The new Hellraiser looks like a retelling of a BDSM party from the point of view of a virgin. But it is not all that bad

The long-awaited premiere of Hellraiser, a remake of the iconic 1987 film, took place on Hulu.

A reboot of the franchise has been long overdue. From 1987 to 2018, 10 (!) Parts of the film were shot. Each new one more and more resembled an amateur parody than a movie.

The new Hellraiser was created with the participation of Clive Barker, the author of the story that formed the basis of the first part. The director's chair was taken by David Bruckner ("The Ritual", "The House on the Other Side"). A new script was written for the reboot, so this is a formal remake - the puzzle box remains, Pinhead and his henchmen, all the main characters are new.

Riley, a recovering drug addict, and her boyfriend Trevor find the box and are at a loss as to what to do with it. Quite by accident, the box activates, after which Riley's brother disappears. In an attempt to find out what they have found, Riley and Trevor visit the mansion of a long-lost mysterious millionaire with friends. The heroes do not yet know that now they are being hunted by cenobites - infernal

beingscausing unearthly suffering and pleasure.

The remake has less dirt, sex and flesh

The new Hellraiser seems toothless compared to the original. Cruelty is manifested in blood and screams, but there is no sophisticated torment. In the original, all the characters were perverts, in the new film, the sinfulness of the characters is doubtful. A drug addict, a liar, a couple of gays - more like a communal apartment in St. Petersburg than a company of sinners.

The first half hour of the film is deceptive, because it gives hope - there are two whole sexual acts. Yes, they are reminiscent of “bed scenes” from the melodramas of the 2000s, but this is only the beginning…

Only later it turns out that the theme of sex in the film no longer arises, and the scriptwriters are interested in the flesh only in the context of death - there is not even torture.

Sometimes it seems that the writers were shy when working on movie. Fans of the franchise fell in love with it for its dirt and unrestraint, forgiving banal plots and not the best special effects. The old Hellraiser is not recommended to everyone - people may think you are a little crazy for such advice. The new "Hellraiser" can be recommended to both a colleague and mom.

Director David Bruckner looks like a virgin retelling a BDSM party he didn't attend.

The atmosphere of the film is more reminiscent of "The Call", but not the original. The director seems to be working on a high-budget film that serious producers should like. At this time, a fan of the original is watching a film and does not understand why he is not shown torture and porn every 10 minutes - it seems that he turned on Hellraiser, but here there are symmetrical frames and clean clothes.

The movie is too long for that kind of plot.

Hellraiser is almost 2 hours long. The first half is saturated - the viewer constantly receives new information, changing scenes and locations do not have time to get bored. But then the film looks too heavy. The plot develops not only slowly, but also predictably. Good moments of the first half begin to repeat themselves, but in an expanded form.

The writers hid one unexpected turn towards the end of the movie, but it has such a minor effect on the plot that its value is minimal.

The picture is good, but not interesting

Only two or three natural light scenes can be seen in the entire film. Night street or closed space - the characters live in twilight, which perfectly creates an atmosphere. This is a professional job - without failures and genius.

But if at first it seems that this is a plus, then by the second half of the film, academicism gets boring. There is a feeling that you are looking at the work of a good paver.

The new cenobites look great. They were refreshed, they are remembered. But they don’t scare, which is connected not with appearance, but with actions: they boringly kill people. I would like to praise the artists and once again scold the writers.

New Pinhead is boring

the main problem Pinhead in the new film, he practically does not differ from his henchmen. Because of this, it ceases to be creepy. In general, if you do not watch the original, it will seem that all the demons are equal in importance and there is no leader among them.

Moreover, the hero does not have a sexual beginning, he does not personify lust and bodily practices, as in the 1987 film. The needles stuck in Pinhead in the original symbolized sadomasochism. In the new Hellraiser, it may seem that Pinhead does not have needles sticking out of his head, but some kind of jewelry.

Dialogue is hysterical and incomprehensible

The characters swear quite a lot, and there is a feeling that all the dirt that was prepared for the film went into the dialogues. But that is not all.

The main character ends almost every conversation with a tantrum - in Hellraiser everyone loves to yell at each other. In some scenes, the technique looks logical, but more often than not, this rather cheap way to create voltage doesn't work and is just annoying.

The personal relationships of the characters in the film are as conditional as possible. You will not understand who loves whom, who hates whom. However, in the original, the characters spoke much worse, so there is obvious progress.

The new Hellraiser is definitely better than the endless sequels. If we consider it as a starting point for restarting the franchise, then it was definitely a success - the shortcomings can be corrected for the next parts. But if the sequels are as slick, then the franchise will have a new fan base that has nothing to do with the fans of the original.

In general, the old "Hellraiser" is similar to the old clips of Nine Inch Nails, the new one resembles the new creations of the group.