Pinhead

REAL NAME:

His real name is Elliot Spencer. Once he has changed he is also known as Priest, Lead Cenobite, The Pope of Hell, Dr. Paul Gregory and The Engineer. He is only ever referred to as Pinhead in the 3rd movie and Hellworld. It was more of a make up department nickname rather than something Clive had come up with.

ORIGINS/RESIDES IN:

He is located in "The Labyrinth" (Hell).

BACK STORY:

He was born in 1888. He was an English captain in the British Expeditionary Force. It was during this time that he began to suffer with survivor guilt and post traumatic stress disorder. After serving in world war 1, he became so disillusioned with human life that he began seeking out hedonistic methods until he one day opened the Lament Configuration (a puzzle box) in British India in 1921.He is the leader of the Cenobites (they are former human creatures from an extra dimensional realm, who travel to earth through the Lament Configuration to harvest human souls. They are seen to be highly intelligent and articulate. In their transformation however, they lose all memory of their humanity. In his realm, The Labyrinth, he is a follower of the God Leviathan, who is ruler of the realm. It is here that he tortures his souls through both acts of pleasure and pain.

ENEMY(S):

You could technically say Kirsty Cotton as she is the main protagonist in the first film but he will go after whoever opens the box.

CREATED BY:

Clive Barker

APPEARS IN:

Hellraiser, Hellraiser II: Hellbound, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Hellraiser: Bloodline, Hellraiser: Inferno, Hellraiser: Hellseeker, Hellraiser: Deader, Hellraiser: Hellworld, Hellraiser: Revelations.

PORTRAYED BY:

Doug Bradley played him in all of the movies apart from the last one in which he was portrayed by Stephen Smith Collins (Fred Tatasciore done the voice over in the last movie).

APPEARANCE:

He has a grid like pattern carved into his head with nails driven into the intersections. Clive Barker is said to have taken inspiration from punk fashion, Catholicism and S&M clubs. He also drew inspiration from African fetish sculptures.

HEIGHT:

The actor is 5"10, but he appears taller in the film (this is to make him more intimidating).

PERSONALITY:

He is very intelligent and extremely articulate. H e also comes across as quite evocative, almost like Count Dracula. Although he is incoherently evil, he can also be reasoned with and will even bargain with someone if it is to his benefit. He also sees fit to mock Christianity.

FAVOURITE WEAPON:

He does not have a weapon of choice, however, he is an extremely powerful being with equally powerful supernatural abilities. His favourite method of attack is to summon hook and chains that mutilate his victims and literally, tear them apart. He can also teleport, create objects out of thin air, causing explosions and illusions and even creating other Cenobites.

FAMOUS LINE/QUOTE:

"We'll tear your soul apart!!"

"No tears, please. It's a waste of good suffering."

"We have such sights to show you!"

ANY OTHER MEDIA:

He appears in Clive Barkers Novella, The Hellbound Heart. He has also appeared in many Hellraiser comics and even his own mini-series, Pinhead. His human incarnation, Captain Spencer, also appeared in The Bloody Red Baron by Kim Newman. Clive Barker also wrote another set of Hellraiser comics which were set after the events of Hell on Earth. He is due to appear in Clive Barkers novel The Scarlet Gospels. He has also appeared in episodes of Robot Chicken, The Simpsons, Family Guy, The Grim adventures of Billy and Mandy and South Park. He has made appearances in the films Transylvania Twisted, Stan Helsing, Little Nicky and The Cabin in the Woods. Pinhead was also in the music video for Motorheads "Hellraiser". A reference of him was made in the Bride of Chucky.

POPULARITY:

At the time when Hellraiser came out, Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday 13th were at their peak. Everyone took to the funny madman and the silent psychopath but Pinheads murderous intelligence was hard for people to grasp. Nowadays however, his cult status grew into that of a horror icon. He had a presence on screen that people, despite the fact that they seemed to miss it the first time around, had never really seen since that of the days of Count Dracula. Even though the later films failed to tickle many taste buds, the character itself always remained a firm favourite amongst fans.