Hellraiser (1987)

(On VHS, May 2001) As with many horror film, Hellraiser‘s potential exceeds its actual execution and leaves us wanting a better film. The characters are drawn in a realistic, rather than iconic fashion, but unfortunately they come across as unsympathetic, not authentic. The featured creatures are uniquely designed and their origin hint at some wild cosmology, but unfortunately, they’re used in the context of a more ordinary story that does the job without actually reaching its full potential. The early-eighties special effects are showing their age. Of more interest to horror fans and scholars, but not worth the while for everyone else.

(Second viewing, On Cable TV, June 2019) It’s not that I completely dislike Hellraiser — it’s that the film never quite manages to reach a good chunk of its potential. It’s got good iconic villains, an intriguingly baroque moral system, a wonderfully perverse attitude, some truly stylish visuals, and better-than-average writing from Clive Barker. It’s also quite a bit more unpredictable than most horror films, either then or now. But despite those sizable assets, Hellraiser never fulfills its potential — it spends too much time in less-interesting subplots, doesn’t fully dig into its mythology, and doesn’t quite know what to do. The disappointment is all the more striking in that the sequels never measure up to it either. Maybe a remake will get it right some day.