The directorial debut of splatterpunk writer Clive Barker was originally supposed to be called The Hellbound Heart, after the novella upon which it was based. The studio decided the title sounded too much like a romance and asked Barker to change it. He offered Sadomasochists from Beyond the Grave, which was rejected for sounding overtly explicit. He ultimately opened the floor to the production team to offer up their own suggestions, prompting a 60-year-old female crew member to come up with What a Woman Will do for a Good Fuck. Unsurprisingly the studio didn’t like it either. In the end the film was released as Hellraiser and became an instant horror classic. Barker’s sadomasochistic take on the Faustian myth takes audiences down a path of unspeakable terror where pain and pleasure become one, where gothic mysticism merges with torture porn aesthetics and where the macabre becomes an art form. Nearly 35 years since it has been unleashed upon the world it still holds its ground. Come to Aero and have your soul torn apart by a charismatic bald man with a nail head. What’s your pleasure, shockproof Sirs?
