The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy (23 page)

The story revolves around Boone who, believing he is responsible for several murders, seeks out the clandestine home of the monsters: Midian. There he unwittingly becomes their leader, and ultimately their savior. But the whole concept hinges on the fact that it is the human characters, such as the serial killer Decker and the brutal Sheriff Eigerman (Charles Haid), who are the
real
monsters, not Keen’s impressive parade of creatures. Here the monsters were the good guys, working against the usual conventions of the genre. But it was a concept not everyone could so easily grasp.

Filming took place at Pinewood and on location in Canada, but owing to the sheer amount of make-up and other effects, plus the twenty-five sets that had to be built, the budget soon escalated (to a reported $20 million). Chris Figg resigned over disagreements with Morgan Creek, which entered into a distribution deal with Twentieth Century Fox. Fox was apparently expecting a
Hellraiser
-style film on a larger scale. What they got was something they’d never come across before and they didn’t know quite what to do with it. At their insistence, new scenes were filmed and the running time—originally about two and a half hours—was heavily reduced.

But the worst part was Fox’s marketing campaign, which promoted
Nightbreed
as a “slasher” flick, thereby completely misleading the potential audience. The result would be disastrous returns at the box office and a disillusioned Barker. “It was the worst creative time in my life,” he later explained, “I felt there was so much I could have achieved and so many things that were getting between me doing that.... And I was painfully ignorant of the way that the politics of this business work.”
¹
Although
Nightbreed
would do well on video, its financial problems led to the collapse of Film Futures. This, coupled with New World going bankrupt, stranded
Hellraiser III
in its very own development Hell.

Clive Barkers early design for
Nightbreed
(courtesy Clive Barker).

The main problem was this: because Barker had signed the
Hellraiser
rights away to get the first film made, they still belonged to New World, which now didn’t exist. So who had the rights to make the next movie and would they even want to? The answer was erstwhile New World co-chairman Lawrence Kuppin who, together with Harry Evans Sloan and ex-Metromedia Broadcasting president Bob Bennett, formed Trans Atlantic Pictures. But there were reputedly some disagreements between Barker and Kuppin about this at the time, which inevitably led to Barker not being immediately involved in the project. Speaking in an interview with
Shivers
after the movie came out Barker said, “When I first heard about
Hellraiser III
, it was clear the production company ... didn’t want me on board for financial reasons.... I was reasonably expensive and, frankly, I knew they wanted something cheap and nasty.”
²

Atkins was slightly more diplomatic in his explanation about Barker’s lack of involvement: “I’ve got to be careful here, any explanation must be kept vague I’m afraid. Clive and the producers, unfortunately, couldn’t come to terms about his participation in the project, meaning he has no hands-on or legal involvement with us. Of course, he’s given us his spiritual support as guardian angels on a personal level.”
³
Having acquired—or inherited—the theatrical and video assets of what was once New World, Trans Atlantic planned to bring out a number of sequels to their most successful movies; this would include
Angel IV
,
Wanted Dead or Alive II
and
Crimes of Passion II
. The third installment of the
Hellraiser
saga was scheduled to be the second in their line-up to go before the cameras, following on from
Children of the Corn II
. There was also some interest in
Hell on Earth
from Fangoria Films, who would have liked a co-production deal under the aegis of Trans Atlantic, but in the end this didn’t come about.

Nightbreed
poster artwork (courtesy Les Edwards).

Supposedly, one of the initial story ideas for
Hellraiser III
revolved around ancient Egypt. Back when it was still going to be a Film Futures-New World movie, Barker told Doug Bradley the idea was that the Great Pyramid was the very first Lament Configuration to raise the Pharaoh. “It was one of those great conversations you only have with Clive,” said Bradley, “and it was only after he left the dressing room I thought, well, that was great. Then I thought, no, hang on, that’s not great because he’s just told me that Pinhead will not be in
Hellraiser III
.”
⁴
Luckily, with Peter Atkins scripting again and Barker refocusing this sun drenched preoccupation towards a possible Mummy remake, there was a shift towards tying up loose ends left in
Hellbound
regarding both Pinhead’s origins and the torture pillar we last saw emerging from the bloodied mattress in Dr. Channard’s home.

While
Nightbreed
was being made, a script was written which had Pinhead spending much of the movie floating around in a miasma made up of the various bits and pieces from the pillar, before being reincarnated and exploding out of a church altar. There was also an idea that the Lament Configuration could be a building this time and its corridors would make up the puzzle. All of these concepts made it into the finished movie, albeit in different incarnations: Pinhead does indeed explode out of the pillar, but the church scene comes much later on, and we are only given a quick glimpse of the Lament Configuration building right at the very end of the film—a story arc that would be completed in the ensuing film,
Hellraiser: Bloodline
.

However, just before the film’s release, Atkins put paid to rumors that they had considered setting the movie in a bordello, turning Pinhead into a sort of Jason Vorhees clone. “Truthfully, that was just me shooting my mouth off because I was so worried the money men would turn him into a stalk and slash figure. A worry based on good reason, I might add, as one famous quote from a nameless New World executive shows. He said, ‘Can’t we get Pinhead on the streets beating up youths?’”
⁵
Tony Randel was also very much involved in the genesis of
Hell on Earth
’s plot, which is why he received a “story by” co-credit with Atkins, and was going to direct the movie himself until he, too, had a falling out with the producers, who thought he would make it too dark.

The first official draft of the screenplay was begun in March 1991 and completed in May. It contains much that should be familiar to fans of the finished movie, as the basic storyline remains intact. Rich, young, and successful nightclub owner J.P. Monroe spots the torture pillar in an antiques and curios store and buys it. Wannabe TV reporter Joanne “Joey” Summerskill then stumbles upon the story after witnessing a man from the club being torn apart by hooks and chains in a local hospital. The man was brought in by a punkish woman called Terri, who used to be Monroe’s girlfriend. Joey’s investigations lead her back to the club and she enlists Terri’s help. Meanwhile she is having terrible dreams about her father’s death in Vietnam, and it is through these that Pinhead’s human half, Elliott Spencer is able to warn her that his demonic self is about to be unleashed upon the world. Pinhead, trapped inside the pillar, is awakened by a few drops of Monroe’s blood. He then is able to make his escape by devouring one of Monroe’s female conquests, Sandy, then Terri, and then finally Monroe himself, though not before talking the nightclub owner into doing his bidding. The script works towards a confrontation between Pinhead and Joey/Elliot, with J.P. and Terri brought back as Cenobites.

But there are also significant distinctions. When J.P. first arrives at the store there are “bums” in the street outside, used as a comparison to the one inside that “sells” him the pillar. The scene with the boy in the hospital is minus the head explosion, a homage to Frank’s swansong on the original
Hellraiser
—although we do get a very apt description of the chain assault as “some vile variation on the Indian Rope Trick.”
⁶
Monroe’s nightclub is called Under the Underground, which was later changed to The Boiler Room. There’s no sign of the barman or the DJ who work in the club, and who would be transformed into Cenobites themselves, but the workers J.P. employs are described as ethnic, which gives us a further insight into the man’s exploitative character. There’s much more character interaction between Joey and Terri, especially when she allows her to stay in her apartment. The scene on pages 28–32 includes a particularly relevant and poignant piece of dialogue by Joey, in which she tells her guest about a boy in a neighboring block who they can see through the window sitting staring at an empty pigeon coop:

JOEY: I don’t know his name.... I saw the whole story. There was a wounded bird on his roof. I could hear its cries from here. He went straight to it. I couldn’t have. I’d be frozen between pity and fear. But he wasn’t. Its pain spoke directly to him. He picked it up. Caged it. Nursed it. Fed it. And it got better. Every day I’d watch him sit there. And every day he’d watch the pigeon. And every day the pigeon would watch him. I saw him learn. Learn that there was one more thing he had to do to make the rescue complete. And one day, just as afternoon became evening, he leaned over, opened the cage, and he walked away. Didn’t look back. But he heard the sound of its wings...
⁷

Terri is, of course, Joey’s very own wounded pigeon whom she tries to help and, inevitably, has to let go.

Joey’s car, a Mazda 323, makes more of an appearance—specifically during a ride to the store and during the climactic chase at the end. The store itself, like the nightclub, underwent a change of name. Here it is called Carducci’s Antiques (soon to become the Pyramid Gallery, perhaps an in-joke referencing Barker’s Egypt idea) and Mama Carducci herself is a minor character who lets Joey and Terri into the shop. Expositionally she isn’t needed—having Terri break into the store further emphasizes her wayward nature and misspent childhood—but Mama Carducci does represent a missed opportunity to introduce another piquant character into the
Hellraiser
universe.

Sandy, the girl Monroe beds, is dragged to the pillar by a pair of hands rather than the chains that add a welcome special effect in the finished movie. And her life force is simply drained out of her, à la Julia and Frank’s victims. In addition, we see more of the documentary footage of Kirsty in the Channard institute. The touch of irony where she says “And it might be metaphorical to you, Doctor, but you haven’t had some blue-faced bastard come at you with hooks and chains”
⁸
cannot fail to raise a grin.

But the vast majority of the differences are towards the end of the screenplay, beginning with what happens at the nightclub. Whereas in the movie we are privy to some of the things Pinhead does to those poor unfortunates trapped in the club, here the scene ends with him contemplating what he is about to do: “A small smile forms on his face. He’s just had an entertaining idea.”
⁹
When we return to this location we find that, “The building that housed Under the Underground looks like a bomb hit it. Smoke and debris litter the streets. So do corpses.”
¹⁰
Following this is a scene where Pinhead encounters two policemen on the streets who are beating up a runner for a drugs gang.

The exchange between Pinhead and the Elder Cop is comparatively out of character, though, and doesn’t quite gel.