Definitely enjoyed this. I appreciated that it wasn't a 1:1 remake of the original film/book and that they used elements of the original to chart a new path with this one, while also adding their own mythology. The visuals and production design were great, as were the performances. The Cenobites were cool, as usual.
There are some things I wasn't crazy about. Like the original film, the ending is not the strongest in this one. It felt a little more like a typical slasher flick with the Cenobites chasing the characters and the "spooky house" element towards the end. It also dumps a little too much of the mythology on the viewer for one film.
Also, while I understand why they did it, they deviated from the original by apparently allowing the box to be forced upon anyone by cutting them with it to sacrifice them. I like the concept of the box being a choice better.
Interested to see how they follow this up with a sequel.
Easily the best Hellraiser film since Hellbound and Bruckner is definitely 3 for 3 now when it comes to making quality horror flicks and I hope the guy becomes an established name one of these days.
Loved the practical gore/creature effects in this and I hope this isn't the last we see of Jamie Clayton as Pinhead because she's great in the role and the scariest incarnation since Doug Bradley.
Definitely enjoyed this. I appreciated that it wasn't a 1:1 remake of the original film/book and that they used elements of the original to chart a new path with this one, while also adding their own mythology. The visuals and production design were great, as were the performances. The Cenobites were cool, as usual.
There are some things I wasn't crazy about. Like the original film, the ending is not the strongest in this one. It felt a little more like a typical slasher flick with the Cenobites chasing the characters and the "spooky house" element towards the end. It also dumps a little too much of the mythology on the viewer for one film.
Also, while I understand why they did it, they deviated from the original by apparently allowing the box to be forced upon anyone by cutting them with it to sacrifice them. I like the concept of the box being a choice better.
Interested to see how they follow this up with a sequel.
I agree. I didn't like them going the whole J-Horror route with the Box being a curse that is forced on people.
The Cenobites felt more malevolently evil as well. In the first two movies what made pinhead and his sadomasochist gang scary is they didn't seem to have malice or even understand that what they were giving is horrific. They seemed to genuinely believe they're giving you a good thing, like when pinhead says to Kirsty in the first movie "we have such sights to show you" he sounds excited. In this movie they seem to be fully aware this isn't a true gift but is a monkey's paw type deal.
This film benefited from having a bigger budget and far better effects than any of the previous hellraiser films
I didn't find the characters all that likeable so I wasn't too invested in their fate. The boyfriend with the glasses was probably the most likeable character for me.
There were some generic horror movie trope elements in this version which I wasn't the biggest fan of but overall it is a solid movie. I give it 7/10
The visual effects looked good. The special makeup and costumes looked good. Direction looked good. I thought the ironwork cage around the house was a neat idea, almost making the house like a type of puzzle box itself.
Script was weak. Characters and their performances were weak. Just wasn't memorable at all. Just nothing in particular was really memorable about it. I don't feel like any new ground was actually broken here. Hellraiser has largely been irrelevant as a horror franchise for like 30 years, and that remains the case.
I also found the movie to be a bit dull and maybe too long.
What I liked is The Box design and workings. Instead of different puzzel boxes, there is only one with multiple configurations.
Obvious trivia: all configurations names start with an L.
Watched this the other night. Other than a few weak performances, runtime that could’ve been trimmed by about 15 minutes or so and it being a little too dark with the lighting at times, this was a pretty solid horror film. I appreciated that it didn’t rely on the gore and shock value of the original, and instead was more of a philosophical and cerebral film. 8/10
I’m kind of surprised that people found Riley a terrible character. I think the point is that you’re not really supposed to like her initially and that a lot of her making these mistakes throughout the film finally forces her to really confront and re-examine herself and the choices she’s made.
This film is ultimately about addiction, and how it can not just hurt you but those around you as well. How you have to live with the consequences, but also that it is very hard to give up.
I mean, in the end, Riley gives up wanting her brother back, which is the one thing that she wanted the most throughout the entire rest of the film and happened as a result of her lifestyle choices and temporarily relapsing. It’s her biggest regret. Even her obsession with solving the box is just another form of addiction that she needed to get over in the end. It takes the inadvertent deaths of some of those around her to realize what that costs to those around her to finally stop. She ultimately decides to live with that decision and that regret, as much as it hurts to carry. Living with her terrible choices is the ultimate torture, even more than being tortured by the cenobites, but being able to make new and better decisions is the ultimate pleasure. Her ultimate reward is not only regret, but choice.
She, like a lot of us dealing with some sort of addiction, can’t rewind time and take all of those past bad things back, but can move forward, have a chance to make better decisions and just live, even if we have to carry the baggage of all of those bad choices with us for the rest of our lives.
I don’t know, I found this really engaging and thoughtful. I guess you have to be from a certain walk of life to truly appreciate it, which is why it resonated with me so much.
I agree. I didn't like them going the whole J-Horror route with the Box being a curse that is forced on people.
The Cenobites felt more malevolently evil as well. In the first two movies what made pinhead and his sadomasochist gang scary is they didn't seem to have malice or even understand that what they were giving is horrific. They seemed to genuinely believe they're giving you a good thing, like when pinhead says to Kirsty in the first movie "we have such sights to show you" he sounds excited. In this movie they seem to be fully aware this isn't a true gift but is a monkey's paw type deal.
This film benefited from having a bigger budget and far better effects than any of the previous hellraiser films
I didn't find the characters all that likeable so I wasn't too invested in their fate. The boyfriend with the glasses was probably the most likeable character for me.
There were some generic horror movie trope elements in this version which I wasn't the biggest fan of but overall it is a solid movie. I give it 7/10
Somewhat agreed, except for Riley. As someone who has been struggling with a certain addiction over the past 20 years ago, would lash out and get angry, sometimes towards my parents, for seemingly no reason (I mean, there was, but that’s just what it looked like from the outside) and would keep to myself a lot, I empathized very much with Riley and her predicament and found her really relateable. There’s a part of you that wants to get well and give it up, but another part of you that doesn’t want to from having carried it for so long and get really confrontational when pushed too far. Like I said above, yes, she isn’t very likable for the most part, but that’s the whole point.
Any addiction in excess, not just drugs and alcohol, if carried for too long, can make you a really terrible person, but you can make the choice to give it up and become a better person. It is extremely difficult, but it is possible.
I liked it, thought it was solid with a good metaphor for addiction. They captured the spirit of the themes of the original but did its own thing from the setting and characters to the nature of the box itself which was really cool. Riley was a good character, someone who thinks what she's doing is right but it's effecting everyone around her and has major consequences. The third act is a little too long and Riley a little too passive but it stuck the landing. Definitely one of the better reimaginings.
This was awesome! The whole addiction metaphor was done really well. Not only does it suck you in and spit you out, it sucks in everyone around you whether you want it to or not.
eh, it's up to you. The original is definitely of its time but it's got some filmmaking/story issues. But then again I haven't seen the original in years.
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