Hellraiser: Judgment finds iconic demon Pinhead feeling a little bored with immorality, claims star Paul T. Taylor. Pinhead made his debut in 1987’s Hellraiser, which was the directorial debut of acclaimed author Clive Barker. The film’s visceral gore and imagery shocked even hardened horror fans upon release, and Pinhead soon became the poster boy for the entire series. Even Barker was surprised by this, since the character had less than ten minutes of screentime, and isn’t even named in the movie.

Pinhead’s role became even bigger in the sequel, and he became the lead villain of Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth, which attempted to make the character a Freddy Krueger-style wisecracker. Despite this, the franchise never became as popular as A Nightmare On Elm St or Halloween, and has been going straight to video ever since the fifth installment Inferno. The upcoming Hellraiser: Judgment by writer/director Gary J. Tunnicliffe marks the tenth entry in the franchise.

Related: Pinhead Is Back In Hellraiser: Judgment Trailer

Hellraiser: Judgment finds a group of detectives chasing a vicious serial killer, a case that literally goes to hell when they find themselves on trial for their own sins. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Hellraiser movie without Pinhead appearing, but actor Paul T. Taylor told Comic Book in a new interview that the movie finds the demon a little jaded of all the torture and bloodshed:

Pinhead Hellraiser Judgment

I think it kind of came from the script. It came from Gary's direction. In this script, it seems that Pinhead is in more of a sort of bored place, but the arrogance is all there. He has all the power. As he says unknowingly, he doesn't know what's going to happen, he says, 'I have nothing to fear.' He's just at a place in his life where he's jaded. I think he's possibly older than he's been before in other films, if you can age, a demon can age. In Clive Barker's world, a demon certainly can age. If you've read the Scarlet Gospels.

Early reviews for Hellraiser: Judgment suggests it’s a return to form for the franchise, which hasn’t had a worthy sequel in a long, long time. The previous movie in the franchise was the controversial Hellraiser: Revelations, which was made solely for the purpose of holding onto the copyright of the series when it was about to expire. It was produced on a tiny budget and shot quickly before being dumped on DVD, and original Pinhead performer Doug Bradley was so turned off by the sloppiness of the project he declined to reprise the character.

There’s been talk of a Hellraiser reboot for the last decade or so, but it never seems to come together. The franchise’s complex mythology and focus on hardcore bloodshed, kinky sex, and religious themes make it a harder sell than a regular slasher movie, so making a commercial remake has proved a hard task. That said, the horror genre is doing very well at the present, and if the forthcoming Halloween is a hit, maybe Pinhead will get to raise some hell on the big screen again.

More: Halloween (2018) Could Kill Michael Myers For Good

Hellraiser: Judgment hits Blu-ray, DVD and digital on Tuesday, February 13.

Source: Comic Book