To keep things brief, the Hellraiser reboot brings new life to the franchise, with fantastic looking Cenobites, some great sets, a nostalgic soundtrack, and a narrative with clever twists. However, the film is nowhere near as gruesome as its predecessor, and lacks any real scares, while the anti-climatic finale will inevitably leave you wanting more.
Expanding on the above summary, Riley (Odessa A'zion) is a recovering addict with serious financial issues, whose relationship with unreformed addict Trevor (Drew Starkey), all but guarantees her self-destruction. When he enlists her help to break into a secure shipping container, owned by wealthy sadist Voight (Goran Visnjic), they stumble upon the infamous Lament Configuration, the backstory of how it came to be locked away being loosely revealed overtime.
After inadvertently solving the first part of the puzzle box, the blood of Riley's brother, Matt (Brandon Flynn) is absorbed into it, soon resulting in his disappearance. Following this, Riley experiences visions of the Cenobites, who urge her to bring them sacrifices for their own twisted ends. In need of help, Riley convinces Trevor to assist, while teaming up with her brother's boyfriend, Colin (Adam Faison), and friend Nora (Aoife Hinds), in a desperate attempt to uncover what has happened to her brother.
Unlike some remakes that are a glorified rehash of the original, Hellraiser 2022 creates a largely different, often complex narrative, that has the potential to entertain. That said, though I was genuinely surprised by some of the film's twists, you occasionally need to put your brain on pause, with some of these coming at the cost of character's behaving contrary to what has been established in previous scenes.
Moreover, characters are often victims of the 'people making stupid decisions' trope that has been overdone in horror films, in order to advance the plot. In one example, a character thinks travelling alone into a secret room, with no light or means of defense is a good idea. Yeah, that's destined to end well. With this in mind, I often did not feel a genuine connection to the human characters or their plight, which did leave me uninvested in their life-or-death struggles.
Moving on, viewers hungry for the franchise's famous gore effects are going to be disappointed. The blood is definitely toned down, and though we have one scene from inside of a victim's trachea, and another in which a character is torn apart, nothing can compete with Uncle Frank's bloody rebirth in the 1987 original. That aside, it is the Cenobites that ultimately steal the show, and look truly magnificent - but at a cost.
I can't speak for everyone, but Doug Bradley's Pinhead remains my favourite monster - more so than Freddy, Jason or Michael. Jamie Clayton's take on the character is worthy of commendation - she is coldly calculating and manipulative, refuses to suffer fools, and sports dangerous knowledge. When one character demands they've had 'enough', Pinhead retorts 'enough' is 'a myth,' the Cenobites having arguably the best dialogue.
In addition to this, Clayton carries herself with tremendous confidence, no small thanks to the brilliant make-up and prosthetic effects. However, her take on Pinhead seems to lean more to following the rules, whereas Bradley's seemed uncontrollably ruthless and unstoppable. This is further compounded by her appearance.
I may seem deranged when I admit this, but 2022's Pinhead is too attractive. Pinhead with freckles - is not scary. In fact, this iteration can haunt my nightmares whenever she wants - the same could be said for the other Cenobites, especially Selina Lo's The Gasp. The disturbingly macabre appearance of the Cenobites is practically non-existent and is heightened by their excess screen-time in what is often scenes with high-key lighting, Pinhead in particular having a much larger role than in the original.
In fact, the most shocking scene might be two men fooling around in bed - in short, this film, is not scary. That said, the sets, in particular the mansion where the film spends a lot of its time, are brilliant, whilst the realm of the Cenobites is left largely to our imagination, save for a couple glimpses. The final 'confrontation', if you could call it that, leaves a lot to be desired compared to the original, and there is definitely some sequel-bait there, that seems to have visual reminisce towards the 1988 sequel.
All in all, Hellraiser 2022 is a well-made film, but it lacks the chilling atmosphere and dread of the original.
Expanding on the above summary, Riley (Odessa A'zion) is a recovering addict with serious financial issues, whose relationship with unreformed addict Trevor (Drew Starkey), all but guarantees her self-destruction. When he enlists her help to break into a secure shipping container, owned by wealthy sadist Voight (Goran Visnjic), they stumble upon the infamous Lament Configuration, the backstory of how it came to be locked away being loosely revealed overtime.
After inadvertently solving the first part of the puzzle box, the blood of Riley's brother, Matt (Brandon Flynn) is absorbed into it, soon resulting in his disappearance. Following this, Riley experiences visions of the Cenobites, who urge her to bring them sacrifices for their own twisted ends. In need of help, Riley convinces Trevor to assist, while teaming up with her brother's boyfriend, Colin (Adam Faison), and friend Nora (Aoife Hinds), in a desperate attempt to uncover what has happened to her brother.
Unlike some remakes that are a glorified rehash of the original, Hellraiser 2022 creates a largely different, often complex narrative, that has the potential to entertain. That said, though I was genuinely surprised by some of the film's twists, you occasionally need to put your brain on pause, with some of these coming at the cost of character's behaving contrary to what has been established in previous scenes.
Moreover, characters are often victims of the 'people making stupid decisions' trope that has been overdone in horror films, in order to advance the plot. In one example, a character thinks travelling alone into a secret room, with no light or means of defense is a good idea. Yeah, that's destined to end well. With this in mind, I often did not feel a genuine connection to the human characters or their plight, which did leave me uninvested in their life-or-death struggles.
Moving on, viewers hungry for the franchise's famous gore effects are going to be disappointed. The blood is definitely toned down, and though we have one scene from inside of a victim's trachea, and another in which a character is torn apart, nothing can compete with Uncle Frank's bloody rebirth in the 1987 original. That aside, it is the Cenobites that ultimately steal the show, and look truly magnificent - but at a cost.
I can't speak for everyone, but Doug Bradley's Pinhead remains my favourite monster - more so than Freddy, Jason or Michael. Jamie Clayton's take on the character is worthy of commendation - she is coldly calculating and manipulative, refuses to suffer fools, and sports dangerous knowledge. When one character demands they've had 'enough', Pinhead retorts 'enough' is 'a myth,' the Cenobites having arguably the best dialogue.
In addition to this, Clayton carries herself with tremendous confidence, no small thanks to the brilliant make-up and prosthetic effects. However, her take on Pinhead seems to lean more to following the rules, whereas Bradley's seemed uncontrollably ruthless and unstoppable. This is further compounded by her appearance.
I may seem deranged when I admit this, but 2022's Pinhead is too attractive. Pinhead with freckles - is not scary. In fact, this iteration can haunt my nightmares whenever she wants - the same could be said for the other Cenobites, especially Selina Lo's The Gasp. The disturbingly macabre appearance of the Cenobites is practically non-existent and is heightened by their excess screen-time in what is often scenes with high-key lighting, Pinhead in particular having a much larger role than in the original.
In fact, the most shocking scene might be two men fooling around in bed - in short, this film, is not scary. That said, the sets, in particular the mansion where the film spends a lot of its time, are brilliant, whilst the realm of the Cenobites is left largely to our imagination, save for a couple glimpses. The final 'confrontation', if you could call it that, leaves a lot to be desired compared to the original, and there is definitely some sequel-bait there, that seems to have visual reminisce towards the 1988 sequel.
All in all, Hellraiser 2022 is a well-made film, but it lacks the chilling atmosphere and dread of the original.