These beings have been identified as a type of demon, created from the souls of mortals who have given into forbidden hedonistic and often disturbing forms of pleasure.
But the Cenobites are neither angel nor demon, regardless of the attributes they share in the first book or film. They do not correspond to the hierarchy of the Testaments, nor Gnostic scrolls. Pinhead is not the leader of The Order of the Gash, only a small nail in its architecture.
The Cenobites are extra-dimensional beings who are mutilated and brainwashed into torturing humans for all eternity in the Labyrinth. All Cenobites were once human, with the exception of Angelique, the daughter of the demon god Leviathan.
In the script for the original film, Barker describes Pinhead and the other Cenobites as "demons" in his notes; the character himself, however, upon capturing Kirsty Cotton, describes himself and his fellow Cenobites as "explorers in the further regions of experience. Demons to some; angels to others".
Leviathan, also known as the God of Flesh, Hunger and Desire, is the overarching antagonist of the Hellraiser franchise. It is the "deity" residing inside the extra-dimensional world known as the Labyrinth who is the overlord ruling the Cenobites, including their masters Pinhead and the Engineer.
Within the first film, a Cenobite was portrayed as a neutral being that was neither good nor evil—as they had quoted themselves they were "demons to some, angels to others" and they were immensely intelligent and brainy creatures who (while repulsive) also displayed an unsettling grace.
Freddy is a member of the Cenobite council and the rival of Laughing Jack. He is also the most feared and dreaded enforcer of Zalgo, even more so than Pinhead. Freddy is played by Robert Englund.
Judgment is the first Hellraiser film to include heaven in its mythology. According to Tunnicliffe, he took influence from The Scarlet Gospels, stating "I am in no way religious, but if you are writing a story that acknowledges the existence of Hell, then you have to acknowledge the existence of Heaven.
Candyman is a Cenobite. Both stories which Hellraiser and Candyman are based off of are by Clive Barker. Each character only causes mayhem when they are summoned. To top it off all they know after their deaths are pain and pleasure.
In in the original text, the Cenobites are unnamed and are described as asexual beings who have been marred and modified so horribly, they bear little resemblance to the human form. Barker is surprisingly vague in describing the Cenobites in great detail.
cenobitic monasticism, form of monasticism based on “life in common” (Greek koinobion), characterized by strict discipline, regular worship, and manual work. This communal form of monasticism exists in a number of religious traditions, particularly Christianity and Buddhism.
The Hellraiser franchise revolves around a mysterious puzzle box with the ability to summon a group of extra-dimensional demons known as the Cenobites. These beings are former humans warped by their own ambitions into sadomasochistic abominations that can no longer distinguish between pain and pleasure.
Hellraiser was initially banned in Ontario by the Ontario Film and Video Review Board. By a 3-2 majority vote, the film was deemed "not approved in its entirety as it contravenes community standards". It was banned because of its "brutal, graphic violence with blood-letting throughout, horror, degradation and torture".
Spanning several generations, this final bloody entry in Clive Barker's horror tour de force acts both as prequel and sequel to the original Hellraiser films.
The original book that it's based on, The Hellbound Heart, was suggestive of a female Pinhead, and the comic books also explored the idea. There's also plenty of fan art, wonderful works that all theorized the possibility of Pinhead as a woman. So it only felt appropriate to us.
The use of nails and pins evolved out of one of Barker's short stories called The Forbidden, which featured a board hammered with nails at specific intersections of laid out squares. This aesthetic would resurface for the Pinhead character years later.
Edward, then, is a Cenobite, which is why he has scissors instead of hands, he's so pale, and he wears black leather clothes that look very similar to the ones the Cenobites usually wear.
In the mythos, only those who are so obsessed with solving a puzzle that can open a gateway (or 'Schism') can be considered. Those who have a taste for the outermost reaches of human experience and have no moral limitations for what they will do to achieve those desires would even be considered to become a Cenobite.
Freddy is a dream-demon who attacks his victims from within their dreams. He is commonly identified by his burned, disfigured face, red-and-green striped sweater, brown fedora, and trademark metal-clawed brown leather glove only on his right hand.
While Pinhead isn't a villain in the first two Hellraiser movies — he's a neutral representative of Hell — he switches to being an unequivocal, full-blown bad guy in Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth. This is due to Pinhead being killed by Dr.
This is Doctor Channard, the main antagonist of Hellbound: Hellraiser II. He has an insatiable thirst for the Lament Configuration and all it promises. So intense is his desire he literally descends to hell to obtain it. He slaughtered Pinhead and his three cenobite cohorts in about six seconds.
In the first Hellraiser movie, Pinhead said as much when he arrived and announced they will "tear your soul apart." This Hellraiser quote was not a threat by these demonic beings.
