As a first step in directing a film, Clive Barker authored the novella “The Hellbound Heart.” The creatures he produced in his art were not only unique, but they also wowed the audience. His extradimensional Cenobites were then adapted into a ten-film series and a slew of comic books, each of which featured fresher and more horrific Cenobites than the one before it.
While Marvelous Films has done multiple videos about the various varieties of Cenobites from movies and beyond, we thought we’d take a look at what these extradimensional monsters are, how they came to be, and the various ways to kill a Cenobite in this video. You must keep in mind, though, that what is dead may never die.
What Is A Cenobite?
The Cenobites are beings from an extradimensional realm and were introduced by Clive Barker in his novella The Hellbound Heart. Since then, they have found references in ten films and have also become pop culture icons. Cenobites are essentially extradimensional humanoids whose purpose of existence is to test the limits of the human nervous system in general and the boundaries of pleasure and pain, in particular.
Cenobites are epitomes of sadomasochism and come with chains, stitches, hooks, etc. Although they reside in a Labyrinth ruled by a devil-like entity called Leviathan, they can enter Earth through portals of time and space that are opened when certain unearthly objects are used. The most common of these objects is the Lament Configuration, which looks like a puzzle box. Once this puzzle is solved by a human, the Cenobites present themselves, and if the summoner is deemed worthy, he or she is dragged to the hell-like Labyrinth and transformed into a Cenobite.
But the bigger question that arises is, why would someone solve the puzzle and summon these nasty minions of gruesome death? Well, although the Lament Configuration could be solved unknowingly by an unfortunate person, it is mostly solved by people looking for otherworldly sensations of pleasure. Naturally, while some dub the Cenobites as angels of pleasure, the others address them as demons of pain.
The term Cenobite itself means “common life” in Latin, and it was in prominent use during the Medieval Age and the Dark Ages to describe monastic life within several monotheistic religions and cults. In this capacity, the Cenobites serve as priests devoted to Leviathan, who sometimes leave the Labyrinth to connect with the outside world.
So, you see, just like the monks live inside the monastery and often come out to interact with the outside world and share their convictions and beliefs, the Cenobites also act as a religious order and present themselves to humans who are worthy of learning the Cenobite way of life. Although the Cenobites display varying degrees of philosophical motivations in what they do, their basic tenets remain unchanged.
Serving as followers of otherworldly hedonism, they experience a constant supernatural pleasure. This pleasure exists in two forms, but both ultimately culminate into a single stream of sensation. Firstly, they endure eternally excruciating pain through modes of torture that transcend beyond imagination and modern laws of physics.
Secondly, they experience an ever-expanding sensation of pleasure which grows to the point that the boundaries between pleasure and pain blur out and ultimately dissolve entirely. Furthermore, Cenobites do not display any sense of morality or immorality, so much so that they have their own vision of right and wrong.
Apart from Leviathan, the only thing they are faithful to is their devotion and love for their craft. However, there have been various examples in the comics where the Cenobites have gone rogue and started a rebellion against Leviathan. But most of these rebellions were essentially short-lived and inconsequential because Leviathan sent the best of his Cenobites to fight and destroy the rogues.
How To Create a Cenobite?
As mentioned earlier, whenever a human being solves one of the puzzle boxes designed to open the schism in time and space, a group of Cenobites appear before the summoner to seal their fate. Now, if Leviathan believes that the person who solved the puzzle box is worthy of being transformed into a Cenobite, the person is taken to Hell’s Transformation Chamber, where the Engineer Cenobite begins its grotesque operations. This transformation is beyond an excruciatingly painful experience because of the multitude of mutilations.
Also, the blood of such people is drained out completely, only to be replaced by a blue liquid. One can not even imagine the toll that this procedure would take on a victim, and naturally, the sheer magnitude of pain leaves the victim bereft of all memories from their human lives. When the Engineer finishes working upon its subject, only a twisted and demented caricature of the original subject is left behind.
But the newly formed Cenobite often bears a perverted aspect of their original persona. For instance, a doctor transformed into a Cenobite may have surgical tools impaling or protruding from their body parts. To sum it up, we can say that a Cenobite is created in Hell, upon Leviathan’s wishes. However, Cenobites can create pseudo-Cenobites here on Earth, if they wish to do so. For instance, Pinhead created a group of pseudo-Cenobites such as Pistonhead, Barbie, Camerahead, etc., in the 1992 film “Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth”.
But what if the person who solved the Lament Configuration is deemed not worthy of being transformed into a Cenobite? Well, in that case, the victim would simply be taken to the Labyrinth, where they would spend the entirety of their lives in pain and torment. In a few cases, they are killed by Cenobites on the spot.
However, it’s better to say that the victim is partially destroyed instead of killed because they can sort of be resurrected. Upon the said destruction, the human’s soul leaves an invisible opening or psychic tear in the artifacts and the vicinity.
When blood is poured into these openings, the victim comes back in their physical form, albeit in a deteriorated form. Upon further consumption of human flesh and blood, they can restore their original form. This is in line with what happened with High Priest Imhotep in the 1999 film “The Mummy”.The only way to avoid either of these painful fates is by unsolving the Lament Configuration, just like Joey Summerskill and Kirsty Cotton did in the films.
How Can A Cenobite Be Killed?
Mortal weapons are practically useless against Cenobites, but they can be slain using unearthly weapons, Cenobite weapons, God, or Leviathan himself.
Leviathan can kill a Cenobite
Being the supreme overlord of his Labyrinth and the master of Cenobites, Leviathan himself can kill any Cenobite that he didn’t seem worthy of serving him any further. In this capacity, he could either do the deed himself or send his minions led by his Hell Priest, Pinhead.
Humans can kill a Cenobite
In “Hellraiser 4”, we learn that Phillip LeMarchand, or the creator of the Lament Configuration, wished to create the Elysium Configuration or the anti-Lament Configuration. Many years later, his descendant, Dr. Paul Merchant, managed to create the Elysium Configuration in the form of a space station.
When Pinhead and his group came to the space station, they killed most of the personnel present there, but Dr. Merchant managed to escape the station. He then activated the Elysium Configuration, which trapped the Cenobites inside and destroyed the portal between Hell and Earth, thus trapping and killing the Cenobites.
Apart from this, the Hellraiser comics detail another way humans can employ to kill Cenobites. Leviathan held his sister and goddess MorteMamme captive in an egg-shaped tomb. Trapped and without any chance of escape, she summoned humans and gave them powers to fight the Cenobites and free her.
These great warriors would be called Harrowers. In retaliation, Leviathan ordered Cenobite The General to create a team of six, who would fight the Harrowers. The Harrowers were given special powers that were necessary to kill Cenobites. Furthermore, MorteMamme created a creature called the Ovid that helped the Harrowers in their struggle.
God – By Transforming a Cenobite into human or in other ways
I mean, come on, when God decides to do something, is there any way it can not be done? Naturally, God can also kill Cenobites in many ways, one of which was hinted at in the 10th installment of the franchise. In “Hellraiser Judgement”, Pinhead messed up with one of God’s more elaborate and mysterious plans. Naturally, God kinda got pissed with this meddling and expelled Pinhead from Hell, while also transforming him into a mere mortal. In this capacity, Pinhead would not only grow old like a human but he could also be mortally wounded and killed by mortal weapons.
Cenobites can Kill Cenobites
It’s not difficult to assume that when Cenobite weapons can kill Cenobites, Cenobites themselves can also kill their brethren. In the comics titled “HellraiserNightbreed: Jihad”, a Cenobite named Alastor created his own group of Cenobites called Alastor’s Gash and retaliated against Leviathan and his minions. Leviathan wouldn’t agree to such disobedience and sent Pinhead and Chatterer to take down Alastor’s Gash. While four of them were killed, the fates of the other two are unknown.