Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- dread-filled
- disturbing
- serious
- late night horror viewing
- 1980s horror marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly admired the film's ambitious mythology, serious atmosphere, inventive gore, and themes of desire and pain, while finding its acting, score, and occasional visual or tonal compromises uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Frank's resurrection and subsequent physical reconstruction make bodily violation central to the film's horror.
The puzzle box and the cenobites frame extreme sensation as both temptation and torment.
Larry and Julia's childhood house shelters Frank's hidden return and the ensuing bloodshed.
The film's signature imagery depends on hands-on effects depicting skin, wounds, resurrection, and monstrous bodies.
Films like Hellraiser, and why
The Fly
Shares supernatural horror, graphic body transformation, occult mythology, and an unsettlingly serious tone.
The Evil Dead
Shares haunted domestic spaces, demonic supernatural forces, escalating dread, and graphic practical effects.
Society
Shares surreal supernatural horror, ritualistic imagery, and a transgressive exploration of desire and pain.
Nightbreed
Shares occult horror, elaborate practical makeup effects, and a morally corrupted family-centered premise.
Movie Details
- Director
- Clive Barker
- Release Date
- 1987-09-11
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (3006)
Cast
- Andrew Robinson
- Clare Higgins
- Ashley Laurence
- Oliver Smith
- Sean Chapman
- Robert Hines
- Doug Bradley
- Nicholas Vince
- Simon Bamford
- Grace Kirby
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Hellraiser about?
- A desperate young woman confronts other-dimensional sadists and a resurrected relative after a puzzle box turns her family home into a portal for exquisite torment.
- What is Hellraiser like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Hellraiser as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Hellraiser violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Hellraiser as graphic.
- What did critics think of Hellraiser?
- Critics broadly admired the film's ambitious mythology, serious atmosphere, inventive gore, and themes of desire and pain, while finding its acting, score, and occasional visual or tonal compromises uneven.
- Which films are like Hellraiser?
- Films with a similar feel include The Fly, The Evil Dead, Society, and Nightbreed.
- How long is Hellraiser?
- Hellraiser runs 93 minutes.
- Where can I watch Hellraiser?
- In United States, Hellraiser streams on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
