“Hellraiser” Is the terrifying aesthetic the ultimate pleasure or the ultimate pain?

"Hellraiser" synopsis

Frank obtains a mysterious puzzle box that brings him extreme pleasure, but as soon as he solves the puzzle, he is torn into pieces by a mage who appears from the demon world and loses his body. A few years later, Frank's younger brother Larry and his wife Julia move into Frank's mansion after he went missing, but Frank is awakened by the blood of the injured Larry, and plans to make Julia, his former mistress, offer a sacrifice of flesh and blood to revive him. Kirsty, the daughter of Larry's ex-wife, investigates her stepmother Julia's suspicious behavior and encounters a completely changed Frank in the attic, and learns of his terrifying plan, but the door to Inferno is about to open.

Index

• Pinhead was born in the context of Gothic culture
• Ultimate pleasure = ultimate pain
• clever plot, casting

Pinhead was born in the context of Gothic culture

Sam Raimi's `` The Evil Dead '' (1981), John Carpenter's `` The Planet X '' (1982), David Cronenberg's ` `The Fly '' (1986)... The 1980s was a time of great horror movies. At the end of such a colorful era, a unique horror movie is delivered from England. Clive Barker's ``Hellraiser'' (1987) is a movie that has a terrifying aesthetic. There are 10 sequels and related works, and a reboot work is also being made in 2022 (not yet released in Japan). Stephen King paid tribute by saying, "I saw the future of horror. His name is Clive Barker."

At least for me, Leatherface from " The Texas Chain Saw Massacre " (1974), Jason from " Friday the 13th " (1980), Freddy Krueger from "A Nightmare A Nightmare on Elm Street " (1984), and " Child's Play " The Inferno mage Pinhead from Hellraiser is far more frightening than Chucky from (1988). Well, the visuals are just too scary. He is a white-painted skinhead with a face full of nails and only black eyes. Every time I went to a rental shop and accidentally looked at a DVD jacket with a large copy of his face printed on it, I would tremble in fear. Horror movies are a showcase for the scariest characters, and I personally think Pinhead stands out.

"Hellraiser" trailer

In the original horror novel, The Inferno Heart , Pinhead was never written as a prominent character. Even though the film was written and directed by the original author, Clive Barker, he doesn't get a lot of screen time. However, its strong impact was firmly etched in the minds of the audience. After making the film, Clive Barker discovered that the mage was even more iconic than he had imagined.

"I noticed shortly after the film was released that nearly every printed photograph was of a man with a pin stuck in his head. That's saying something. People were choosing that image to identify the film." (*1)

The Cenobite (mage) design is said to be a mix of Catholic church, punk fashion, and SM club images. Gothic rock, which was born as a post-punk movement represented by The Cure, the Velvet Underground , and David Bowie , has formed a large culture called Goth and created a fetish fashion style. It can be said that Pinhead was also born out of that alternative gothic culture scene. Just as the ruins of Gothic architecture have an irresistible allure, Pinhead's form has a satanic charm.

Ultimate pleasure = ultimate pain