Having made his reputation as one of the most prolific and gifted horror writers of his generation (prompting Stephen King to call him "the future of horror"), Clive Barker made a natural transition to movies with this audacious directorial debut from 1987. Not only did Barker serve up a chilling tale of devilish originality, he also introduced new icons of horror that since have become as popular among genre connoisseurs as Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman. Foremost among these frightful, Hellraiser visions is the sadomasochistic demon affectionately named Pinhead (so named because his pale, bald head is a geometric pincushion and a symbol of eternal pain). Pinhead is the leader of the Cenobites, agents of evil who appear only when someone successfully "solves" the exotic puzzle box called the Lamont Configuration--a mysterious device that opens the door to Hell. The puzzle's latest victim is Frank (Sean Chapman), who now lives in a gelatinous skeletal state in an upstairs room of the British home just purchased by his newlywed half-brother (Andrew Robinson, best known as the villain from Dirty Harry), who has married one of Frank's former lovers (Claire Higgins). The latter is recruited to supply the cannibalistic Frank with fresh victims, enabling him to reconstitute his own flesh--but will Frank succeed in restoring himself completely? Will Pinhead continue to demonstrate the flesh-ripping pleasures of absolute agony? Your reaction to this description should tell you if you've got the stomach for Barker's film, which has since spawned a number of interesting but inferior sequels. It's definitely not for everyone, but there's no denying that it's become a semiclassic of modern horror. --Jeff Shannon

The first three entries in the Clive Barker-originated series are presented in Hellraiser: The Collector's Edition, a box set which includes Barker's 1986 original, and the first two sequels, Tony Randel's Hellbound and Anthony Hickox's Hell on Earth. Watching the films run together, you can see the process whereby a twisted original vision from the British writer-director is gradually hammered out into the stuff of an American direct-to-video franchise. Even the first film suffers slightly as a story written to take place in London is rendered puzzling by the decision to dub minor players with American accents, and by the time of the third film there is only the odd flash of s&m imagery to distinguish the series from the Elm Street or any other franchise.

Along the way, there are a few great and many good things: the nasty little family drama of the first film, played by Andrew Robinson and Clare Higgins, as a marriage is literally torn apart by the bloody, skinless brother-lover in the attic, and the still-striking look of the series' major demons, the Cenobites. Part II is a mess, but has a certain grand dementia and Part III at least gives the films' poster boy, Doug Bradley's Pinhead, centre screen as he bids to become the Freddy Krueger of the body-piercing set.

On the DVD: Hellraiser: The Collector's Edition presents parts I and II in anamorphic widescreen, while III is cramped at 4:3 full-screen: the transfers are okay if not sumptuous, a little soft if aptly gloomy. Region 1 releases have director and crew commentaries and retrospective documentaries that are sadly not included here--though completists note: this edition boasts on-set cast and director interviews (five minutes apiece for I and II) which are not on the American set. I and II also have trailers (and II has a printable stills gallery and a pointless extra which consists of extracts from the film grouped together as "sub-plots"), but III is strictly no-frills. --Kim Newman