Quentin Tarantino Calls Hellraiser The Most Disturbing ’80s Horror Masterpiece

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Quentin Tarantino is well-known for his passion for film, and he’s declared one movie from the 1980s to be the most shockingly intense he’s ever seen. Before he became a director, Tarantino worked at a video store, where he watched a wide variety of films – including horror, fantasy, and action movies – that heavily influenced his later work.

Quentin Tarantino has praised Hellraiser as one of the most shocking films of the 1980s in several interviews. He highlighted that Clive Barker, a relatively new director at the time, successfully adapted his own story into a truly remarkable and groundbreaking movie, even surpassing more established filmmakers of that era.

Quentin Tarantino Calls Hellraiser The Most F’d Up Movie Of The ’80s

Quentin Tarantino recently talked about the 1987 horror film Hellraiser on the podcast The Big Picture, and he spoke highly of it. The movie is based on Clive Barker’s own novella, The Hellbound Heart, and notably, Barker himself directed the film – something that doesn’t often happen with adaptations.

You know, when people ask me about Hellraiser, I always bring up Clive Barker. I think he’s a seriously provocative director – he really went for it with his films, pushing all sorts of boundaries. And what’s amazing is he actually succeeded with that stuff, which was rare back then. Most films that edgy usually only found a small, cult following, but Barker broke through.

I was so excited to hear Quentin Tarantino talking about Clive Barker’s Hellraiser! He said Barker really delivered with his first time directing, calling it a “good movie.” It’s a shame he didn’t keep making huge hits, apparently he wasn’t a fan of his own Nightbreed or Lord of Illusions. But honestly, Hellraiser is what cemented his place as a legend, and I totally agree!

For a brief moment, after the release of Hellraiser, Clive Barker seemed poised to become a major directorial force. Some critics even compared the film to what a particularly shocking Hammer Horror production might look like, referencing Pier Paolo Pasolini’s controversial Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom.

Quentin Tarantino described the film as both a cinematic success and shockingly disturbing. He pointed out that its unique and extreme nature hadn’t been seen in 1980s cinema, contributing to its lasting impact and critical acclaim. Ultimately, he simply called it “amazing.”

Tarantino Says Clive Barker Did What Paul Verhoeven & Kathryn Bigelow Couldn’t

As a big fan of Clive Barker, I always find it interesting when people talk about his contemporaries. Quentin Tarantino once pointed out that Paul Verhoeven, before he did The Lost Boys, actually made this really cool medieval adventure film called Flesh and Blood as his first American movie. And then he also mentioned Kathryn Bigelow, whose vampire film Near Dark is a total classic, and something I think really holds up even today.

Quentin Tarantino recalled a group of around eight or nine daring filmmakers from the 1980s, like Adrian Lyne, the director of 9 1/2 Weeks. Despite creating impressive work, these movies weren’t well-received when they came out, and critics often criticized the directors for being provocative.

Tarantino then paused and added, “Clive Barker is the exception.” He described the film as a huge success, and rightfully so. Despite a small $1 million budget, Hellraiser earned $30 million in theaters and launched a long-running franchise. The character Pinhead became a horror legend, and the film received generally positive reviews, earning a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Quentin Tarantino explained that horror fans first discovered Clive Barker and his film Hellraiser because Stephen King had spoken highly of them. He believes the movie launched Barker’s career, largely due to Barker’s willingness to push creative limits and New Line Cinema’s successful marketing of Pinhead as a major horror icon.

Why Hellraiser Is Still Such A Great Horror Classic Today

Quentin Tarantino mentioned an interview with Clive Barker, where Barker said he considered moving to Europe to have more creative freedom with his films. However, Barker also worried that if he and other directors like David Lynch and Paul Verhoeven left Hollywood, it would lead to a decline in quality – essentially, that ‘mediocrity would win’.

When Hellraiser was released, it opened in 800 theaters, which was considered a huge achievement for the time. Clive Barker described this as a significant disruption of expectations. This is the key to the film’s enduring appeal. Hellraiser is a horror movie that explores themes of S&M and bondage, suggesting a connection between pain and pleasure.

Unlike most horror movies of its time, and even now, Hellraiser explores a truly unusual idea: people who actively seek out extreme pain for a higher purpose. The film uniquely places viewers alongside an innocent character, forcing them to confront just how disturbing the situation truly is.

Horror movies are meant to disturb, and none did it better or more viscerally than Hellraiser.

What Is The Future Of The Hellraiser franchise?

The Hellraiser series includes many films, but after the first three, the sequels went directly to video and became significantly lower in quality. Most of the later movies aren’t really worth watching unless you’re a die-hard fan of the Cenobites, and even then, they often lack depth.

The 2022 reboot of the series took an interesting turn by reimagining Pinhead as a woman and expanding the story’s background. Released directly on Hulu, it surprisingly turned out to be a strong entry, and many consider it the best film in the series since the original sequel.

While there haven’t been many updates about a sequel to the recent Hellraiser reboot, actress Odessa A’zion (who played Riley) says she’s heard rumors, though nothing has been confirmed. Given the franchise’s long history, it’s unlikely Hellraiser will stay quiet for long – Pinhead and the Cenobites always manage to return.

Source: The Big Picture

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2025-10-24 18:01