Chatterer

Chatterer
Hellraiser character
First appearance The Hellbound Heart
Created by Clive Barker
Portrayed by Chatterer
Nicholas Vince
(Hellraiser & Hellbound: Hellraiser II)
Mike Jay Regan
(Hellraiser: Hellseeker, Hellraiser: Deader, Hellraiser: Hellworld & Hellraiser: Judgment)
Jolene Andersen
(Hellraiser: Revelations)
Chatterer Beast
Jodie St. Michael
(Hellraiser: Bloodline)
Torso
Mike Jay Regan
(Hellraiser: Inferno)
Information
Aliases Chattering Cenobite
Female Cenobite[1]
Jim (Former life)
The Blind Sadist[2]
Species Human/Cenobite
Gender Male
Primary location "The Labyrinth"/Hell

Chatterer is a fictional character appearing in the Hellraiser film series. He is a Cenobite, an order of extradimensional sadomasochists who experiment in extreme forms of hedonism. His name comes from the constant clicking of his teeth, his only means of communication. He serves the Cenobites' leader Pinhead.

Character

Chatterer is a member of the Cenobites, formerly-human monsters dedicated to exploring the limits of human sensation; these "explorations" take the form of extreme sadomasochism, to the point that it is considered torture by most of those whom they encounter. He lives with his fellow Cenobites in an extradimensional realm called Hell, a gigantic labyrinth accessible only via a puzzle box called The Lament Configuration, which opens a dimensional fissure. While those who possess unique qualities conducive to the Cenobite agenda are transformed into Cenobites upon opening the box, others are subjected to the Cenobites' "experiments". Like his fellow Cenobites, Chatterer has lost all memory of his life as a human before he became a Cenobite; Hellraiser: Hellbound indicates that Chatterer opened the box while still a young boy. No further information for the character and his past is known. A short story written by actor Nicholas Vince, who played Chatterer in the first two Hellraiser films, offers an origin for the version of Chatterer who appears in "The Hellbound Heart". Vince's story, "Look See", claimed that the novella version of Chatterer was a handsome young actor who specialized in off-color humor. A hugely successful, albeit corrupt, actor (who among other things slept with underage women and framed rival actors and his enemies for being communists in order to ruin their careers), Chatterer eventually found the box and sensing his dark heart, mutilated his face to match his inner self and as he was brought into the Order of the Gash.[3]

Like his fellow Cenobites, Chatterer's body has been subjected to an extreme form of body modification and ritual scarification; in Chatterer's case, his face has been severely disfigured and his lips have been peeled back to permanently expose his teeth, which he can only click together as a means of communication. He is a member of the entourage of lead Cenobite Pinhead, accompanying him whenever he is summoned via the box and acting as the group's enforcer, physically attacking and restraining potential victims.

Design

Actor Nicholas Vince lived near creator Clive Barker, who liked his work. Barker suggested they work together, resulting in a collaboration on Hellraiser.[4]:22 As Chatterer, Vince wore a one-piece mask that rendered him blind. A fake set of chattering teeth were fitted in his mouth and were triggered when he bit down. Because of the difficulty in eating and the drooling associated with the design, the chattering teeth were redesigned to be removable.[5] The design was changed in the sequel to give Chatterer eyes so Vince could see.[4]:62

Appearances

Chatterer is first introduced in the novella The Hellbound Heart. Like the other Cenobites, he is identified only by the order in which he appeared to Frank Cotton, as "the third":

Now the third spoke. Its features were so heavily scarified — the wounds nurtured until they ballooned — that its eyes were invisible and its words corrupted by the disfigurement of its mouth.[6]

Along with the other Cenobites, Chatterer takes antagonist Frank Cotton back to the Cenobite realm after Cotton opens the Lament Configuration, expecting to find a hedonistic paradise that will cure his nihilism. Despite being warned that what he finds may not be what he is expecting, Frank willingly goes along with the Cenobites, only to find that—past an initial euphoria—the experiences to which the Cenobites subject him are so intense as to be torturous. Chatterer is later part of the Cenobite contingent that makes a deal with Frank's niece, Kirsty, to return Frank to them in exchange for her own freedom, after she unwittingly makes a deal to return to the Cenobite realm by opening the box.

Chatterer would reappear in the film adaptation of The Hellbound Heart, Hellraiser, in which he was given a name in the film's closing credits. Unlike in the novella, this Chatterer is completely mute, only capable of communicating by clicking his teeth together.

In Hellbound, Chatterer is renamed "Chatterer II" following aesthetic modifications to the mutilations on his face. After Kirsty Cotton reminds Pinhead of his own former humanity, the revelation causes his fellow Cenobites to remember their own former lives and they turn against the newly created Cenobite, Channard, in order to protect Kirsty. Chatterer, along with the rest of the Cenobites, are killed by Channard following a short fight; like the other Cenobites, Chatterer reverts to a non-mutilated human form after he dies – the form of a teenage boy.

Unlike the other members of Pinhead's entourage from the first two Hellraiser films, Chatterer has made appearances in later entries in the series. The mechanism of his revival has never been explained.[7][8] He is the only consistent member of Pinhead's entourage in Hellraiser: Inferno (in which he lacks legs and is called "Torso"), Hellraiser: Hellseeker, Hellraiser: Deader and Hellraiser: Hellworld.

The only films in which he does not appear are Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth and Hellraiser: Bloodline, the latter of which features a dog-like creature with Chatterer's head called "The Chatter Beast". The latest entry in the series Hellraiser: Revelations features a cenobite identical to Chatterer except that it has a pair of visible breasts; this Cenobite has been alternately identified as "Female Cenobite."

Chatterer has most recently appeared in Clive Barker's Hellraiser comic book series for BOOM! comics, where he is identified as Pinhead's page. Midway through the series, Pinhead betrays him (along with the rest of his fellow Cenobites) to Kirsty Cotton as part of a plan to retake his own former humanity. After "pleading" with Pinhead (in the form of clicking his teeth), Chatterer is torn apart by a series of hooked chains.

The Chatterer's origin was revealed in the 2017 short story "Prayers for Desire" written by Nicholas Vince and illustrated by Clive Barker, published by Seraphim Incorporated in the graphic novel Hellraiser Anthology Volume 2.[9] Vince said on the matter, "I'm beyond excited to finally share a story I drafted in December 2012. It's worth the wait, as it's found it's spiritual home beside wonderful illustrations by Clive and amongst superb storytellers."[10]

Fictional character biography

As a pre-teenage boy, Jim frames his mother for the murder of his abusive father and is sent to an orphanage, where he and the other adolescents are taught that they will be useless to society. There, he engages in a homosexual relationship with a boy named Seth and regularly prays to the God of Love for affection. After turning sixteen, Jim joins Seth in becoming a prostitute, in which his physical appearance would often be complemented by his clients, to his disgust. One day, one of the clients asks him what his deepest desire is, to which he replied "To be loved". Later, he is asked again by the client what his desire is, this time replying "To be ugly", believing that people would love him for who he is. The client hands him a Lament Configuration, and he begins to serve who he is told is the God of Pain and Desire by distributing the Lament Configurations to various people. Years later, he comes across a blinded Seth, who was punished by their former pimp for Jim's decision to leave. Jim is told by another one of Hell's servants to make him solve a Configeration. Instead, Jim and Seth engage in sexual intercourse and Seth begins to angrily confess how much he hates Jim during the act. That night, Seth leaves without opening the Configeration and Jim's desire is granted as he is forcibly disfigured by the jealous God of Pain and Pleasure. The story ends with him becoming a Summoning Angel with clicking teeth.[11]

Portrayals

Chatterer was played by Nicholas Vince in Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II.[4]:22 The role of the Chatter Beast in Hellraiser: Bloodline was played by Jodie St. Michael.[4]:139 Torso from Hellraiser: Inferno, and the Chatterer in Hellraiser: Hellseeker, Hellraiser: Deader, Hellraiser: Hellworld and Hellraiser: Judgment were all performed by Mike Jay Regan.[4]:178, 207 The female Chatterer that appeared in Hellraiser: Revelations was portrayed by Jolene Andersen.

Reception

Shock Till You Drop called Chatterer an iconic character that is "simply a badass and incredibly terrifying".[12] Paul Kane describes the character as representing two different fears: that of being eaten alive and dental work.[4]:43

References

  1. ↑ Hellraiser: Revelations - End Credits (Film). Dimension Films. 18 October 2017. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ↑ Percival, Nick (2017). Hellraiser Anthology Vol. 1 - "The Blind Sadist". Seraphim Incorporated.
  3. ↑ Look, See by Nicholas Vance
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kane, Paul (2013). The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9781476600697.
  5. ↑ Timpone, Anthony (1996). Men, Makeup & Monsters: Hollywood's Masters of Illustion and FX. Macmillan Publishers. p. 170. ISBN 9780312146788.
  6. ↑ Barker, Clive (1991). The Hellbound Heart. London: Fontana. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-00-647065-6.
  7. ↑ Tunnicliffe, Gary. "Leviathan's Lamentations." Web, 1999.
  8. ↑ Shapiro, Mark. "Tales of the Miramax Association." Fangoria Magazine, January 2003. No. 219
  9. ↑ "Comic Book 'Hellraiser: Anthology – Volume 2' Will Include Chatterer Origin Story!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
  10. ↑ "Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Anthology Getting a Second Volume". Dread Central. Archived from the original on 2017-07-03. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  11. ↑ Vince, Nicholas (2017). Hellraiser Anthology Vol. 2 - "Prayers for Desire". Seraphim Incorporated.
  12. ↑ Nicol, John (2016-01-15). "10 HELLRAISER Cenobites Ranked From Worst to Best!". Shock Till You Drop. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
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