Hellraiser at 30: Pinhead actor Doug Bradley on how the film tears modern horror apart With its outlandish demonic monsters, supernatural flesh-tearing hooks and skinless, smoking man, it’s fair to say that Hellraiser was not […]

With its outlandish demonic monsters, supernatural flesh-tearing hooks and skinless, smoking man, it’s fair to say that Hellraiser was not your typical 1980s horror flick.

Three decades on however, it’s that sheer distinctiveness that makes Clive Barker’s twisted, otherworldly chiller so enduring.

“Part of the genius of Clive was that he added all this pure gothic horror into an urban slasher film,” says actor Doug Bradley, who portrayed the film’s iconic nemesis Pinhead.

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“I never thought about a long-term legacy. [But] I knew we had something good. Something interesting. Something slightly against the grain.”

‘It really gets under your skin’

Hellraiser, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this month, remains a bold and distinctive horror creation.

In the film, a woman lures men to a suburban attic and murders them, in order to bring her lover back from a hellish dimension.

Said dimension is home to a group of grotesquely twisted torturers known as the Cenobites – who soon come looking for their quarry.

“There’s a whole load of influences and elements in Clive’s work,” muses Bradley. “And that all came together in Hellraiser.

“His love of art. His love of Doctor Faustus. Medieval depictions of demons. Sex. Sadomasochism.

“It’s an ideas film – and it really gets under your skin.”

Bradley believes modern horror could benefit from a similarly audacious approach.

“Horror movies have become superficial,” he says. “Part of the problem is they are making ‘PG-13’ horror films. If Clive walked into a studio meeting room now and pitched Hellraiser, they’d turn him down.

“Part of the power of the horror films of the ’70s and ’80s was that executives didn’t interfere. No one was worried about the Facebook page. New World said ‘we love it, here’s the budget, make the film’. Things worked like that back then.

“Clive was left to get on with it and pursue his vision.”

Humble beginnings…

Shot in North London in 1986, the film originally had the wonderfully descriptive working title ‘Sadomasochists from Beyond the Grave’.

First-time feature film actor Bradley could not have known how enduring his character would become.

“I kept tripping over my skirt. They had to hold it up with clothes pegs.”

Clad in astonishing make-up, and armed with a chillingly guttural voice, it was he who got to utter the immortal line: “We’ll tear your soul apart…”

Yet his first day on set teetered on the edge of disaster.

“My memories of filming my first scene is of all that sense of power and majesty I’d developed in my head crumbling away to dust,” laughs Bradley.

“I’d just spent six hours in the make-up chair. I’ve got latex all over my head, I’m wearing a full-length skirt, and contacts that aren’t to my prescription. I couldn’t even see my starting mark. I kept tripping over my skirt. They had to hold it up with clothes pegs.

“If you’d have told me then that in 30 years’ time I’d be talking to newspapers about this performance, I’d have thought you were stark staring mad.”

Horror’s new dynamic duo

It all came together in the end, however.

“My memories are of a hard-working set,” recalls Bradley.

“An enthusiastic set. A funny set. But it was intense when it needed to be. Watching the chain rig during the ‘Jesus wept’ scene was extraordinary.”

Bradley and Barker became friends as teenagers, when they met at Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool.

Before Hellraiser the pair had worked together for around ten years in theatre, “performing in damp [venues] in Soho to two men and a budgerigar”.

But Barker’s horror star had begun to rise thanks to the success of his short story collection ‘Books of Blood’, and novels ‘The Damnation Game’ and ‘The Hellbound Heart’.

It was the latter Barker adapted into Hellraiser. And the duo soon found themselves at the forefront of horror cinema.

Doug Bradley went on to portray Pinhead a total of eight times on screen

‘As powerful now as it was 30 years ago’

Hellraiser’s striking visual aesthetic, impressive creature effects and provocative ideas certainly got it noticed.

As did Barker’s knack for marrying disturbing human flaws and obsessions with otherwordly nightmares.

The film performed well at the box office, and is now revered as a horror classic.

“It changed my life,” muses Bradley. “Before Hellraiser I was doing provincial theatre for £100 a week.

“It led to a career and the sequels and other film work.”

Bradley has now portrayed Pinhead a remarkable eight times on screen, such has been the thirst for more Hellraiser.

As we speak, a controversial remake/reboot of Hellraiser – subtitled ‘Judgement’ – is apparently on its way. Crucially, it is proceeding without the involvement of Barker or Bradley.

Bradley understands the temptation to revive Hellraiser and “drag it into the 21st century”. But he asserts the first film still holds its own with modern audiences.

“I’m just back from a convention,” says Bradley, “where I met fans who weren’t born when the [original] movie was released.

“The movie is as powerful now as it was 30 years ago. It has not diminished. It’s a testament to what Clive did.”

Hellraiser returns to cinemas on 13 October for its 30th anniversary. A special edition SteelBook version of the film is out via Arrow Video on October 30.