Fans of Hellraiser know that the Chatterer could easily carry a movie on his own. Clive Barker’s iconic Cenobite is possessed by a kind of visceral elegance that invites curiosity. His fleshy, disfigured face is mostly kept bare to highlight his most unsettling feature: his teeth. They’re on permanent display thanks to a few small hooks that peel his lips back. It looks like a piece of art framed in gore, an ode to pain. Naturally, this Cenobite clicks his teeth to communicate.
Writer Zac Thompson and artist Gavin Mitchell certainly believe in the Chatterer’s ability to step into the leading role, and they show just how much in their one-shot comic Hellraiser: Resurrections: The Onanistic Ritual #1, published by BOOM! Studios. It’s part of a batch of one-shots that focus on a singular Cenobite each, building towards a new on-going series.
The Onanistic Ritual centers on Jim Kaufman, an angry and pathetic little man that’s fallen into the misogynistic rabbit hole of the digital world only to come across a Cenobite in need of a victim, the Chatterer. Jim, who can be argued is an updated version of Frank from Barker’s original book and movie (The Hellbound Heart and Hellraiser respectively), turns out to be the perfect candidate for this.
Thompson’s script goes for a direct takedown of incel culture, ridiculing multiple aspects of it. For instance, Jim tries and fails at looksmaxxing. He’s obsessed with porn and is a chronic masturbator. He views women as entitled creatures that are actively out to shun him and his manhood. Essentially, he sees himself as a victim in some kind of sex war, and the dark web’s there to back him up on all of it.
It’s the perfect setup for a story about demons that deal in pleasure as a form of torture, whose definitions of punishment hinge on the amount of suffering they inflict at any given time. Thompson draws upon this to craft a story about obsessive pursuits.
On the one hand, Jim nurtures his hatred of women to find the justification he needs to take things a step further. He wants to cross moral lines to get back at the harsh realities he thinks women have imposed upon him. The Chatterer, on the other hand, seeks transformation. He wants to become a superior expression of desire and torment that’s worthy of the Order of the Gash (a group of demonic theologians led by the legendary Pinhead).
Gavin Mitchell’s art captures this dual perspective structure perfectly. By illustrating two distinct realities that reflect each of the characters’ journeys, he gets to play with different interpretations of violence.
Jim’s reality is dirty, opaque, and repulsive, elements that combine for a very pathetic state of affairs. The Chatterer’s looks like a destination tailor-made for unholy pilgrimages. It harbors a grotesque sense of place that has to be endured rather than merely traversed. Mitchell makes sure to populate environments with enough ugliness to differentiate each character’s living environment, and it’s a real treat pouring over them to see how horrifying they can be.
The Chatterer really shines here. His part of the story gives Thompson and Mitchell a chance to really dive into the process of becoming a Cenobite in all its plasma-filled glory. Chains and body parts abound, giving the visuals that signature Hellraiser look. Flesh gets ripped, faces get torn apart, and blood gets splattered. Longtime fans of the franchise will even spot a few cult-favorite Cenobites along the way, especially those who hold Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth dear to their hearts.
Thompson and Mitchell showcase a profound understanding of Hellraiser and the elements that differentiate it from other horror licenses. To channel Clive Barker’s dark energy you have to be willing to go beyond gratuitous violence to get at something different. Thompson and Mitchell not only achieve this, they turn out a macabre love letter to the scariest Cenobite in the Order of the Gash. It’s a shame The Chatterer doesn’t have eyes. I believe he’d enjoy reading The Onanistic Ritual.
Story: Zac Thompson Art: Gavin Mitchell
Color: Francesco Segala, Gloria Martinelli Letters: Ed Dukeshire
BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Kindle
