THE LEVIATHANIC MYTHOS OF CLIVE BARKER'S "HELLRAISER",
A MYTHIC ANALYSIS
by Jeffrey S. Smith, Central Michigan University
April 30, 2001
INTRODUCTION
"I am a man, and men are animals who tell stories. This is a gift from God, who spoke our species into being, but left the end of our story untold. That mystery is troubling to us. How could it be otherwise? Without the final part, we think, how are we to make sense of all that went before: which is to say, our lives?So we make stories of our own, in fevered and envious imitation of our Maker, hoping that we'll tell, by chance, what God left untold. And finishing our tale, come to understand why we were born." - Clive Barker, in his prologue to Sacrament.
The films based on Clive Barker's story The Hellbound Heart began in 1987 with the release of Hellraiser, but the mythic roots of the series extend much farther in history. Through the work of H. P. Lovecraft in the 1930's, through the works of Edgar Allen Poe in the mid 1800's, and even back as far as Greek mythology and stories handed down through oral and written tradition for centuries, Barker's films hearken back to classic mythological themes.
This analysis will look at the mythos that has been created by the first four films of the Hellraiser series, the native mythic origins of the core storyline and its application to the film series as a whole, and then will analyze the films' mythic nature by contemporary mythic analysis. Both the duties of mythic storytelling and the use of mythic archetypes will be used as a means for analysis of the entire film series.
Thus, through use of contemporary mythic analysis, the following three research questions will be addressed:
What are the general rules of the Leviathanic Mythos?
What are the general mythic origins of the Leviathanic Mythos as a whole?
What elements of the Leviathanic Mythos, as used in the stories, fulfill the film series' mythic responsibilities according to contemporary mythic analysis?
Definitions of key terms:
Leviathanic Mythos: For the terms of this analysis, this is the underlying "rules" of the Hellraiser film world. The rules of the Mythos are defined as the first part of the Results section of this analysis, based on a study of the four core Hellraiser films.
Myth: From the Greek word mythos, meaning a speech, based on oral tradition,
or
a story, a narrative with a plot, a beginning, middle and end, and something
not used for anything not a story. For the purposes of this analysis, a myth
is any story, apocryphal or historically accurate, from which a moral or ethical
lesson may be gleaned.
Mythic: Any story, theme or figure whose origins can be traced back to a myth, fictive or factual, as its base form, regardless of its current form or alteration.
Mythic Archetypes: Clear and definable character concepts in any tale that can be related back to the facets of the Self as detailed by the field of psychoanalysis.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Being a topic that has yet to grace the pages of an academic journal, little has been written in academia on this subject yet. In fact, little has been written about the Hellraiser film series at all, thus there is a noticeable lack of "scholarly" literature available on the subject. There are, however, several articles and reviews in print from which to draw information, as well as the information available on the World Wide Web, and several books of tangential reference material which, when fused with the information available on mythic analysis and mythology in general, provide a substantive, in-depth look at the topic.
1. "The Monster"
The idea of the "monster" in mythology and religion finds its origins in the writings of medieval Christians who termed any creature physically or morally different from them as a monster. According to Debra Higgs Strickland, much of the nature of the monster in myth was handed down from the Greeks, although throughout history, their truly unifying feature, however, was their physical abnormality". Many thought that this was due to the conditions they lived in, their environment being the main cause of their monstrous appearance. However, Strickland also suggests another possible reason, saying "...if one follows the implications of classical physiognomical theory, which states that external appearance is a visual manifestation of inner character, the Monstrous Races were malformed owing to their various moral shortcomings." (2000)
The idea of the monster being a reflection of the inner immorality of a being was examined in-depth in Robin Wood's An Introduction to the American Horror Film. According to Wood, the "Other", a figure dominant in the horror genre, reflects several aspects of parts of our society that we find morally offensive, repugnant, or frightening to one extent or another. "That which bourgeois ideology cannot recognize or accept but must deal with (as Barthes suggests in Mythologies) in one of two ways: either by rejecting and if possible annihilating it, or by rendering it safe and assimilating it, converting it as far as possible into a replica of itself." (1985) He lists several possible candidates for being the "Other", among which are:
1) "Quite simply, other people" (Wood),
2) Women of power in a male-dominated culture,
3) Those opposed to the status quo of the society in which they live,
4) Other cultures that enter the status quo society,
5) Ethnic groups within said society
6) Alternative ideologies or political belief systems that run counter to the path the current dominant-society feels is correct and acceptable.
7) "Deviations from ideological sexual norms -- notably bisexuality and homosexuality" (Wood)
8) Children
Wood postulates several general propositions about the American horror film. He speaks of the nature of horror as a genre loved by its fans and totally rejected by all others, of the idea that films are an analogy for dreams, of the basic formula of the American horror film, of the general ambivalence audiences feel for a monster that is not totally evil and unsympathetic, and of the deep Freudian themes inherent in horror as a genre. Through the use of these propositions, analysis of the films of the horror genre, with regards to the role of the monster in our modern cultural myth, can be accomplished.
The original Hellraiser film used the fear of women gaining power that Wood speaks of to aid in sending a message about the dysfunctionality of the modern family unit. As was discussed when analyzing the film in the class "Film Genre Study: Modern Horror Film" at Central Michigan University, Dr. Ken Jurkiewicz points out that Hellraiser, in its own way, is also a critique of a relationship, but a marriage instead of a family. The focus of the first Hellraiser film is about a horrific marriage and an adulterous relationship. A nice guy, with a nice daughter, marries what seems to be a nice lady. However, this is a Clive Barker story. Not only is the lady not nice, not only did she have an affair with her husband's brother, but even after he's dead, she still wants to have a relationship with him. This is a story about a love that is destructive. The Cenobites are a projection of that destructive love. This film embodies the notion that the tension in a monogamous relationship dooms it, due to it being built on a terrible dishonesty, with the female at its center. (2000)
In his Encyclopedia of Horror, in the chapter entitled "V is for Vice Versa", Clive Barker writes on the nature of the fear of otherness, of that "other" being ourselves, confirming and complementing Wood's theories. "One of the things we are most afraid of is spawning a monster. But for some of us, monsters are welcome opportunities to be different, to act in anti-normal ways, hideous and beautiful at the same time... Everything is in flux, everything changes. The body changes. The soul changes. We are capable of extraordinary change, internal self-transformation, which is manifested very often in my stories as physical shape shifting." (Barker, 1997) This fulfills the idea of the monster as transgressive, as being innately subversive to the conventional cultural norms.
More recently, the image of the walking dead, or the animated corpse, have become prevalent in horror film and literature. This speaks to the major theme of death and fear of death as well as to the idea of the fear of lack of control over one's own body, which peppers so much of the horror of today's society. Michael Collins writes "When a person's body dies in a work of horror, that person's body will often remain active and in doing so horrify the viewer. For all the genre's corporal iconoclasm, the fact of death remains sacred; even when a body remains posthumously animate, it is not that of the person who in life occupied it; there lacks (for want of a better term) a soul. Thus it is the body, the 'book of blood' on whose pages the lexicon of horror is inscribed, and with the spine cracked, we begin to read." (1989)
Many of those engaged in mythic analysis speak of the media as a means of promoting and sustaining mainstream cultural beliefs and stereotypes, but also as a means of responding to current societal anxieties. In her article "Do Horror Films Filter the Horrors of History?", Shaila K. Dewan writes "The idea that horror films reflect, or even caricature, society's collective anxieties is nothing new. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is frequently read as a critique of McCarthy-era pod people. King Kong? A metaphor for the Great Depression or the threat of the black man to white social norms. Godzilla? A Japanese reaction to the devastation of the bomb. And the vampires haunting us of late? A coded response to the trauma of AIDS." (2000)
The nature of the character that becomes what the audience perceives as the main antagonist of the series has been a mystery as well, but Barker explains in his own style exactly what his creature's motivation is. "Let's put subtext aside for a moment and consider the creature that cavorts at the centre of any horror movie: the monster. The leader of Hell's Sadean order of Cenobites, ol' Pinhead himself. But where, I am regularly asked, does this nightmare come from? Well, I've already made mention of the sado-masochistic elements, which reflect my own long-standing interest in such taboo areas. Associated with that milieu is the punkish influence, which makes Pinhead the Patron Saint of Piercing. But there's also a streak of priestly deportment and high-flown rhetoric in him that suggests this is a monster who knows his Milton as well as he knows his de Sade, and can probably recite the Mass in Latin (albeit backwards)." (Barker)
2. The Nature of Myth
Myth is an indelible part of the nature of humanity, regardless of its presentation. Its surface meaning may not always be clear, but its underlying truths will always be discernable, spoken as they are on a very basic humanistic level. Roland Barthes observed that the nature of myth was in its ability to obscure the initial message while allowing the underlying meaning to come through clearly. "However paradoxical it may seem, myth hides nothing: its function is to distort, not to make disappear. There is no latency of the concept in relation to the form: there is no need of an unconscious in order to explain myth." (1957) This text, entitled Mythologies, is written in French, thus an online translation was used to extract the needed information. The translation was provided by a web site for a class in Modern Literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz, located at wwwcatsic.ucsc.edu/~ltmo128/barthesmyth1.html.
Barthes goes on to explain that one of the ways myth is able to transfer its messages to members of our society is through its naturalistic meanings when analyzed casually by those engaging in the myth telling, hearing or reading. "it [Myth] transforms history into nature. We now understand why, in the eyes of the myth consumer, the intention, the adhomination (sic) of the concept can remain manifest without however appearing to have an interest in the matter: what causes mythical speech to be uttered is perfectly explicit, but it is immediately frozen into something natural; it is not read as a motive, but as a reason." (1957)
Barker himself spoke on the necessity of using that which we as a society subconsciously fear, and the nature of horror. "We fear death and dismemberment, we fear pain, insanity and loss, we even fear sexuality, and it's only by addressing these fears that we avoid living in a state of constant trepidation. Horror can speak of such things in a way that a more realistic or naturalistic genre can't. Horror is a leap of faith and imagination in a world where the subconscious holds dominion; a call to enter a territory where no image or act is so damnable it cannot be explored, kissed and courted; finally - why whisper it? - embraced." (Barker)
This perception of myth also has a basis in Jungian psychoanalysis as well, in the use of archetypes as a means of defining and explaining images that have been in the collective subconscious of mankind for as long as we have had the storytelling tradition, be it oral or written. "Another well-known expression of the archetypes is myth and fairytale. [...] The archetypes is essentially an unconscious content that is altered by becoming conscious and by being perceived, and it takes its colour from the individual consciousness in which it happens to appear." (Jung, 1954)
Myth also serves an education function in today's society, taking the place of tribal lore in our evolved world, and the media have taken the place of the storyteller in our community. Its importance as a means of passing down lessons of former generations is not diminished, however, and its important is significant. "Tribal lore is always sacred and dangerous. All esoteric teachings seek to apprehend the unseen happenings in the psyche, and all claim supreme authority for themselves. What is true of primitive lore is true in even higher degree (sic) of the ruling world religions. They contain a revealed knowledge that was originally hidden, and they set forth the secrets of the soul in glorious images. Their temples and their sacred writings proclaim in image and word the doctrine hallowed from of old, making it accessible to every believing heart, every sensitive vision, every farthest range of thought." (Jung)
The creation myths for various artifacts span the centuries, both the historic and the fictional, and all involved nether powers. The Templar History website contains several myths about the creation of various sigils and artifacts used by Templar orders throughout history, including the skull and crossbones. "A great lady of Maraclea was loved by a Templar, A Lord of Sidon; but she died in her youth, and on the night of her burial, this wicked lover crept to the grave, dug up her body and violated it. Then a voice from the void bade him return in nine months time for he would find a son. He obeyed the injunction and at the appointed time he opened the grave again and found a head on the leg bones of the skeleton (skull and crossbones). The same voice bade him 'guard it well, for it would be the giver of all good things', and so he carried it away with him. It became his protecting genius, and he was able to defeat his enemies by merely showing them the magic head. In due course, it passed to the possession of the order." (Dafoe, 2000)
3. The Nature of the Leviathanic Mythos
Clive Barker is somewhat aware of his influence on creating, or re-telling, a myth with a message. In a December 1999 interview with IGN's "For Men" website, when asked if his books were a type of Aesop's Fable for today's generation, Barker replied, "Uh, right. But that might be too simple. What I would prefer to say is just as Freud went looking for a means to describe the most complex and sophisticated of psychological processes, he goes to myth. He goes to Oedipus. He goes to stories, which have been part of the culture for thousands of years, and finds in them the raw material to explain and illuminate incredibly sophisticated internal processes. So I think we can go to fantasy, to folklore, to science fiction, and find in the images that fairy tale or folklore or you know, any piece of fantastic fiction, find those images and forms which can help us illuminate ourselves. And that's the most important part, that's what this business of the fantastic is really about. It's not easy reading. It's not easy writing. And I think the people who don't understand it, the people who criticize it, the people who dismiss it, very often do so, not because they're actually in their heart of hearts feeling superior to it, but because they're actually intimidated by it." (IGN For Men, 1999)
According to the FAQ from the alt.books.clive-barker newsgroup, Barker has cited, among his influences, the horror writings of Edgar Allen Poe, as well as the stories of pulp-fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. (2000) Indeed, many of the themes that dominate the Hellraiser film series, and the mythos behind the film's stories, are characteristic of Lovecraft's world. Peter Dendle writes, "Several of Lovecraft's stories present an alternate dimension, co-existent with our physical world yet rippling just underneath its surface, continuously in a state of motion, teeming with innumerable ephemeral creatures. In these the cosmos is a bustling plenitude, whether the entities inhabiting it are taken as physical beings of some sort or other, or rather as existing on some other plane altogether, unconnected with our physical one." (1997)
The theme of fusion, of creation of a being out of the parts or essences of two dissimilar beings, is another dominant theme in the Hellraiser series, although one that is not presented as such. Like the minotaur, the demonic creatures of the film are creatures made of a combination of influences, both physical and moral. This is a thematic device that has been used in the presentation of religious ideologies for centuries. "In the earliest writers these [demons] are morally ambivalent, or are divided into camps of good and evil demons, but in both Jewish apocalyptic and Christian exegetical writings, all demons are eventually associated either with certain 'fallen angels' reputed to have rebelled against God [...] or with the progeny of their union with the 'daughters of humans.' (Dendle, 1997)
The idea of venturing into hell to recover something or rescue someone is a classic theme, but subject to multiple variations. In his analysis of John Ford's The Searchers, James Clauss provides an accurate and succinct definition of the narrative elements of a metaphoric "journey into hell" in general terms: "the hero [.] must undertake a journey that brings him face to face with mirror images of his own weaknesses and flaws, but in the form of powerful obstacles for him to overcome before he can pass through his hell and emerge, cleansed and reborn, into the light.... The function of the myth remains the same--to affirm the value of life in the face of its own weaknesses, which lead inevitably to death." (1999)
4. The Structure of Modern Myth
Myth has developed as structure within the 20th century media, including film. Christopher Vogler, in his book The Writer's Journey, has created a list of segments that are contained within the "mythic structure" of today's writings. Vogler's twelve steps for the mythic writer will be used to analyze the mythic integrity of the four films that make up the main Hellraiser series. These steps will also be used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed mythic origins of the four films in Greek mythology.
1) The Ordinary World is first used as a starting point, to allow the audience to feel empathy and connection with the hero. "Most stories take the hero out of the ordinary, mundane world and into a Special World, new and alien. This is the familiar 'fish out of water' idea that has spawned countless films and TV shows." (1992)
2) The Call to Adventure represents the "hook", something to get the hero involved in the course of action that provides the story with direction. "The hero is presented with a problem, challenge or adventure to undertake. Once presented with a Call to Adventure, she can no longer remain indefinitely in the comfort of the Ordinary World. Perhaps the land is dying, as in the King Arthur Stories of the search for the Grail, the only treasure that can heal the wounded land." (1992)
3) The Refusal of the Call (The Reluctant Hero) represents the apprehensions of the hero in following the road laid before him in the Call to Adventure. "This one is about fear. Often at this point the hero balks at the threshold of adventure, Refusing the Call or expressing reluctance. After all, she is facing the greatest of all fears, terror of the unknown. The hero has not yet fully committed to the journey and may still be thinking of turning back." (1992)
4) The Mentor (the Wise Old Man or Woman) represents the figure that is behind the hero, their support system. This person is the one who will convince the hero of the necessity of answering the Call to Adventure. "By this time many stories will have introduced a Merlin-like character who is the hero's Mentor. The relationship between hero and Mentor is one of the most common themes in mythology, and one of the richest in its symbolic value. It stands for the bond between parent and child, teacher and student, doctor and patient, god and man." (1992)
5) Crossing the First Threshold is the stage of the mythic tale where the hero begins the journey prompted by the Call to Adventure. "Now the hero finally commits to the adventure and fully enters the Special World of the story for the first time by Crossing the First Threshold. She agrees to face the consequences of dealing with the problem or challenge posed in the Call to Adventure. This is the moment when the story takes off and the adventure really gets going." (1992)
6) The Tests, Allies and Enemies section embodies the appearance of new venues, new companions and the appearance of the antagonist of the myth. "Once across the First Threshold, the hero naturally encounters new challenges and tests, makes allies and enemies, and begins to learn the rules of the Special World." (1992)
7) The Approach to the Inmost Cave represents the hero coming to the climax of the tension in the myth. This is where the most significant confrontation of the myth takes place. "The hero comes at last to the edge of a dangerous place, sometimes deep underground, where the object of the quest is hidden. Often it's the headquarters of the hero's greatest enemy, the most dangerous spot in the Special World, the Inmost Cave. When the hero enters that fearful place, she will cross the second major threshold. Heroes often pause at the gate to prepare, plan and outwit the villain's guards. Thus is the phase of Approach." (1992)
8) The Supreme Ordeal is the primary decision gate of the film, the choice upon which the mythic relevance of the story hinges. "Here the fortunes of the hero hit rock bottom in a direct confrontation with his greatest fear. She faces the possibility of death and is brought to the brink in a battle with a hostile force. The Supreme Ordeal is a 'black moment' for the audience as we are held in suspense and tension, not knowing if she will live or die. The hero, like Jonah, is "in the belly of the beast." (1992)
9) The Reward ("Seizing the Sword") is where the hero gains that which was sought through the ordeal, and claims it as his own, at least temporarily. "Having survived death, beaten the dragon, or slain the Minotaur, hero and audience have cause to celebrate. The hero now takes possession of the treasure he has come seeking, his Reward. It might be a special weapon like a magic sword, or a token like the Grail or some elixir to heal the wounded land." (1992)
10) The Road Back represents the movement that becomes necessary to take the hero from the Special World back to the Ordinary World. "The Hero's not out of the woods yet. We're crossing into Act Three now as the hero begins to deal with the consequences of confronting the dark forces of the Supreme Ordeal. If she has not managed to reconcile with the parent, the gods or the hostile forces, they may come raging after her." (1992)
11) The Resurrection section details the metamorphosis of the hero, the trials that forge the hero, like a sword, into a newer version of themselves. "In ancient times, hunters and warriors had to be purified before they returned to their communities, because they had blood on their hands. The hero who has been to the realm of the dead must be reborn and cleansed in one last Ordeal of death and Resurrection before returning to the Ordinary World of the living." (1992)
12) The Return with the Elixir section is the homecoming, in triumph or in obscurity, of the hero. Sometimes their victory is public knowledge, while other times it is personal in nature, known only to the hero and perhaps a small group of those closely affected by the hero's journey. "The hero Returns to the Ordinary World, but the journey is meaningless unless she brings back some Elixir, treasure or lesson from the Special World. The Elixir is a magic potion with the power to heal. It may be a great treasure like the Grail that magically heals the wounded land, or it simply might be knowledge or experience that could be useful to the community someday." (1992)
5. On-Line Resources
Being a filmmaker of the last two decades, and a writer for at least as long, Clive Barker has generated an enormous following, and this has spilled over onto the internet through both his sanctioned "Official" homepage and the semi-sanctioned "Unofficial" Hellraiser information site.
The website Lost Souls, www.clivebarker.com, is Clive Barker's Official website, and includes several interviews done solely with the authors of the site for its use. In one article, he speaks about the necessity of making the "monsters", both horrifying and elegant, as a means of giving them a semblance of "reality" in order to make them both more identifiable to the audience and more horrifying as well. "The Phantom of the Opera, for example, is interesting as he presents a very graceful, elegant exterior, whereas beneath is the ugli-ness, beneath is the disfigurement, be-neath are the things that are horrific. The problems I have are with people like Freddy Krueger. I mean, he's just ugly. He's an ugly fuck and that's the full sum of it. Interestingly, the shape of Michael Myers returns somewhere to the Phantom of the Opera. That pale light mask in the first Halloween, and I don't think it came up right again, the first picture was wonderful. He was very, very chilling, sepulchur-al thing with this insane thing under-neath. So, no, I don't think it works in terms of strict chronologies. I don't think there was any period that offered up the elegant monster, followed by the ugly, and back to the elegant again. I do think the best monsters, for me, are creatures who collide with both of those traits. I mean, the Cenobites [.] are in a perverse sense very elegant. And yet, in their own way, they're rather gross and disgusting. That kind of combination is what makes them interesting to me. What worked with Pinhead was that the image was both very repulsive and attractive at the same time." (1989)
Likewise, www.rexer.com/hell/, known as The Hellbound Web is the most reliable and well organized fan-run site on the Hellraiser phenomenon, and was suggested by one of the authors of the Official Clive Barker website as a place to find accurate information on the films. There are found scripts, an encyclopedia of all the characters, places and artifacts used in all the Hellraiser franchise, as well as images, sounds, the Hellraiser newsletter and the Hellraiser FAQ (Freqently Asked Questions) which explain some basic questions, such as the nature of Leviathan. "Leviathan is its own deity. The mythologies of Christianity and Hellraiser are completely separate. In fact, often in the Hellraiser Comics Leviathan is shown to be a large influence behind world religions. So, while holding a cross up to a vampire may work, Pinhead just laughs (watch the church scene in HR3). The name 'Leviathan' has a Biblical origin, ironically. Job chapter 41 is all about Leviathan, who is a great sea monster associated with chaos. The Hellraiser Leviathan is virtually the opposite of this representation: a crystalline deity obsessed with order." (Rexer, 2001)
Two other websites provide basic factual background information. The Encyclopedia Britannica Online, at www.britannica.com, was used for defining several basic concepts and providing a historical basis for the analysis of the material in the Hellraiser films. There, a working definition for Necromancy as "communication with the dead, usually in order to obtain insight into the future or to accomplish some otherwise impossible task" as well revealing that, historically, the name Leviathan was a name given to one of two demons of chaos when Judaism came in contact with Zoroastrianism around the 5th century BC. (2001)
The Encyclopedia Mythica, at www.pantheon.org, provided further definition in other cultures of the name Leviathan, as well as providing a synopsis of the Myth of the Minotaur in Greek mythology. "Before he ascended the throne of Crete, Minos struggled with his brothers for the right to rule. Minos prayed to Poseidon to send him a snow-white bull, as a sign of approval by the gods for his reign. He promised to sacrifice the bull as an offering, and as a symbol of subservience. A beautiful white bull rose from the sea, but when Minos saw it, he coveted it for himself. He assumed that Poseidon would not mind, so he kept it and sacrificed the best specimen from his herd instead. When Poseidon learned about the deceit, he made Pasipha, Minos' wife, fall madly in love with the bull. She had Daedalus, the famous architect, make a wooden cow for her. Pasipha climbed into the decoy and fooled the white bull. The offspring of their lovemaking was a monster called the Minotaur. The creature had the head and tail of a bull on the body of a man. It caused such terror and destruction on Crete that Daedalus was summoned again, but this time by Minos himself. He ordered the architect to build a gigantic, intricate labyrinth from which escape would be impossible. The Minotaur was captured and locked in the labyrinth. Every year for nine years, seven youths and maidens came as tribute from Athens. These young people were also locked in the labyrinth for the Minotaur to feast upon. When the Greek hero Theseus reached Athens, he learned of the Minotaur and the sacrifices, and wanted to end this. He volunteered to go to Crete as one of the victims. Upon his arrival in Crete, he met Ariadne, Minos's daughter, who fell in love with him. She promised she would provide the means to escape from the maze if he agreed to marry her. When Theseus did, she gave him a simple ball of thread, which he was to fasten close to the entrance of the maze. He made his way through the maze, while unwinding the thread, and he stumbled upon the sleeping Minotaur. He beat it to death and led the others back to the entrance by following the thread." (2001)
6. The Films
The Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com, was an invaluable resource when looking up information about the four essential Hellraiser films. The site lists full cast and crew for each film, directing, production and writing credits, as well as film summaries and summaries. In addition, the DVD releases of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II contain commentary tracks which provided additional insight and resource material.
Hellraiser was released in 1987, written and directed by Clive Barker, with uncredited editing duties being attributed to Tony Randal. This film, the first in the series, has been summarized as "A man finds he is given more than he bargains for when he solves the puzzle of the [Lament] Configuration - a doorway to hell. But his ex-lover has found a way of bringing him back, and his niece, Kirsty Lawrence, finds herself bargaining with the Cenobites, angels to some, demons to others, whose greatest pleasure is the greatest pain." (IMDB, 2001)
Hellbound: Hellraiser II was released in 1988, written by Peter Atkins and directed by Tony Randal. Clive Barker served as executive producer for this, the second film in the Hellraiser series. It is basically the continuing story of Kirsty from the first film. "After having her father and perverse stepmother killed by the Cenobites, Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Lawrence) is sent to a psychiatric hospital. Even after trying to convince the authorities of what really happened with her family, nobody believes in her version of the history and they decide to place her in the institute, so that she rests and relaxes a little bit. The hospital is commanded by a brilliant and strange psychiatrist, Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham), who has been looking for the key for another dimension for a long time. The only person who believes in Kirsty is a young and kind assistant of Dr. Channard, called Kyle MacRae (William Hope). Following Kirsty's version of the story, Channard put his hands on the bloodstained mattress where her stepmother Júlia (Clare Higgins, from the first Hellraiser) died, Channard decides to resurrect her, killing his patients and offering them as food for Júlia. She returns without skin, and she decides to help Channard to bring the forces of the evil, but the plans of the two will be disturbed by Kirsty, who wants to end at once with the Cenobites, and for Kyle, who doesn't want to see Kirsty being hurt..." (IMDB)
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth was released in 1992, and was directed by Anthony Hickox and written by Tony Randal and Peter Atkins, with Clive Barker again serving as executive producer. The third film in the series tells that "Pinhead is stuck in a block after the Big Confrontation in Hellbound. The block containing Pinhead and the puzzle cube [are purchased] by a young playboy as sculpture. Pinhead busies himself escaping by getting the playboy to lure victims to his presence so he can use their blood. Once free, he seeks to destroy the puzzle cube so he need never return to Hell, but a female reporter is investigating the grisly murders and stands in his way." (IMDB)
Hellraiser: Bloodline, released in 1996, was directed by Joe Chappelle and Kevin Yagher (who was listed in the credits by the pseudonym of Alan Smithee) and written by Peter Atkins. This was the first film that Clive Barker was not directly involved with. The fourth film of the series is actually a trilogy of films in one, all centered around a single lineage. "It's the year 2127. Pinhead, the evil Cenobite of the series, has found himself on board a space station in outer space, run by scientist Dr.Merchant. Dr. Merchant's mission is to close the gates to hell forever. Because his ancestor, a toy-maker in the 18th century, built the evil puzzle box that opens the gates to hell. And through the generations, the family of the bloodline has tried to stop it. But now, Dr. Merchant has built the reverse box. The box that will close the gates to hell instead of opening it." (IMDB)
Hellraiser: Inferno, released in 2000, was directed by Scott Derickson and written by Derickson and Paul Harris Boardman. The fifth film of the series tells the story of Joseph Thorn, a police detective who has grown disillusioned with his chosen profession and has been charged with investigating the death of a small child. The film slowly reveals that Thorn is, in fact, one of those condemned to an eternity in Hell, and the film details his travels through his specific torment, all within the confines of Hell. He is not aware of this fact, although he is witness to a few strange sights and occurrences, until the very end of the film when, as the cycle of torment begins to repeat all over again, he begins to suspect that all is not as it seems, much to his dismay.
METHODOLOGY
Throughout history, one story form has been preserved down through the ages, from the time of the Greek and Roman civilizations, and even before. These stories of past civilizations, historic and fictive, have traveled through the centuries as myth, stories of old that are able, despite their antiquity, to transmit to members of modern-day society lessons handed down from past generations. Myths tell of epic quests, ethical and moral quandaries, heroes and villains, love, war, conquest, obsession, covetousness and various other concepts, in language and semiology easily understood. Myths are adopted and adapted by whatever culture the storyteller resides in, but keep the same principles, the same inherent base message, regardless of their modern treatment.
In their book Approaches to Media Literacy: A Handbook, Silverblatt, Ferry and Finan (1999) provide the rules for analyzing something by its core mythic nature. They explain how the transmission of myth through our society has changed, "Today, the oral tradition -- the primary source for passing myths from generation to generation -- has nearly disappeared. In this vacuum, the media have emerged as primary channels for the transmission of myth." (1999)
Indeed, most modern television shows, series and films are merely retellings of, variations on or heavily influenced by myths that have been around for centuries. "It can be argued that one of the reasons we watch the same formulaic media programs over and over is because these stories are transmitting myths that tell us about ourselves and about the human experience." (Silverblatt, et al.) Those in the field of psychology and psychoanalysis have stated that myth is thought to come from within the human subconscious. The authors agree, saying "individuals come into contact with this shared experience through their dreams. Myths, then represent an externalization of the elemental experiences and aspects of Self that each person encounters as part of being human.""(Silverblatt, et al.)
With the media's role as the single most prevalent mythic storyteller in today's society, it is not only appropriate, but necessary, that television and film be studied for the inherent moral and ethical tales they purvey in the form of mass entertainment, and that they be analyzed for their modern social worth as the new 'myth'. "Thus, many myths deal with the deep truth of human experience. Regardless of whether myths are factually accurate accounts of historical events, myths speak to an inner truth in a way science cannot." (Silverblatt, et al.)
Myth serves several purposes in any society. A myth may have the ability to inspire awe, to facilitate self-actualization, to provide order, to provide meaning, to exalt, to instruct, as ritual and to promote social solidarity. Several of these purposes will be used as a primary means of analyzing each film as well as the film series itself for its mythic value. If a pre-existing myth can be identified to be at the core of the film(s), the core myth too will be included in the analysis.
There are also, in all modern or ancient myths, certain mythic archetypes that correspond to the various facets of the Self in any human being. They too will be used as a means of analyzing the text of the films in order to glean their true mythic significance.
All are references to the Self, which Carl Jung described as the entirety of one's conscious and unconscious being, "...the collective unconscious is anything but an incapsulated personal system; it is sheer objectivity, as wide as the world and open to all the world. There I am the object of every subject, in complete reversal of my ordinary consciousness, where I am always the subject that has an object. There I am utterly one with the world, so much a part of it that I forget all too easily who I really am. 'Lost in oneself' is a good way of describing this state. But this self is the world, if only a consciousness could see it. That is why we must know who we are." (1959) Each of the archetypes below represent one facet of Jung's "Self". The archetypes are:
- The Hero (the Hero as Warrior, the Hero as Lover and the Hero as World
Redeemer), which represents the best in human character and achievement.
- The Villain (the Usurpers, the Criminals, the Violators, the Betrayers and
the
Corruptors), which represent all that is evil and corrupt in human society.
- The Shadow Figure, representing the defects in the consciousness of humanity.
- The Mentor, which is the figure of supreme authority of the Self, the teacher
and guide to the Hero that helps him achieve his goals.
- The Anima, representing the feminine side of the Self, the mothering aspect
of
the human consciousness.
- The Threshold Guardians, who bar the path and provide obstacles and puzzles
to test the Hero so that he may prove his worth to attain his goal.
- The Herald, who is the messenger that delivers information to the Hero.
- The Victim, representing that which is weak and vulnerable in the conscious
Self, and that which must be protected by the Hero.
- The Divine Child, corresponding to the childish and infantile side of the Self.
Each archetype is clearly visible within the Leviathanic Mythos that makes up the Hellraiser films, and will be identified and addressed as such.
RESULTS
Part I: The Leviathanic Mythos
The Hellraiser film series is, at the time of this writing, five official films. The films began with Hellraiser, and continued beyond Mr. Barker's original vision through the sequel films; Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Hellraiser IV: Bloodlines and most recently in Hellraiser V: Inferno. As a source for deriving a static mythos, however, the most recent film sheds no real light and violates all of the rules found in the Leviathanic Mythos, thus , while discussed in the second section of results, it will not be included in the analysis as a core mythic film.
The underlying mythos of the Hellraiser films finds its origin in the short story The Hellbound Heart, written by Clive Barker and originally published in Oct 1986 as a part of Night Visions 3 edited by George R.R. Martin. In this short story, we are introduced to the Lemarchand configuration, later to also be known as "the box" or the "Lament configuration", the Cenobites, a new vision of "Hell", and a new ultimate evil entity at the center of Hell, a creature given the name Leviathan. It also gave readers a true sense of the timeless history of the interaction between the denizens of hell and the inhabitants of the surface world… earth.
This vision was further continued and modified slightly in the film Hellraiser. In this film, viewers were given the story of how the Lemarchand Configuration ensnared mortal men and women, and how truly flawed humanity had become. The film served as an excellent introduction to the general mythos of the Hellraiser series.
The second film, Hellraiser: Hellbound continued the story from the first film, and took its viewers into the very bowels of Hell, showing the nature and creation of the Cenobites as well as the general make-up of Hell, an example of its unique tortures and providing a full introduction to the entity known as Leviathan that rules over Hell.
The third film, Hellraiser: Hell on Earth brought the Lead Cenobite, nicknamed Pinhead by the fans of the series, to earth for the entire story, a first in the series. During his time on the surface, he reveled in mayhem, and created new Cenobites from some of his victims. Although a mere shadow of his former minions, they served to the best of their abilities. This film also provided an insight into the nature of Pinhead himself, and revealed his history by introducing the viewers to his former self, World War I Army Captain Elliott Spenser, who aided the movie's heroine in defeating his evil alter-ego once again and sending him back to Hell.
The fourth film, Hellraiser: Bloodlines traced the history of the Lemarchand Configuration from its creation by a French toy-maker named Phillip Lemarchand in 1784, through a storyline with a descendent of Lemarchand in the present, John Merchant, which tied into the end of the third film, and ultimately flings the viewer to the "end" of the storyline in a futuristic space setting with Dr. Paul Merchant, the ultimate descendent of the same family line. The film revealed the purpose the Lemarchand Configuration was created for, its first use, its antithesis known as the Elysium Configuration, and suggested more powers contained within the box itself.
Based on the core four Hellraiser films, a series of core 'rules' for the Leviathanic Mythos have been ascertained in answer to the research question "What are the general rules of the Leviathanic Mythos?". There are 10 of these rules that may serve as a filmic bible of sorts with regards to the Hellraiser universe.
Part II: The General Mythic Origins of the Leviathanic Mythos
In answer to the research question, "What are the general mythic origins of the Leviathanic Mythos as a whole?", the research showed a clear path back through the years, with Clive Barker himself acknowledging both H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe as influences on his writings. The true mythic origins, however, reach much farther back than that.
The general background of the Hellraiser storyline is not unique. The tale of people stumbling onto an object that is a gateway to another dimension, a dimension that is all around them and yet is one they are unable to perceive, was pioneered by pulp horror-fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft in the 1920's and 30's. Lovecraft's world was one of ancient and hidden gods and arcane summoning rituals and artifacts, a world where use of this knowledge, to bring the attentions of these beings upon mortal man, would usually result in either great power or instantaneous death. In his stories, Lovecraft created the "Necronomicon" as his primary artifact. Originally called Al Azif, an Arabian word for the sound that nocturnal insects were known to make which was supposed to be the howling of demons, this was a book of summoning rites and information regarding the "Old Ones", the evil gods of the Lovecraftian mythos. (Lovecraft's Necronomicon, 2000)
Like the Hellraiser mythos which was to follow, individuals in the Lovecraftian mythos often knew little of the actual rewards or consequences of the rites they would perform. This "blind trust", that something wonderful lies just beyond a ritual or within an artifact, can be traced back to its origins in Greek mythology. The story of Pandora, who was impelled by curiosity to peer into an artifact she had been bidden never to open, thus releasing all of the evils we now know upon the world, is one of the first to carry this theme. In that way, so too have Lovecraft and Barker provided the individuals in their stories a means to both satisfy curiosity and loose unspeakable evils upon the world, evils which they do not fully comprehend until it is too late. (Encyclopedia Mythica, 2001)
Lovecraft, due to the resemblance in basic mythos construction, obviously influenced Barker. As he said in a chat held online by AOL, "I read Lovecraft when I was younger, pretty much all he ever wrote. His breadth of imagination is extraordinary. He inspired me in this sense: he was writing, not simply about the human perspective, but also about the ab, sub, and inhuman perspectives. In short, a vision that cannot help impress us with its ambition. As a stylist, I think he's a little verbose." (1996) More directly, however, are seen the influences in the mythos of the works of Edgar Allen Poe. Directly, one such iconographic homage in the film Hellraiser is the use of the beating heart beneath the floorboards of the attic, symbolizing the return of the individual slain by his curiosity towards Barker's primary artifact. This is an image straight out of Poe's The Telltale Heart, where a beating heart beneath the floorboards within the home of a murderer forces him to admit to his crime, if only to stop the sound that has come to fill his every waking moment. Indirectly, it is also known that Poe was a significant influence on Lovecraft as well, thus providing a 2nd generation influence upon the Hellraiser tales. (D. Harms, 1998)
In addition to the influences of Lovecraft, Poe and Greek myth, Barker also appears to have adopted themes and motifs found in common superstition about a specific type of magic called Necromancy. This arcane art is described as "communication with the dead, usually in order to obtain insight into the future or to accomplish some otherwise impossible task." (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2000) It was common for such ceremonies to be performed in a consecrated spot, usually desolate, and often flesh or pieces of a corpse were used as well. The ceremonies, the locations of the summoning, and the use of blood as a catalyst for the arrival of the demons in the Barker films seem to indicate a direct parallel with traditional Necromantic rites.
At the center of the Hellraiser mythos is its "God", a creature known as Leviathan. Historically, the name Leviathan is rooted in early religions, such as Judaism and Christianity. After Judaism came in contact with Zoroastrianism around the 5th century BC, a fairly complex demonology was created and added to their religion, in which Leviathan, with its compatriot demon Rahab, were names given to demons of chaos. (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2000) In the Old Testament of the Christian bible, the name Leviathan represented "some sort of chaos animal in the shape of a crocodile or a serpent. In other bible texts it is taken to mean a whale or dolphin, because the animal is there described as living in the sea." (Encyclopedia Mythica, 2000) It was later modified to represent a general symbol of evil. Leviathan is also the name of the God of Evil in the Ugaritic religion. In medieval times, scholars of demonology "ascribed to a hierarchy of seven archdemons the seven deadly sins" (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2001) of which Leviathan was named as the archdemon representing the sin of envy.
In Hellbound, Leviathan is "The god of flesh, hunger, and desire" and is said to desire souls. It is symbolically represented by an silver octahedral crystal rotating in the middle of Hell's labyrinth amidst a permanent storm. It is the creator and master of the Cenobites and all of Hell's citizens. (Rexer, 2001) This was not the original intent of Peter Atkins, author of the screenplay for Hellbound: Hellraiser II. "[The shape] was something Tony (Randel) and I came up with together. I did not have it invert into that shape in my first draft. [The original creature] was a shapeless, shifting… almost Lovecraftian… globule of huge pustulent evil at the center of Hell." (Hellbound: Hellraiser II DVD, 1988)
In the Hellraiser storyline, Leviathan is tied into its representation, the Lemarchand configuration. Leviathan affects, and is affected by, the use of the artifact that summons its power, and in the second film, it is through the re-configuration of the box, from its dagger-like diamond shape back into its more familiar cube shape that causes Leviathan to shift its appearance as well, and close all the open doorways leading into hell from our world, nearly trapping the heroine and her companion within its maze.
Exactly what Leviathan's nature or religious philosophy is cannot be readily ascertained. According to The Hellbound Web, it is "The god of flesh, hunger, and desire", a crystalline entity of order. But it could easily be viewed more along the lines of the Christian Satan, an entity of evil and pain, or as a sensate entity, one who guides its followers along the path of total sensation at the raw nervous level, and in so doing, causes the lines between pain and pleasure to blur. It could even be viewed as a mere non-interfering power, an entity that created its environment and its assistants, and then fell back into itself for whatever reason, leaving all it created to find their own path and way. One thing is certain: Leviathan is the power behind all that makes up the mythos created by Clive Barker, the core of its influence.
In a more literal sense, Leviathan resides at the center of a place called "Hell". Perhaps it is meant to represent "The Hell" discussed in the Christian bible, or perhaps instead, it is meant to represent "a hell" as can be found in Japanese Buddhism, Hindu, Tao and other religions. Or perhaps it is merely termed "Hell" because that is the term we as human beings have been taught to identify with a place of perpetual suffering, a place where the dark of soul and evil of intent ultimately wind up as a result of their own unconscionable actions. This would be easily understood by the viewing public, coming as we do from a predominantly Christian culture. This last possibility seems the strongest possibility based on the research available and this analysis. The only definition given by any of the films is as the place surrounding Leviathan, a labyrinth where each individual is provided with a private suffering ground. In the second film, four separate private hells are shown to the audience as well as the labyrinthine "over-Hell". Each private Hell is specifically attuned to its owner to provide the maximum pain and agony, physical, mental and emotional, possible. (Rexer, 1998)
The term Cenobite dates back to the middle ages, and is defined as "a member of a religious group living together in a monastic community". (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Online, 2001) Monks have, throughout our history, represented those most dedicated and devout in their particular religion, and it is through this iconographic use that the word takes on a perverted yet accurate meaning in this context.
The Leviathanic Cenobites are those most loyal to the precepts and whims of Leviathan itself, having been created by the entity specifically to render service up unto it. Each is given power by Leviathan that amplifies the evil intent or desire already inherent in the soul of the individual selected, and that person's outward appearance is also altered to more closely match that which is now found within. In that way, the Leviathanic Cenobites are in every way as dedicated, loyal and religiously devout to their God as the monks of medieval Christianity, cloistered away in their chapterhouses, were to theirs.
Cenobites function under the dictates of Leviathan, as its henchmen and feeders. They are its servants and must follow its bidding. However, as seen in Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, when a Cenobite is cut off from Hell's control, when one is left upon the surface of the earth and the portals to Hell are closed, that Cenobite is freed from the restrictions laid upon him or her by Leviathan. Pinhead was able to both devour souls to grow stronger and create new Cenobites, something only Leviathan was able do, within Hell itself, although they were not as powerful nor as disciplined. "They're handmade.... The shadow of [Pinhead's] former troops; overeager." (Rexer, 2001)
Cenobites are the guardians and overlords of the maze, as feudal warlords to Leviathan's Emperor. However, without sacrifices to offer up to their God, their existence would certainly suffer. Thus, a method of collecting sacrifices, a way of luring souls to their domain, or a means of knowing what lives could be reaped from this world, had to be created.
In the late 1700's, a toy-maker named Phillip Lemarchand was commissioned with the creation of a mechanical puzzle box by the Duc de L'Isle. L'Isle, a mortal servant of Hell and a practitioner of black magic, transferred the power to summon demons into the box during a ceremony, naming it the Lament Configuration. He then used it to summon a demon into the body of a recently slain woman, thus allowing the demon to walk the surface of the world and spread her influence throughout it. At that time, the only way a demon from Hell could walk the earth was to take possession of a body. It wasn't until the early 1900's that the first Cenobite was created, but even they were subject to the summoning in the box.
The nickname for the Lemarchand Configuration, calling it the Lament Configuration, hinges on the definition of the word for its significance. A lament is "a nonnarrative poem expressing deep grief or sorrow over a personal loss." (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2000) The most historically applicable lament was composed "bewailing the collapse of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112-c.2004 BC) in southern Mesopotamia." (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2000) It told the tale of a city having been deserted by its deities, a calling for a public lamentation of that event, unsuccessful intervention by one goddess on behalf of the citizens of the city and ultimately the destruction of their city by the angry gods. In this sense, the Lament Configuration is a fitting nickname, for it represents the repeated tale of the destruction of the human soul at the hands of the servants of Hell.
The Lemarchand Configuration is a religious artifact as well as a summoning device, comparable to the Ark of the Covenant in Christianity or the Necronomicon of H. P. Lovecraft's tales. It is a device that provides those with dark desire in their hearts the ability to summon a demon to them. It is a black magic ceremony contained within an artifact, and only those with some true evil intent or stain upon their soul are able to solve the puzzle box, and once they have begun the sequence, depending on their intent, the box may continue to solve itself, not waiting for inept human hands to complete the cycle.
The box is the key that opens up gateways between our world and Hell across the Schism, "the barrier between Earth and Hell. Only when summoned by a device such as Lemarchand's Box can the Cenobites cross it and only blood and flesh can bring humans across it. One of the film additions is that the box can also be used to create a gateway into hell, and requires a different solution of the puzzle the box contains. This has led to speculation that further puzzles, and further results, might be contained within the box, waiting to be discovered.
The Leviathanic Hell is a maze, a seeming mesh of Escher and Giger in design. It is seen in both Hellraiser, where it is viewed from within, and in Hellbound: Hellraiser II, where it is seen both more deeply from within and from its upper surface as well. It is seemingly endless and only its center can truly be discerned. The only common reference to any maze in the standard mythologies is found in the tale of the Minotaur.
In every film in the Hellraiser saga, this myth is clearly applicable to the storyline. The mating of the power of Leviathan and the bodies of humans result in the creation of the Cenobites, which are the result of a hellish fusion of two dissimilar species. The resulting creatures are then bound to Leviathan's service and into this hell, which is in the form of a giant maze. The sacrifices are lured into the maze by the promise of forbidden knowledge to be found inside the Lemarchand configuration instead of being sent in, but the effect is the same. The sacrifices are consumed by the Lord of the Labyrinth as a form of sustenance and are lost forever to the world at large. In the third film, it is Pinhead who fuses his power into the bodies of human beings to create lesser Cenobites. In the fourth film, a demonic spirit is fused with the recently slain body of a woman to create a living demon of sorts.
Kirsty, the heroine of the first two installments of the Hellraiser series, clearly plays the same role as Theseus in the saga. Not once, but three times does she enter hell, and each time she escapes, thwarting her captors. The third time she enters hell, she goes to attempt to save her father, does end up saving her companion Tiffany and helps aid in the defeat of the Lead Cenobite, who assumes the role of the Minotaur in this instance, and the Chenard Cenobite who is seeking to defeat the Lead Cenobite for control of Leviathanic priesthood. The defeat is a temporary one in the case of the Lead Cenobite, but its semiotic significance in this instance is unchanged by the later storylines. In the third film, Joey Summerskill plays the Theseus role, literally walking into a maze of blood and death to confront Pinhead. In the fourth film, it is the entire lineage of Lemarchand who carry the duties of the hero, and the sacrificial victims they fight to save are all of humanity.
The labyrinth-like Hell is also meant as a visual analogy of sorts, a way of externalizing the inner workings of the human mind. In his first appearance in Hellbound, Dr. Chenard, while doing open-brain surgery, says "The mind is a labyrinth, ladies and gentlemen… a puzzle. And while the paths of the brain are clearly visible, its ways deceptively apparent, its destinations are unknown, its secrets still secrets. And, if we are honest, it is the lure of the labyrinth that lures us to our chosen field, to unlock those secrets. Others have been here before us and have left us signs, but we, as explorers of the mind, must devote our lives and energies to going further, to tread the unexplored corridors in the hope of finding, ultimately, the final solution." In this way, Dr. Chenard demonstrates his desire to understand the true nature of the labyrinth, he is simply unaware that his ultimate destination is the "real" labyrinth of hell. The fascination of a "Renowned Psychiatrist" with this version of Hell also suggests that the real "Hell" of the film may be a reference to the labyrinthine recesses of the human mind.
The Cenobites, who are the demonic assistants to Leviathan, are all like the Minotaur in their creation. Each is the fusion of the power of the Lord of Hell, combined with the body of a human. Each Cenobite is crafted in some manner that represents the evil that colored their soul in life, as evidenced in Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth. The Lead Cenobite, nicknamed Pinhead, was a Captain in the British Army in World War I. Suffering from severe and prolonged shell shock, Elliott Spenser sought a way to feel again, descending deeper and deeper into forbidden knowledge until he was able to purchase the Lemarchand Configuration. Opening it, he was analyzed by Leviathan and found to be of suitable talent and corrupt spirit to become a Cenobite, one of Hell's minions in the service of Leviathan. This cultural revelation of Pinhead's origins revealed a cultural/historical dimension to his theme of pain and sensuality.
In the fourth Hellraiser film, the mythic references to the tale of the Minotaur are much more obvious. The space station upon which Dr. Paul Merchant enacts the Elysium Configuration is called Minos, and the craft in which he makes his escape from the Minos station, after Pinhead and his fellow Cenobites are trapped within it, is called the Theslus, which is but one letter different from the name Theseus, the hero who led the sacrifices out of the maze after killing the Minotaur. The references in this film cement the idea of the entire Hellraiser film series' mythic origins and provide proof of its applicability throughout.
At this time, attention must be paid to Hellraiser: Inferno, the fifth film in the series. This film displays none of the signature mythic support evident in the first four films. The lack of cohesion with the previous films is the direct result of a noticeable lack of participation of any of the main creative minds responsible for the first four films. In the horror film magazine Fangoria, staff reviewer Allen Dart said, "[...] the person who is really in over his head is co-scripter/director Scott Derrickson. His demon-haunted detective tale, while not bad on its own, doesn't belong in the Hellraiser storyline. It's an odd and uncomfortable fit that makes Derrickson, like Joseph, damned from the beginning. The movie starts off OK, but Sheffer, who was good as the dark, tormented Boone in Nightbreed, can't find the same notes here, and is miscast as a dirty flatfoot. While the rest of the cast, including James Remar in an underwritten role, is able enough, the Derrickson-Paul Harris Boardman script never rises beyond what you would expect from a direct-to-video feature. It is a mishmash of ideas that slowly comes apart, eventually unraveling in a lackluster and entirely lame ending." (Dart, 2000)
As stated by Tony Randal and Peter Atkins, in the commentary track on the Hellbound: Hellraiser II DVD, Clive Barker, Randal, Atkins and Doug Bradley (Pinhead) have been friends for some time, and came together to work on the Hellraiser series with an agreed-upon common goal in mind for the films they were involved in. Each understood what type of films they were to be, and seemingly what the nature of the underlying mythos was. It was only when none of the four (with the possible exception of Bradley, who was reduced to a mere cameo role during the film) were allowed any creative contribution to Hellraiser: Inferno, that the mythic underpinnings of the series were wholly compromised.
Barker himself spoke at an interview session at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California, where he was appearing with Ashley Lawrence (Kirsty). When asked why he hadn't been involved with the fifth Hellraiser film, he replied, " The new Hellraiser movie is not a movie I like. I have to be pretty frank it really hurts to say this about another filmmaker's work. It violated for me a lot I liked about the Hellraiser movies. I kept away from Candyman 3. I kept away from Hellraiser 5. Because in both cases I opted to be involved in the process. And in both cases they said we know how to do this better than you. Go away. I mean they said it nicer than that, but that's naturally what you get. That was not from the director (Scott Derrickson) by the way who was extremely nice, but it was from some of the suits at Dimension's who had absolutely no interest in Clive Barker's involvement in a Hellraiser movie. Why would you get Clive Barker involved in a Hellraiser movie? It's painful because I loved making this movie. I loved making the second movie. I had a good time with the third one and then it started to fall apart and the reason it falls apart is because there are certain people who are not creative and are pencil pushers who have absolutely nothing to do with the creative process who think they know better and can do better than I can. The thing about a sequel or sequels is that everybody becomes an expert. Everybody who's seen the other movies all feel 'We know how that's done.' Actually making horror movies I think is still a relatively disregarded craft. That is to say we make horror movies a craft. Making good horror movies is actually kind of difficult. If it wasn't difficult there'd be more of them. (Clive Barker's Official Web Site: Lost Souls, 2000).
It is clear that the fifth film attempted to seize upon the notoriety of the Hellraiser franchise, seeking to use name recognition as a means of insuring a satisfying amount of video rentals. Many reviews stated that the film would have been worthy of some attention without the Hellraiser moniker, and that the film would not have suffered story-wise from the removal of the few scant Hellraiser elements it possessed, but, as Darts stated so clearly, "I'm all for trying to expand on the ideas of a straining franchise, and it's true that Pinhead has a more effective presence when he doesn't dominate the film. But unfortunately, Derrickson's attempt to try a new storyline while curtly and carelessly including a superfluous Pinhead falls flat. The film does have a few interesting moments with the Cenobites, including a particularly cool revamping of the Chatterer, but they play more like deleted scenes from Jacob's Ladder than anything that truly belongs in a Hellraiser film. Unfortunately, after the disastrous Bloodline and now this film, the Hellraiser series is currently hurting worse than Kevin Costner's career (acting or directing-you choose)." (Dart)
Hellraiser: Inferno contains none of the mythic elements present in the first four of the Hellraiser series, and uses only vague and disjointed iconic representations, as well as cameo appearances by Pinhead and other semi-related characters, as a means of suggesting its relation to the core films. Its lack of creative content from Barker, Randal or Atkins, the creative team whose efforts yielded the first four films, separates it from those films used to discern the mythos, and thus justifies its exclusion from the analysis contained herein.
Part III: Contemporary Mythic Analysis
After determining the film's mythic origins, an analysis of the film by the categories of mythic archetypes can be done, and then an examination of the mythic responsibilities as far as the transmission of emotion and moral or ethical messages can be discerned in answering the research question, "What elements of the Leviathanic Mythos, as used in the stories, fulfill the film series' mythic responsibilities according to contemporary mythic analysis?".
The purposes of myth are varied, and this film series does not fulfill them all, but then, no single mythic tale can, so varied are its goals in storytelling. The Leviathanic Mythos does fulfill several of the known purposes of myth, which will be discussed individually, according to their use in the films' stories.
Of the stated purposes of Myth in the Silverblatt, Ferry and Finan text, the Hellraiser series does not fulfill the role of providing a sense of order to those who live in a chaotic world. The films tell of a breach of that order, and suggest that the order itself is illusion, believed only because the truth of the chaotic nature of the ultimate "reality" is unknown.
The series does not fulfill the role of exalting the ordinary as the extraordinary. The films are, by their very nature as horror films, outside the bounds of normalcy, and thus all the characters in the films are abnormal in one aspect or another, thus there is no "ordinary" to be rendered extraordinary. Indeed, the Hellraiser films make the extraordinary seem ordinary after some viewing, because the extraordinary become the status quo for the film's worldview. Promoting the standing social order is somewhat of a mixed metaphor in the Hellraiser series.
While this film does, in its own somewhat skewed fashion, promote the idea that good wins out over evil, it does not truly promote belief in the predominant social structure of our society, since that order is woefully unprepared and impotent to deal with the horrors that arise from creatures and worlds not addressed within its dictates. In point of fact, in the second film, there are actions taken by the Hero character that completely defy the actions the status quo would ever feel are acceptable, but are necessary and performed as a means for survival.
Those goals that are fulfilled by the storyline, spanning the first four films, and even somewhat into the fifth, could be interpreted as a post-modern version of the classical mythic motifs. The series does send clear and vivid messages regarding the remaining mythic purposes as listed previously. These films are clearly meant to inspire awe. The visions of a hell never before seen, the introduction of a mythic deity of evil named Leviathan, the unnatural fusion of earthly and hellish powers in the forms of the Cenobites, and the artifact that is at the core of all four of the main films are clearly so unnatural, so removed from the status quo of our society, that we are meant to feel not only awe, but genuine fear as well. They depict a world where such things can and do happen, which removes the audience from their own world, albeit temporarily, and allows them to vicariously experience another, darker, more sinister world.
In serving the purpose of facilitating self-actualization, the film allows its viewers to see a world where darkness is more enticing than light, but ultimately much more destructive, to self, to family, to society, than any other menace. The evil in the film is there, but is called into the "normal world" by humans who seek this evil, for one reason or another, and through them it is unleashed upon our society. Those of good moral character in the film are few and far between, but end up triumphing over evil through trial and strife, thus allowing the viewer to feel as if they have shared in the ordeal, and come out, cleansed and victorious, on the other side of it.
The films provide meaning in their interpretation of hell as a place that is all around us but cannot be seen, touched or entered except under very specific conditions. They also provide meaning in their depiction of magic, the dark arts, that are present in the artifact that summons and banished the hellspawn and also in the powers of the hellspawn, exhibited when encountering a soul they mean to take back to hell with them (the chains with barbed hooks, etc.) or even those they merely wish to torture upon the surface of our world. These films give substance to the little-spoken subconscious belief in magic, and the more commonly referenced idea of there being a "hell" to which all sinners are sent, although this hell is not the typical hell depicted in the dominant religion.
The Hellraiser films do serve a purpose to instruct, and they do so by putting forth an older myth in new guise. The myth of Pandora's Box is at the core of the film's education of its audience, sending home quite strongly the idea that curiosity is dangerous and that when persons of questionable intent tamper with artifacts or devices they do not fully understand, pain and death are often the end results of such exploratory amusements. There is also a semiotic reference to this myth throughout the Leviathanic Mythos in the nicknaming of the Lemarchand Configuration as simply "the box", a direct call back to the original box opened by Pandora.
When looking at the Mythic Archetypes used in the film, each film must be analyzed separately, for the roles change from film-to-film as the characters grow through their experiences. Even the hellspawn develop through the films, becoming at least more defined and giving the audience a more in-depth understanding of what motivates them, what they desire, what they fear, and what their end goals are. Each film is thus broken down into the different archetypes within them, to assist in the basic definition and demonstration of the character development.
In Hellraiser, Kirsty is cast as the Hero as Lover. She is a young woman, attractive, and looking for love. She seeks affection from her father Larry, her stepmother Julia, and eventually from Steve O'Donnel, a friend of her father's with whom she becomes intimate. She also becomes one of the Victims of the film, which puts her in a position where she must save herself as she attempts to save her father, being Hero and Victim both.
Of the Villains, there are several. The main Villain, according to Barker's story, is Julia, Kirsty's stepmother. She is of the Usurper villainic sub-archetype, seeking to replace Kirsty's mother, but she is also of the Betrayer sub-archetype as well, betraying her husband Larry by sleeping with his brother Frank before their wedding and then helping him return to life after he has been killed by the Cenobites. Then there is Frank himself, another Betrayer Villain, who is seeking to lure Julia away from her husband and her marital vows, playing on her memories of the intimacies they shared and on her lust for a return to that time. Lastly, there are the Cenobites themselves, but they are of the Corrupters villainic sub-archetype, seeking to teach humans the glories of pain, raw sensation, and ultimately corrupting their spirit until they are suitable as a food source for their deity. They are ordered but immoral and completely corrupt of spirit when viewed through the eyes of the status quo societal worldview.
The Shadow Figure archetype of the film is represented by two individuals. The first is the Asian man from whom we see Frank acquiring the Lemarchand Configuration in the beginning of the film, and later in the derelict who is hovering around Kirsty and steals the box at the end of the film, transforming into a skeletal dragon to carry its prized artifact away. Both are seen in subservient roles, yet both have necessary roles to play in the story.
The Mentor is curiously absent in this film, at least in the traditional sense. There is no mentor for the Hero, Kirsty, and she must find her way through her difficulties alone. But in a non-traditional sense, there are two Mentors in the film. The Lead Cenobite serves as a Mentor of sorts to Kirsty, for he tells her only truth and reacts to her questions in a haughty and authoritarian manner, but he does guide her somewhat, allowing her to prove her claims of Frank's escape to him in exchange for leniency. On the villainic side, Frank serves as Mentor to Julia, helping her transgress the inherent social boundaries in order to restore him to some semblance of his former self, that they might resume their former relationship. It is through his urgings and Julia's feelings for him that Frank is able to convince Julia to commit murder for him, luring victims to the attic where Frank is hiding, so that he might consume their bodies and repair himself.
The Anima archetype is present in the two dominant women in the film, Kirsty and Julia. Julia is clearly the harlot sub-type, as the audience is shown her marital and spiritual infidelities with her fiancé's brother and then on into her breaking of her marital vows later on. Kirsty, even though it is hinted that she is promiscuous, is clearly the spiritual guide in the film, and virgin-like, although the virginity assigned to her is more spiritual than physical.
The Threshold Guardian archetype is clearly visible in the Cenobites. They are, even in the surface mythos of the film, the guardians of the portals to hell. One does not enter hell but by their leave, or with their assistance, or at their bidding. But in a way, society itself is also of this archetype, since they are the force that stand between the Hero and her mission to save her father and herself. Their disbelief, demonstrated by the doctors in the hospital Kirsty is taken to, are yet another obstacle that Kirsty must overcome in order to complete her task and achieve her personal victory.
The Herald archetype is also served by the same two figures that serve as Shadow Guardians. Since they are the purveyors of the artifact, the protectors of the artifact, they also serve as those whose role it is to introduce the artifact and all that it brings with it into the world, thus heralding the entry of Hell into the status quo of society.
The role of the Victim is filled by several people as the film proceeds. Julia is the first Victim, having fallen prey to an illicit lust and been led into the realm of the Villain. Kirsty is a Victim because she is the person to whom the evil that Frank and Julia have voluntarily taken part in has fallen unasked. All the men that Julia entices back to the house are a Victim, as she conspires with Frank in order to kill them and allow her dead lover to consume them that he might become more of a form whereby their love could be physically consummated again. But lastly, Kirsty's father, Larry, is the ultimate Victim of the film. He is victimized by both his wife and his brother, and ends up as nothing more than a skin used by his brother to continue trying to corrupt those around him, including Kirsty. It is only through the actions of Kirsty as the Hero that Frank is brought to a type of justice, being tortured and killed by the Cenobites for a second time, and this time being taken to hell for his 'eternal torment'.
The final archetype, the Divine Child, is evidenced only by Kirsty's youth, giving her the vigor, stamina and resourcefulness of the youth culture in our society. Apart from the character of Steve, who is also portrayed as relatively young, everyone else in the film is of middle-age or older, which gives the film a decidedly "youth vs. maturity" subtext.
In Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Kirsty is once again back as both the Hero archetype, as the Hero as Warrior, leading the charge against the Hell crew and their influences on the world, and the Victim archetype, being pursued by the Cenobites and the mortal villains of the tale. But, as in the first film, she is joined in by others in both roles.
The young mute girl Tiffany is also cast as the Hero as World Redeemer archetype, for her ability to solve the puzzled in the Lemarchand Configuration as well as the puzzle of Hell and of Leviathan itself. It is she that figures out how to close the portals to Hell itself that seals the hospital in which she is a patient from the dangers of the Hellspawn. Also, the young doctor Kyle Macrae, the tragic hero of the film, fulfills the Hero as Lover archetype. It is his infatuation with Kirsty that leads him to help her escape the Chenard Institute, but also causes him to ultimately wind up as one of Julia's victims, thus perishing due to his love for Kirsty.
The Villain archetype is fulfilled in this tale three-fold. The first and most obvious is Dr. Chenard, head psychiatrist of the Chenard Institute, and primary summoner of the hellspawn through his use of blood, pain and the Lemarchand Configuration. He fulfills both the Betrayers and Violators sub-archetypes as he sacrifices inmates of his institution in order to bring back Julia through the use of blood, and breaks his oath as a doctor to "do no harm". He brings back to life Julia Cotton, who becomes his ally and a Villain Corrupter archetype as she leads him fully down the path of pain and sensation, into the service of Hell alongside her and the other Cenobites. The last villains are, of course, the resident Villain Corrupters, the Cenobites. The same crew of four are back from the first film, and this time their leader, Leviathan, is also shown, sitting Lord-like at the center of Hell.
The Shadow Figures are in this film are the inmates of the institute. They are shown in various stages of illness and disease, and in various states of bondage and restraint. They are the cattle for the Cenobites, and are oppressed by them as well as by the Institute in which they are confined. No actual aid or assistance given to them is ever shown, only their pain and suffering.
The Mentor archetype is fulfilled by three individuals. Dr. Chenard is technically the mentor to Dr. Macrae, although only in a purely medical sense, as evidenced by the scene in which they are performing open-brain surgery together. The second Mentor is Julia to Dr. Chenard, where she assumes the teacher role in his "Hellish education" as he moves towards Cenobitehood. The third Mentor role is assumed by Kirsty, as she guides Tiffany through the intricacies of dealing with the Hell-crew and assists her in solving the final puzzle of the Labyrinth and escaping Hell itself.
The Anima is embodied once again by Julia and Kirsty, but this time Kirsty's role is more that of the mother than the virgin, being the matriarchal figure when dealing with Tiffany, whom she reacts to like a daughter. Likewise, Julia is still a temptress, but has moved on from marital infidelities to spiritual ones, seducing Dr. Chenard with promises of power and knowledge from beyond the planes of the existence of this world.
The Threshold Guardians are essentially the same as in the first film. The Cenobites and society at large both serve as guardians of the transition between the societal status quo and the plane of Hell, both physically and sociologically. Society, in Hellbound, is portrayed by the inmates of the Institute, who are both part of the local society, and outsiders in the outer society.
The Herald archetype in this film is played by Julia herself. She is the single being that signals the start of the hell-related activity, and is solely responsible for making the existence of hell known to Dr. Chenard, Dr. Macrae and Tiffany. She is the door through which all pass to enter Hell in this film.
The Victim archetype is filled by a true cast of hundreds. Kirsty is a victim of the Cenobites, her love for her father and her gullibility. Tiffany is a victim of Dr. Chenard's lust for the unknown power held within the Lemarchand Configuration and Hell. Dr. Macrae is a victim of Julia's need for blood and flesh. The inmates of the Institute are victims of Dr. Chenard's oath breaking and the Hell crew's influence over him which causes him to feed upon them all. Browning, the patient who suffers severe, painful delusions, that is allowed to maim and bloody himself to bring about Julia's reincarnation, is a victim. And, ultimately, Julia herself is a victim of the base treachery that lies at the center of everything that is Hell.
Finally, the Divine Child archetype is embodied solely in Tiffany. Her entire visage is one of pacifistic helplessness, which brings out the motherly aspects of Kirsty's personality. Tiffany is the youngest player of the main and significant supporting cast, and although aided by Kirsty, she is the person who solves the various puzzles of the film, thus allowing a solution to be acted upon that once again saves humanity from the influences of the Hellspawn.
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, features an almost entirely new cast of characters, with only the Lead Cenobite (Pinhead) returning, although Kirsty is seen through the use of archival tape footage which serves as a flashback of sorts. The Hero archetype in this film is fulfilled by Joanne "Joey" Summerskill. She is a reporter for a local television news station, and by virtue of being in the right place at the right time (or the wrong place, depending on your point of view) is pulled into the Hellish storyline. She fulfills the role of Hero as World Redeemer in that she defeats Pinhead who is, for the first time, truly loosed upon the surface world, freed from the constraints of his Hellish master, Leviathan. By defeating him, she saves the city, and perhaps the world, from the evils he would loose upon it.
The Villain archetype in this film is fulfilled primarily by Pinhead, as he is the main antagonist in this film. This is a change from the first two films where Julia was the main antagonist and Pinhead merely an accomplice of sorts. He is almost wild, compared to his behavior in Hellraiser and Hellbound, inflicting pain and death on anyone and everyone he comes across. He seduces and betrays J. P. Monroe, his ex-girlfriend Terri, and in the end, Joey herself. He also creates his own Cenobites from some of those he kills, thus fulfilling the Usurpers, Violators, Betrayers and Corrupters villainic sub-archetypes. Secondarily, however, J. P. Monroe does play a Villain that falls under the Violators, Corrupters and Betrayers sub-archetypes before he is taken by Pinhead and transformed into a Cenobite.
The Shadow Figure in this film must be Terri, the club-hopping nighttime socialite that Joey befriends and adopts for a short period of time. She is a helpless figure, unable to do anything on her own. She is shown to be addicted to cigarettes, she turns Joey's kitchen into a war zone simply trying to cook breakfast, and she is unable to resist the advances of J.P., even after she has discovered the true nature of his personality. She is weak and unable to defend herself, a slave to all the negative influences society has to offer, and possessing none of the attributes society expects of a proper young woman.
The Mentor archetype is fulfilled by two individuals. First is "Doc" Fisher, an older cameraman at the television station Joey works at. He is her support system for her career, telling her that she is good at what she does, and counseling her to be patient, that her 'big story' is just around the corner. But the more important Mentor is the ghost of Captain Elliot Spenser, the individual who became the Cenobite Pinhead. It is Elliot who counsels Joey in how to defeat Pinhead, his 'evil twin', and return him to Hell where he will once again be under the sway of the rules of Leviathan and no longer able to run amok through her society. Elliot sacrifices himself, allowing himself to be re-fused with Pinhead, in order to allow Joey time to work the Lemarchand configuration and send them both, now once again one entity, to Hell.
The Anima archetype is fully embodied by Joey within this storyline. No other female character is shown. She is cast as both the virgin and the matron in this aspect. Her flashback dream scenes where she attempts to save her father, who died in Vietnam, show her clad all in white, thus suggesting the purity of body and spirit. The motherly aspect is evinced by her adoption of Terri, who embodies the "little girl lost" stereotype fully, combining it with the "bad girl gone astray" stereotype. Joey does her best to keep Terri safe and sound, but Terri's inherent weaknesses lead her into danger and eventually result in her death and transformation.
The Threshold Guardians in this film are the members of Joey's professional circle and society at large. She is blocked at every turn when trying to get information on Kirsty Cotton, and when she attempts to enlist aid in dealing with the situation that has arisen through the Hellish influence of Pinhead, she is ignored and dismissed by those who are unable, or unwilling, to comprehend that their paradigm might not be the only one that truly exists.
The Herald archetype is filled by Elliot. His appearances on the video tape of Kirsty Cotton's sessions at the Chenard Institute, combined with his entrance into her dreams and his manipulation of the radio that convinces her to step through her window into the plane where his Ghost resides, demonstrate that he is the bringer of news, the introduction of things to come.
Again, as is common in this series, those who fill the Victim archetype are many. Terri is a victim of her weaknesses and her trust. J. P. Monroe is a victim of his arrogance and his unfeeling caustic personality. Joey is a victim of her love for her father. Doc is a victim of his trust in Joey, who inadvertently gets him killed and transformed by Pinhead near the film's conclusion. All the people in a crowded, popular dance club become victims of Pinhead's bloodlust when they are slaughtered like cattle. Even Elliot becomes a victim when he is forced to sacrifice himself to a joining with Pinhead once again in order to save Joey and the world.
The Divine Child archetype in this film is somewhat twisted from its normal use in this series. Terri fills this archetype, but instead of the character in this role showing the strength and resilience of youth, she shows a different side of youth culture. This film demonstrates the idea that the youth have lost their way, have lost sight of what is important, and have forgotten even the basest types of knowledge (such as cooking) that once were passed on to them by their parents. They have, instead, sunk into an existence of self-destructive behavior, smoking, drinking, being promiscuous, all of which lead to their ultimate destruction.
In Hellraiser: Bloodline, the archetypal roles are expanded even further, growing to encompass entire generations and in some cases, all human life anywhere. The Hero archetype is fully the Hero as World Redeemer, but focuses not on a single character. Instead, Bloodline focuses on the lineage of Phillip Lemarchand, the creator of the mechanical puzzle box that would become the Lemarchand Configuration, used to summon the Cenobites to the surface of the world. From Phillip Lemarchand in the late 1700's to John Merchant in the late 1990's to Dr. Paul Merchant in the year 2127, they represent their entire family lineage, from Phillip to Paul, in the role of Hero. All are attempting to save the world from the evils of Hell, although John Merchant is merely an innocent bystander, brought into the conflict by his relation to his ancestor, but his son does go on, ultimately, to produce Paul, who ends the threat once and for all.
The Villain archetype in this film has several representations. First and foremost are the Duc De L'Isle and his manservant Jaques, both necromancers and practitioners of the black arts. Both are of the Usurpers sub-archetype, seeking to gain the power of Hell, which is not rightly theirs. The Duc fulfills all the villainic sub-archetypes however, murdering as befitting the Criminals, raping and killing the homeless girl as befits the Violators, breaking his promise to her of food and comfort as befits the Betrayers and finally sacrificing her to allow a demon to walk free upon the earth as befits the Corrupters.
The Duc is shown sacrificing an innocent homeless girl and using her blood and skin to summon up a demon, whom he christens Angelique. Jaques, after Angelique kills the Duc, remains with her for 212 years, traveling the world by her side, aiding in her demonic actions. Angelique herself is the second primary Villain, filling the Usurpers, Criminals, Betrayers and Corrupters sub-archetypes throughout the film. The third Villain is, of course, Pinhead, who returns to Earth, more similar to his presence in the first two films than in the third, and fulfilling the same villainic role as has been established by precedent in the series.
The Shadow Figure of this film is, in all aspects, the line of Lemarchand. Although the heroes of the film, each is oppressed in one form or another. Phillip Lemarchand is oppressed by his society and his poverty, John Merchant is oppressed by the demands corporate culture desires to make on him, and Dr. Paul Merchant is oppressed by those who lack the necessary worldview to understand the true nature of what he is trying to do in creating the Elysium Configuration.
The Mentor figure in this film is vague at best. By all examination, it would seem that Phillip Lemarchand and John Merchant both serve as absent, historic mentors to Paul Merchant as he attempts to solve the ultimate puzzle of how to rid the earth of demonic influences entirely. Since the "historic" portions of the film (the 1700's and 1990's) are shown in flashback, this would seem to indicate that Paul is referencing them as teachers, thus fulfilling the Mentor role.
The Anima is curiously absent from the bulk of this film. Only two characters truly demonstrates any of the characteristics of this archetype. One is Angelique, the demon cast in female form, but since she is truly neither male nor female, all her behavior is as a mockery, a dramatization of femininity. The other is Bobbi Merchant, John's wife. It is through her concern as a mother of their son Jack that Pinhead is able to lure John to the basement of his building and, ultimately, kill him. Other than that, there is little female perspective to this film.
Once again, the Threshold Guardians are society as a whole. In the 1700's, they fail to see the Duc's evil, in the 1990's they fail to see John's shyness and desire to be out of the spotlight, and in the 22nd century, they fail to see the truth of Paul's actions. The status quo balk at every turn, refusing to accept, or even consider, that which lies outside their narrow worldview, and thus not only fail to aid the Hero, but block him at every turn.
For the first time, the Herald archetype is not held by any character, at least not one played by an actor or actress. In this tale, it is the symbol of the Lemarchand Configuration that serves as an iconic herald. The appearance of the box is used as a visual warning that demonic influences are about to be seen and experienced, in all three time periods. The unique form of the box becomes a symbol for the audience to prepare for the appearance of Pinhead, Angelique, or other Villains, as they continue their rampage towards their goals.
The Divine Child archetype in this film is as drawn out and confusing as its use of the Mentor archetype. Throughout Bloodlines, they portray the descendents of the original Lemarchand line as the strength of youth, not in simple chronological terms as society would normally impose upon the word, but in terms of the birth of successive generations as they all move towards the ultimate goal of protecting their world, their entire society, from the machinations of the Hellbound crew.
CONCLUSION
Through this analysis, it has been shown that there is a coherent mythos underlying the primary films of the Leviathanic Mythos of the Hellraiser films. This mythos, although subject to minute variation throughout the film series, is rooted in the classic Greek myth of the tale of the Minotaur and the Maze. The tale of Pandora's Box is also included into the base storyline, allowing for a fusion of sorts between two myths, which is in keeping with the nature of the Minotaur. Elements from both myths are incorporated into every aspect of the series, both visually and in its character conception.
Furthermore, the films fulfill their mythic duty in transmitting the underlying message of the original tales through metaphor that is easily understood by today's society. In each film, we see the basic message that enslavement and sacrifice of innocence are concepts to be fought against, and that the agents of such concepts may entice with promises of power and glory, but in the end, that which is born of evil will turn and produce only evil as its result, and only those who are true of heart and faith have the power to fight against it and ultimately emerge victorious.
Although it is doubtful that it was intended as such at its inception, the Hellraiser film series has provided a mythos, based on classic myths that have stood the test of time. The Leviathanic Mythos, however, may still not be not fully explored. It is this author's sincere hope that such exploration may be done in the future, and will be done with an eye towards the concepts that the films have made clear, and will be true to the original mythic concept that runs so strongly through the first four films of the series.
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