Hellraiser (2022) - Movie Review
Anyone who knows me…
Wait, check that.
Anyone who’s ever met me can tell you that I am a Hellraiser diehard. In my mind, there are few movies that live up to the perfection of the original two films. This is due to a variety of factors including brilliant writing and direction by Clive Barker—whose 1986 Novella “The Hellhound Heart” is the basis for the entire franchise, however loose the adaptations may be. The film has one of the first overt female villains I can remember in Julia, played by the great Clare Higgins.
And then there’s Pinhead.
The first and only objective Horror villain, who isn’t really a villain. Pinhead, as played by the legendary Doug Bradley, is a universal constant—just like the character he’s based on in the novella, The Engineer, is. He’s a creature of dark justice bound to the rules of the great game. The Hellpriest allows mortals to choose their own fate, for the Cenobites do not come unless called.
And unlike Jason and Freddy, Pinhead is always willing to make a deal, however skewed the results may be.
Hellraiser’s first film adaptation was released in 1987 and Hellraiser II: Hellbound was released two years later.
AND we haven’t had a good Hellraiser film since.
Yes, there have been 8 other sequels and yes, none of them are worth watching. Except Hellraiser: Bloodlines, it’s so bad it’s good.
No, that’s far too kind.
These movies are so bad, if you were to watch them for free—you’re paying too high a cost.
And yet, I’ve still spent thousands of dollars on Hellraiser merchandise. I’ve seen every sequel. Hell, I own them all. Even the atrocious, no-good—worst horror movie ever made, Hellraiser: Judgement.
Why?
Because I love the franchise and I want to support it, so that maybe—just maybe—I get a big budget reboot.
Enter Hulu’s 2022 Hellraiser reboot.
To say that I had low expectations would be a wild understatement. I mean, I sat through Hellraiser: Deader.
So, did this new take on Clive’s masterwork live up to the spirit of the original 2 films or does it fall into the swirling, fecal vortex of the other 8 films?
I’m happy to say, outside of a horrendous third act—it’s firmly part of the former.
Let’s discuss.
Hellraiser (2022)is brought to us by director David Bruckner along with writers Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski. You couldn’t ask for a team with more upside than that. Bruckner has yet to make a truly bad film. His horror credentials are through the roof with the underrated Southbound and the smash hit The Ritual, not to mention the best movie you’ve never seen: The Night House. Which was also written by Piotrowski and Collins who were also responsible for the solid Super Dark Times.
Even with this evidence of possible quality, I kept my expectations in the gutter. This is Hellraiser after all. Then the movie started and I couldn’t help but smile.
The film focuses on Riley (played with grit, by the brilliant Odessa A’zion), a recovering drug addict living with her overbearing brother Matt, his boyfriend Colin, and their bestie Nora. She’s trying to claw her way out of rock bottom, but she failure is always there to greet her. With pressure mounting due to her inability to pay her share of the rent, Riley looks for any way to get ahead. So when her lover, Trevor mentions that there’s an abandoned container at his work that could have valuables in it, she jumps at the chance to commit a felony. However, when they break-in to the container and crack the safe within, all they find is a puzzle box. What starts with frustration at the lack of a payday quickly turns to terror as blood fills the streets. An ancient evil has been called and it will not be sated until a bargain is done. Will Riley find a way to solve the puzzle and save her friends or will the cenobites drag her to hell? Find out tonight in Hellraiser!
First off, the cast is really good. Odessa A’zion is perfect as the lead here. She has that tomboy fragility that made the heroines of the late 80’s and early 90’s so endearing. Also, I love that for the second Clive Barker remake in a row, the gay couple are the most likable people. Not only that, they are fleshed out—human characters and not stereotypes. Colin is the most likable character in the movie and I was terrified the entire time what was going to happen to him.
Then there’s Pinhead, or as they call her—The Priest. This is Clive’s preferred name for the entity that was coined by the media as Pinhead. Jamie Clayton knocks it out of the park, of course when doesn’t she? I saw people upset that Pinhead was going to be female in this reboot and it’s sheer stupidity. If you read the original novella, Pinhead was a cameo character and guess what, she was very obviously a woman. The fact that Jamie Clayton is a prominent transgender actress is all the better and fits in the theme of transformation that runs through Clive’s universe. I hope she reprises the role as her inhuman stillness and vocal delivery were exactly as I pictured the character from the novella.
Not all performances were great.
Goran Visnjic’s Voight has a fantastic introduction in the opening scene, but unfortunately becomes a victim of the horrendous third act and it’s odd tonal shift. Drew Starkey as the love interest Trevor is a one note character who’s function in the film is so very obvious that my wife was upset that he spoiled the film.
While I don’t think it was that bad, he obviously didn’t receive much direction outside of “be suspish, bro.”
A few more shoutouts before the spoilers section.
LIGHTNING ROUND!
The special effects were fantastic. Both the CGI and Practical applications were amazing. The design of the cenobites are breathtaking and are obviously influenced by Clive’s own paintings.
The soundtrack is outstanding. How the new theme of the film slowly peels back as the film reaches its conclusion and the original theme from Christopher Young is revealed brought a huge smile to my face.
The film is shot beautifully. This is a crisp, colorful film that reminds me more of a giallo with its use of color, than a western film.
I can’t go any farther without discussing SPOOOOOOOOILLLLLLEEEEEERS
So, about that third act…
The film sets up the idea of consequences of lifestyle. As an addict, Riley has an innate hole in her being that she tries to fill with sex, drugs, and anything else that hurts her. But, much like reality, one’s addiction doesn’t only affect one’s self. More often than not, the ones we love suffer as a consequence of our life choices. This is illustrated brilliantly when the circle in her chest opens and drags her brother from his sleep.
Every choice Riley makes in the film leads to harm to someone else and she starts to understand. She’s sacrificed not only her freedom, but the lives of her friends and family.
The inevitable ending being that she sacrifices herself to bring her brother back. Right?
Right?…
Well, this is where the film takes a left turn and they add a secondary villain. Voight comes back, still alive. It turns out that he’s orchestrated the whole event.
Not only does this “twist” ruin the beautifully developed narrative surrounding Riley coming to terms with life, but it’s totally predictable. Within 2 scenes my wife was yelling at the screen that the Trevor, the boyfriend with the million dollar loft and the lack of any subtlety in performance is a traitor planted by Voight to sacrifice people to allow Voight to be freed from his choice.
My wife is not someone who figures movies out often. I envy her for it. She was so upset that the film turned out to be so obvious that it ruined the entire experience for her.
I saw the dumb twist coming, but hoped they would correct course.
It’s funny, 2019’s Candyman had the same problem. They set up a wonderful narrative about how one’s pride can ruin their relationships and drag them down and then added a secondary villain orchestrating everything—which for most people ruined their outlook on the film in a very similar way.
Even with the third act being atrocious, this is still a worthy sequel.
If you want to see what sights the priest has to show you, Hellraiser is streaming exclusively on HULU.
