Supernatural horror excels at the sublime and unexplainable. The power of the imaginationturned topsy-turvyplays with reality’s expectations. What could beworse than we thought, was becoming true is the definition of horror. Clive Barker, the creator ofCandymanandNightbreed, worked through the death-defying definition, basing his films on his novellas, short stories, health scares, and being a homosexual man.
Barker rose to prominence with his 1984 and 1985 short story collectionBooks of Blood. His tales of horror were met withopposition and homophobiabefore they reached a wider audience. Barker’s publication was given a notable testimonial from fellow horror author Stephen King saying, “I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker.“Hellraiseris based on his 1986 novellaThe Hellbound Heartand Barker’s time as a hustler at S&M clubs in the 1970s,introducing readers and viewers to his traumatic experiences in a Faustian morality play about redemption and sexuality.
To Hell and Back
Hedonist Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) purchases a puzzle box that is said to give the problem-solver indescribable pleasure. When Frank finds its solution, he releases a black-robed demon pulling him apart with chained hooks. The dichotomy between pain and pleasure, the places where they are derived from, is a major theme throughoutHellraiser. Frank is apleasure seeker. There is nothing inherently wrong with inciting joy for yourself. It’s a healthy response to fulfilling your needs. Frank, however, goes so far as to stick his finger in the cake and has an affair with his brother’s wife, Julia (Clare Higgins) before their marriage. The heart wants what the heart wants, but it becomes a question of love or lust.
The answer is found in a dark grey area withBarker’s demons, the Cenobites, for whom pain and pleasure are all the same. Love, lust, pain, and pleasure are intermingling, interchangeable terms as far as sexuality and spirituality are concerned. To help Frank escape this can of worms inside Pandora’s box, Julia lures meninto the atticfor him to absorb their lifeblood and murder his way back to the land of the living.
Related:How Hellraiser Compares to and Honors the Gruesome Original Movie
On Pins and Needles
Carnal desires and temptations are hard to free yourself from. The sensory overload of the Cenobites' extreme sadomasochism shows the shadow work in the minds of those that are repressed. Left unchecked, pleasure is found in the darkest of places. A bed of roses quickly becomes a bed of nails. The leader of the Cenobites originally was nameless in Barker’s book (possibly playing into the faceless act of hired sex workers) which could also serve as protection and privacy from strangers. It wasn’t until the film crew jokingly nicknamed the Cenobite “Pinhead” that fans and the media decided to keep the namesake.
Pinhead (Doug Bradley) goes by many names as well, including Hell Priest, The Engineer, and Cold Man. Sexual identity here alternates from being anonymous (safe and secure) to deviant (free and empowered) with a fluctuating power dynamic. Role-playing and masks can be innocent kinks or transformative personalities. Expressing yourself in any dimension (Hell or otherwise) takes a lot of soul-searching. Intercourse compartmentalizes the soul search through two key roles: giver and receiver.
Related:Hellraiser Creator Clive Barker Slams Homophobic Industry; Talks J.K. Rowling’s Transphobic Comments
Raising Hell
At some point, you play both roles. You give for a time and receive at another. Experimentation, reversals, redefining, and mixing of these roles change people for better or worse. The affair between Frank and Julia was ill-fated from the start, as the first seduced and coerced the latter’s better nature. Everybody plays the fool, another unfortunate role. A loveless marriage is no better fate either, but compared to the Cenobites, there are better solutions than murderous hedonism.
Hellraisertakes a surreal approach not unlikeA Nightmare on Elm Street. Homoeroticism inFreddy’s Revengesexualized the angst and urges as well as fueled the hesitation people have when learning or changing their sexual orientation. The ménage à trois between the subgenres of supernatural horror, body horror, and erotic horror are convincing and clever suspense trips in Barker’s film. Normalizing spirituality, fetishes, preferences in bed, and discussions about repression are powerful literal and visual subtexts.
Desperation and satisfaction are a deadly combination for anyone. Together they are an unhealthy form of sexuality: sexual predation. The Cenobites prove that, when no one can tell the difference between pain and pleasure. Therefore, no one knows the difference between addiction and exploration. Frank wasn’t frank with his intentions, except when he admits that his pleasure seeking is never enough. Pleasure can become the greatest pain. Pain can become the greatest pleasure.Hellraisershows the worst kind of suffering is manmade, when pain and pleasure become inseparable. It makes you question what your pleasure truly is.
