying. But that's not really true either. In the novella, which the film stays fairly faithful to (though there's much edited out due to sexual/explicit content) the Cenobites keep their word. In fact the Lead Cenobite gives Kirsty the puzzle box to hang on too for some reason. There's never a change of villain at the last moment, like there is in the film, and Kirsty feels more fleshed out.

There are many legitimate criticisms of the film; I do feel that this is one of them. Others include not fleshing Kirsty or her father out more. Fleshing Frank out a bit more (no pun intended.) Getting rid of Kirsty's boyfriend. Who's at best, little more than a distraction to the rest of the film.
The movie spends most of its time with Julia, which is ok, but becomes problematic when the focus shifts to Kirsty for the remaining 30 minutes of the film. Despite my major gripe about the Cenobites, and the niggling criticisms (which are fair) the movie remains in my top 100. It changed what horror could be. Something that Clive Barker himself did in printed form with his Books of Blood collections. It's something that can also be said of only a few others: Steven King, H.P. Lovecraft, and Edgar Allen Poe. And that's probably the biggest reason why I like Hellraiser.

posted by F.G. Shaw @ 2:11 AM