The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy Read Free

in Brooklyn and states unconvincingly, “We can make it work here,” it only confirms our suspicions. And when Julia agrees to Larry’s “So?” with a “Why not?” we realize that instead of strengthening their covenant they are heading for its complete dissolution. Furthermore, because Julia has stolen a picture of Frank we also know that he will be the principal cause of this annulment. Her powerful attraction to Frank means that any deal they made will always have priority, though both deals have serious repercussions. Her pact with Larry has left her trapped in a loveless marriage. Her pact with Frank might lead to transient sexual fulfillment, but it also forces her to kill and initiates her own death.
    An unfilmed scene from the novella has a bleeding Julia wearing her wedding dress at the end, further emphasizing the hideous mistakes she has made and her wish to turn back the clock:
And there, in the middle of this domestic wasteland, sat a bride. By some extraordinary act of will, Julia had managed to put her wedding dress on, and secure her veil upon her head. Now she sat in the dirt, the dress besmirched. But she looked radiant nevertheless; more beautiful, indeed, for the fact of the ruin that surrounded her. 5
    More hopeful is the alliance between Kirsty and her new boyfriend, Steve (played by Robert Hines). The pair meet at her father’s housewarming dinner party and we sense immediately the first blossoming of young love. The eye contact and laughter is genuine, as opposed to Julia’s false smiles when placating Larry or luring her male victims to the house. There is a hint of sex when Steve wants to pour more wine and Kirsty insists she won’t be able to stand up. “So lie down,” says Steve with a grin. But compared with the animal passions of Julia and Frank this is all very tame, and when the couple kiss for the first time in the underpass we definitely feel there is potential for a real relationship. However, this shot then pulls back and dissolves to a scene with Larry and Julia in bed—a cynical extrapolation of how the romance might culminate. Barker himself has wickedly said of this, “We cut to Julia and Larry and what marriage actually is: someone lying snoring and farting on one side of the bed while the other one has a good smoke and curses the moment they ever got married.” 6
    We can’t help but contrast this with a more innocent, or naïve, pre-wedding Julia. “I’m very happy,” she affirms, talking about her impending nuptials, and it seems as if she really means it. What would have happened if Frank hadn’t come along is certainly cause for speculation. Would she have been a different person without his corrupting influence? Even though she denies any feelings for Larry, she still initially resists the idea of killing him for his skin.
    There are signs that Kirsty and Steve’s association could last, nonetheless. They don’t yet share a bed, for one thing; when they wake from a nightmare about Larry dying, they are shown in two single beds. Steve comes to visit her at the pet store where she is working, and worries when he can’t find her at the hospital, enough to follow her to Lodovico Street. Here he attempts to rescue Kirsty, although it is she who ends up rescuing him. To all intents and purposes the dynamics of the relationship switch after their first date. Steve is the one who initiates the kiss after the party, but at the end Kirsty is definitely the one in control. There is a danger here that Steve might become just as weak and ineffectual as Larry, but it does at least suggest that Kirsty will not be forced into any deals like the one Julia makes with Frank. She has a mind of her own and is strong enough to use it; she won’t be manipulated by anyone—apart, perhaps, from her father, for reasons we will come to later.
    One last thing to mention about the relationships between these couples is the significance of the kisses traded. Of them all, only Kirsty and