#7 - Hellraiser
The movie that fostered a guilty conscience just by even saying the title - Hellraiser. Written and directed by fright legend Clive Barker, Hellraiser hit theaters in 1987 and has the most covoluted plot of any of the films in the countdown (with the possible exception of 'Phantasm'). A bunch of different things occur throughout the movie and it takes a minute to tie it all together. It starts with a mystical puzzle box that once solved, opens a gate to hell, summoning these goth-type demons known as Cenobites. With their leader Pinhead, the Hellraiser posterboy, they proceed to torture and eventually tear apart the soul of whomever opened the box, with nobody ever escaping. And so one day a young girl unwittingly reopens the puzzle box, and is forced to strike a deal with the Cenobites - spare her own life and soul in exchange for the returning to them the one man ... the ONLY man that DID ever manage to escape ther grasp ...
How does it make the top 10?
Hellraiser is just one of the most legitimately scary movies you will ever see, operating on dual levels of terror - From the familiar to the fantastic - Fear found in trying to to protect loved ones from those that seek to do them the most harm, as well as fear from the supernatural. It was 'shocking', to say the least.
A lot of horror movies of the time favored very specific themes as well - the "slasher" picture, the paranormal, the theological ... You name it. Hellraiser was kinda a combination of all of them! Then lastly, the Cenobites, though being brutal monsters, are almost instantly forgiven when measured against the wickedness of mortal men and women in Hellraiser and it's subsequent sequels. In fact, it became easy to see them as a force (sinister as it may be) of justice and retribution. You like rooting for the bad guy? Well its very easy to do so in Hellraiser ... even though you'll probably feel a little greasy for it afterwards. Def check it out, but be warned! - Hellraiser is NOT an easy one to get through.
Tomorrow? #6 of the top 10 movie countdown! Want a hint? Well, whether or not its the KING of all scary movies is debatable ... But one thing's for certain - it will DEFINITELY give you the Creeps!
See you tomorrow!
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