There has been some confusion over whether the new Hellraiser movie is a sequel, a reboot, or a remake of the original film. Clive Barker's novella The Hellbound Heart first received a film adaptation, written and directed by the author himself, in 1987. The first Hellraiser movie then launched a film franchise comprising nine sequels, with the help of its most iconic character, Pinhead.
Replacing the original Pinhead, Doug Bradley, in Hellraiser 2022 is Sense8 star Jamie Clayton. Taking over the helm of the series is director David Bruckner. Bruckner first broke out in the horror genre with his V/H/S segment, Amateur Night, before going on to direct the critically acclaimed psychological horror movie The Night House, starring Rebecca Hall.
Hulu's 2022 Hellraiser movie is not a sequel to the original 1987 film, nor is it a traditional remake. Instead, it serves as a re-adaptation of Clive Barker's The Hellbound Heart, as well as a reboot of the entire Hellraiser franchise. Ignoring the series' previous continuity is a sensible idea for Hellraiser 2022, given how so many of the sequels were panned — no installment after the 1987 original has higher than a 50% score on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning they all received overall negative reviews from critics.
Why Hellraiser Isn't A Direct Remake Of The 1987 Movie
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Hellraiser 2022's status as a re-adaptation and reboot rather than a direct remake frees it to explore more of Clive Barker's ideas in The Hellbound Heart. For example, in the novella, Pinhead and the rest of the Cenobites were described as androgynous. Pinhead, specifically, was also described as possessing more of a feminine voice than Doug Bradley's masculine speech in the 1987 movie. Therefore, the Hellraiser reboot's female Pinhead (played by Jamie Clayton) makes her more accurate to the original text.
The new Hellraiser being a reboot of the series, rather than a remake of the original movie, also removes it further from the series' flaws. Many of the Hellraiser sequels were criticized for being cheaply made and having little to do, thematically, with Clive Barker's original story. The 2011 installment Hellraiser: Revelations was quickly produced in a number of weeks just so that Dimension Films could keep the rights to the franchise. The cynicism of the film was so apparent that Doug Bradley declined to take part, despite having played Pinhead in all other Hellraiser movies up until that point, necessitating a recasting of the character for the first time in the franchise. By starting again, with a whole new continuity and a fresh take on Clive Barker's original material, David Bruckner's Hellraiser reboot looks to be the most exciting film in the franchise in 35 years.
