Hellraiser is a 2022 American supernatural horror film directed by David Bruckner, with a screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, from a screen story they co-wrote with David S. Goyer. Despite sharing the title of Clive Barker’s original 1987 film Hellraiser, the film features a new story and is not a direct remake or a new adaptation of his 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart. It is a reboot of the titular franchise and the eleventh installment overall. A co-production between Spyglass Media Group and Phantom Four Films, the film stars Odessa A’zion, Jamie Clayton, Brandon Flynn, Goran Višnjić, Drew Starkey, Adam Faison, Aoife Hinds, Selina Lo and Hiam Abbass. (Wikipedia)
Hellraiser effectively kickstarts the franchise from ground zero again. Considering that the last sequel of the previous storyline was only released in 2018, a reboot this soon seems premature. To be honest, we have only seen the original 1987 film and never bothered to follow the countless sequels. The premise of the franchise is intriguing, especially from the perspective of Barker’s novella but perhaps the concept has been maxed out by this time?
Much of the pre-marketing of this reboot centred around the introduction of a female Pinhead. Which is pretty much S.O.P. nowadays in woke Hollywood, hoping to generate publicity by triggering the fans. However, there was not much mileage from that marketing angle. After all, the Cenobites are supernatural beings – so who cares about gender roles in this context? Rather silly. More importantly is the question – is Hellraiser worth watching?
As a streaming horror movie, Hellraiser is serviceable. The characters are bland, the visual effects are weak and in general, the movie is not scary enough. It’s difficult to see how a new franchise can be developed around this pointless reboot.
Watch Hellraiser on Hulu.
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