Clive Barker Talks "Hellraiser" Reboot

[karamazov80]

The trailer for this looked fantastic - a return to the franchise' gothic roots and tone - there were even glimpses of the Labyrinth and Leviathan!
Sadly there is no way to watch this in the UK at the moment - how was it? Anyone see it?
Reviews seem mostly positive, a little mixed, but thats the case for the original as well - its not for everyone!

For me, the primary appeal of Hellraiser is the disturbing mood and the Cenobites, and I think the new one succeeds in that sense. The lead actress was also very unconventional in her look and acting ability, which I think worked well in this film. The primary antagonist was appropriately scuzzy, and there were a few scenes that defied expectations in a good way. It wasn't a masterpiece, but very solid horror movie.

 

[Johnny Utah]

The trailer for this looked fantastic - a return to the franchise' gothic roots and tone - there were even glimpses of the Labyrinth and Leviathan!
Sadly there is no way to watch this in the UK at the moment - how was it? Anyone see it?
Reviews seem mostly positive, a little mixed, but thats the case for the original as well - its not for everyone!

There are ways to watch it.

 

[wormlander]

It had some interesting ideas, a couple of good characters and design choices but I kept falling asleep, so there is that

 

[xipotec]

Not incorrect at all.
See Barkers concept artwork for the character.
And in the Hellbound Heart he had a feminine voice.
And to be fair, the actor was born a male, hence why “male like voice and not very female looking”

From the book:
"Its voice, unlike that of its companion, was light and breathy-the voice of an excited girl. Every inch of its head had been tattooed with an intricate grid, and at every intersection of horizontal and vertical axes a jeweled pin driven through to the bone. Its tongue was similarly decorated."

"Frank had difficulty guessing the speaker's gender with any certainty. Its clothes, some of which were sewn to and through its skin, hid its private parts, and there was nothing in the dregs of its voice, or in its willfully disfigured features that offered the least clue. When it spoke, the hooks that transfixed the flaps of its eyes and were wed, by an intricate system of chains passed through flesh and bone alike, to similar hooks through the lower lip, were teased by the motion, exposing the glistening meat beneath."

Doug Bradley , and especially his voice, are decidely male in every way IMO.

 

[R_R_X]

I watched it and thought it was fine, much better than anything after the first 2 movies anyway.

Highlights for me were the new Cenobite designs which I think are better than the BDSM look from the originals, I liked how there's very little fan service aside from a couple of moments props to the director for wanting to keep this as a different entity from the originals, the ending which I thought was nicely done with the rejection of the"gifts" and that hellish but almost heavenly sequence that followed after I think it really encapsulates the nature of Leviathan and Cenobites, finally I thought Jamie Clayton did a very good job as the new Pinhead definitely stole every scene for me.

Unfortunately I didn't really care for any of the characters tho, they kept acting like horror movie characters instead of actual people, like the scene when they're trying to drive away from the mansion after their friend has been marked by the box, they know people just disappear and instead of keeping an eye on her they all just start arguing about which is the right road and allow her to be easily taken, Voight was an interesting concept but kind of failed in execution for me? Felt like he was meant to be a type of Channard character but in the end he's just another victim it seems but there's room to explore that in a sequel perhaps, also there wasn't enough gore, when it seemed like we were about to get a gruesome death it just cut away but what was there was still uncomfortable to watch and the lore around the box left me a bit confused.

Overall I would definitely recommend it if you liked the first 2 movies, it's different enough to stand on it's own and makes want to see more of these version of the Cenobites.

 

[abake]

So this isn't playing on Disney+ like Prey?

 

[R_R_X]

So this isn't playing on Disney+ like Prey?

I wouldn't know, I didn't watch it on Hulu either.

 

[Kebron]

So this isn't playing on Disney+ like Prey?

It's on Hulu

 

[Stront]

From the book:
"Its voice, unlike that of its companion, was light and breathy-the voice of an excited girl. Every inch of its head had been tattooed with an intricate grid, and at every intersection of horizontal and vertical axes a jeweled pin driven through to the bone. Its tongue was similarly decorated."

"Frank had difficulty guessing the speaker's gender with any certainty. Its clothes, some of which were sewn to and through its skin, hid its private parts, and there was nothing in the dregs of its voice, or in its willfully disfigured features that offered the least clue. When it spoke, the hooks that transfixed the flaps of its eyes and were wed, by an intricate system of chains passed through flesh and bone alike, to similar hooks through the lower lip, were teased by the motion, exposing the glistening meat beneath."

Doug Bradley , and especially his voice, are decidely male in every way IMO.

Sorry, I meant that the new pinhead’s actor was born male. Didn’t mind the performance, but Doug Bradley had more presence IMO.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, it was certainly better than some of its predecessors, BUT I prefer the “rules” of the first two movies where the Cenobites were less slasher monsters and only took out those who called to them (if I’m not mistaken - it’s been quite awhile since I’ve seen them)

I did recently watch, for the first time, Inferno, and I appreciated the different, more psychological version.

 

[JAWS]

I thought the first hour was fine. 2nd hour was boring IMO.

The best and smartest decision was keeping some of the original score.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Christopher Young's score is still one of the most beautiful scores I've ever heard. The opening titles are amazing.

I went through a huge Barker phase in 2001 when he worked with Todd on Tortured Souls and again when NECA were making all of the Cenobites...back when NECA had balls.

 

[BeefEaster]

Hopefully someone makes figs of the new cenobites.

 

[xipotec]

Eeechhh:
Hellraiser 2022: 5/10:
Main characters were boring and unlikable. Turning the cenobites into monsters was a terrible move, the entire draw of them is that they take people who actively seek them…..not random
innocents. This ruined basically the whole film and turned it into another, outsmart the smart monster….so silly.

Aside from the cenobites design, this was a boring mess….