Hellraiser

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Frank (Sean Chapman), a sexual adventurer in search of new carnal pleasures, purchases a mysterious Chinese puzzle box while visiting an unnamed Third World country. Back home in England, he opens the box only to discover that he has unlocked the door to hell. Frank is pulled into another dimension, whose inhabitants, known as Cenobites, push him over the fine line between pleasure and pain by ripping him apart with tiny fish hooks. Years later, Frank's brother, Larry (Andrew Robinson), moves his family into the house--to which, through some blood spilled on the attic floor, Frank returns in near-skeletal form. With the help of sister-in-law Julia (Clare Higgins)--with whom he once had an affair--Frank begins sucking the life out of bodies in order to regenerate to his old form. Meanwhile, Larry's daughter from a previous marriage, Kirsty (Ashley Laurence), begins to suspect her hated stepmother of having an affair, and to her horror becomes involved with Frank, the puzzle box and the Cenobites.

Cenobite - A member of a religious order living in a community; opposed to an anchoret, who lives in solitude (Oxford English Dictionary)

Cenobite alias: "Pinhead"
Reason for alias? Obviously because of the 4 inch nails driven into his skull which look like pins. And well "Pinhead" is better than "Nailhead"!
Actor: Doug Bradley plays Pinhead
Occupation: Executive demon in Hell
Favourite Pinhead quote: "I am Pain"
Former Self: Elliot Spencer
Former Self's Occupation: Captain, British Army, WW1

Q1: What is a "cenobite"?

A1: A cenobite is a demon from the realm known to us as Hell [Servants of 'Leviathan' - the "Satan" like figure], thought to be, more specifically, the "jailors" of 'Leviathan' by some. However more likely to be Explorers who, if anyone tries to open the box, take back with them to their realm (Hell/Leviathan's Labrinth) to impose pain, sensation, extremity beyond all ill imagination on them ['them' being the captors from the other realm - the box player e.g. Frank from Hellraiser]. They possess no humanity [human 'qualities' as such] or remorse and appear to be "dead" in every sense of emotional value, but still retain physicalities of human beings - humanoid appearance, speech, movement. However other life forms such as dogs can become cenobites as seen in Hellraiser IV: Bloodline. "Pinhead" is a "cenobite" and appears to be the leading member throughout the series except for the time he is challenged by new cenobite Channard - and defeated too for that matter, but Pinhead returns and Channard disappears into the shadows, not to be seen in either HR 3 or HR 4 to regain his role…

Q2: Who was "Pinhead" before he became a "cenobite"?

A2: Pinhead was actually a normal human being before he became the atrocity he is in the films. And apparently not an evil or unsavoury person who deserved the pain inflicted upon him, but just an unfortunate individual who "played with the box". His name was Elliot Spencer and he was a Captain in World War One. He played with the box and opened something which changed him for eternity. His head of hair was shaven, a grid of squares engraved into his skull with some kind of torture tool designed and created by Hell's "Engineers" and then a nail was driven into his skull at each point where two separate lines on the grid met [on his head]. His blood was sucked dry via a tubing system purged into his vein system and replaced with a liquid of no warmth or life, just emptiness and numbness and he became a symbol and tool of pure evil and effectively of 'Leviathan'. He became a pain monger thirsty for inflicting the same kind of pain his past self received for playing with the box, he became "Pinhead".

Q3: Does playing with the box just have negative repercussions does it also have good consequences?

A3: As far as the Hellraiser movies are concerned playing or tampering with the puzzle box would only result in bad consequences, being the appearance of some scary looking demons - e.g. Pinhead, Butterball, Chatterer etc - who are going to "tear your soul apart" and so on. However there is also good consequences too in my opinion. I feel where there is good there is evil and vice versa and the only reason we haven't seen any positive "heavenly" examples in the actual movies is simply because they are horror movies and about horrific demons sucking life and feeling from victims with incredibly imaginative visual images and concepts and anything otherwise would be very out of place to say the least. "Angels to some, demons to others…".

Q4: If Pinhead is so powerful how was he and his three cenobyte side kicks defeated in the finale of Hellbound by a sole new Cenobite - Channard - ?

A4: Pinhead was having serious issues at this point in the film, he was presented by his past, his humanity, the fact that he once felt and had emotion and qualities which he had been, at that time and for sometime, taking away from other beings. He learned he was once somebody else and this was a big blow to his killing performance. Being the leader of his merry little band once Pinhead hesitated so did his soldiers who also began to recall past virtues. Hence giving the extreme advantage to Channard who has a new found occupation which, it appears, he had taken to very well and with great enthusiasm.

Did you know? - that Pinhead is played by actor Doug Bradley in all four Hellraisers.

Did you know? - that Hellraiser is the imagination and creation of English man Clive Barker who sought to give a new vision of horror.

Did you know? - that there is a Hellraiser comic book series with the Pinhead character featured a little in some of the issues.

Did you know? - that it was originally the female cenobite of Hellraiser which was to be the leader of their pack and only later when Hellraiser made it to the screen did the Pinhead character acquire that role.

Did you know? - that the Chinese Puzzle Box featured greatly throughout the series is a gateway to Hell which goes into action when one touches the box in a certain way. In a way it ties in with the series' name - "Hellraiser" - being that Hell is raised by the manipulation of this object.

Did you know? - that the villains in this series are come to be known as "Cenobites" a term from the comics and Barker's original "vision" - beings of Hell, demons who appear to mediate when the box is played.

Did you know? - that "Pinhead" is the leader of the cenobites and is the only cenobite or even character of the series to appear in all five movies. Supposedly meeting oblivion in Bloodline, but returning for "Inferno".