Image: RLJ Entertainment
The first teaser for the new movie teases its October 7 release date
Hulu just successfully revitalized the Predator franchise with Prey, and next, the streamer will attempt to pull off a similar reimagining of Clive Barker’s 1987 cult hit horror film Hellraiser, ahead of this Halloween.
Unlike original Hellraiser villain Pinhead, the first teaser for the new movie doesn’t have such sights to show you. There’s a grainy, blood-tinged look at the new Hell Priest, better known as Pinhead. There’s a title treatment, an R rating, and a release date. That’s it. But for Hellraiser franchise fans who enjoyed the first film, tolerated the second, and suffered through eight more sequels, there’s a thrill in the prospect of a new take on Barker’s tale of sadomasochistic other-dimensional beings, known as Cenobites, inflicting torment on the unwitting.
The new Hellraiser is directed by David Bruckner, who previously helmed The Night House, Siren, and The Ritual. His frequent collaborators Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski wrote the script, with a story by David S. Goyer. Pinhead will be played by actor Jamie Clayton (Sense8, The L Word: Generation Q). She takes over for Doug Bradley, who played the iconic role in eight Hellraiser films, and Stephan Smith Collins and Paul T. Taylor, who starred as Pinhead in Hellraiser: Revelations and Hellraiser: Judgment.
Hellraiser will focus on a young woman, played by Odessa A’zion, who is struggling with addiction. According to 20th Century Studios’ plot description, she comes into possession of the series’ signature puzzle box, unaware that its purpose is to summon the Cenobites.
The original Hellraiser was based on Barker’s novella The Hellbound Heart, and was directed by the author himself. The original story and Barker’s film adaptation focus on Frank Cotton, a sadomasochist who escapes from the Cenobites’ hellish realm and tasks his former lover with restoring Frank’s shredded body, using the flesh and blood of murder victims. When Frank’s niece Kirsty accidentally summons Pinhead and pals to Earth, the Cenobite leader is informed of her uncle’s escape and makes an arrangement with her to recover his wayward prisoner.
The new Hellraiser reboot will arrive as a Hulu exclusive on Oct. 7.
