Development

In October 2006, Clive Barker announced through his official website that he would be writing the script to a forthcoming remake of the original Hellraiser film, to be produced by Dimension Films.^[9][10][11] In October 2007, Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo were eyed to write and direct.^[12][13] Dimension was hoping to rush the film into production before the potential strikes expected by the end of the year.^[14] A release date of September 5, 2008 was planned by the studio.^[15] By January 2008, the project, then titled Clive Barker Presents: Hellraiser, was delayed to January 9, 2009 following the studio's dissatisfaction with Maury and Bustillo's script.^[16][17] In February 2008, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton were tapped for a page-one rewrite, and production was gearing up to begin that spring.^[18] By April 2008, the directing pair had vacated Hellraiser and moved onto Halloween II after clashing with producer Bob Weinstein, who wanted a film with a wider appeal for mass audiences.^[19][20][21] Darren Lynn Bousman was offered the film, but his commitments to other projects likely prevented him from accepting.^[22] That October, French director Pascal Laugier was set to direct.^[23][24][25] The film was pulled from its January release date in December 2008.^[26] Laugier told Dread Central in March 2009 that work on the film had begun with a co-writer he could not publicly name.^[27] Laugier envisioned a much more serious tone for the film than the producers had hoped; who pushed for a commercial film that would appeal to a teen audience,^[28] and he left the project in June 2009.^[29][30][31] By October, reports indicated that the film would be released in 3D.^[32]

Throughout 2010, further pitches were given by Christian E. Christiansen, Cory Goodman, and from writing duo Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger.^[33] By August, the reboot had taken a back seat at Dimension Films, as production commenced on Hellraiser: Revelations; greenlit primarily to retain the rights to the property.^[34] In October 2010, Christiansen was reported to be in the running for director while Amber Heard was considered for the lead role.^[35][36] Mere days later, it was officially announced that Patrick Lussier and Todd Farmer were to direct and write, respectively, a reboot of the Hellraiser franchise. The story would have differed from the original film, as Lussier and Farmer did not want to retell the original story out of respect for Barker's work, instead focusing on the world and function of the puzzle box. During their tenure on the project, Lussier and Farmer had worked out numerous ideas beyond a simple reboot. One idea was a prequel starring William Fichtner as Pinhead, while another pitch had Pinhead portrayed by a woman.^[37][38] However, in 2011, Farmer confirmed that both he and Lussier were dropped from the project.^[39][40]

In October 2013, Barker announced that he would be directing and writing the film, and Doug Bradley was to return in his role as Pinhead.^[41] A year later, Barker stated that a second draft of the script was completed and described the film as a "very loose" remake of the original film, but said that he may not direct the film.^[42] In March 2017, Barker said that the film's "script was written and delivered to Dimension years ago. That was the last anyone heard until news of a sequel surfaced."^[43] After the successful release of the 2018 horror sequel Halloween, Miramax confirmed that it was considering beginning production on new installments to the Hellraiser franchise.^[44]

In May 2019, Gary Barber announced that Spyglass Media Group would be developing a new remake of Hellraiser to be written and co-produced by David S. Goyer.^[45][46] In April 2020, David Bruckner was reported to direct the remake, with Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski writing the script after having previously collaborated with Bruckner on The Night House (2020), which Goyer also produced.^[47][48] In December 2020, following a legal dispute, Barker officially regained the rights to the property in the United States.^[49]

Pre-production

In June 2021, it was reported that Odessa A'zion was cast in the lead role.^[7] In a July 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, it was revealed that the film's producers auditioned drag performer Gottmik for the role of Pinhead, after Gottmik showed off a Pinhead-inspired look for a runway, on RuPaul's Drag Race.^[50][51]

Filming

In September 2021, Goyer announced that the production crew was "in the midst of" filming, confirming that principal photography had commenced in Belgrade, Serbia.^[52][53] In October 2021, after filming wrapped, Jamie Clayton was revealed to have portrayed Pinhead, while Brandon Flynn, Goran Višnjić, Drew Starkey, Adam Faison, Aoife Hinds, Selina Lo and Hiam Abbass were unveiled as supporting cast.^[54] Bruckner and the crew reached out to Bradley to make a cameo appearance in the film, but Bradley declined for two reasons: first, potential complications with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and secondly, his desire to leave his Pinhead performance's legacy intact, a decision Bruckner and his crew accepted.^[55]

United States

On 28 September 2022, Hellraiser had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas as one of that film festival's "secret screenings".^[2] On 4 October 2022, it was screened at "Beyond Fest" in Santa Monica, California.^[56][57] The film was released in the United States by Hulu via streaming on 7 October 2022, exclusively on its service as a Hulu Original.^[3]

International

On 5 October 2022, David Bruckner announced, on Twitter, that Spyglass and Paramount Pictures were handling international distribution for the film.^[58][6] On 31 October 2022, Paramount announced, via Twitter,^[59][60] the release of the film in the United Kingdom through various streaming services, including Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, and Microsoft, as part of its international release.

Home media

Hellraiser was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2023.^[61]

Audience viewership

According to Whip Media's TV Time, Hellraiser was the third most streamed film in the United States during the week of October 9, 2022.^[62][63] According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, Hellraiser was the eighth most watched program across all platforms during the week of October 14,^[64] and the 9th during the week of October 19, 2022.^[65][66] According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, Hellraiser was the most watched movie across all platforms in the United States during the week of October 3,^[67] and during the week of October 10, 2022.^[68]

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 148 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "A gift for long-suffering fans after numerous subpar sequels, David Bruckner's Hellraiser unlocks the puzzle box for getting this franchise back on the right track."^[69] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 55 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[70]

Katie Rife of Polygon criticized the characters and the length, but praised the set design and Clayton's performance, and felt overall the film "might even be the second best in the series after Hellbound: Hellraiser II".^[71] Dave White of TheWrap wrote, "Embodying Clive Barker's original intention of 'repulsive glamour', these Cenobites silently glide on hell's runway. The assignment was 'red flesh and raw meat, but make it fashion', and their work is an elegant slam dunk."^[72] Mark Hanson of Slant Magazine called it "a toothlessly retrograde enterprise."^[73]

Accolades