Hellraiser

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“A take on Clive Barker’s 1987 horror classic where a young woman struggling with addiction comes into possession of an ancient puzzle box, unaware that its purpose is to summon the Cenobites.”

Why not start my first remake review with one of the first movies I reviewed? People have a love/hate relationship with remakes. And I can understand that. The original Hellraiser is one of my horror babies. But this is a separate movie which is due a separate review. I will be doing a side note post specifically on remakes.

This adaptation keeps to Clive Barker’s original premise that this isn’e so much about the Cenobites directly but about the depth of human dark sides. The box takes on more definition with different configurations that hold meaning and connection to different human desires.

As we follow the protagonist – a recover addict, which gives another show of humanity’s darkness – we see each level within the people she interacts with.

SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT

Though we do not get our beloved Doug Bradley as Pinhead, the female interpretation of this sadistic monk does give me the same style of… let’s call it respect. She negotiates, she knew the rules and in the end, she knew that the “gift” Riley chose – to live with all that happened – was the most sadistic of them all.

I also loved the ides of when you reached the final configuration you were granted a wish. Because for most of the people who would reach this point, The Cenobites’ interpretation of “gift” would most likely be deserved.

In the real of remakes, this one is up there for trying to pay homage to the core concepts and not just shovel out meaningless gore.