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Gandhi: The Man, His People and the Empire

Rajmohan Gandhi

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Book

This monumental and authoritative biography of one of the most intriguing and complexfigures of the...

Awix (3310 KP) rated Hellraiser (1987) in Movies

May 20, 2020 (Updated May 21, 2020)

Hellraiser (1987)

1987 | Horror

7.9

(58 Ratings)

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Iconic horror; progenitor of many mostly lousy sequels. An unscrupulous adventurer attempts to escape the clutches of sado-masochistic entities by recruiting his adulterous sister-in-law to provide the raw meat for his renewal (it was the 80s, everyone behaved like that under Thatcher).

Not quite the film an unsuspecting viewer might expect: the focus is mainly on the screwed-up Cotton family, especially nasty Uncle Frank; Pinhead, for all that he is on the poster, is in a very minor role (billed as 'Lead Cenobite'). Visually striking and with some interesting ideas, but the low budget is obvious and this is equally obviously a British movie desperately trying to appeal to an American audience. Where the film falls down is in its lack of focus and the fact that its central metaphor or argument is unclear (beyond the fact that the Cottons are a very dysfunctional bunch). Still, there have been worse debuts from writer-directors; it's just that not many of them go on to have nine sequels.