Hellraiser (2022)
[Reader disclaimer: there will be spoilers discussed. Please also be aware that this piece may contain material of a violent or graphic nature].
Curiously, despite the failure of the initial attempt to reboot campy, 80s slashers, it appears that we are in yet again another era of modernity dragging our horror classics kicking and screaming into the 20s - you'll recall, perhaps, that this was first attempted in the late noughties: the problem was that Friday the 13th (2009) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) were, to put it politely, abysmal.
Modern filmmakers lack a crucial ingredient to making these films shine again and that's having an element of camp and fun. So when I heard Hellraiser (1987) was getting a reboot, I was dubious: what makes the original film legendary (other than the spectacular performance from Doug Bradley) is the gooey gore, the angelic soundtrack, the iconic BDSM-inspired outfits that gave us a queer edge to otherwise evil characters. The whole point of Hellraiser is that pain and pleasure intertwine and become something otherly - that's wherein the horror derives.
So, Hellraiser (2022)...how does it compare?
Firstly, I'll note and praise the pros. Jamie Clayton as Pinhead (or known as The Priest in the film) is exquisite. She's strangely alluring, dangerous yet seductive and inquisitive: I'm not saying whether Clayton was better than Bradley, simply that she brought out a different side of the character that we haven't seen before, which I greatly appreciated.
Following on from Pinhead, I have to acknowledge the other Cenobites (albeit they weren't given enough screentime, in my opinion): the new creatures from Hell come with a flurry of new, grotesquely beautiful designs, including The Gasp (who evidently looks like a mix and match of Deep Throat and Angelique, two iconic cenobites from the original series), The Masque (who may well be a nod to Face from the original books), The Weeper, The Asphyx and The Mother. This new variety of cenobites is definitely an exciting addition, however, some appear for merely seconds of screentime, which was disappointing. I'm surprised Clive Barker hasn't taken a note out of the Thir13een Ghosts (1999) book yet and created an anthology exploring Leviathan lore.
The soundtrack is okay. Ben Lovett ended up including some of Christopher Young's original score, which I guess was an attempt at being a homage but ended up feeling like a cop-out. The practical effects were surprisingly great but we don't see the best parts of it being applied until the last five minutes of film time.
And this leads us to the cons: I have absolutely no time for any of the main characters in this film. I did not care about protagonist Riley (played by Odessa A'zion) nor did I care about her resolve to free her gay brother from Hell after she accidentally sacrificed him to the cenobites. There's absolutely no chemistry between any characters, Riley is a scarily-accurate depiction of an addict but there's no sympathy in this writer's soul for her and she gets her comeuppance. If anything, I was annoyed she lives at the end because she says she's reformed and learnt to accept the death of her brother but absolutely none of the plot up until that point indicates this. Perhaps the only highlight of the end was Roland's (Goran Visnjic) transformation into the next cenobite - it felt ethereal and painful at the same time, which is what this series is all about.
I'm not saying this was a bad film. It just wasn't great and, at this point in the genre, I only expect greatness from a reboot of something this iconic. It's not as if these film companies only have a few years on their hands to come up with new concepts - Hellraiser premiered nearly 40 years ago. I want to see love in these reboots, a specific attention to detail and ideas that mesh with the original source material. If Nia DaCosta can do it, then surely bigger production companies can.
Overall rating: 4/10
- K
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