The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy (30 page)

Joey’s real-world persona might swear, get dirty and generally play dirty, but her dream self is exactly the same as Alice during her adventures. Simply compare Joey’s “walk into madness” that she makes through the window to this description in Carroll’s novel:

“Oh Kitty! how nice it would be if we could only get through into the Looking-glass House! I’m sure it’s got, oh! such beautiful things in it! Let’s pretend there’s a way of getting through into it somehow, Kitty. Let’s pretend the glass has got all soft like gauze, so that we can get through. Why, it’s turning into a sort of mist, now, I declare! It’ll be easy enough to get through.” She was up on the chimney-piece while she said this, though she hardly knew how she had got there. And certainly the glass
was
beginning to melt away, just like a bright silvery mist. In another moment Alice was through the glass....
⁸

Joey’s apartment has, it would seem, its very own alter ego on a par with her own. And one which lets her gain access—either in bed while asleep, or through the window—to this dream-self she has created.

13

PINHEAD UNBOUND

The Cult of Pinhead

A lot had happened between the making of
Hellbound
and
Hellraiser III
. Not only had rights changed hands, directors been swapped, and the storyline altered dramatically, but the character of Pinhead had taken on a life of its own. If his popularity had increased between the release of
Hellraiser
and
Hellbound
, then by the time the cameras rolled on
Hell on Earth
, it was at an all-time high. Doug Bradley had been Guest of Honor at
Fangoria
’s Weekend of Horrors in Los Angeles in 1989—it wasn’t the last invitation he would receive—and recounts a humorous incident in his book,
Behind the Mask of the Horror Actor
, whereby he had to get past immigration guards in the States:

“You’re an actor? You work in horror movies? What’ve you been in, maybe I seen you?”

“Well, do you know the
Hellraiser
movies?”

“
Hellraiser
? Oh man, that’s my favorite! But I don’t remember you in that.”

“Don’t you? You know the guy with the pins in his...”

“No kiddin’, man! You’re Pinhead.” Handshake, handshake. “Would you mind signing your autograph?”
¹

A somewhat typical reaction. Bradley was being recognized on the street more and more. He found he couldn’t just walk around the dealers’ room at the convention without being encircled by Pinhead fans. But all this was something he could definitely relate to. “I’ve gotten used to being a cult figure now,” he said during an interview to publicize
Hell on Earth
. “All the attention came as a big surprise initially.... But I was a huge fan of horror movies before I wanted to be an actor. So I can put myself very easily into the minds of the people who’ve taken the character to their hearts.”
²

In light of this level of attention, it made sense for the filmmakers to focus on his character. Fans were demanding more of Pinhead on-screen, and additional information about his past—alluded to only briefly at the beginning of
Hellbound
. It was Hickox’s belief that Pinhead had been largely unexplored and underused in the first two films
³
but both Atkins and Bradley were determined not to do anything that would go against the grain of the established character.

Atkins may have joked about Pinhead turning into a slasher-style villain, but some of this did actually manage to creep in. The slaughter scene at the Boiler Room comes as close to a Freddy Krueger nightmare sequence as
Hellraiser
ever will, in which as many original ways of killing people as possible are dreamt up. In the
Nightmare
series up to that point Krueger had murdered the residents of Springwood by strangling them with their own bedsheets, trapping them inside a school bus, drowning them, and even through television. Granted, the murderous activities of Pinhead are more sadistic, but the ploys with the drink morphing into a representation of his face, the razor-sharp CDs, and hooks that no longer just rake the skin but slice off fingers do smack of slasher film lore. Pinhead may not crack jokes per se, but his answer to Monroe’s, “Jesus Christ!” is a wry, “Not quite.” He is even called Pinhead for the first time—by Joey—implying that if he is going to become a serial killer icon he will need a nickname on-screen as well as off.

By the same token, it may not be Pinhead himself who is stalking Joey through the streets outside the club, but his creations do a very good imitation of slasher movie antiheroes, each with their own special powers, impervious to bullets, and unable to be stopped by the authorities. The fact that the location where the shooting took place was called Elm Street only adds to the irony. This is
Hellraiser
as an action-thriller, as a monster film, and as a gore film with set pieces to match—in keeping with its move to the U.S., where everything is done on a grander scale. It is exactly the opposite of the original film’s intent, which made it stand out from the crowd back in 1987. We talked a little about the impact of the Cenobites in chapter 3, and the fact that their limited screen presence was a prime cause of our fascination with them. That particular enchantment resulted in saturation here. Our knowledge that the Cenobites were originally human meant we were suddenly able to relate to them on a brand-new level, sympathizing with their predicament, empathizing with their pain. When applied to the Pseudo Cenobites, whom we have seen as human beings throughout the film, this effect becomes even more perceptible. They cannot scare us with subtleties, so they must rely on theatrics.

There is also a link to be made between Pinhead and Hammer’s Dracula. As I mentioned before, Christopher Lee’s portrayal of the Count has much in common with Bradley’s. They exude fear without having to do anything at all, and when physicality does come into the equation it is sometimes to the detriment of the character. When their animalistic qualities are caged, there is more cause for alarm. Dracula, also one of horror’s most popular characters, was resurrected in film after film: from his debut in
Dracula
(Terence Fisher, 1958), to
Dracula—Prince of Darkness
(Fisher, 1966),
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave
(Freddie Francis, 1968),
Taste the Blood of Dracula
(Peter Sasdy, 1970), finally bringing the mythos up to date in
Dracula A.D. 72
(Alan Gibson, 1972) and
The Satanic Rites of Dracula
(Alan Gibson, 1974). By the third movie in the
Hellraiser
saga it began to look like Pinhead would be repeating the trend.

He was supposedly killed in
Hellbound
by Channard, yet he was back again in the sequel—revitalized, it has to be said, by blood. He also featured more heavily, something that the later films in the Dracula cycle did, too, banking on Lee’s charisma and screen presence. Joey even stakes Pinhead in the heart at the end of the film. This was a resemblance Bradley noticed as well, but he was quick to highlight the differences: “It wasn’t just going to be a typical Dracula sequel; O.K. so he died at the end of the last one, so let’s get him back to life in a quick pre-credits sequence and get on with it. The whole
Hellraiser III
plot is driven by Pinhead’s reincarnation and, in particular, resolving the conflict established at
Hellbound
’s climax where he’d split into two.... It’s Elliott Spencer’s story too.”
⁴

Herein lies the crucial distinction. By allowing Bradley to play dual parts, the movie not only catered to the fans who wanted to know more about the character, it also balanced out the time Pinhead spent on screen. It added a greater depth than one would ever get with a slasher villain, articulating and commenting on the monster within the film’s narrative itself. We were not simply presented with a beast running amok, but with the yin to its yang. The predicament Elliott finds himself in also gives the filmmakers an excuse to let Pinhead off the leash; he is no longer tempered by his human side. Gone are his qualities of control and mercy, if such a word can be used about a Cenobite. This incarnation of Pinhead would not have let Kirsty go quite so easily, would probably not have bargained with her in the first place over Frank. His tendency is to act first, and think about the consequences later.

Christopher Lee as Dracula (Hammer Studios).

Another reason why we can never write Pinhead off as merely a slasher villain is the Shakespearian-like speeches he gives when imprisoned inside the Pillar of Souls. At this stage in the proceedings he has neither the freedom nor the strength to rebel, so is forced to use the “softly, softly” approach of his former self. As Elliott warns Joey, “He can be very persuasive ... and very inventive.” These virtual monologues written by Atkins are what elevate the movie beyond the fright flick it could so easily have been. Unbound as he is, Pinhead is still Pinhead and cannot be distorted that much. Thomas Harris did this with the famous characters of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling in
Hannibal
(1999), ending the novel with them living happily ever after together, a climax that was changed considerably when Ridley Scott made the film version in 2001. Even with these indulgences, the main crux of what made Pinhead so appealing is definitely still present in
Hell on Earth
.

The Church of Pinhead

We cannot end this analysis without looking at the religious implications of
Hellraiser III
, and what some might call blasphemous scenes involving Pinhead. The first time he appears, Monroe uses Christ’s name to indicate his surprise and panic, which Pinhead seizes upon. No, he is not Jesus—but later in the film he mocks the Christian belief system by holding a black mass in a church. Joey seeks refuge in here during the chase sequence, and tells the priest that demons are after her. “Demons? Demons aren’t real. They’re parables, metaphors....” Right on cue, Pinhead steps through the doors and Joey points and says, “Then what the fuck is that?” He proceeds to shatter all the stained glass windows and melt a cross that the priest is holding. “Thou shalt not bow down before any graven image,” states Pinhead, ridiculing one of the Ten Commandments. Going even further, he takes two nails out of his head and pushes them through the palms of his hands. Spreading his arms out wide, he tells them, “I am the way.” (This was nicely prefigured by the sign on Joey’s bus at the start which reads: “Prepare for the second coming.”) The flames on the altar candles rise higher and the window behind him shatters. Pinhead then forces the priest to eat some of his flesh in a warped take on Holy Communion.

At first sight this is controversial in the extreme. But what the casual viewer must understand is that in the context of
Hellraiser
’s mythos accepted religions hold very little sway. The Hell Pinhead belongs to is not the Christian one; as far as he is concerned that doesn’t exist. Logically then, he doesn’t believe in their God, either. Furthermore, this is Pinhead “unbound.” He is no longer even listening to his own dark god, Leviathan, so why should he respect the one Christians worship? In addition, Elliott has already told us that, for him, God fell at Flanders, too. The War made him question his faith in religion, and this drove him into the waiting arms of Hell. So in this respect, the scene in the church can be construed as Pinhead’s very own act of vengeance against God. This goes some way to explaining its relevance and importance to the movie.

“You’ll burn in Hell for this,” screams the priest when he sees the spoliation of his church. “Burn?” is Pinhead’s reply. “Oh, such a limited imagination.” We have already seen that the Hell of
Hellraiser
bears very little resemblance to that of the Christian belief system. And yet fire marks the characters of
Hell on Earth
as damned. The first shot of J.P. Monroe pans upwards from his feet to show him lighting a cigarette. Later, Terri does the same in Joey’s apartment, the matches she has left behind indicating where she has come from. The barman at the club serves drinks as fire spurts up behind him: indeed, everyone under its roof is in danger because the very name of the place is The Boiler Room. In a newly restored scene, the barman also asks the DJ on their way out, “Wanna cigarette?” Only Joey is saved because she is trying to quit smoking. She momentarily gives in when Terri offers her one, but only keeps it lit for a few seconds. Joey doesn’t light up
herself
until she is watching the tape of Kirsty. In the original script Kirsty was the one smoking, but here we cut between the cigarette clamped between Joey’s fingers and Kirsty’s hand movements as she mimes opening the puzzle box—a signal of the peril to come for Joey.