Hellraiser

After four theatrical and six direct-to-video releases “Hellraiser” has been given a reboot as a cinematic release for Hulu.

For those not familiar with the series based on a story by Clive Barker, it involves a cube-shaped puzzle box that when opened summons demons known as Cenobites who demand sacrifices and promise great rewards to those who summon them.

Naturally, their version of rewards is the stuff of nightmares as the line between pleasure and pain for them is even more distorted than their horrific visages leading those who encounter them to plead for death but often face tortures beyond imagination.

The new take on the series stars Odessa A’zion as Riley, a recovering addict who is living with her brother and his boyfriend as well as a roommate. Her brother is concerned over her relationship with her boyfriend as he believes anyone she met in recovery is not stable enough to support her in her times of need.

Desperate for money; Riley is convinced to take objects from an abandoned warehouse but finds only the mysterious puzzle box which she in time is able to reconfigure to one of the various options it is capable of. In doing so, she summons the Cenobites who promptly take her brother which forces Riley and her friends not only to question her sobriety but her sanity as well.

As they attempt to understand the nature of what is happening to them, their investigation leads them to a larger puzzle and encounters with more Cenobites including their leader Pinhead (Jamie Clayton) whose at times cryptic messages can tempt and torment those who try to survive and manipulate the events they find themselves in.

What follows is a mix of tension and gore as personal ambitions, survival, temptation, and base emotions are tempted as the characters attempt to understand a complex and rapidly changing nightmare from which there seems to be no escape.

While the new version does have a slow and more deliberate pace leading up to the finale, it was eng...

Yes, Hellraiser has had a Disney make over and it shows.

I like Clive Barkers work. I've read a lot of his novels and I remember the original Hellraiser films. Frankly, this film does not feel like an adaptation, of his work.

For a start, its predictably woke, no surprises there, right?

Its cardinal sin however, is dumbing down the lore found in the original franchise and applying the little that is left, in an inconsistent and at times incoherent, manner.

The results a borderline watchable affair. Its pretty tame compared to the original flicks and for me, failed to resonate.

Acting is alright and as you might expect, production values are decent.

That said, the original films are, I believe, considerably better and far more disturbingly horrifying, than this rather weak facsimile.

Not a bad movie... but not a decent movie either. It's not as entertaining as most of the Hellraiser sequels to date.

It's predictable, in no way suspenseful and much of it makes little to no sense. It has nothing in common with the other Hellraiser movies and nothing in common with 'The Hellbound Heart' which is the Clive Barker novel that Hellraiser is based on.

The original Hellraiser movie was very true to the book and is still by far the best Hellraiser movie with the most suspense, horror and entertainment value.

I'm sure we'll see more Hellraiser movies... and I'm sure they will all be uninspiring.

It's pretty woke and I enjoyed it.

I swear, how did we go from discussing and critiquing the plot of a movie and the acting and the script and the sets, to opening criticism with the line "it's pretty woke". At least the bigots can't help but out themselves constantly nowadays.