Hellraiser

HELLRAISER (1987) - April 19, 2012
A basically enjoyable if somewhat overrated (at least in terms of its cultural significance) film about a couple who move into a new house, only for the wife to discover an old lover in the attic (who, thanks to some satanic shenanigans, is missing most of his skin and flesh).  Much time is spent with the wife trying to lure men to be murdered and have their flesh stolen -- very little time is spent with Pinhead, who has little more than a cameo here despite the general notion that he is the star of this film.  The problem here is that the wife is not a particularly sympathetic or likeable protagonist, so spending most of the movie with her is a bit of a drag.  Once the Pinhead stuff really kicks in the film definitely improves, but that's only the last fifteen minutes or so.  **1/2