13 Best Horror Movies On Shudder Right Now
3. Hellraiser (1987)
Hooray! Pinhead! Probably the coolest looking horror icon of all time!
It is a shame he only appears in Hellraiser for a grand total of about five minutes, but perhaps less is more?
Either way, the Cenobites are incredibly designed. Decked out in black leather with skin pierced and flayed and otherwise self-mutilated, they look like they went to a fetish party ten years ago and just never left.
And fetish is Hellraiser’s prime concern. It plays on the taboo link between pleasure and pain, sex and death, and what lengths its central couple go to in the name of love and lust (spoiler - murder!). Pinhead even describes his Cenobites as “demons to some, angels to others”.
It may not be a Great Movie, but Hellraiser is thoroughly enjoyable full-on horror from the get-go, and nothing beats those Cenobites whenever they make an appearance. Plus it’s surprisingly quotable - “No tears please, it’s a waste of good suffering!”