As Hellraiser in general has always been one of my favorite horror franchises from the 80's (even though most of the sequels are laughably terrible in multiple ways) and with the fact that I pretty much despise every remake or reboot ever done in general, I was very skeptical about a new Hellraiser being put together in the light of that stance. Some could argue that the original does warrant a remake for certain reasons, but it's a horror classic as of now whether you like it or not and it needs to be left alone just like every other property that may or may not eventually fall into the greedy assed hands of Hollyweird these days as a cash grab to prey on the old school fans of whatever it might be. Cynicism can lead to pain or pleasure, and I felt like this new Hellraiser as a Hulu original had a little of both. The new girl that tried to fill the shoes of Kirsty Cotton, Riley, was honestly okay as our lead here and I felt like she was kind of flat and all over the place. That doesn't necessarily mean Odessa A'zion put in a terrible performance because she was very solidly cast here, I just personally didn't think her character had much to her besides being a drunken loser that pops pills all the time. I won't spoil it if you haven't had a chance to ingest this two hour piece yet, but there's a twist with her boyfriend and another big character in the third act that you could possibly see coming if you're really paying any attention. Really, at this point, I was just wanting to see the cenobites and Jamie Clayton as the new Pinhead, and she really kicked some serious ass here and deserves all the credit she's been getting for her portrayal of the hellish icon.
The puzzle box returns once again at the hands of Roland Voight, who is an insanely wealthy business investor and art collector that wants nothing more than to experience quite literally every pleasure that could possibly be felt by the human body and then some. He wants it all, and doesn't care who's blood he feeds the box with as long as he's able to gain the highest possible pleasure imaginable. But, of course, with stakes and desires that reach such limits, there's a price to pay. I won't say what that price is, but when I saw the stipulation that went along with such a figure, I said out loud as my dad and I kept watching, "I'd rather be dead to be honest". And he agreed with me. When it comes down to it, there's no amount of selling yourself that could be worth distorting your soul for the ultimate in sensibilities. There needs to be boundaries and limits, and without those, well-that's where Pinhead, and now her, cenobites come in and fill in the gaps. Their way-not your way, their way. "What's your pleasure, sir?" Nothing, I'm good-thanks. Just leave me out of it.
Pinhead cares not about money.
Solve the puzzle box Joey. You know you want to.
Voight needs blood for the leviathan, Joey. Get ripped by the chains.
There's always a rich asshole looking to make a profit.
Yes, please take the puzzle box. Just don't let the appraiser solve it, though.
"That blade was meant for you."
The cenobites are coming for you, Matt. You better be fucking ready.
Cenobites aren't angels. Roland was a fucked up guy.
Well Serena, you don't have to worry about your rotting lungs now. Being stabbed by the puzzle box and all.
Do you really think going to Voight's mansion is a good idea?
I think Matt's a little dead. And skinless.
Some guy is living in the walls. We all know who that is.
There it is, zits and zombies. I can't hold it back that I did enjoy this new Hellraiser more than I thought I would. Jamie Clayton was excellent as the new Pinhead and there were nods to a few of the older films, specifically the second one when the leviathan did actually show up and that far away view it showed of the mansion and the bottom tip of it coming down through the clouds really reminded me of the labyrinth towards the end. The land around the mansion from far away looked like a winding maze as well which also calls to that same scene from part two. If you've been on the fence about this new Hellraiser, give it a shot. You might be surprised as the production values will most likely suck you in with their amazing make-up, lighting and cinematography as well as the dazzling pain and succinct pleasure will keep you planted so that Pinhead can pierce your neck all the way through with one of the long pins from the top of her head. She has such sights to show you.
No comments:
Post a Comment