Hellraiser (2022)

Director: David Bruckner
Starring: Odessa A'zion, Jamie Clayton, Adam Faison

Synopsis:
A drug addict steals a puzzle box that unlocks a demonic threat.

Impressions:
As you can imagine, when I saw they were rebooting the Hellraiser franchise, I wasn't expecting anything good. Not that there's been much good in the franchise outside the first two films (though, as you may recall, I did think Judgment was decent). However, I decided that this could make good review fodder, so I gave it a shot. To be honest with you, I was quite surprised. It was actually a solid film, probably on par with or even edging out III. Because this is supposed to be a reboot, I feel it doesn't take nearly enough time building mystery and suspense as the first film did, but as simply one film in the series, it's less of an issue that the ball gets rolling as quickly as it does.

As for the characters, they don't opt to lead with an ingenue like Kirsty as the heroine, and while Riley's struggle with addiction makes for a good setup for someone getting involved with the Lament Configuration, she isn't particularly likable, which can make it difficult for the audience to get behind her. I ended up liking Jamie Clayton as the Priest (i.e. Pinhead) more than I thought and though no one can replace Doug Bradley, she does the best among the recasts so far. Her design and that of the other Cenobites were rather good (definitely better than the pseudo-Cenobites of III, which is part of the reason I'm inclined to give this an edge over that film) and though a little more restraint would've made the film more suspenseful, I thought they were employed rather well.

The fact that Clive Barker was actually involved in the production should count for something (as the last film in the series he had any hand in was Bloodline) and though David S Goyer can be a bit of a mixed bag as a writer, I'd say this is one of his better pieces. (If you happen to be one of Goyer's fans, then the fact that he wrote and produced this should be incentive enough.) I won't get ahead of myself thinking this is a sign of more good things to come for the series, but if you like this franchise, it's definitely worth checking out.

Rating:
Watch It