Hellraiser

Clive Barker’s Hellraiser is a difficult subject for adaptations. It requires more than just traditional “horror talent” to film it so that it makes sense in the motivations of all of the characters and the intertwining of reality with the hellish dimension, to be gripping in terms of the plot and pleasing with more than just fantasy scenes of suffering and gore. David Bruckner and the screenwriters have done a decent job of developing the revelation of the world of the Cenobites, while adding new, almost mythological dimensions to the famous puzzle box. However, they got a bit lost in the climax with respect to the meaningfulness of the twists and the conclusion of the characters’ stories. One of the surviving characters summed it up nicely: “What just happened there?” (10/22/2022)

"Enough is a myth." David Bruckner's reboot about the purveyors of sadomasochistic pleasure and inspirations for piercing enthusiasts handles the need to stay within established boundaries while allowing ample space for its own visions. In line with trends, it’s no surprise that the head of the Cenobites, with a penchant for acupuncture, urinates sitting down; after all, all the members of the group are essentially handsome, on par with Diva Plavalaguna from The Fifth Element. It’s just a shame about the hellish length. The runtime in this genre should not exceed 95 minutes, including credits; anything more is authorial self-harm. Odessa A’zion, with an appearance somewhere between Goldie Hawn and Milan Peroutka, takes a beating here, but I believe she was perfectly cast in the role. (07/26/2023)

The reboot of the horror classic Hellraiser for the modern era by the skilled David Bruckner turned out very well for me. Bruckner delivers another decent horror flick after the weaker Dark House and he becomes a very strong guarantee of quality. He showed in both The Ritual and Southbound that he can handle atmosphere and gore and he proves that now, I like his directorial style a lot. I personally consider the original Hellraiser to be an overrated classic. It was definitely an interesting experience at the time it was made, but from today's perspective, I find it to be a mediocre film. The actors, dialogue, script, visuals simply don't impress today and the gore is also laughable. I definitely found the second part better, so this reboot didn't have such a hard time this time and of course it surpassed all the previous entries for me. The first half is a bit slower and not much happens, but I didn't mind it that much. Quite quickly Bruckner won me over to his side and the whole plot and mythology around the puzzle box kept me entertained. The characters are fine, but are definitely not the film’s brighter things. Once the action moves to the castle it starts a proper dense horror hell of a ride like I can't even remember this year. Excellent music and visuals. The Cenobites' arrival on the scene is fucking brilliant. The atmosphere is uncomfortable, their appearance is fucking disturbing and visually stunning (the creativity of the makeup artists is impressive) and the gore is a delight (sure, there could have been more of it, but when it comes down to it, it's TOP quality). There are a lot of interesting and unusual shots that I've never seen anywhere before, so a joy to watch. The final skinning is legendary and quite possibly the most impressive since Martyrs. I also enjoyed the lore and overall got a good feeling from it. I hope Bruckner makes a sequel that will be even wilder, then I'll happily go full on. 8/10. (10/13/2022)

I haven't seen the original Hellraiser, so I'm reviewing this reboot on its own without any comparison and I have to admit that I'm definitely not disappointed. It may not be the horror gem we might have expected, but as a fine modern and visually appealing horror film, Hellraiser is sufficient. I really like the mythology surrounding the Cenobites, the dice and the curse and it's clear that the creators have done a good job with their visuals. There are no jump-scares, and not much of an atmosphere either, but the main idea is engaging enough to provide, along with the decent cast, two hours of entertainment with great elements of suffering, pain, gore and originality in a horror genre that has been drowning in cheesiness and uninteresting, mundane ideas lately. Praise. For a better experience, it lacks more ambition and bloodier gore and more carnage, which just here completely invites extremes (skinning, chopping bodies...), but otherwise I can't complain. (10/18/2022)

Beautiful! If Hulu continues ressurrecting dead horror franchises, I will be nothing but happy. David Bruckner did an even better job in this regard for me than Dan Trachtenberg did in the recent Prey, and from a horror standpoint, the new Hellraiser is considerably more satisfying. However, there could have been a bit more more, it doesn't go to the extreme at all, and Hellraiser on stream could have used something harder. Maybe in a sequel, ideally with some slightly more likeable characters. (10/16/2022)