The last several franchise installments have flopped hard—but this one shows ostensible promise with a quality creative in tow.
In the decades since the famed 1987 original, the Hellraiser franchise has trekked the dreaded path of diminishing returns. Of the nine installments that ensued, the last eight (from 2000 to 2018) have gone straight to video.
But the franchise now appears headed for a much-needed course correction. Spyglass Media announced today their plans for a reboot with acclaimed Hollywood scribe David S. Goyer on board to write and produce.
Goyer’s standout screenwriting credits include co-authorship of The Dark Knight Trilogy with director and co-writer Christopher Nolan and sole credit for the 2013 Superman epic Man of Steel starring Henry Cavill and Amy Adams.
Spyglass Chairman and CEO Gary Barber says the studio will «fast-track» the film as a recalibration of the hit original.
For the uninitiated, the original Hellraiser film was adapted from author Clive Barker’s 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart. The film and numerous sequels that followed over 31 years revolve around the Cenobite leader «Pinhead,» who leads his minions through a portal to Earth to harvest human souls.
With a network of metal protruding from his bald, ashen skull, the Pinhead character is inarguably one of the iconic imprints of the horror genre. In addition to the ten films in the series canon, the Hellraiser brand has also produced an array of graphic novels and merchandise galore.
The franchise’s ninth film, 2011’s straight-to-video Hellraiser: Revelations, is additionally notorious for being the first in the series sans English actor Doug Bradley in the role as Pinhead. The film subsequently elicited repudiation from Barker after the film’s ad copy implied his involvement, having hyped «from the mind of Clive Barker.»
The author quickly turned to Twitter to reiterate his non-involvement with the project, stating, «I have NOTHING to do with the freaking thing. If they claim it’s from the mind of Clive Barker, it’s a lie. It’s not even from my b***hole.»
In today’s announcement, Barber touted the apparent sanction of Barker for the upcoming revival—although there is currently no indication about whether, or to what extent, the author will be involved in consulting the screenplay.
