A Hellraiser remake – sorry, reimagining – is in the works from Spyglass. The filmmaking team behind Sundance horror hit The Night House – director David Bruckner (The Ritual), screenwriters Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski (Super Dark Times) – will reunite to take a new crack at establishing Pinhead as a horror icon for a new generation.
Clive Barker wrote and directed the 1987 original film, adapting from his own novella The Hellbound Heart, which introduced horror audiences to the tortures of the Cenobites; a demonic race of sadomasochistic creatures from a hellish dimension. The reboot is reportedly being described as “loyal, yet evolved”. Spyglass is also currently in the works on a reboot of Wes Craven‘s 90s slasher Scream.
It’s hard to know exactly how to feel about this. Hellraiser is probably the kind of horror movie where a reimagining could become something very interesting. But at the same time there have been, like, nine Hellraiser sequels (including a 2018 one; did anyone see that?) and none of them have been able to capture the memorable atmosphere of the first film. Maybe it was lighting in a bottle?
Not being tied to the original film will probably help Bruckner and co. We’ll wait and see what they come up with. They’ve got a bunch of grotesque imagery to work with thanks to Barker’s imagination back in the 80s, so if they can think of creative ways to harness it, this could turn into something great.
#Peace.Love.Hellraiser
