It takes a lot for me to invest in a new “Hellraiser” movie as they’ve all but quit trying to give us anything new or interesting. Thankfully director David Bruckner is up to the task of offering not just a new story but a new take on the Cenobites. Despite the troubling title (This “Hellraiser” is not so much a remake, or sequel, but kind of a reboot…?), David Bruckner’s “Hellraiser” film is really quite good. It’s dripping in suspense and terror, and finally brings some mystique to the Cenobites once again. The Cenobites are pure terror on two legs with “Hellraiser” and Bruckner doles out some twisted machinations of the Lament Configuration.
Riley is a grieving former drug addict struggling with sobriety who comes across the Lament Configuration at the behest of her boyfriend Trevor, who attempts to steal it from an infamous billionaire. After being pierced by it, Riley finds herself being stalked by the Cenobites. But when they claim her long suffering brother brother Matt, she teams up with Trevor, her best friend Nora, and Matt’s boyfriend Colin to investigate the Configuration and figure out how to bring Matt back before she is also claimed.
Bruckner’s “Hellraiser” takes a weighty topic like drug addiction and uses it as an anchor for its descent in to hell. While the Cenobites are predatory figures that love to deal in pain and torture, Bruckner uses them to symbolize main character Riley’s own battles with drug addiction. This “Hellraiser” is focused more on family rather than torrid sex, transforming Riley’s whole ordeal with the puzzle box as a means of redemption. She wants to bring back her brother from the hell dimension, but she’s not really sure how, or what damage it will cause in the long run. It all seems hopeless but that doesn’t stop her from figuring out the puzzle box and learning the motivation behind the Cenobites.
Her descent in to hell involves her making a deal with the devil if she plans to get what she wants. And in the long run there’s a ton of progression in the character’s arc that involves immense sacrifice, whether she likes it or not. Death is no longer an option, especially now with the Cenobites on her tail. For what it’s worth, despite Doug Bradley being all but gone from the role, Jamie Clayton is damn good as the new Pinhead. She’s much more in mind as the Pinhead Clive Barker envisioned with “The Hellbound Heart.” Clayton is hidden beneath layers of make up and prosthetics but her performance is mesmerizing. She plays Pinhead as a deviant and cunning monster that is relentless and unforgiving.
All that’s missing and still blatantly excluded is the eroticism that the first two original films injected in to the narratives. Like previous films, this “Hellraiser” side steps the Cenobites and their connections to sex and hedonism. There’s no perversion, no kink, no actual allure, which is what made the Cenobites so appealing. Neverthelss, I had a very good time with “Hellraiser.” I hope we eventually get a true to vision remake that Clive Barker has been talking about for years.