I was excited about the new Hellraiser because I loved the original, but I have since exchanged my excitement for disappointment. It is time to let this series die since it has run its course.
The movie focuses on a recovering drug addict who is struggling to get her life back together. Desperate for money, she breaks into an old warehouse where she finds the sinister puzzle box. After a relapse, she solves the puzzle and sets into motion the gruesome events that will change her life forever. The Cenobites are back and are looking to collect souls. Will she be able to make the sacrifices required to wish for her brother back, or will she be another claimed soul?
This movie is slow and dull, but at least the monster designs were interesting. I recommend skipping through any part without the Cenobites because the rest of this story doesn’t deserve your attention. What kills this movie for me is the pacing; it is unbearably slow. The original also has a pacing problem, but it is more interesting.
This movie is gore porn, designed to gross out its audience with gruesome death scenes and disgusting monsters. It doesn’t go as far as it can, and a bit of the gore is held back by its technology. Most of the kills are fine, and some are even creative, but there are some that are rendered poorly. Don’t watch this movie if you are looking for proper gore.
I take issue with this movie’s narrative style. Most of the time I was waiting around for the next death scene. The last fifteen minutes or so fair a bit better than the rest of the movie because that is when the most action happens. The ending has a few lazy twists, some poorly designed tension, and some interesting lore dumps, but nothing really goes out of your way to watch. I just wished the rest of the movie had the same energy as the last bit, it might have fared a little better.
If this movie existed in a vacuum, it would be fine. The acting is decent, and the deaths are solid. But it doesn’t, and there are better options out there. If you need horror movies to fill your Halloween marathon, watch the original instead. Otherwise, be prepared to skip around. You can stream it on Hulu, but I wouldn’t bother.
Some remakes disappoint.
Yeah this reboot was bad. I was very disappointed because I was hoping it would be good.
I love the original film, so we excited we are getting a new one after the long streak of horrible HR films.
Unfortunately this new one was very bland to me. It’s like a typical “teenager / young adults getting way over their head into something slash film”. Nothing like the original in terms of lore, pacing, presence.
I guess it’s fine for a new younger modern generation, but it’s just disappointing to me as a fan of the first two films and book.
Thanks for reading! Yeah the disappointment stings, but I thought it couldn’t get worse but this was a very generic slasher film. They should let this series die if they are only going to cash in on the IP without making it a proper HR movie.
Yeah, we had so many crappy / direct to video HR films because of people having to make films to keep the copyright stuff going.
If they greenlight a sequel to this I am willing to give it one more chance, if not then I’m out. When you have 2 good films out of 12 that’s just a laughably bad ratio!
I didn’t know that, but it makes sense why they don’t let it die. If they make a sequel, I’ll be watching it. I am too invested in this series at this point to give up on it despite its track record. Its like the Halloween movies, I know this last one is going to be bad, but I already got the tickets.
was* not we!
I’ve watched the whole franchise, I think, so I’ll be watching this too. But I’m definitely going in w zero expectations :-/
That is the best way to do it. Definitely don’t watch them in order because it will make the disappointment hurt more. Thanks for reading.