A take on Clive Barker’s 1987 horror classic where a young woman struggling with addiction comes into possession of an ancient puzzle box, unaware that its purpose is to summon the Cenobites.
I am a big fan of the first two Hellraiser movies, and, truth be told, even the silliness of the third film was endearing enough that I would include it with parts one and two. But just barely. “Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth” was reminiscent of “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master” in that the scariness of the preceding films were thrown out in favor of more humorous one-liners and exaggerated kills, and for each franchise, the more films they made, the worse they became. Eventually, Wes Craven returned in top form to direct “New Nightmare” in 1994 and made Freddy scary again. The same can be said for Hellraiser; after many silly sequels, the producers have decided to start over, and pretty much reboot the original film and have done a commendable job in the process.
This time, we are introduced to Riley (Odessa A’zion), a young woman struggling with drug addiction who is trying to go straight. Her boyfriend Trevor (Drew Starkey), whom she met in recovery, informs her that he is in charge of an empty warehouse downtown that belongs to a billionaire who mysteriously disappeared and left a crate of ample size behind. Both desperate for money, she agrees to go with him, but when they open the container, they are disappointed when its only contents are that of an old puzzle box. Intrigued by the box, Riley takes it with her and starts playing with it until she unlocks part of it, and strange things begin to occur. Later that evening, realizing that Riley is doing drugs again, her brother Matt (Brandon Flynn) kicks her out of his apartment. Shortly after, he feels terrible for doing so and tracks her down in a nearby playground, passed out after swallowing some pills.
When he picks up the puzzle box, a large blade extends outwards, cutting his hand, thereby calling the Cenobites, extra-dimensional, sadomasochistic demonic entities tasked with capturing the person who opened the box and taking them back to hell, where they submit them to extreme physical torture. Although Riley unlocked the box, she passed out before completing the last step, and when Matt picked it up, his blood was drawn. The Cenobites take him to hell but coming out of her drug-fueled stupor, Riley encounters Pinhead (Jamie Clayton), the leader of the Cenobites. Fully aware she opened the box oblivious to its significance, she gives her two options; offer up two more souls, or she will be next.
Along with her boyfriend Trevor, her brother’s boyfriend Colin (Adam Faison), and their friend Nora (Aoife Hinds), the group researches the billionaire owner of the warehouse and puzzle box. His name was Voight (Goran Visnjic), and he was a sadistic pain fetishist who owned a large house on the East Coast. They make their way to the location, but once they enter, it automatically goes into lockdown, trapping them inside. With paintings and drawings referring to the Cenobites strewn around the building, they must try to decipher their meanings before Pinhead returns to take them all to hell.
The new “Hellraiser” is comparable to the first two movies in as much as it retains an overall sense of seriousness and blood and gore that gradually began to dissipate with every subsequent sequel. As I sat down to watch the film, I half expected a watered-down experience, seeing that Disney partly owns Hulu, but I was pleasantly surprised when the movie didn’t shy away from any of its customary violence or bloodshed. The new Pinhead, played by actress Jamie Clayton, is evil personified; she moves slowly and methodically, her appearance striking fear into whomever she is approaching. I know some die-hard “Hellraiser” fans are not happy with the producers changing Pinhead from a male to a female, but when Clive Barker wrote his 1986 novella ‘The Hellbound Heart,’ which the 1987 “Hellraiser” movie was based on, Pinhead was described as “an androgynous being with a feminine voice,” so the producers are realizing Clive Barker’s original vision.
I can see more sequels on the horizon, and hopefully, they will retain the same intensity and unsettling personification on display here. The film also retains some of composer Christopher Young’s original score for the first movie, especially the HELLRAISER THEME that has been prevalent in pretty much every outing since the first, and when Pinhead utters those legendary words, “We have such sights to show you,” I got goosebumps as I thought this new iteration would update everything and go off in a completely new direction, excising all of Pinhead’s most memorable quotes. If you are a fan of the Hellraiser series, you should enjoy this latest entry, but even if you’re not, it might turn you into one.
Available to stream exclusively on Hulu Friday, October 7th
