Behind the Couch

1996 Dir. Alan Smithee 2127. A scientist onboard a space station attempts to complete the task began by his ancestor centuries ago; to destroy the puzzle box that, when solved and opened, allows the demonic entities known as Cenobites to enter our world and cause havoc and untold suffering in the name of pleasure. Written by Peter Atkins, with Clive Barker serving as executive producer, Bloodline is the centuries-spanning origin story of the puzzle box that featured throughout all the Hellraiser films up until this point - and the sequels which followed. Acting as a doorway to hell itself, the box, an amalgamation of alchemy and science, grants demons access to our world. Director Kevin Yagher disowned the film when the studio began re-editing it, ordering re-writes and re-shoots, and generally interfering with his grand vision. And what a vision this could have been. The tale of a family plagued for generations by demons who wish to create a permanent doorway into our world;...

1992 Dir. Anthony Hickox When the diabolical Pinhead is freed from his prison - a macabre sculpture purchased by a sleazy nightclub owner - he sets about creating a new army of Cenobites to aid him in his quest to establish hell on earth. What he doesn’t count on is ardent TV reporter Joey Summerskill, the only person with the courage and knowledge to defeat him and thwart his fiendish schemes. She is aided in her quest by the spirit of Pinhead’s former human self, WW1 British Army Captain, Elliott Spencer. There will be blood… The first Hellraiser slow-burned its way through searing violence and morbidly sexualised imagery, while sequel Hellbound upped the scope and hammered home the depressing, downbeat tone with surrealistic depictions of a cold and private hell. Written by Peter Atkins and Tony Randel, the writers and director of Hellbound , and with Clive Barker in the role of executive producer, Hell on Earth unravels as a commercialised, somewhat diluted version of Bar...

1988 Dir. Tony Randel Having survived the bloody events of the first film, in which her family was torn apart by the demonic Cenobites, inter-dimensional demons with a deprived definition of ‘pleasure’, Kirsty Cotton is taken to a psychiatric hospital. Unbeknownst to Kirsty, her creepy psychologist has been searching for the gateway to hell and plans to resurrect her step-mother Julia to help him in his diabolical plans to indulge in untold, hellish pleasures. Hellbound reunites much of the cast and crew who worked on Hellraiser , ensuring a seamless segue into this instalment, which features a similarly grimy, bleak tone. It succeeds as a sequel because while it continues the story, picking up almost immediately after the events depicted in Hellraiser , it doesn’t just repeat itself, it opens up and explores the background of certain characters and, despite the rather modest budget, has a much more grandiose feel. Directed by Tony Randel, who served as an editor on the first...

1987 Dir. Clive Barker When Larry Cotton moves back to his long-abandoned family home, his new wife Julia discovers the eviscerated remains of his brother Frank, her former lover, in the attic. Having solved a bizarre puzzle box, Frank lost his earthly body to a group of sadomasochistic demons, Cenobites, but is resurrected by a drop of blood on the attic floor. He soon convinces ex-lover Julia to bring him human sacrifices to help him regain his body and escape the clutches of the Cenobites… Into this deadly fray wanders Kirsty, Larry’s headstrong daughter, and the only one who is able to prevent her diabolical family from achieving their gruesome goals. The prime, albeit declining trend in horror in the mid to late Eighties, was the slasher movie. Countless titles featuring teenagers getting murderlised by hulking, masked psychopaths in isolated locations cluttered cinemas and video shelves alike. When Barker’s hellish vision was unleashed however, it towered over its peers, ...

Artwork by Tim Bradstreet " I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker ." Stephen King " Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red ." Clive Barker Every once in a while I like to delve into a particular series/franchise of horror films and completely immerse myself in the universes they create. The various movie marathons I've foolhardily thrown myself into include Halloween , Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street . There has also been consideration of adaptations of work by such writers as HP Lovecraft and MR James . I have decided that March is as good a time as any to embark on another marathon of a specific horror series. Therefore throughout this month I’ll be watching all nine Hellraiser films. Yes, there are nine. Who knew? As I have said before, usually prior to embarking on such sordid excursions, these things just have to be done. Sometimes. With its blushless exploration of such ad...

With its blushless exploration of adult themes such as sado-masochism, pain and pleasure, and its searing imagery of grisly body-modification and skinless resurrections, Hellraiser marked writer/director Clive Barker as an extraordinarily singular voice in horror. Based upon his novella The Hellbound Heart , it tells of individuals who seek the most extreme forms of self-gratifying pleasure before losing their lives (and souls) to a group of sinister, self-mutilating figures from another dimension. To say bloodshed ensues is a vast understatement. While the film boasts a deliciously gothic score courtesy of Christopher Young, Barker had originally commissioned British industrial outfit Coil to score the film. The ‘bowel-churning’ soundscape they delivered wasn’t considered commercial enough by the studio, though the band later released it in various collections of their work. Head over to Paracinema to read about the unused Hellraiser score and listen to a couple of tracks. ...

1992 Dir. Bernard Rose Whilst researching her thesis on urban legends, student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) becomes intrigued by the legend of the ‘Candyman’ (Tony Todd) – the son of a slave who was brutally tortured and killed because he fell in love with the daughter of a white plantation owner. He is said to appear when his name is spoken five times into a mirror and he has a hook for a hand. Whilst carrying out her investigation, the sceptical Helen repeats his name and is subsequently plunged into a nightmare world where reality and fevered dreams become meshed together as she is stalked by the spectre of the Candyman and held responsible for a series of grisly murders. Could the legend be true or is Helen simply losing her mind? Can she clear her name before it’s too late and she becomes the latest victim of the formidable legend that is the Candyman? Beginning with our protagonists discussing the power of legends and the subtext of folklore, Candyman opens with a creepily...