Hellraiser
2022 / David Buckner / HULU / Odessa A’zion
Quick Thoughts
I must admit that I've never finished the original Hellraiser.
🎶Despite all my pain I'm still just a house in a cage🎶
There's a painting of a guy getting a wrap-around tugger, so that's cool.
Is where the knife comes out of the cube in a different location every time?
There's a lot of charm to this 2022 Hellraiser re-imagining. I've spent some time here and there with the Hellraiser franchise and so many of the films lack likable characters and compelling plots, but all of that is here. Riley is the protagonist of this film, and she's quite relatable. She cares for her brother and his relationship, she's flawed with addiction, and she yearns for a significant connection to someone.
The film is set in a grimy New York-like city and it feels like we’re included in the lifestyle. I appreciate the time we spend with the characters before the latter half of the film. Together they eventually end up in Roland's mansion, which is inside a cage. This mansion has trap doors, and secret rooms, which allows for an awesome showdown with Pinhead and the Cenobites. My one complaint is that it seems like there are strict rules when carrying the burden of the cube, but as the film progresses it seems that all of those rules can be bent.
The Cenobites are cooler than ever, not to mention how outlandish the kills and contraptions are. This new and improved Hellraiser pays tribute to everything that came before but also isn't afraid to blaze a new path. Clive Barker should be quite proud of this recreation. New life has been breathed into a dying franchise.
Would you rather be "pleasured" by getting ripped apart by chains, or a guy knawing on your arm?
- Gimme the chains, daddy.
- Chompy, chompy, let's get down.