Rating: R
Genre:
Horror
Theatrical Release: 09/18/1987(USA)
Release Date: 09/19/2000
Sound: 5.1/2
Run Time: 93 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Gore
Distributor/Studio: Anchor Bay
The feature-film debut of multi-talented filmmaker
Clive Barker, this grim and surreal project is based on the writer/director's own novella
The Hell-Bound Heart. The film opens with a chilling prologue in which globe-trotting pervert
Frank (
Sean Chapman) -- a connoisseur of sexual depravity seeking the ultimate sensual experience -- purchases a small, intricate puzzle box from an unseen dealer in an unspecified country. Upon solving the puzzle,
Frank opens the door to a hellish alternate universe and is promptly torn to ribbons by a network of hooks and chains; his strewn body parts are subsequently collected by the Cenobites -- grotesque, S & M-clad denizens of hell.
The story continues several years later, when
Frank's brother,
Larry (
Andrew Robinson), moves into
Frank's abandoned house with his daughter,
Kirsty (
Ashley Laurence), and his new wife,
Julia (
Clare Higgins). An accident causes some of
Larry's blood to spill on the attic floor, which somehow triggers
Frank's hideous resurrection. His body only half-composed,
Frank seeks the tacit assistance of
Julia -- with whom he had once had a torrid sexual liaison -- in restoring him to human form. Still secretly in love with
Frank,
Julia assists him by seducing men from the town and bringing them back to the house so her undead lover can drain their bodies of blood. Her increasingly furtive behavior arouses the suspicions of
Kirsty, who had already moved to an apartment to get away from her despised stepmother. After following
Julia and her next potential victim home,
Kirsty comes face to face with the still-incomplete
Frank, narrowly escaping with her life...and with the puzzle box.
After losing consciousness,
Kirsty awakens in the hospital, where she manages to solve the box's intricate mechanism and summon a trio of Cenobites -- including their apparent leader (played by
Doug Bradley and dubbed "Pinhead" on subsequent sequels) -- who are prepared to claim her. In desperation,
Kirsty offers them a bargain in which they agree to spare her soul if she leads them to
Frank.
Kirsty soon returns home to find
Julia with her father...whose behavior has become disturbingly unnatural. Realizing that her father has become
Frank's latest victim -- and that her uncle is now walking around in his brother's skin --
Kirsty hands
Frank over to the Cenobites, who have particularly evil plans for their old friend.
~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
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