Tuesday 17 October 2017

Hellraiser: Pinhead and other Monsters from Pop Culture



Originally published on Set The Tape

One of the most terrifying cinematic monsters of all was given to us in Hellraiser, returning to UK cinemas this week, in Pinhead. More on him in a minute but we thought with the bald-headed beauty back terrorising people all over again, after doing so for thirty years, that this might be a good time to look at some of the best monsters in cinematic and TV pop culture.

Don’t read this one with the lights off. You’ve been warned!


Pinhead (Hellraiser Series)

Pinhead, also known as the Hell Priest, is a demonic Cenobite, and the main antagonist of the Hellraiser series.

Born a human, he solved the Lament Configuration puzzle during World War One, at which point he was transported to the dimension of the Cenobites and transformed into one of the nightmarish creatures. Pinhead appears whenever the puzzle is solved to torment the living.


Pennywise (IT)

Pennywise is a monster that comes from a time before the creation of our universe, that has come to Earth to feed off the souls of children before hibernating for 30 year periods.

Pennywise has been around throughout history, taking on the forms of its victims fears, though in recent times it often appears as a clown. Whilst its true form is unknowable to humans it does appear as a giant spider-like creature before finally being destroyed.


Pyramid Head (Silent Hill Series)

Pyramid Head may have not been in the first Silent Hill game, but he’s become so synonymous with the horror franchise since that it’s hard to think of Silent Hill without him.

Several feet tall with a knife bigger than most people and clothing made from human flesh, he’s an incredibly opposing sight, whether in a game or film.


The Thing (The Thing)

The Thing is a shape shifting monstrosity that crashed to earth more than 100,000 years ago and remained dormant in the Antarctic since. After being discovered by a Norwegian scientific expedition the alien began to replicate and absorb all life around it, able to perfectly imitate humans and animals.

It’s not clear what The Thing really is, or what it originally looked like, but its ability to hide in plain sight and to take over anyone makes it an incredibly scary monster.


Xenomorph (Alien Series)

The Xenomorph is one of the deadliest aliens to ever grace cinema. The creatures use other living beings as hosts for their young, with the hosts giving certain physical attributes to the newly born ‘chestbursters’, giving the species huge variety.

What they all share, though, is their acid blood, deadly appendages, and their thirst for killing or impregnating anything in their way.


The Gentlemen (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

The Gentlemen are a group of demons that originate from fairytales. They come to a town, steal everyone’s voices, then search for seven human hearts that they remove from their victims whilst still alive.

With their silver toothed smiles, victorian dress, and the eerie silence that follows them everywhere, they’re some of the scariest villains to ever fight The Slayer.


Bagul (Sinister)

Bagul is an ancient Babylonian god that corrupts the souls of children before feeding on them. Bagul lives inside his own realm, able to move into our world through images of himself.

Being an invincible god that corrupts children into murdering their own families, he’s a force that’s hard to fight against.


White Walkers (Game of Thrones)

The White Walkers are an ancient race of ice creatures that control an army of the dead and bring an eternal winter that will end all life.

White Walkers have a host of weapons at their command that can kill a man with one blow, can even kill a dragon, and are immune to all weapons but Dragon Glass and the immensely rare Valyrian steel. Winter is here, and the dead come with it.


Slenderman (Various)

Slenderman began life as an internet urban legend before going on to feature in television and video games. The Slenderman is a very tall faceless man in a black suit who seeks out children to kidnap.

Many forms of the Slenderman myth say that he can cause insanity and sickness in people, teleport, and that he can interfere with video and audio recordings. Beware of Slenderman when you visit the forest.


The Borg (Star Trek)

The Borg are a collective of cybernetic beings from the far reaches of the galaxy. Their ultimate goal of perfection leads them on a quest to assimilate all other races and make them Borg. Using their superior technology they conquer entire civilisations, implanting mechanical devices within the inhabitants and stripping them of their personality.

The Borg are the perfect mixture of zombies and robots, one that makes Star Trek a scary galaxy to explore.


Godzilla (Godzilla Series)

No monster list is complete without Godzilla, King of the Monsters. A giant prehistoric creature that slept below the earth until the nuclear age awoke him.

Despite being a monster, Godzilla often fights for the Earth, waging war on creatures that would destroy all life on the planet.


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