Hulu’s ‘Hellraiser’, which was directed by David Bruckner and written by Clive Barker and David S. Goyer, has been causing some chatter, and while I am a bit late on checking it out, I finally got to do so over the weekend.
According to the synopsis: “A young woman must confront the sadistic, supernatural forces behind an enigmatic puzzle box responsible for her brother’s disappearance.”
The film stars Jamie Clayton, Odessa A’zion, Drew Starkey, Brandon Flynn, Goran Visnjic, Selina Lo, Adam Faison, and Aoife Hinds.
The new take on Clive Barker’s 1987 horror classic certainly lived up to the hype in terms of special effects, imagery, and overall presentation. A lot of effort went in to establishing the story, and character development, which proved to be a positive and a negative for the film.
Where a lot of dialogue and interaction set the foundation for understanding each character, it took away screen time from the Cenobites and Pinhead, who weren’t on screen as much as myself, or fans, may have wanted.
While the story focuses on the issues Riley has, both in her struggles with addiction and her interpersonal relationships, the underlying story of Roland Voigt and his struggle with greed and power, had a lot of intrigue as well.
While some scenes dragged a bit, and we didn’t get much in the way of on-screen kills, the movie was solid.
While I never really found myself interested in any of the original movies, although the first was solid, the performances, the writing, and the visuals of this new adaptation of Hellraiser has left me wanting sequels.
Hulu has something special here for horror fans, and I will certainly be tuning in for the next film.
