5 Crazy Facts About Hellraiser You Might Have Missed

Source: Entertainment Film Distributors

Hellraiser – the 1987 horror classic introduced the world to the iconic villain Pinhead and Cinobites. Here are five fun facts about Hellraiser that will make you appreciate this horror gem even more:

1. Title Swap

The movie’s original title was “Sadomasochists from Beyond the Grave” during pre-production. However, the filmmakers realized the title was too provocative and might limit the movie’s appeal, so they changed it to “Hellraiser.”

2. Hellbound Heart

The story of “Hellraiser” was originally written by Clive Barker as a novella called “The Hellbound Heart.” Barker himself directed the movie adaptation, which was his feature film debut.

3. X Rating

The movie was originally given an X rating When “Hellraiser” was first submitted to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for a rating, it was given an X rating due to its graphic violence and sexual content. This would have severely limited the movie’s distribution and appeal, so the filmmakers made several cuts to the movie to get an R rating instead.

According to IMDB, the cuts included toning down some of the gore effects and removing a scene of sexual violence. Despite these changes, “Hellraiser” is still considered a very graphic and disturbing movie by many viewers.

4. The stuntman

Doug Bradley’s performance as Pinhead is one of the most memorable aspects of “Hellraiser,” but he almost didn’t get the role. The filmmakers originally wanted to cast a stuntman in the role, but Barker insisted on Bradley after seeing him perform in a stage play.

5. The Long Cut

The original cut of “Hellraiser” was over two hours long, which is significantly longer than the final version of the movie. According to Clive Barker, the longer cut included more backstory for the characters and more scenes of the Cenobites in action.

However, the movie’s producers felt that the longer cut was too slow-paced and not commercial enough, so they made several cuts to the movie to make it more streamlined. The final version of the movie is just under 1 hour and 35 minutes long. Some of the deleted scenes have since been released on home video as bonus features.