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Dec
10
Paul Kane talks Hellraiser and the legacy of the Cenobites
Posted in: UKSFBN Talks To on 10th December 2006 by UKSFBN admin
British horror writer Paul Kane is currently celebrating the publication of his latest book, an examination of the cult cinema phenomenon that is the Hellraiser series of movies, entitled The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy.
We dropped Paul a line to find out a little more about the background to the project, and started out by asking him how the project originally came about. Did it grow from a lifelong love of the Hellraiser movies, or was he approached to write a retrospective?
"I've been a fan of the series since the first movie came out, as well as Clive Barker's other work," Paul told us, "but I hadn't thought about doing a book on Hellraiser until I was approached around six or seven years ago to write a small British Film Institute-type book on the original movie, but the publisher eventually went under.
"I tried to sell the book afterwards but couldn't find a market for a 15,000 word manuscript. I wasn't discouraged though and kept trying to find a place that might take it, especially after I showed it to Peter Atkins (who wrote Hellraisers II-IV) and he said it was the best sustained piece of writing on the film he'd seen.
"Eventually in 2004 I tried McFarland and they said while they didn't publish books that size, would I be interested in tackling the whole series, plus comics etcetera? I had to think hard about that, because it meant a great deal of work, but in the end my fiancée Marie O'Regan told me I had to do it; she knows how much I love the mythos and how it would have killed me to see someone else do it after I'd been given the chance."
And as a lover of the series, what does he think is the strongest aspect of the Hellraiser legacy? And was there anything he discovered during the research for the book that really came as a surprise?
"the 'repulsive glamour' aspect of the Cenobites ... also displays itself in scenes like Frank's resurrection...""The Cenobites - and in particular Doug Bradley's Pinhead - are probably its strongest aspect," said Kane, "they're just so unique in the history of horror cinema, and Pinhead has, quite rightly, become an icon. The marketing people at New World could see that potential when they put him on the cover of the video and on posters; he's a very striking and imposing figure.
"We have to thank Clive, Doug and Bob Keen for that, but I don't think any of them really knew what an impact Pinhead and the Cenobites would have on the audience - it's out of all proportion to their screentime in the original film. And back then we didn't know anything about them, either. Then you have the 'repulsive glamour' aspect of the Cenobites, which also displays itself in scenes like Frank's resurrection in the attic: scenes so shocking but at the same time containing a strange kind of beauty, a quality that forces you to watch. That continues throughout the series to some extent, I think.
"As for a research-surprise, I think the most surprising thing was discovering that the Angelique Cenobite's look in Hellraiser IV came from the Sister Act costumes - it was Gary Tunnicliffe, the effects man for the later films, who created that particular gem."
We also asked whether, Kane thought that the original Hellraiser mythos has been enhanced or diluted by the number of sequels in the franchise, and the proliferation of tie-ins and merchandising?
"I think anything that adds to the mythos is to be encouraged, as it widens the scope of the universe. The main problem with some of the sequels was that they went against some of the mainstays that had been established in early movies. For example, Pinhead gets hardly any screentime at all in Inferno, which fans - and Doug himself - thought was a mistake. And in Deader an already-established mythos of the Deader cult jarred against that of the Hellraiser world. As Doug often says, Clive Barker's the kind of person who'd rip up a rulebook if there was one - but at the same time there need to be at least some conventions or tropes that should be included in any Hellraiser film.
"I actually wish some of the comic book stories had been adapted into movies...""I actually wish some of the comic book stories had been adapted into movies, as I think they would have made cracking features. They had some superb new Cenobites and long-running storylines like 'The Harrowers', which introduced a group who fought the demons. That was a wasted opportunity in my opinion. Hopefully now that Clive's writing the 'Pinhead vs Harry D'Amour' novella and a remake of the original movie, it'll bring the series back to explore some of the more interesting ideas introduced but never followed up, plus take it in new directions as well."
Speaking of Clive Barker - the originator of the whole Cenobite / Hellraiser concept, of course - we asked whether Kane able to get much input from Clive Barker during the writing of the book? And is it officially sanctioned by Barker as a result?
"Yes, I was in touch with Clive during the writing of the book," Kane confirmed, "and both he and Doug gave me their blessings, which was a great relief. Clive helped me a lot, for which I'm extremely grateful, allowing me to use original sketches and other artwork and pictures in the book. It was really nice to finally meet him at FantasyCon 2006 and thank him in person; he's such a lovely bloke. Everything I hoped he would be and more."
And finally, are there any other series - horror or otherwise - that you're planning, or would especially like, to get to grips with?
"Definitely, there are loads - but I can't say too much about future projects at this time. Let's just say I have a few irons in the fire at the moment."
Paul Kane is selling signed copies of The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy through his website www.shadow-writer.co.uk, where you can also find out about the rest of Paul's work.
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Tagged With: book news | Cenobites | Clive-Barker | Doug-Bradley | film and tv | Hellraiser | horror | interview | non-fiction | Paul-Kane | Pinhead
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I do own loads of horror movies but I am having difficulty trying to get the last three in the hellraiser series I only need 6 , 7 , 8 but I can't get access to those DVDs outside this Country and the problem is my PS3 isn't multi region for them because I recently got the new machine so if they are remaking hellraiser can they make sure they do 6 , 7 , 8 but in region 2 because I don't live in the US I live in the UK. The Hellraiser movies I need to get on DVD are Hellseeker , Deader , Hellworld that's 6 - 8 I already got 1 , 2 , 3 in the boxset both bloodline and inferno. I know these movies are originated from America but I also found out the PS3 was released there in November 17th 2006 last year as a worldwide release so if it's a US DVD player as well could I watch those movies is it possible.
Hi Matt. To my knowledge HR's 6, 7 and 8 are only available in Region 1 (that's how I had to get them - I ordered them from Amazon) and it took ages for them to be released in America anyway. Hopefully when the remake comes out it might prompt a UK release... As for whether they'd play on your PS3, I'm not sure about that one, sorry. Have a trawl through the net and see if it's answered anywhere on any forums by other owners. Cheers, Paul.