Hellraiser

A more sophisticated re-imagining of the original 1987 film that became a cult classic, Hellraiser’s infamous Pin-Head haunted the minds of a generation. It haunted mine as a kid, and now as an adult watching this remake, it still managed to shock me — despite the films homage to horror films of the 80’s and 90’s.

While other horror film reboots can feel formulaic or overly familiar, Hellraiser takes things up several notches.  First, there’s the story:  Drug addict Riley (A’zion) is struggling with sobriety and trying to keep her life in order when she comes across a mystical puzzle box that summons Cenobites, extra-dimensional demonic beings that require sacrifices for the box until the final puzzle is solved. It tortures Riley, representing her addiction and temptation. New characters are introduced, departing from the original, and their motivations set them up for various perils, adding new layers to the plot.

While the story unfolds slowly, it escalates into some of the most gruesome and brutal kill scenes I’ve seen in a long time, with sound editing that captures each ripping of flesh, a cringe-worthy reminder of why the original was so popular amongst horror lovers. The film builds to a pulse-pounding third act where all the remaining characters are faced with critical decisions. There’s a twist — set up from the beginning, but you almost forget about it — and with it the film ends with a pay-off worthy of horror fans’ approval.

With a bigger budget and up-to-date technology, the Cenobites were all petrifying. These physically-altered beings each had body modifications that represented their obsession/addiction, and you can see the textures of their muscles and ligaments put into every inch of the costumes. The actors portraying the Cenobites move and interact with impending victims in haunting ways, and the new Pinhead, aka the Hell Priest (played by Jamie Clayton), was one of the most terrifying of all, with a modified voice made her that much scarier.