30 things you may not have known for the film’s 30th anniversary

One of the best, weirdest horror movies of all time, Clive Barker’s ‘Hellraiser’ turns 30 today. The film which gave the world Cenobites, Puzzle Boxes, and the popular usage of “Jesus wept!” as an all-time top 10 exclamation of hate and despair, is one of the most unique and influential in the history of horror. So, ahead of the release of the film and it’s soundtrack on Blu-Ray and vinyl from Mondo in October, and on the actual day of it’s anniversary, here are 30 things you may not have known about ‘Hellraiser’!

The film was based on a Clive Barker short story titled ‘The Hellbound Heart’, which was first published in 1986 in the third volume of the Night Visions anthology from Dark Harvest ‘The Hellbound Heart’ was supposed to be the title of the film, until New World Pictures rejected the title on the grounds that it sounded too romantic. The working title then became, per Clive Barker’s suggestion, ‘Sadomasochists from Beyond the Grave’ Alternate title suggested by a crew member after ‘Sadomasochists’ was nixed: ‘What A Woman Will Do for A Good Fuck’ Another Clive Barker choice for the movie that was scrapped was the music. Barker’s first choice for composition was the experimental English band Coil. Ultimately, Christopher Young (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2) was brought in as a replacement Coil’s music for the film was released by the band on two now-rare CDs—‘Unnatural History II’ and ‘Themes for Hellraiser’ ‘Hellraiser’ was Clive Barker’s directorial debut Production lasted 10 weeks, extended from an initial schedule of 7 weeks. The Lament Configuration, more colloquially known as the Puzzle Box, was designed by artist Simon Sayce Two actors were considered for the role of Pinhead: Oliver Parker and, the end-choice, Doug Bradley Neither man wanted the role, both preferring to take the part of the mover who stares at Kirsty early on. The reason, from each man, was that neither wanted to wear the extensive Pinhead makeup Pinhead’s name is not Pinhead. In the source material and subsequent Barker-written content, Pinhead is referred to primarily as “Priest” and sometimes “Lead Cenobite” Another incongruous bit about Pinhead is the fact that his head is driven full of nails. Pins were used during initial makeup tests, but did not show well on film The on-set nickname for the female Cenobite was “Deep Throat” The Cenobite known as Chatterer was originally referred to as ‘Poor Bastard’ and had pointed teeth, which were replaced with molds of the portraying actor’s (Nicholas Vince) own chompers Barker’s inspiration for the unique apparel of the Cenobites came in part from the punk scene, religion and, most obviously, S&M garb Dialogue was initially more evenly distributed between all of the Cenobites, but Butterball and Chatterer lost their lines due to their obstructive makeup Despite studio pressure to cast a known actor in the role of Kirsty, Barker fought for the then-unknown Ashley Laurence. As a bonus, here’s how Laurence once described Barker’s summation of her role, “I met Clive, and he said, ‘OK, your uncle`s wearing your father`s skin, and he wants to kill you and have sex with you, probably in that order.’” Larry’s iconic, fatal line, “Jesus wept!” was ad-libbed by actor Andrew Robinson. The initial line? “Fuck off.” Clare Higgins (Julia) claims to have never seen the film in full due to a personal aversion to horror movies Lance Henriksen was offered the role of Frank The movie was initially set in London, with the location changed to somewheresville America part-way through production Scenes were shot and added both before and after the film’s official production stretch. Frank’s initial torture scene was shot as a test that was ultimately included and a majority of the animation in the third act was done over one weekend by Barker and an unnamed cohort Unlike most films, ‘Hellraiser’ was shot in chronological order The MPAA initially gave the film an X-Rating, due in equal parts to the sexual and violent content Scenes that were cut completely or in part included the first hammer murder, Kirsty sticking her hand into Frank’s stomach. and Frank’s evisceration at the hooks of the Cenobites Regardless of the initial cuts, ‘Hellraiser’ was banned in Ontario, Canada until 40 seconds more were trimmed ‘Hellraiser’ grossed $14 million from a $1 million budget. Three separate attempts at a remake have been launched in the past 11 years. Dimension tried first in 2006 with Pascal Laugier attached to direct. Laugier was replaced four years later by Patrick Lussier and Todd Farmer, who hinted at something more akin to a reboot. Most recently, in 2013, Clive Barker announced that he would be writing the remake, though he confirmed in early 2017 that his reiteration was dead as well. ‘Hellraiser’ premiered September 10, 1987 at London’s Prince Charles Cinema

As an added bonus, here are 10 facts for ‘Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth’, which was released theatrically 25 years ago on September 11!

‘Hellraiser III’ was the first film to be released under the Dimension Films division of Miramax Development of the film began during the production of ‘Hellbound: Hellraiser II’, with Clive Barker pitching, among other ideas, for the third installment to be set in Ancient Egypt The rights to produce this sequel, as well as sequels to Children of the Corn, were acquired by Larry Kuppin in the wake of the bankruptcy of New World Pictures Before ‘Waxwork’ director Anthony Hickox was signed to direct, Peter Jackson was approached to helm the film The first film in the series to be shot and explicitly set in America In another series first, Pinhead was referred to as such within the film The ‘Black Mass’ scene caused problems in the shooting location, North Carolina. Gripes from the crew and locals alike resulted in the use of matte paintings to replicate the look of a church, rather than shooting in a real one Armored Saint is the band seen performing in the Boiler Room To date, ‘Hellraiser III’ is the second-highest grossing movie in the ‘Hellraiser’ franchise ‘Hellraiser III’ gave the world perhaps the greatest pop culture crossover of all-time: Lemmy Kilmister beating Pinhead in a game of cards

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