Before looking at the new part for a long time (35 years!) Hellraiser horror movie franchise, I did my due diligence. I’ve rewatched all 10 previous films, from the famous 1987 original and its 1988 sequel through two theatrical runs and six later live shoots. Throughout the marathon, I took a lot of notes, taking care to follow the characters and plot developments through their many permutations.
No, just kidding!
Hellraiser
Key point
You can’t keep a good Pinhead.
Sure, I watched the first two movies of the day, and maybe even caught 1992 Hellraiser III: Hell on the earth and in 1996 Hellraiser IV: Bloodline. But when the series switched to home video, I was overjoyed, not the kind of person who prides himself on having a treasure trove of horror memorabilia in his basement. So for all of you Hellraiser the fans out there, sorry.
For those who haven’t started, the series, originally based on the novel by Clive Barker Heart to hell (the writer also directed the original film), which revolves around a mysterious puzzle box known as the “Lamentation Configuration”, a kind of diabolical Rubik’s Cube that acts as a portal to sadistic creatures, belonging to the another world called Cenobites.
The Cenobites (am I the only one whose name conjures up images of sugary delicacies bought in shopping malls?), have the habit of brutally torturing any human in misfortune. when summoning them. Clearly dedicated to exploring the thin line between pleasure and pain, they’ll fit right in at S&M clubs from the ’80s.
The leader of the Cenobites is the iconic horror character Pinhead, having previously played in most of the films by British actor Doug Bradley. For this remake/reboot/sequel (with a few of each), Jamie Clayton (Sense8) made history as the series’ first female Pinhead. How this will play out for fans is anyone’s guess, as most horror movie buffs aren’t exactly known for their dedication to gender equality. (Just ask anyone related to women Ghostbusters reboot.) But the character originally conceived by Barker is androgynous, and Clayton, her voice has been electronically altered, making for a terrifying, forbidden, and even fitting character. voluptuous. Assuming that you don’t mind the fact that her outfit consists of her own peeling skin and you know, she has big pins sticking out of her head.
The plot, which spans over two hours, revolves around Riley (Odessa A’zion), a young woman with addictions who impulsively follows her boyfriend Trevor (Drew Starkey)’s plan to steal a unit. storage. The only item they found there was a puzzle box, which had an unfortunate tendency to stab the user’s hand. All hell really breaks down when that happens, starting with the disappearance of Riley’s brother, Matt (Brandon Flynn).
Riley and Trevor, with the help of her boyfriend Matt (Adam Faison) and roommate Nora (Aiofe Hinds), try to get to the bottom of the mystery, which leads them to creatures like The Chatterer, The Whisperer, The Gasp , among others, as well as Pinhead. There’s also a corrupt billionaire (Goran Visnjic, enjoyable to chew on the scene) who freed the Cenobites in the first place, and his shady lawyer (Hiam Abbass, Heir, Ramy).
The new one Hellraiser looks great (at least from what you can see of it, it’s awfully dark), boasts a visual style commensurate with the relatively large budget and talent of director David Bruckner, who, reviews about this and recently House at nightis rapidly establishing himself as a respected horror filmmaker.
The script, written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski (veteran writer David S. Goyer gets the story’s credit), proved less interesting, never bothering to completely rip off the multi-character set. its definite form. Of course, considering what’s to come to most of their flesh, that’s not necessarily a huge downside.
Fans will be relieved to know that this Hellraiser certainly doesn’t skimp on gore, providing enough organs and flesh to satisfy the most bloodthirsty viewers. When a pin goes into someone’s skin, you sometimes even see damage from within, as if to provide an educational anatomy experience for young audiences looking to enter the profession. y. Notable in particular are the imaginative creature design and makeup (which made its cinematic predecessors go up in smoke), the immersive sound design and the effective creepy soundtrack, which combine familiar theme from Christopher Young’s original.
