Internal Inferno: Pain and Pleasure and the Hellraiser Movies

A comprehensive discussion of Clive Barker’s 1987 classic Hellraiser – then all nine sequels – featuring Dylan, Sheldon, and Will, plus an interview with Peter Tupper, a cultural historian of BDSM, who provides some fascinating insight into the traditions and aesthetics channeled by the movies. The boys talk about Barker, the series' tortured production history, and the themes of the films, exploring the relationship between pain and pleasure, desire and disgust, and why uncomfortable activities – like watching scary movies – can feel so good. After analyzing and comparing every last entry, we eventually get three separate ranked lists reflecting three different perspectives on one of horror’s most beguiling and unclassifiable franchises.