Some horror franchises just keep finding ways of coming back from the dead, and no matter how formulaic their films may be, there is always someone trying to launch a new sequel or reboot to the franchise. Hellraiser is one such franchise which despite a string of really poor sequels and reboots (such as Hellraiser: Judgment from 2018), there are still people looking for another entry in the series in the hope that it can somehow recapture the magic of that first film which was a horror classic.
Clive Barker made the first Hellraiser film back in 1987, based off his own novella titled The Hellbound Heart. The story centred on sadomasochistic entities known as the Cenobites who, if summoned, drag their unwilling participants down to Hell where they are tortured endlessly until they learn to enjoy it. The film focused on the character of Pinhead, who is the leader of the Cenobites and became an instantly iconic horror villain in the process. Ever since Barker left the franchise after the first two films, the sequels have never been able to recapture that magic. Though you could argue that perhaps the latest movies were secretly trying to be Cenobites themselves by taking us through hell just by watching them.
Let’s hope though that fans won’t have to experience that again as according to Screen Rant, a new Hellraiser is once again in development, this time as a TV series for HBO with David Gordon Green set to direct the pilot episode and several more. This should excite fans because not only is HBO the studio with arguably the best production values, but Green also directed the recent Halloween film which perfectly recaptures the essence of that franchise and definitely bodes well for this new series.
This is also a franchise which could benefit from a deeper exploration of its horrific characters and settings to make it an even better experience for fans, with writers Mark Verheiden and Michael Dougherty aiming to do the story justice and create something with plenty of depth and thrills. I have never really been too thrilled about new Hellraiser projects, but with this new series, I think I may just start getting excited about it once more.
Last Updated: April 28, 2020
