Cenobite (Hellraiser)
Encyclopedia
| Hellraiser characters | |
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| Cenobites | |
| In-story information | |
| Race: | Former humans |
| Primary location: | "The Labyrinth"/Hell Hell In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations... |
| Leader: | Pinhead Pinhead (Hellraiser) Pinhead is a fictional character from the Hellraiser series. Created by Clive Barker and portrayed by Doug Bradley, Pinhead is a prominent figure in the series, mostly featured as the main antagonist.... |
| Development information | |
| Creator: | Clive Barker Clive Barker Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer... |
| First appearance: | The Hellbound Heart The Hellbound Heart The Hellbound Heart is a horror novella by Clive Barker, first published in November 1986 by Dark Harvest in the third volume of their Night Visions anthology series, and notable for becoming the basis for the 1987 movie Hellraiser and its franchise... |
| Last appearance: | |
The Cenobites are extradimensional beings who appear in the works of Clive Barker
Clive Barker
Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...
, including the novella The Hellbound Heart
The Hellbound Heart
The Hellbound Heart is a horror novella by Clive Barker, first published in November 1986 by Dark Harvest in the third volume of their Night Visions anthology series, and notable for becoming the basis for the 1987 movie Hellraiser and its franchise...
and the nine Hellraiser films
Hellraiser (film series)
Hellraiser is a British horror franchise that consists of nine films, a series of comic books, and merchandise based on the series. The franchise is based on the novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, who would go on to write and direct the adaptation of his story, titled Hellraiser...
. They are also mentioned, in passing, in the novel Weaveworld
Weaveworld
Weaveworld is a novel by Clive Barker. It was published in 1987 and could be categorized as dark fantasy. It deals with a parallel world, like many of Barker's novels, and contains many horror elements....
, in which they are referred to as “The Surgeons.”
The Cenobites vary in number, appearance, and motivations depending on the medium (film, comic book, etc.) in which they appear. The involvement of multiple parties in the production of Hellraiser films and comics (many eschewing the creative supervision of Clive Barker) has led to varying levels of consistency regarding the canonical aspects of their philosophies and abilities. The only constants are that they take the form of ritually mutilated
Body modification
Body modification is the deliberate altering of the human body for any non-medical reason, such as aesthetics, sexual enhancement, a rite of passage, religious reasons, to display group membership or affiliation, to create body art, shock value, or self expression...
creatures with varying degrees of human characteristics, and that that they can only reach Earth's reality through a schism in time and space, which is opened and closed using an innocuous-looking puzzle box called the Lament Configuration
Lemarchand's box
Lemarchand's box is a fictional lock puzzle or puzzle box appearing in horror stories by Clive Barker, or in works based on his original stories. The best known of these boxes is the Lament Configuration, which features prominently throughout the Hellraiser movie series. This was designed and made...
.
Etymology
The term cenobite is a word meaning "a member of a communal religious order"; The Hellbound Heart specifies that they are members of The Order of the Gash. The text also refers to them as HierophantHierophant
A hierophant is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy. The word comes from Ancient Greece, where it was constructed from the combination of ta hiera, "the holy," and phainein, "to show." In Attica it was the title of the chief priest at the...
s.
Concept and design
After being disappointed with the way his material had been treated by producers in UnderworldUnderworld (1985 film)
Underworld is a 1985 British horror film, written by Clive Barker and James Caplin, and starring Denholm Elliott, Miranda Richardson, Steven Berkoff, Larry Lamb, Ingrid Pitt and Art Malik, in which a mad doctor keeps mutants underground. The film was directed by George Pavlou.-Plot:Dr...
, Barker wrote The Hellbound Heart as his first step in directing a film by himself. The book describes a group of sadomasochistic entities who live in an extradimensional realm, where they perform "experiments" in extreme sexual experiences. Although antagonist Frank Cotton believes they will take the form of beautiful women, they appear instead as monsters:
The four Cenobites described in the book each present unique mutilations and modifications: The principal Cenobite has stitches through his eyelids, another had a grid tattooed to its head with jeweled pins driven into its skull at the intersections, the third's eyes are swollen shut and its mouth heavily disfigured, and the fourth (and only female) Cenobite has undergone elaborate scarification to her pubis
Mons pubis
In human anatomy or in mammals in general, the mons pubis , also known as the mons veneris or simply the mons, is the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone of adult females, anterior to the pubic symphysis...
. The fifth, lead Cenobite, referred to as "The Engineer," appears briefly in the book's climax as an average human being whose body glows with intense light when he travels between realms.
After securing funding for a motion picture adaptation in early 1986, Barker and his producer Chris Figg assembled a team to design the cenobites. Among the team was Bob Keen and Geoff Portass at Image Animation and Jane Wildgoose, a costume designer who was requested to make a series of costumes for 4-5 'super-butchers' while refining the scarification designs with Image Animation.
Barker drew inspiration for the Cenobite designs from punk fashion, Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and by the visits he took to S & M clubs in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. Each of the four primary Cenobites from The Hellbound Heart were featured in the film, with appearances based upon their descriptions in the book: The first Cenobite became Butterball
Butterball Cenobite
Butterball is a character from Clive Barker's Hellraiser franchise. He is a Cenobite, a group of extradimensional beings who experiment in forms of extreme sadomasochism as part of a religious devotion to hedonism...
, the second Pinhead
Pinhead (Hellraiser)
Pinhead is a fictional character from the Hellraiser series. Created by Clive Barker and portrayed by Doug Bradley, Pinhead is a prominent figure in the series, mostly featured as the main antagonist....
, the third Chatterer
Chatterer
Chatterer is a fictional antagonistic character appearing in the Hellraiser film series and the only Cenobite besides the group's leader, Pinhead to appear in more than two Hellraiser films. He is a Cenobite, an order of extradimensional sadomasochists who experiment in an extreme form of hedonism...
, and the fourth The Female
Female Cenobite
The Female Cenobite is a Cenobite appearing in the movies Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II and in Clive Barker's comic book sequel to Hellbound published by BOOM! comics in 2011. The role was played by Grace Kirby in the first film and Barbie Wilde in the sequel.-Appearance:Like all...
. The Engineer was drastically altered for the film, taking the form of a giant creature with characteristics of different predatory animals.
Character history
The Cenobites all have horrific mutilationMutilation
Mutilation or maiming is an act of physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage :...
s and/or body piercing
Body piercing
Body piercing, a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn. The word piercing can refer to the act or practice of body piercing, or to an opening in the body created by this act or practice...
s, and wear fetishistic black leather clothing that often resembles butchery garments or religious vestments. The clothing also serves to support their piercings and tools.
In their earliest incarnations, the Cenobites practice, with a religious devotion, a supernatural form of hedonism
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
, manifested through the expansion of sensation to an extremely painful point of sensory overload, and enduring excruciating pain through incessant tortures that transcend traditional laws of physics. They can only obtain access to Earth through an ornately designed puzzle box called the Lament Configuration, which opens a dimensional schism. Their leader is identified only as The Engineer, who in addition to overseeing the Order is also responsible for the transformation of individuals into Cenobites. Their presence is occasionally preceded by a herald
Herald
A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....
, referred to in cast lists as either Puzzle Guardian or Vagrant. As the latter name implies, he most often takes the form of a vagrant
Vagrancy (people)
A vagrant is a person in poverty, who wanders from place to place without a home or regular employment or income.-Definition:A vagrant is "a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging;" vagrancy is the condition of such persons.-History:In...
, offering individuals access to the puzzle box; the Guardian often indicates that the individual's own moral decay foreordained them to encounter the Cenobites, informing his "customers" that the box "Has always been yours."
The religious aspects of their origins and motivations are ambiguous: despite the presence of the word "Hell" in the franchise, the initial entries in the series-- The Hellbound Heart and Hellraiser-- eschew any overt reference or iconography linking the Cenobites to any traditional Abrahamic or Eastern depiction of damnation
Damnation
Damnation is the concept of everlasting divine punishment and/or disgrace, especially the punishment for sin as threatened by God . A damned being "in damnation" is said to be either in Hell, or living in a state wherein they are divorced from Heaven and/or in a state of disgrace from God's favor...
, demonic nature, or Infernal origin; the Cenobites' form of "pleasure," and the realm in which they practice it, is simply so awful that it appears to be Hell to those unable to endure it. In Hellraiser, the lead Cenobite informs Kirsty Cotton that the Cenobites have been identified as both angels and demons by those they have encountered, and that the Cenobites merely see themselves as "explorers." They are completely amoral
Amoral
Amoral may refer to:*Amorality, the absence of morality; for example, a stone, a chair, or the sky may be considered amoral**Specific amorality, the absence of some particular moral standard, principle, code, or knowledge...
, their dedication to their lifestyle taking priority over any notions of right or wrong.
When the series became franchised, the philosophical motivations of the Cenobites began to change with time and medium. Although the film adaptation of The Hellbound Heart (Hellraiser
Hellraiser
Hellraiser is a 1987 British and American horror film based upon the novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, who also wrote the screenplay and directed the film. Hellraiser explores themes of sadomasochism and morality under duress and fear. The film spawned a series of sequels...
) is largely faithful to the novella, its depiction of the Cenobites is slightly more sinister. Notably, the Cenobites in the novella warn Frank that the "pleasures" offered by their realm might be too extreme for him, and initially offer him the chance to turn down their "invitation." The film series makes it clear that, almost without exception, anyone who opens the box is obligated to return with the Cenobites to their realm. Similarly, the climax of the film revolves around the Cenobites' attempting to forcefully take Kirsty Cotton back to their realm after she has led them to their escaped "prisoner," her Uncle Frank; in the novella, the Cenobites leave Kirsty alone after seizing Frank.
As the film and comic books series progressed, the Cenobites—particularly Pinhead—began to manifest traditionally evil and sinister traits. In Hellbound: Hellraiser II
Hellbound: Hellraiser II
Hellbound: Hellraiser II is a 1988 horror film directed by Tony Randel. It draws heavily upon, and was made by much of the same cast and crew as its precursor, Hellraiser.-Summary:...
, the Cenobites' realm is identified as "Hell," although its depiction is removed from most traditional Abrahamic depictions, being presented as a gigantic, three-dimensional maze modeled on the works of M.C. Escher. Rather than Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
, this Hell is ruled over by Leviathan, an abstract, ambiguously sentient god that takes the form of a giant, floating silver lozenge
Lozenge
A lozenge , often referred to as a diamond, is a form of rhombus. The definition of lozenge is not strictly fixed, and it is sometimes used simply as a synonym for rhombus. Most often, though, lozenge refers to a thin rhombus—a rhombus with acute angles of 45°...
at the center of the labyrinth. This could also be an allusion to the views of Thomas Hobbe's book The Leviathan
Leviathan (book)
Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil — commonly called simply Leviathan — is a book written by Thomas Hobbes and published in 1651. Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan...
where he expresses his views about humans being selfish being determined on getting pleasure and avoiding pain. This is supported because the man at the end of Helraiser says "pain or pleasure" as well as the fact that Leviathan is generally seen as a sea monster that contain the gates of hell.
In Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth is a 1992 American horror film and third installment in the Hellraiser series, directed by Anthony Hickox and starring Terry Farrell, Doug Bradley, Paula Marshall and Kevin Bernhardt...
and Hellraiser: Bloodline
Hellraiser: Bloodline
Hellraiser IV: Bloodline is a 1996 horror film and the fourth installment in the Hellraiser series, which serves as both a prequel and a sequel...
all references to the Cenobitic order and their devotion to hedonism were completely expunged. Pinhead was instead presented as a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
, with intent on the conquest of Earth and the subjugation of all humans. A crucial subplot to Bloodline centers on the premise that Hell has undergone a revolution in the past and has abandoned the traditional Boschian
Hell (Bosch)
Hell is a Hieronymus Bosch painting made after 1490. It is currently in the Palazzo Ducale, in Venice, Italy. This painting is part of a series of four, the others are Ascent of the Blessed, Terrestrial Paradise and Fall of the Damned. In this panel it shows the punishment of the wicked with...
concept of itself for a more austere, militant embodiment of pain and torment.
Hellraiser: Inferno
Hellraiser: Inferno
Hellraiser: Inferno is the fifth installment in the Hellraiser series and the first Hellraiser film to go straight-to-DVD. It was directed by Scott Derrickson and released on October 3, 2000....
revised the Hellraiser universe as a morality tale; although they are linked with Hell, the Cenobites are not presented as predatory, but rather as punitive agents tasked with punishing the damned for their sins. Hellraiser: Hellseeker
Hellraiser: Hellseeker
Hellraiser: Hellseeker is a 2002 horror film, directed by Rick Bota. It is the sixth film in the Hellraiser series. It also features the return of Kirsty Cotton, the heroine from Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II...
combines the mythos of the first two Hellraiser films with the moralistic nature of Inferno, as the Cenobites agree to spare the innocent Kirsty in exchange for the opportunity to punish her adulterous husband and his conspirators in a murder-for-money plot.
Hellraiser: Deader
Hellraiser: Deader
Hellraiser: Deader is a 2005 American horror film directed by Rick Bota. It is the seventh installment in the Hellraiser series. Like the previous two entries in the series, Hellraiser: Inferno and Hellraiser: Hellseeker it began as an unrelated horror spec script owned by Dimension, which was...
nominally utilizes the mythology of Hellbound, as well as Bloodline; a descendant of the puzzle box's creator seeks to access the realm of the Cenobites, believing it as his birthright to rule over them and thus achieve control over the "pleasures" they are capable of giving. When the Cenobites eventually appear, though, Pinhead indicates that they are blatantly demonic, instead of the amoral "explorers" he described them as in Hellraiser.
Hellraiser: Hellworld
Hellraiser: Hellworld
Hellraiser: Hellworld, is a 2005 horror movie directed by Rick Bota, based on a short story called "Dark Can't Breathe" by Joel Soisson. Released straight to DVD on September 6, 2005, it is the eighth film in the Hellraiser series and the last to feature Doug Bradley as Pinhead.-Plot:The film...
is a metafilm
Metafilm
Similar to metafiction in technique, metafilm is a style of film-making which presents the film as a story about film production.Examples of films of this type include:* 8½ * Adaptation....
in which the Hellraiser franchise has spawned a popular MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
called Hellworld, and features aspects of the Cenobites derived from many films in the series. The film toys with the idea that the franchise is at least partially grounded in reality, with one character finding a puzzle box that actually functions to summon Pinhead.
Hellraiser: Revelations
Hellraiser: Revelations
Hellraiser: Revelations is a horror film written by Gary Tunnicliffe and directed by Víctor García. It is the ninth film in the Hellraiser film series, and the first entry in the series since Hellraiser: Bloodline to be based on an original script, instead of incorporating series antagonist Pinhead...
returns to the depiction of the Cenobites from The Hellbound Heart and Hellraiser.
Hellraiser comic book series
In 1989, following the success of the Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Epic ComicsEpic Comics
Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s.- Origins :...
began publishing series of comic book spin-offs for the Hellraiser franchise. The comics contained a set of short stories, with Clive Barker acting as a consultant on all of the comics. Epic published twenty regular series comics, from 1989 to 1992.
The comic book series largely adopted a narrative structure similar to The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
with ironic twists to accentuate the impact of the ending, and retained continuity with the second film. However, a series of recurring Cenobite characters were created and a unifying agenda carried many intermittent and continuing story arcs throughout the run. Although Pinhead was one of these recurring characters, his presence was eclipsed by a number of other prominent Cenobites (particularly one known as "Hunger" due to his cachetic appearance) who acted as antagonists and protagonists. In the comics, Hell was depicted as a power working against opposing, humanistic deities in a conflict of philosophies regarding otherworldly concepts of order and chaos. Although never expounded upon by their writers with any definite clarity, the philosophy held by Hell and its god Leviathan is depicted as a militant belief in "order" that finds the humanistic aspects of flesh to be a hindrance/obstacle to it; apparently, suffering is viewed as having a cosmic, universal truth and importance to this order, and the Cenobites' concepts of pleasure and application of it through torture are seen as bringing order to the flesh. The conflict between Leviathan and its enemies are manifested at times as war, propaganda campaigns, or by individual victories characterized by obtaining new victims.
Powers and abilities in the films
The Cenobites possess certain abilities unique to their own individual natures and appearances, but they do possess universal traits but in varying strength. They are separated from Earth by a dimensional rift called The Schism, which cannot be traversed without a dimensional bridge such as the Lament Configuration. They are bound by the pliable physics of their home dimension, which gives them the abilities of teleportationTeleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
and remote viewing
Remote viewing
Remote viewing is the practice of seeking impressions about a distant or unseen target using paranormal means, in particular, extra-sensory perception or "sensing with mind"...
when present on Earth, but they are restricted in their use of it; the Cenobites cannot come to Earth without the aid of the Lament Configuration, and can only remain for the duration of their summoning. Once they have taken the person who has summoned them, they must return. The Cenobites have no reservations about the circumstances concerning the person who summons them, but they can distinguish if the person who summoned them is the one who physically opened the box or if the summoner is merely a tool or an instrument of coercion. The box itself can be solved in two main fashions, one of which allows them to open the gateway from Hell, and a more complex method which can physically open the dimensional gateway from Earth.
Their powers manifest primarily in forms of telekinesis, and can snatch objects from people; but this power is primarily used to manifest lengths of chain from the fathoms of their native realm to ensnare and rend their victims into pieces. The Cenobites have a limited ability over death: victims taken alive can be tortured to the point of total discorporation and reconstituted indefinitely if taken alive, but they cannot resurrect a person who has died by hands other than their own. They have demonstrated near invulnerability to injury and pain inflicted by mortal weapons (from the earth dimension). Further more, it seems that the only thing that can stop them, is supernatural/mytical abilities, and banishment to their native plane. They have also demonstrated the ability to shapeshift in both the comics and later film sequels.
In written works
- The Hellbound HeartThe Hellbound HeartThe Hellbound Heart is a horror novella by Clive Barker, first published in November 1986 by Dark Harvest in the third volume of their Night Visions anthology series, and notable for becoming the basis for the 1987 movie Hellraiser and its franchise...
- The Scarlet GospelsThe Scarlet GospelsThe Scarlet Gospels is a novel by horror/fantasy writer Clive Barker, yet to be released . Clive Barker's twitter has a post from June 18 2010 stating "the 243,000 words of 'The Scarlet Gospels' merely lacks a publisher"...
- Hellraiser Comic Series