Behind the Monsters

A film shot in 21 days changed the landscape of horror.

The genre's first black slasher showed up in 1992.

What started as a nasty spin on 80s consumerism flourished over three decades into an unlikely progressive horror property that refuses to get back on the shelf.

In 1984 Wes Craven saw the slasher boom filling screens and took it to the next level by leaving reality behind. Other slashers carved through teen bodies; Freddy invaded their minds.

The creation of a machete-wielding avatar of 1980s morality.

Emerging from a low budget independent film, this character who was simply called "Lead Cenobite" would become the undeniable symbol of pleasure and pain and the icon of the Hellraiser franchise.