The Hellbound Heart

Clive Barker's horror novella from 1986, was so effectively written and different in themes and tones compared to other works, that soon after he directed his own film adaptation towards it, a horror franchise called Hellraiser was spawned.

The hedonist Frank finds and solves what he believes to be a holy grail; the Lemarchand Configuration, a puzzle box that is able to provide the ultimate pleasure, so it has been said. Instead, he summons the Cenobites, demons to some, angels to others, and they offer him a true twisted sense of pleasure.

The Cenobites subject him to total sensory overload and he realizes their devotion to sadomasochism is so extreme and their personalities so removed from humanity that they no longer differentiate between pain and pleasure and have no care to ever stop even if their subject no longer wishes the experience. Frank is taken to the Cenobite realm, a Hellish dimension where he will be subjected to an eternity of torture.

In present time, his brother Rory and his wife Julia have moved towards Frank's former house, while Kirsty is a friend who wants to help. Julia actually has a more feelings for Frank, and through a bloody accident, he returns in as a horrifying almost mindless corpse, craving only one thing: blood.

Blinded by love and lust, Julia is with Frank to gather more blood for him as she seduces other men and kills them for him, thus restoring him further and further. As Kirsty and Rory are starting to worry and suspect more, Julia then takes cares of him.

As Kirsty eventually returns towards the house to see Julia and Rory greeting her, something feels not right. Trough a morbid plot twisted way, they show that Frank has died, but actually, Frank has taken over Rory's human skin, and is saying "Come to Daddy" towards Kirsty. 

At this point, the Cenobites intervene and take care of Franky in a gruesome bloody way, as Kirsty was able to summon them by accident earlier with the Lemarchand Configuration. Afterwards, she becomes the current "caretaker" of the puzzle box, and the hellish nightmare is over.

Pinhead, the hell priest that would become a famous horror icon for the franchise, is not named in here, but does make an appearance alongside the others. The Hellbound Heart is a classic horror tale with visceral gory details about pleasure and pain.

Rating: ***