Hellraiser (2022) spoiler free review
After years of waiting The Priest of Hell is back. From director David Bruckner (The Ritual, The Night House) this is the second adaptation of 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Baker and a reboot from the cult classic horror film Hellraiser of 1987. This is the eleven installment in the franchise. Plans for doing a remake started on 2006 but it wasn’t until 2018, after the success of Halloween (2018), that the project was finally confirmed.
A young woman must confront the sadistic, supernatural forces behind an enigmatic puzzle box responsible for her brother’s disappearance.
Film synopsis
Review with spoilers!
The biggest question to surface was who was going to portray Pinhead. Until 2013 it was confirmed by Barker that Dough Bradley would reprise his role but he didn’t appeared on Hellraiser: Revelations (2011) and Hellraiser: Judgment (2018) making unlikely his return. It’s not until October 2021, after filming wrapped, that it was finally revealed that Jamie Clayton (Sense8) was casted as Pinhead.
My opinion
I can remember back in 2018 reading about a Hellraiser remake. I didn’t know how to feel about it since we can all agree that for the last 10 years Hellraiser sequels hasn’t been the best ones meaning that a remake could be either a good idea or the worst one. By this time it has been already two films that we didn’t have Doug Bradley as Pinhead, which pop up the big question if he will be returning or if we’re going to have a new Priest of Hell. While rumors surfaced about Pinhead being portrayed by a woman is not until October 2021 that it was announce that Jamie Clayton will be Pinhead. Of course it wasn’t a surprise that many people had issues about this but I do remember reading that the plan with this remake, that ended up being a reboot of the original film and the second adaptation of the novel, was to be more faithful to it. Meaning that for anyone who read the book it wouldn’t be an issue that a woman portrayed the role. With the film been officially released in Hulu on October 7 of 2022 we can all see that the Hellraiser franchise has a chance of a good returning.
While the film makes a big creative difference, compared to the original story, still makes a decent adaptation of one of the most iconic horror villains. The film does use some CGI, but they used practical effects creating an accurate version of the Priest of Hell that quickly became the face of the franchise. My biggest concern was the voice, which is one of the most important details of the character, but I do believe that Jamie Clayton did a really good job with that. Throughout the film the original score can be heard giving that nostalgic hint that is expected in adaptations of cult classic films.
Unfortunately, the changes that were made aren’t enough to create a better version of this story. The plot itself feels boring and the new characters aren’t interesting enough to feel even sorry for them. Taking those details aside the film is able to bring a new aspect to the puzzle box, that changes form and displays different combinations, and the villains leaving the audience wanting more. Personally I believe that a sequel with a different and more interesting story could work better since the cenobites are indeed the best part of the film and it would be a shame not seeing them again.