Hellraiser

Clive Barker

Brimming with perverse sexual tension and exquisitely gross practical effects, one-of-a-kind horror/fantasy author Clive Barker’s singular and iconic first feature creates a wholly unique and powerfully visceral world unto itself.

DIRECTOR
Clive Barker
YEAR
1987
COUNTRY
U.K.
RUNTIME
93 minutes

In the singular first feature directed by the one-of-a-kind horror/fantasy author Clive Barker, a portal to hell opens, gruesome creatures called Cenobites are unleashed, and a man named Frank is torn apart when he tinkers with a mysterious puzzle box. When his brother’s family moves into their ancestral home, they find themselves at the mercy of Frank’s reanimated corpse, demanding blood to create fresh flesh on his bones before he’s found by the Cenobites, including Doug Bradley’s infamous Pinhead. Brimming with perverse sexual tension and exquisitely gross practical effects, Hellraiser creates a wholly unique world that viscerally lives and breathes, slowly oozing new life into the darkest corners of existence in every frame. 

Hellraiser has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with stereo 2.0 and 5.1 sound. The original 35mm camera negative was scanned and restored in 4K resolution at Silver Salt Restoration, London. A 35mm Interpositive was also sourced for sections that had been removed from the negative. The film was graded in SDR, HDR10 and Dolby Vision by Silver Salt Restoration, London. The stereo and 5.1 mixes were sourced from the original sound mix masters. All materials sourced for this restoration were made available by Lakeshore Entertainment via Technicolor UK. Restoration supervised by James White and James Pearcey, Arrow Films.

Recommended Film Comment reading:

Sign up to the Film Comment Letter for NYFF62 coverage and more original film criticism year-round.

Hellraiser
Hellraiser
Hellraiser
Hellraiser

Read More

Podcast

This week we’re excited to present a conversation with Silent Friend director Ildikó Enyedi and lead actor Tony Leung, moderated by TIME film critic Stephanie Zacharek.

Announcements

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the release of Elaine May’s emotionally potent Mikey and Nicky, May and producer Julian Schlossberg will be in person at FLC to present a 4K restoration of the film, which May supervised herself.

Announcements

Applications are now open through June 18 for the 2026 Film at Lincoln Center Academy Programs.