First Look at New Female Pinhead in ‘Hellraiser’ Reboot

She will always be the queen of Hellraiser.

Interesting! Thanks for the share on this. I need to watch the trailer. I had no idea that they were doing a reboot, let alone with a female pinhead. This to me works, because the women in the Hellraiser series seem more villainess than the men.

Also, off topic, but on Shudder, why is Hellrasier considered an LGBT or "Queer Horror Film". I've seen Hellraiser and Hellbound multiple times and neither had any sort of reference or connection to LGBT horror. Is it the S&M of it all or kink?

Maybe because Clive is gay? Shudder is like "Look! We're inclusive!".

I did not know that, R3. OK - that makes sense although it's not a "queer" film, unless I am not seeing the subtext.

There’s nothing queer about Hellraiser.

Clayton is a trans woman

[quote]R4: it's not a "queer" film, unless I am not seeing the subtext.

[quote]OP/R5: There’s nothing queer about Hellraiser.

I beg to differ.

Moreover:

Furthermore:

It’s not “queer”, it’s gay.

The Chatterer's original form (from 'Hellbound: Hellraiser II'):

I’m looking forward to this.

Why? You have original.

*the

I just read the actress is trans who is playing Pinhead.

I read the articles above and Barker based a lot of the themes in Hellraiser on his time as a male escort. I didn't know that much about him - very interesting.

[quote]I just read the actress is trans who is playing Pinhead.

Terrible.

I hope they have a hot Uncle Frank like the original did.

Frank was a freak!

I love Hellraiser, the first two. I love the original story. There’s a lot of misconceptions about the movie based on Pinhead but people are always surprised when I tell them the plot of Frank and Julia.

They’re already making an HBO Hellraiser tv series that has no connection to this crap.

Clive Barker has no connection to this film, no? I know he had no input in the Candyman remake wokery. I don’t know if Barker is woke, though. He could be. He’s an older white gay male.

I read the articles you posted, R7, and still didn’t see any real queer connection. The authors mention S&M and kink, but I don’t see how those things are necessarily queer.

[quote]R21: I read the articles you posted...

Queer meaning straight.

I think Barker is woke.

It's an Anscher thread, and the only point is to use socks to bitch about trans, and post far-right bullshit about the meaning of plain words like 'queer.' No thanks. As far as what's homosexual about 'Hellraiser,' I've already offered relevant information for the real posters who stumble across this thread.

You need to seek therapy, or get off the Internet for a bit. Go for a walk. ^

[QUOTE] Interesting! Thanks for the share on this. I need to watch the trailer.

There’s only a teaser so far, even though it’s only a month away. I don’t know what they’re waiting for.

[QUOTE] Clive Barker has no connection to this film, no?

Clive is an Executive Producer of the film, R20.

[quote]I know he had no input in the Candyman remake wokery.

Are you slow? The original Candyman was about a a black man murdered for an affair with a white woman and a grad student investigating deaths and an urban legend in a housing project. Racism and race were central to the story. It was "woke" before your mom was wiping your shitty little baby ass.

Stop using woke as a pejorative. It's not a bad thing and I think you might be stupid and don't understand what it means.

She, the new Pinhead, seems to have forsaken weltschmerz for a smirk.

It's a bit on-the-nose to use a trans woman for representing where horrific body modifications in the pursuit of (sexual) pleasure and gratification can lead, but one cannot argue that it is entirely unfitting. *shrug*

Can't the morons in Hollywood come up with something original?

[quote]It's a bit on-the-nose to use a trans woman for representing where horrific body modifications in the pursuit of (sexual) pleasure and gratification can lead, but one cannot argue that it is entirely unfitting. *shrug*

OR...she auditioned, gave the best audition, and got the job regardless of the fact that she is a trans woman. *shrug*

Right. lol

Trailer.

It’s about fucking time.

I am really excited to see this! I didn't realize Brandon Flynn was in it, representing the wholesome "queer" contingent complete with poetry reading partner. I read all the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and though all are marked as "fresh", the reviews themselves don't seem to reflect the freshness. Almost unanimously, every reviewer has said that this a fairly "Disney-fied" version with throw away characters, murky filming, and is"scrubbed clean" of any of the deviant sexuality of the original versions. The Cenobites seem to get a thumbs up, but many reviewers have complained that the kill scenes are so dark (as in color) that it's hard to see.

This leads me to an unrelated question - what makes a film on RT fresh or rotten based on the critics reviews? Having read all the top reviews this seems like an OK film leaning towards rotten yet all the reviews have fresh icons despite the content of the reviews. What's the metric?

Regardless, I am looking forward to seeing this tomorrow and am excited to read the discussions on the movie here after everyone has seen it.

I am offended they did not choose an MTF of color.

Nobody is going to day anything about this film, as they should, solely because of the “queef” (yes, queef) and “trans” garbage. Deadline had some balls in their review, but they praised the ridiculous transperson. So like the others, they’re just too afraid. We live in sad times.

Rotten Tomatoes is absolute garbage.

Not interested. I was hot for male pinhead.

[quote]I just read the actress is trans who is playing Pinhead.

So, man plays Pinhead. News at 11.

[quote]This leads me to an unrelated question - what makes a film on RT fresh or rotten based on the critics reviews? Having read all the top reviews this seems like an OK film leaning towards rotten yet all the reviews have fresh icons despite the content of the reviews. What's the metric?

r37 Each critic decides on their own whether their review will be counted as rotten or fresh when they submit it to RT (you need to be an invited member), where fresh can range anywhere from pure excellence to "it's a trashy movie, but still enjoyable". That's why you should also check out the score on Metacritic, where each reviewer gives a more exact score from 0 to 100.

Actor, OP, ACTOR.

[quote] Nobody is going to day anything about this film, as they should, solely because of the “queef” (yes, queef) and “trans” garbage

What's been interesting about the reviews is that while they seem to support Pinhead being a "women", many question the need for the change - as in, it hasn't leant a particularly new or fresh element to the franchise. Yes, Pinhead was androgynous in the novella, "The Hellhound Heart", but it seems like the change from male to female was made with no real poignancy to it. We shall see tomorrow. I'm going in with an open mind. I'm less worried about Pinhead and the hellscape and more about the actual main players. I am really hoping this doesn't go the way of the utterly forgettable and equally terrible "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" reboot by Netflix. That needs to be deleted and burned forever.

[QUOTE] I was hot for male pinhead.

While I wasn’t hot for him, I certainly adored the great Doug Bradley’s legendary performances and wish they’d continue using him while he’s still alive and capable. But it’s possible that Doug chose not to reprise the role.

This movie appears to be light on the sexual S&M themes... which is a shame. I was hoping moving forward the Hellraiser franchise would focus on the sexual sadism aspect more than the mystical puzzlebox stuff.

So the Devil is queer?

Met Doug Bradley last weekend at Monster-Mania.

He's definitely getting up in age and has the distant British sense of disengagement down to a tee.

I told him the first film was great but I loved the sequel even more.

"Hellbound? Well see now I simply cannot agree with you on that."

Told him while Pinhead was cool, my heart belonged to Julia, the true queen of hell.

He did tell me she (Claire Higgins) will be making an appearance in Vegas soon and I should go meet her.

Shame she and the Cenobites never had any screen time together.

Julia…

Though there is so much talk of the original "Hellraiser" being a "queer horror film", I really don't see it. I missed any gay context or subtext when I was a kid. I had a rewatch recently and I still don't see it. Pleasure, pain, innuendos to S&M but I think that message is subliminal - you won't see it unless you are looking for it from the novella. I am going to listen to the Hellhound Heart on Audible. I read it many years ago and I think it might be good to listen to it as an adult. Maybe it will provide new insights before watching the Hulu reboot.

To those of you commenting on the change to female, there was no change. It's a man.

Same here, r51. I didn't see the link to "queerness" when I originally saw the film nor when I rewatched. I figured it's just the mainstream lumping BDSM into with the LGB community just because it's spicier than hetero missionary sex.

This would have been a perfect role for G.

I just watched it yesterday and was pleasantly surprised, I generally enjoyed it. David Bruckner is really starting to become a standout director between this and The Night House.

Production wise, it's top notch. The cinematography and attention to detail is great. In particular I really liked how they made the mansion itself a bit of a puzzle box so to speak, that they were trapped within. The androgynous Pinhead ultimately didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. It helped that they altered Pinhead's voice to reinforce this.

Gone are the leather BDSM outfits though, in favor of exposed mutilated and peeled back flesh. I thought the cast gave strong and competent performances. It doesn't really delve into the sexual perversions and compulsions of the original, it's more about choosing your own fate and understanding the consequences in a more abstract sense. Many are comparing it more to The Monkey's Paw, it's more about desire and greed in general.

This definitely ranks up there as one of the best Hellraiser movies for me. I don't know whether to call it a "sequel" or a "reboot" to be honest. It has nothing to do with the characters from the original aside from the Cenobites, so I wouldn't call it a reboot. I guess you could say it's a sequel in the sense that it's taking place in current times, with new people, and the Cenobytes have been around all along.

Oh and for the people wondering why Hellraiser has become popular among the LGBTQ community, this movie in particular does feature a gay couple as some of the main characters. Though it's not Hellraiser meets Brokeback Mountain. Their relationship is just more organically part of the storyline.

Is it a mixed raced gay couple? That's important.

"Why? You have original."

Melania Trump, film critic.

R57, yes, I think. Actor Adam Faison plays one of the two. He appears to be a person of color, but I'm not sure of his nationality/race in real life.

How ridiculous^. If this succeeds, I’ll be sad. Very sad.

[quote]"Why? You have original."

😮 That's what I say about vairst wive. But what to say? People are stupid.

20 minutes in and it’s already better than any of the sequels.

Holy shit, this movie is awesome!

Nice - I'm excited. I was waiting to see what DL said before I watch it tonight and so far it seems surprisingly positive! I don't have Hulu, but will re-subscribe for the month to watch this.

Scary. The design is pretty good.

I’m shocked at how much I loved it. Definitely the best horror movie of the year so far.

I don’t trust any of these “reviews” because of pro-trans propaganda.

There's a really funny video on IMDB where they discuss that Hulu released this Hellraiser, Disney now owns the majority of Hulu, ergo Pinhead is Disney's newest Disney Princess.

I enjoyed it. Clive Barker’s Books of Blood is on Hulu also.

"I don’t trust any of these “reviews” because of pro-trans propaganda."

I'm sure that's your excuse for everything.

OP, words mean things. The new Hellraiser isn't female. The performer portraying the character is a male.

R51 R53 I didn’t know Hellraiser was supposed to be queer. What was queer about it?

It seemed very much about straight lust to me.

R71 is mad because a transgender woman is playing a cisgender woman Cenobyte.

Die mad. R71! 🤗

[quote]I don’t trust any of these “reviews” because of pro-trans propaganda.

In case you are wondering why someone would believe this, read the propagandistic response at R73.

The Cenobites were sick!

This Pinhead also has a dick head in his pants. It's a man.

I just saw it. It was definitely a different take on it, but overall I liked it better than I thought I would. It didn't feel cheap.

It was nice to see Brandon Flynn. The last time I've seen him was 13 Reason Why - he's all grown up. He and his partner in the movie felt like a normal gay couple. Thankfully, there did not feel like any forced lecturing or wokery, which I was apprehensive about and I appreciated them steering clear of.

This new incarnation felt like a Hellraiser/Nightmare on Elm Street mash up. I thought the new Cenebites outfits looked a little artificial and not quite as scary. All the flayed skin as clothing looked like latex and was probably more costly than if they had just worn the black fetish gear of the original. The exposed pussy cenobite with the flesh hood was odd looking and not all that menacing. I didn't mind the female Pinhead - she didn't have the larger than life boom of the original, but she was fine for this. It's all about costuming and the altered voice - she didn't have much to do by way of acting.

This version really focused on the box as a portal and exactly what each configuration of the box procured, which I think was a interesting way to go. I had always been curious about what exactly the box represented. One big change from the original/the sequel was that the box only found it's way to the person who really desired it. It was more about the desire to open it than the person who actually opened it, which differs here.

Most reviewers gave it 2.5-3 stars. I would say 3.5 stars. I wasn't bored and it was beautifully shot, if not a little dark.

I hate gender swapping. HATE. IT. I don't mind race swapping, but gender swapping is the absolute worst. In Sandman they changed Constantine from a QUEER MAN to a QUEER WOMAN. We lost a gay (male) character because some idiot thought it was a good idea to gender swap. Fuck this shit. Lesbians have a ton of representation on tv, that is not the case for gay men. That's why it's important to keep all the queer male characters from the comics. What they did to Constantine is grossly offensive and borderline homophobic. I will never watch that shitty show. Yes, I'm pissed. And no, adding gay (male) minor characters does NOT make up for making a major character a woman and a lesbian.

R78, there are more gay men on tv than there are lesbians. But, keep whining. It really suits you.

There weren't any lesbians in this film, but there was a gay cis male couple who weren't total parodies which was a nice change of pace. Even the interracialness off it all felt organic for Gen Z. Both were hot, ripped, and seemed like a natural match.

I passed on this role. Suggested Glenn but the producers didn't listen to my advice.

R79 You are a fucking idiot for making that comment so I blocked you. PS: the GLAAD report stated that there are more lesbian that gay (male) characters on tv. Don't believe me? Go look it up. I'm not making shit up. It's you who are defending the gross homophobia.

"In case you are wondering why someone would believe this, read the propagandistic response at [R73]."

Like I said, your excuse for everything.

Jamie could barely move her face in all that makeup, so there was very little emoting involved. It was so dark, I could barely see all the Cenobites- the flayed Asian one's head makeup wasn't that good in conveying that the head was flayed.

[quote] It was so dark, I could barely see all the Cenobites- the flayed Asian one's head makeup wasn't that good in conveying that the head was flayed.

I thought those were her pussy lips stretched over her head because they show her full frontal often and where her vagina is, there is just a bloody slit - no labia. That was my reasoning. I think you could see the cock/erection of a male cenobite, but with the quick shots and the darkness, it was hard to tell.

It was just okay. The Riley character was annoying as fuck. A whiny, entitled, druggie bitch who didn't seem to give a fuck about how her actions affected those around her.. She was a mouth breathing idiot willing to sacrifice her friends and family to save her own ass. I spent most of the movie wishing the mediocre cenobites would punch her stupid face.

The cenobites looked tiny and weak, as if a gust of wind could blow them away. They were not as menacing as the originals.

I would watch it again were it not for the actress with the pussy mouth.

It was more than okay. It was awesome.

[quote]Are you slow? The original Candyman was about a a black man murdered for an affair with a white woman and a grad student investigating deaths and an urban legend in a housing project. Racism and race were central to the story. It was "woke" before your mom was wiping your shitty little baby ass.

That was the film; the book is different. From the below article:

[quote]The most significant change made in the transition between page and screen though is obviously the fact that Candyman is Black. In case you were not aware, this is not in the book and there is no interracial love affair either, nor was he the victim of a lynch mob.

I’ve watched most of it and I didn’t like it. The cénobites don’t work for me. They lack mystery and a certain cool factor weird as that sounds:

I liked the final message which is that you are going to have to pay thel price one way or the other. Maybe lament with no distraction is the most painful thing, the knowledge that your actions and life choices can have dire consequences, that never being able to escape those thoughts is the ultimate hell.

Will the movie discuss the Cenobite's pronouns?

I’m watching Hellbound: Hellraiser II now, the score is fantastic. Was II better than this film?

The only thing I don’t like about II is the humanizing of the cenobites. Pinhead actually put the nails in his head himself.

[QUOTE] I liked the final message which is that you are going to have to pay thel price one way or the other. Maybe lament with no distraction is the most painful thing, the knowledge that your actions and life choices can have dire consequences, that never being able to escape those thoughts is the ultimate hell.

Agreed. I was waiting for them to screw up the ending but they nailed it.

Clayton was good in Sense8.

I have to agree with r89. I found the whole movie a bit of a slog. It could have been a half hour shorter — and still would have been boring. I was only frightened about once in the whole movie — when the British girl gets trapped.

The cenobites are in the movie way too much — they’re just overexposed — and the story just drags on and on, listlessly told.

The effects are very good though.

I loved Bruckner’s short “amateur hour” in “v/h/s,” about some douchey frat boys who intend to pick up a girl and have sex with her, videotaping her without her consent, not realizing they’ve actually picked up the demon Lilith.

Also enjoyed “The Signal” and its low budget, high concept charm. But I was really underwhelmed by “The Night House” and “Hellraiser.” His bigtime Hollywood stories are listless and just not very well told. “The Ritual” had promise but I felt it just sort of petered out.

Ti West has proven to be the better of the two directors.

r96, I loved, "Amateur Hour" too. But the outstanding segments in the two VHS sequels were directed by Timo Tahjanto: "Safe Haven" and, "The Subject".

I found it enjoyable, but a little overlong.

I didn't enjoy the cenobites much either - they lacked the presence of the originals and came across as relatively generic Hollywood slasher villains, and I disliked the notion that they'll take just anyone when it was quite well defined in the first couple of movies that they usually only take people who open the box.

It was better than all the post-Hellbound sequels, however.

Not better than 3.

And what was the one with Bruce Ramsay? Bloodline? He was so hot in that movie, I think I’d put this right with it.

Still love this movie. Wish I could buy it on iTunes.