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There’s still a sadomasochistic hedonist in the new “Hellraiser,” in the form of debauched art dealer Roland Voight (Goran Visnjic), whose actions set the wheels of the plot in motion. But then “Hellraiser” pivots to a young woman and recovering addict named Riley (Odessa A’zion), who comes into possession of the box through a series of poor choices and accidentally opens the portal to let the Cenobites through again.
Director David Bruckner says that he didn’t see any reason to remake the original 1987 “Hellraiser,” which was directed by Clive Barker himself. “The first movie is a pretty great adaptation of the book,” he affirms. “I don’t know that we need another one.”
Instead, Bruckner says that his “Hellraiser” references Barker’s novella in different ways: “We did take a lot of inspiration from the book, particularly where design was concerned. A lot of my collaborations with Clive in prep were about examining ideas from the book, and him and [me] finding shared obsessions, as he would say.”
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Ultimately, however, the director adds that while the movie still has to feel like it’s part of the “Hellraiser” mythology, it also has to stand on its own two feet.
“You have to look at the story in the context of the greater conversation of ‘Hellraiser,’ but it’s also a story,” he says. “It’s a movie and it’s the tale of a character. Our lead, Riley, she has her own dilemma. She has her own conversation with temptation. The Cenobites are both of their own world [and] also a reflection of her interior. So a lot of my conversations with Clive were thematic, and that often tied us back to ‘The Hellbound Heart.'”
“Hellraiser” is streaming now on Hulu.
