“I knew that lying behind all of horror fiction was a barely concealed fascination with forbidden sex. In so many horror movies sex is the unspoken motive power, and I wanted to bring that subtext into the light, and see what power horror still had when its greatest force was exposed. That meant, in the case of Hellraiser, examining in images the dark beauty of sadomasochism, which has always held a profound fascination for me.”
Clive Barker
Barbie Wilde as the female Cenobite in Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
I first came across Hellraiser and Clive Barker in 1987, when the film was released in the UK. Like nearly everyone who was interested in horror and movies in general, I had to see it, mostly because one of my favorite horror authors at the time, Stephen King, said the unforgettable quote: “I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker.”
Nothing prepared me for what I was going to see. I’d had a background of Sci-Fi Horror since I was a kid, since both my brother and my father were fans, but Hellraiser transported body horror to a very different dimension.
More poignantly, in my mind, was the fact that two of the leading characters, Julia and Frank, were unashamedly into passionate S&M sex. NOT something that you see everyday. It got even more transgressional when Uncle Frank, dressed in Kirsty’s Dad’s skin, was obviously trying to seduce his own niece. Whoah!
It’s somehow fitting that ‘80s horror, especially the Hellraiser films, came out of a time that was considered repressive under the Conservative Thatcher government. Ironically, that repression also sparked wild, exuberant, revolutionary art, music and film.
When I got the call for the audition to be in Hellbound, Hellraiser II as a Cenobite, I nearly didn’t go. I thought that they wanted me to play The Chatterer and that character scared the bejesus out of me in the first film. I also hated mask work. But it turned out to be for the role of the Female Cenobite.
So I went to the audition and I met the director, Tony Randel. He mentioned the word Cenobite and said that it was a something Clive had made up. I say, “No. It’s actually in the dictionary. It means a member of an order, usually a religious one.” He said, “I’m pretty sure that Clive invented the word.” I said, “No, it’s in the dictionary.” (Pro Tip: it’s best NOT to contradict your director at an audition.) Anyway, his assistant gets hold of a dictionary and triumphantly announced: “Barbie’s right. It means a member of an order.”
To my amazement, I was cast in the film and that started my Hellraiser rollercoaster ride. The makeup and costume process has been well-documented. Suffice to say that 4 hours in the makeup chair every day was pretty grueling. However, I forged friendships with the cast, crew and creator that are still strong today, which is pretty amazing.
Many years had gone by before I realized that Hellraiser and Hellbound had made a big impression across the Atlantic and were regularly screened on the USA Horror Channel. And that Hellraiser had spawned a franchise of 10 more films (including the 2022 Hulu reboot), which is pretty impressive for what was thought of at the time as a small budget, British cult horror movie. This is truly a testament to the power of Clive’s extraordinary vision.
Nothing prepared me for what I was going to see. I’d had a background of Sci-Fi Horror since I was a kid, since both my brother and my father were fans, but Hellraiser transported body horror to a very different dimension.
More poignantly, in my mind, was the fact that two of the leading characters, Julia and Frank, were unashamedly into passionate S&M sex. NOT something that you see everyday. It got even more transgressional when Uncle Frank, dressed in Kirsty’s Dad’s skin, was obviously trying to seduce his own niece. Whoah!
It’s somehow fitting that ‘80s horror, especially the Hellraiser films, came out of a time that was considered repressive under the Conservative Thatcher government. Ironically, that repression also sparked wild, exuberant, revolutionary art, music and film.
When I got the call for the audition to be in Hellbound, Hellraiser II as a Cenobite, I nearly didn’t go. I thought that they wanted me to play The Chatterer and that character scared the bejesus out of me in the first film. I also hated mask work. But it turned out to be for the role of the Female Cenobite.
So I went to the audition and I met the director, Tony Randel. He mentioned the word Cenobite and said that it was a something Clive had made up. I say, “No. It’s actually in the dictionary. It means a member of an order, usually a religious one.” He said, “I’m pretty sure that Clive invented the word.” I said, “No, it’s in the dictionary.” (Pro Tip: it’s best NOT to contradict your director at an audition.) Anyway, his assistant gets hold of a dictionary and triumphantly announced: “Barbie’s right. It means a member of an order.”
To my amazement, I was cast in the film and that started my Hellraiser rollercoaster ride. The makeup and costume process has been well-documented. Suffice to say that 4 hours in the makeup chair every day was pretty grueling. However, I forged friendships with the cast, crew and creator that are still strong today, which is pretty amazing.
Many years had gone by before I realized that Hellraiser and Hellbound had made a big impression across the Atlantic and were regularly screened on the USA Horror Channel. And that Hellraiser had spawned a franchise of 10 more films (including the 2022 Hulu reboot), which is pretty impressive for what was thought of at the time as a small budget, British cult horror movie. This is truly a testament to the power of Clive’s extraordinary vision.
A Cenobite unmasked: actor and author Barbie Wilde.
I believe that the fans’ fascination for the films was in part because Clive invented a new kind of monster. His creatures were not faceless thugs wielding chain saws and chasing girls dressed in boob tubes through the forest. The Cenobites would talk to you, reason with you, torture you and eventually rip your skin off, all in the name of finding the ultimate in sensual suffering. For you and for them. Now that’s a pretty unique monster, in my humble opinion.
In my own work as a writer of crime and horror, I have been so inspired by Clive and like him, I’ve always sought to explore the sexual side of many of my characters and their darker motivations, no matter how transgressional.
In the end, I guess the question is: why do we love to scare ourselves with movies and books that fill us with fear and loathing? Perhaps to make the real world less scary? Or is it because something deep inside us is secretly thrilled and excited to be frightened? Your guess is as good as mine.
Barbie Wilde
Actress (Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Death Wish 3) and Author (The Venus Complex [audio book narrated by the King of Pain himself, Doug Bradley], Voices of the Damned, The Cilicium Quadra)
In my own work as a writer of crime and horror, I have been so inspired by Clive and like him, I’ve always sought to explore the sexual side of many of my characters and their darker motivations, no matter how transgressional.
In the end, I guess the question is: why do we love to scare ourselves with movies and books that fill us with fear and loathing? Perhaps to make the real world less scary? Or is it because something deep inside us is secretly thrilled and excited to be frightened? Your guess is as good as mine.
Barbie Wilde
Actress (Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Death Wish 3) and Author (The Venus Complex [audio book narrated by the King of Pain himself, Doug Bradley], Voices of the Damned, The Cilicium Quadra)