New "Hellraiser" recharges dead franchise with sleek, nightmarish facelift

Hellraiser (2022)

There’s probably a very small camp of horror fans who don’t respond much to Clive Barker’s 1987 original “Hellraiser” and the series as a whole (three of which had the fortune of being released in theaters and the following six being made to keep the property rights and going direct to video). Count me in that very small camp, but admittedly, the first three films do boast impressively bonkers and gorpy practical effects (they sure don’t peel flesh off the bones like they used to!) in the service of a lot of silly hokum and highfalutin lore exposition. Now with David Bruckner’s reimagined “Hellraiser,” the punishingly messy slate is wiped clean and starts fresh for more pleasure than pain.

You won’t find evil step-mommy Julia, her skin-free lover Frank, Julia’s husband and Frank’s brother Larry, and Larry’s daughter Kirsty here from Barker’s debut and personal adaptation of his own 1986 novella “The Hellhound Heart.” Instead of a kinky, fleshy gothic fairy tale of carnal desire and suffering, director Bruckner (2021’s “The Night House”) and writers Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski opt more for a pick-‘em-off-one-by-one slasher plot that doubles as an allegory for addiction. So, in a way, this new “Hellraiser” takes the approach of the 2013 “Evil Dead” remake, with a bit of the 2001 “Thir13en Ghosts” remake sprinkled in, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The “Lament Configuration” puzzle box is back, of course, and it’s still a gateway to Hell. Following a cold open where a box holding the shape-shifting cube is delivered from Serbia to the estate of power-hungry billionaire art collector Roland Voight (Goran Visnjic) in Massachusetts, the film cuts to recovering drug addict Riley (Odessa A’zion) and her new boyfriend Trevor (Drew Starkey) having sex. Since Riley has only been clean from pills for six months, her brother Matt (Brandon Flynn) is letting her stay with him, his boyfriend Colin (Adam Faison), and their roommate Nora (Aoife Hinds), but he’s also protective of her seeing someone she met in rehab. Tired of being broke, Riley and Trevor rob an empty warehouse and find You Know What. Riley plays around with the hellish Rubik’s Cube, and anyone the cube cuts with a sneaky blade gets taken. Enter Pinhead (Jamie Clayton) and her sadomasochistic demons called Cenobites, who bleed into the world of the living to collect. Pain ensues.

A grotesque phantasmagoria expertly crafted with care, 2022’s “Hellraiser” resets the series with a sleeker but equally vivid and nightmarish vision. It’s often intense and brutal when necessary to do Clive Barker’s material justice. There’s still plenty of chain-hooking and flesh-ripping, if nothing quite like the singularly revolting sights Barker had to show us. The Cenobites are cool and gnarly in their design (even if, admittedly, they often look like they’re ready for a Lady Gaga concert). Production design is very strong, always looking tactile and atmospheric, and Ben Lovett’s industrial score lovingly reprises Christopher Young’s original theme from time to time. But more importantly, unlike previous entries in the franchise, there’s an untapped depth for some of the human characters. 

As damaged addict Riley, Odessa A’zion (daughter of Pamela Adlon) is compelling to watch and listen to (that voice!), making us give a damn. The hellhound supporting characters aren’t exactly overwritten, but Brandon Flynn, Drew Starkey, Adam Faison, and Aoife Hinds at least make an impression with what they're given on the page (one of them is literally just "the roommate" and then given the cruelest treatment). As for our new Pinhead, Jamie Clayton is thankfully not out to mimic Doug Bradley’s indelible horror icon. Whereas Bradley (who served this franchise for eight movies) brought gravitas and snarling menace behind the tactile make-up, Clayton brings an alluring sensuality to her creepily slow movements and echoey voice. One wishes a gauzy aura didn’t sometimes overpower her otherwise commanding performance under the prosthetics, but the shark-eyed Clayton decidedly makes the role all her own as a hell priestess who will gladly tear your soul apart. Goran Visnjic also makes a mark with a sinister smile as the real baddie, Roland Voight. 

Purists are bound to criticize David Bruckner’s “Hellraiser” for missing certain elements from Clive Barker's source. For my money, Bruckner makes the best possible “Hellraiser” movie he could, all on Disney’s dime no less (does that mean Pinhead counts as a Disney Princess?). This one is a different beast that, depending on where you stand with the material, feels exciting and practically new. Regardless of whether or not this will unlock potential for sequels, this “Hellraiser” recharges a left-for-dead franchise and raises some hell in grand, entertainingly nasty style.

Grade: B

Hulu released “Hellraiser” (120 min.) to stream on October 7, 2022.