Hellraiser (2022)

It does look like Pinhead is just making a fashion statement.
I don't know how crazy trendy or "high" fashion could get in the late 80s, but nowadays it feels like we've seen it all - and even weirder more bizarre stuff.
 
Movie ended up being really good. The actress playing Pinhead nailed the role. There was some sequel baiting at the end too, I definitely hope they make another one in this continuity.
 
This was really, really good. The Cenobites were freaky! And Jamie Clayton did great as The Priest. Not quite sure what to make of the ending. It's a bit muddy. But a really cool ride nonetheless.
 
Gotta admit I'm kinda disappointed. It's not bad, but considering both writers AND the director of The Night House (which I loved) were behind this, I was expecting something smarter and more clever. The script is disappointingly cliche at times and also predictable so you know what's going to happen next, and it's going to happen in the most trite and ridiculous ways possible, like when cancer lady gets into a tug-of-war with the box even though she knows exactly what it's capable of. It's straight out of a dumb teen slasher.

As for the Cenobite design... I don't know, without the BDSM leather they kinda just look like Silent Hill rejects to me. I also didn't like the voice modulation they used on Pinhead.

5.5/10

Hellraiser 1 & 2 are still king
 
F0rneus said:
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Looks really good to me!
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What looks good?
 
Was never a fan of the chukys, Freddys, Michaels of the horror genre as a teen. Pinhead was my guy! Will watch out of my love for Hellraiser as a teen.
 
F0rneus said:
This was really, really good. The Cenobites were freaky! And Jamie Clayton did great as The Priest. Not quite sure what to make of the ending. It's a bit muddy. But a really cool ride nonetheless.
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Voight gave up "pleasure" for "power" so I guess he became one of them?
 
Yea I watched this last night and quite enjoyed it, especially the new Pinhead/Cenobites and their designs. There was one at the end that was just so fucking cool and weird. Definitely worth it for fans of the Hellraiser.

Seriously, the new Pinhead was pretty sinister, otherworldly.

ending
Almost certain Voight is now a Cenobite inspired by his statement that they are like angels to him. Unless the gold mechanism he was lying on is just standard for the transformation process? 😆
 
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rubik's dude said:
Movie ended up being really good. The actress playing Pinhead nailed the role. There was some sequel baiting at the end too, I definitely hope they make another one in this continuity.
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Agreed, I was pleasantly surprised. Great atmosphere, soundtrack and the story and character motivations were interesting. If a sequel is made I'd totally be down.
 
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To add design-wise, I'm glad they didn't go with the stylings of an underground BDSM club. Chains, leather, gimp suits, ball chokers etc. As these are extra dimensional beings, I think making them more surreal and alien was a great move. Iconic as the original Cenobites are, the intricately flayed meat suits were cool. My favorite design got one or two quick shots in the end but man, it was so fucking rad. It looked like some Dali or or Hans Bellmer inspired stuff.

And the themes of addiction of the movie were very grounded and tied up the ending very nicely.
 
Not bad.
Not brilliant either.

The lore hound in me got fed.
The gore hound in me did not.
I really hate cgi gore. What gore their was anyway.
Nothing really grossed me out and it all felt somewhat held back.
Why did all the Cenobites have needles with the pink bob bits at the top?

Good ending though.
New pinhead was pretty good too.
But was wondering if Doug Bradley was going to make a cameo or even have a twist for having two pinheads.
 
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indigo-cyclops said:
To add design-wise, I'm glad they didn't go with the stylings of an underground BDSM club. Chains, leather, gimp suits, ball chokers etc. As these are extra dimensional beings, I think making them more surreal and alien was a great move.
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I tend to think the exact opposite. Hellraiser is meant to be an allegory for sexual desire and experimentation. The removal of the overt sexuality in the design of the cenobites rather robs of them of a lot of their potency.

And that's the whole problem with this film. It lacks potency - in every sense of the word.

The original two Hellraisers are so well regarded, and so damn disturbing, because of the themes they explore, and the way they go about doing it. This movie was a tame shadow of that.

Absolutely what I'd expect from a Hellraiser movie released by Disney though.

Can't have any of that weird BDSM stuff, or depraved sexuality in your horror movies.
 
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FunkMiller said:
I tend to think the exact opposite. Hellraiser is meant to be an allegory for sexual desire and experimentation. The removal of the overt sexuality in the design of the cenobites rather robs of them of a lot of their potency.

And that's the whole problem with this film. It lacks potency - in every sense of the word.

The original two Hellraisers are so well regarded, and so damn disturbing, because of the themes they explore, and the way they go about doing it. This movie was a tame shadow of that.

Absolutely what I'd expect from a Hellraiser movie released by Disney though.

Can't have any of that weird BDSM stuff, or depraved sexuality in your horror movies.
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Fair point there. Personally though, I'm not too stuck on the traditional trappings of the franchise. They definitely could have explored sexuality and the like further but I think the themes of the new one are applicable to the overarching universe of the original stories and films.

I mean there's some ghastly 'sexual' mutilation in the designs of these new cenobites.
 
indigo-cyclops said:
Fair point there. Personally though, I'm not too stuck on the traditional trappings of the franchise. They definitely could have explored sexuality and the like further but I think the themes of the new one are applicable to the overarching universe of the original stories and films.

I mean there's some ghastly 'sexual' mutilation in the designs of these new cenobites.
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All looked a bit 'painted rubber wet suit' to me. There was something disgustingly realistic about what Bob Keen did in the originals that I really miss. Mainly because he really made it look like the skin was pierced and slashed. These new designs really do look like one piece prosthetics that the actors just step into. I liked some of the concepts, but you can almost see the studio notes flying in about how they need to be cleaner and more palatable for a wider audience than the originals.

This really isn't a bad film, per se. But it is extremely safe, and by the numbers, which is somewhat disappointing, if entirely unexpected.
 
indigo-cyclops said:
To add design-wise, I'm glad they didn't go with the stylings of an underground BDSM club. Chains, leather, gimp suits, ball chokers etc. As these are extra dimensional beings, I think making them more surreal and alien was a great move. Iconic as the original Cenobites are, the intricately flayed meat suits were cool. My favorite design got one or two quick shots in the end but man, it was so fucking rad. It looked like some Dali or or Hans Bellmer inspired stuff.

And the themes of addiction of the movie were very grounded and tied up the ending very nicely.
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Isn't the sex one of the themes of hellraiser? I remember i've read something like gay sex and the risk of the aids
 
Ending was great, rest of the film was just ok...I don't think it's that much better than the mediocre Not-raisers like Inferno and Hellseeker.
 
Hell of a turd. I absolutely hated it but not sure what I was expecting, a modern reinvention perhaps? New pinhead looks cool but everything else feels like a soft and restrained take on an idea that felt edgy in the 90s
 
nikolino840 said:
Isn't the sex one of the themes of hellraiser? I remember i've read something like gay sex and the risk of the aids
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It is, but with this being a re-imagining of Hellraiser to a certain extent, and with the main theme being addiction this time around, the change to more organic looking Cenobites makes sense, especially when you see what addiction to hard drugs can do to a person (essentially turn them into a monster, inside and out).

The leather outfits make less sense this time around because of that, I feel. Although I really appreciated the nod to Pinhead's old look with this new Pinhead's design. Her flayed skin falls at her sides in such a way to make it look like the black gown the old Pinhead wore.
 
Movie was pretty okay. Probably 20 minutes too long, and not gory enough.

Had some tense moments and some cool visual tricks, but the story and characters are not interesting enough to keep the train rolling for two hours. You get the gist of the entire movie 15 minutes in, the rest is just "waiting for it to happen". Some neat designs on the demons, but not a lot happens overall.

6/10.
 
FunkMiller said:
I tend to think the exact opposite. Hellraiser is meant to be an allegory for sexual desire and experimentation. The removal of the overt sexuality in the design of the cenobites rather robs of them of a lot of their potency.

And that's the whole problem with this film. It lacks potency - in every sense of the word.

The original two Hellraisers are so well regarded, and so damn disturbing, because of the themes they explore, and the way they go about doing it. This movie was a tame shadow of that.

Absolutely what I'd expect from a Hellraiser movie released by Disney though.

Can't have any of that weird BDSM stuff, or depraved sexuality in your horror movies.
Click to expand...

Disney had its hand on this?

Hard pass.
 
I thought Jamie Clayton did an awesome job as the Priest/Pinhead. She was creepy and cool, and the effects on her voice were perfectly done, too. Definitely hope there's a sequel! 🔥

SjrEMDX.jpg
 
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Fantastic film. Not sure what people are talking about with the lack of sexuality and overt gore. Pain through Pleasure has been a mantra of the cenobites since their inception. When you go through all worldly pleasures and feel like you need more, you seek the box. They feel sexual and complete gratification through pain, experiencing things that no mortal can experience. That hasn't changed in this at all.

As for the black leather - what they did here is far more awesome. They flayed their own skin, warped their own flesh to fashion garments out of. That takes the concept to a whole new level that fits in perfectly with this franchise.

As for the main characters - I can definitely see why some don't mesh well and a few just feel like they are utterly pointless and there to die - but that is a staple in almost every single horror film (including the originals) so I don't see that as a major issue.

PinHead was fantastic and the actress did a marvelous job. Glad they didn't overtly sexualize her in any gratuitous way like that fan-made cosplay tried to do.
 
FunkMiller said:
All looked a bit 'painted rubber wet suit' to me. There was something disgustingly realistic about what Bob Keen did in the originals that I really miss. Mainly because he really made it look like the skin was pierced and slashed. These new designs really do look like one piece prosthetics that the actors just step into. I liked some of the concepts, but you can almost see the studio notes flying in about how they need to be cleaner and more palatable for a wider audience than the originals.

This really isn't a bad film, per se. But it is extremely safe, and by the numbers, which is somewhat disappointing, if entirely unexpected.
Click to expand...

This was my feeling on the Cenobite designs, it actually reminded me a lot of the Seraphim from the last 2 Doom games.

I didn't not like the designs, but they also lacked a kind of rawness to them that the originals have. The originals looked tortured, like they had their flesh torn and stripped, the new designs are very surgical looking, also the same with their over all 'clean' look.

It's not like they are a bad design, its more like having seen the originals as a teenager, these ones just don't hit with the same impact.

And that extends to the Hell Priest. Her design and the way she is pulled off is fantastic, but it's so different from the original it's a little jarring.

I think it's one of those cases where, on its own, it's fantastic, but because it's stylistically different in many respects it's kind of tainted by that comparison.

In saying all of.this, I was fine with the movie as a whole. I feel like I would warm better to a sequel because I really like the world they've created because it is genuinely one of the far better quality horror / gore movies I've seen lately when considering how much crap is out there that treads the same shit regurgitated.
 
Well this was dull as hell. I love a slow-burn as much as the next guy but when you fill it with uninteresting characters, lazy contrivances and a soulless script then there's not much to write home about. Also, I don't want to go all Fashion Police(tm) over here but even the characters' wardrobes were boring lol. Except for the rich dude they all looked like they came walking straight out of a Fentanyl alley.

And what's up with Lips McGee? Holy fuck that girl's mouth is made of sausages, like literally two balloons taped together. Incredibly distracting!

40/100 is my Criticker score and that's me being generous. For all their tropey nonsense at least Horror flicks of the 90s and early 00s had some fuckin' life inside of 'em. I'm convinced Hollywood is just on hellbent on destroying all of the existing properties and incapable of creating new and interesting ideas.
 
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Movie was good but didnt feel like hellraiser to me. Not a fan of the new rules. As some have said the cenobites looked too clean for me. I hated the effect added to the hell priest's voice. It sounded garbled and hard to understand a couple times. I felt there was too much off screen screaming.
 
The cenobites were OK (I prefer the latex outfits though) but the change in lore and the annoying fuckwit lead characters left a lot to be desired.

It says a lot about your diverse and woke film if I end up more interested in the story of the old rich white guy more than in the actual plot.
 
I enjoyed it overall. I'm not a huge fan of the OG movies outside the first couple so I'm not upset by any lore changes. To be honest I don't remember the lore. Certainly a step up from your standard streaming fare. The cast wasn't terribly likable. I kinda didn't care if our lead died.
 
kurisu_1974 said:
It says a lot about your diverse and woke film if I end up more interested in the story of the old rich white guy more than in the actual plot.
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This film was not woke in any way, shape or form. There was nothing about it designed to follow a political agenda. And if you think casting a trans woman as Pinhead was 'woke' then you don't know a thing about the source material.

There's a fair bit to genuinely criticise about this movie, so you don't need to bring up the tired, boring identity politics bullshit that doesn't apply.
 
FunkMiller said:
This film was not woke in any way, shape or form. There was nothing about it designed to follow a political agenda. And if you think casting a trans woman as Pinhead was 'woke' then you don't know a thing about the source material.

There's a fair bit to genuinely criticise about this movie, so you don't need to bring up the tired, boring identity politics bullshit that doesn't apply.
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Not at all, the female Pinhead was the best thing in the movie (didn't know she was trans nor do I care). But they really ticked all the gender and race boxes when casting though, which added nothing to the story, and of course the white rich man is evil. I just found it ironic that he's the most interesting character outside of the Cenobites.

I read the book and watched the original movie like 30 years ago so feel free to assume something else next time regarding the "source material" while that wasn't even what I was talking about.
 
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kurisu_1974 said:
Not at all, the female Pinhead was the best thing in the movie (didn't know she was trans nor do I care). But they really ticked all the gender and race boxes when casting though, which added nothing to the story, and of course the white rich man is evil. I just found it ironic that he's the most interesting character outside of the Cenobites.

I read the book and watched the original movie like 30 years ago so feel free to assume something else next time regarding the "source material" while that wasn't even what I was talking about.
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Then why are you moaning about it being woke?
 
FunkMiller said:
Then why are you moaning about it being woke?
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Can you read? Explained it above: ticking gender and race boxes without any of it being relevant to the plot.

Let's just agree to disagree, I wanted to make a point about the intentions of the filmmaker vs. the effect it had on me (diverse cast vs. rich old white man but the rich old white man is more interesting - like the third time I'm explaining this now?) but I feel you're just shit stirring from some uncalled moral high ground.
 
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kurisu_1974 said:
Can you read? Explained it above: thicking gender and race boxes without any of it bein relevant to the plot.

Let's just agree to disagree, I wanted to make a point about the intentions of the filmmaker vs. the effect it had on me (diverse plot vs. rich old white man but the rich old white man is more interesting - like the third time I'm explaining this now?) but I feel you're just shit stirring from some uncalled moral high ground.
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Relevant to the plot? What the fuck are you on about? Why would casting more white dudes be any more relevant to this plot? 😂

Shit… was the original woke for casting women in the two main roles in 1987?

The villain in Hellbound was a rich white dude. So, that must've been woke as well as far as you're concerned, I guess?

I'm not shit stirring. I'm pointing out the stupidity of calling this film woke.
 
I never said casting women was woke. Never said this or any movie needed more "white dudes". And I'm not even opposed to diverse casts! Just made a point about an obvious "catered" cast and the irony I perceived from that when they were all horrible and the white old rich dude representing evil was the only interesting character (fourth time!).
 
Casting for Pinhead/ The Priest was well done. They were doing female Pinhead stuff in the comics for a bit and even in the book "The Hellbound Heart, Pinhead is described as an androgynous being with a feminine voice".

If this is a reboot, I'd say this is attempting to get that character closer to the source material. I think they knocked that character out of that park. Seemed both a lot more fetishized and curious which IMO fits that character well. I think this is one instance where as easy as it is to say it's catering, I think it was a smart pivot to expand on the characters themes.

Movie itself... It was good. It did however feel a lot like a sequel.
The plot, wasn't as fun/original as the first two. Just a plot device to put the puzzle into everyones hands. Also the decision to weaken the cenobites was a poor move. These are supposed to be unwavering forces of nature. To throw in a weakness in the first of a reboot feels like bad writing. (They can't get past a freaken gate).

I personally would like to see more of the cenobites themselves. There was a pitch years ago to have a primal version of the Priest that took place in hell. The hierarchys and world being explored sounds like a lot of fun to me.

For the other cenobites, I liked some of the designs but disliked the others. Whatever the Burn't/black cenobite was, it was too difficult to tell in the lighting. We got a snippit of one very cool guy which looked like scripture tattooed on his body and his face stretched out/removed. He had one line and disappeared.
 
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