Hellraiser is a supernatural horror film, a remake of the 1987 film of the same name, as well as a reboot to the Hellraiser film franchise. Both this and the 1987 film were based on Clive Barker's novel The Hellbound Heart. The movie's produced by 20th Century Studios, Spyglass Media Group, and Phantom Four Films and distributed by Hulu. Hellraiser is written by Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski, and David S. Goyer and directed by David Bruckner.
The story is a young woman named Riley is struggling with her addiction. During this sad time in her life, she comes across an ancient puzzle box. At first she naturally believes it's just a puzzle box, but soon she learns of it's true nature. That nature being, it can summon the deadly and sadistic Cenobites.
Initial Reaction
Now being a fan of the Hellraiser series, it was only natural that I'd be looking forward to this film. Although much like every other fan, I was highly skeptical. Because after Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, all of the sequels have really sucked. Cause you have Bloodline, which was Hellraiser in space, then you have those direct-to-video sequels from the early 2000's that weren't even supposed to be Hellraiser films to begin with, they were just scripts quickly rewritten to be Hellraiser sequels. Then you have Revelations, that wasn't just a poor attempt, but also really boring. There was also Judgment, which was a decent try, but forgettable. So this film had a lot on its shoulders when it comes to quality.
Cons
I've got nothing, just move on.
Middle Ground
One okay part of the movie was the pacing. There are times when the slow pace was necessary, and we do have times when it's really perfect, but you also have moments that are slow, that really didn't need to be. Such as the finale. It felt a lot slower. Almost to the point it felt like the filmmakers were milking it. Then we have our characters. Now Riley is actually good. She struggles with drug addiction, so already we have a good reason to care for her. Then when the Cenobites come, we actually do feel bad for her, cause it's clear as day that she never wanted any of these horrors to happen. Then we have everyone else. Some are okay, but then you have those other characters where it's clearly obvious they're just there to feel up a body count.
Pros
Now we have more positives aspects such as David Bruckner's directing. With some of the previous films (not counting the first three), I never was really interested in the directing of each film. They either felt uninspired, or just plain generic. But with this one, this is a sense of style being displayed. There's this really beautiful lighting effect during the end of the film, that I really liked. Then there's the special effects. Even if a majority of them are CGI, they're very convincing CG effects. I think there was only two times when it was noticable. Other than that, very top notch work. Sadly as we all know Doug Bradley didn't come back for this, instead we got Jamie Clayton, who I can with 100% confidence surprised me. Sure Doug is still my number one, always has been, and always will be. But she did great. She was mysterious, as well as creepy. Now for how scary is was. The movie does fairly well with the typical hook and chains tearing apart flesh, but even when that doesn't happen, the film still provides a very good uneasiness to it. Throughout the runtime, you have a really good unsettling feeling. Which does hold back for just enough time for when the Cenobites make their very appropriate appearance.
While Hellraiser (2022) isn't perfect, what with its less than stellar pacing and characters that range from good to okay to just there to die. But the movie makes up for that with great directing, good special effects, a even greater performance from Jamie Clayton, and best of all, it can be quite scary.
My final rating is Good.
For my next review I'll be taking a detour away from the horror films. Cause on Monday, Oct 10th I'll be reviewing Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.
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