hulus Hellraiser (2022), a re-image of Clive Barker’s horror classic from director David Bruckner, has hit the streaming site. In an interview with Damn disgusting, both Barker and Brucker sat down to discuss this final installment in the series. Barker said the two had great conversations that weren’t even meetings because they were fun. As Bruckner said:
“Yes absolutely. It was a regular rhythm for us. So during the preparation process when I was putting together the film, Clive and I would find moments to talk. Sometimes we came out of nowhere, sometimes he called, or I called, or one of us had an idea. And so there was just a great creative conversation during the preparation process.”
According to Barker, there was respect in both directions, which made their working relationship easier. Barker was also very encouraging about how this was a new group of artists and that this was going to be their movie. Bruckner said all of his creative input into the mind was to help them find the movie and stay true to where it was going and what it was going to be. barker said:
“Ah! I did a good job! Absolutely. Thank you for saying so, David. I appreciate that. I think it’s important, especially if you’re number 11 in the series, it’s important that you get there don’t put on Bob Weinstein. That is, ‘how soon can I have this?’”
According to Barker, Weinstein owed him money and it was around the seventh episode, Hellraiser: Deader (2005), that he finally went to his office. Weinstein said he would pay the money if Barker wrote a script for him first. It was a very business meeting. At this point it was clear that there was no interest in his ideas. That made it refreshing to interact with a cast and crew with a vision for this new film.
“I boarded the first Hellraiser all to myself, but I didn’t give the boards – except in the big special effects series – I didn’t give the boards to anyone. I went to the set of the first Hellraiser movie without ever being on a movie set. On the first day of main photography I am a total neophyte; I have no idea how to do this, except in the sense that I had theater in my blood and had done a lot of theater directing.”
Barker found that the most demanding areas involved each actor, as they are “the heart and soul of cinema.” They had to be there to turn on the cameras unless you were doing a wildlife documentary. Barker said Bruckner had the casting perfect for this vision, while he was lucky that most people who met the first Hellraiser movies were his friends and the right people for the job. Bruckner also spoke about directing the new film.
Directing and other parts of the film
“Not to compare our process, as it is clear that what Clive has done is absolutely historic; That first movie is a masterpiece for me. We’ve talked about it a lot and I think for me it’s primarily a visual journey. It’s a lot of ideas that are often outlined in different ways, and some of them stick with you. Then some of them mutate when you enter the world of filmmaking because you really have to improvise with means and conditions and the reality of production. And when it comes to talent, once they dig into the role, they add something to it, which is that the essence of what you’re working on is going to change once someone adds words.”
Barker said everything changes once an actor says his lines. The only solid thing he knew was the conspiracy part. When Barker asked if… Hellraiser (2022) says everything he wanted to say, Bruckner said it’s different for him every time he looks at it, but no, he doesn’t know if it solidifies. For him, it’s a moving target, and it’s only when he’s with the audience that he fully understands what’s landing and what’s happening.
“I mean, quite literally, I’m often only reminded of what we were planning to do when you see it with a crowd, and you hear them react to the material, and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is scary.’ Either there’s magic, or tension, or the meaning in this beat can resonate because you can feel it in the room But I find it hard to experience it for myself I need to be around other people I need the projection of their experience to see it.”
One of the things both Bruckner and Barker agreed on about this new version of Pinhead was that it would never work if a new actor replicated Doug Bradley’s performance. Jamie Clayton understood that too. Even before they agreed to move forward, there were several Zoom conversations with Clayton where she would have her own experience with the lines. barker said:
“I think Doug’s is person specific. Doug’s Pinhead is personal. Jamie is the deadly temptress, or temptress, whatever gender you want. There is something very cunning about Jamie, or Jamie’s performance. Doug is not cunning. Doug is completely direct, which makes him intimidating. His statements are questions and there is never any ambiguity in the original Pinhead. What brought you two to our new Hell Priest is ambiguity. I love that and I hope Jamie will play this role again. Because it seems to me that there is so much more to her performance than the script allows her this time.”
Pinhead, or its equivalent, first debuted with the other Cenobites in 1986 with The Hellbound Heartand a year later with Hellraiser on the big screen. Even thirty-five or thirty-six years later, the Cenobites continue to fascinate audiences. For Bruckner, the reason for that was that he didn’t know what they wanted or that if they had a design on you, the Cenobites would take you somewhere you can’t possibly imagine – whether it’s a fate worse than death or better. bruckner said:
“But I find that they are more advanced than me and have a taste, a taste for something that is beyond me. Of course, there’s just intrigue built into it. It’s scary at first, but the more time you spend with them, the more more you get lost in the possibilities there. You start to identify with them in strange ways. You become obsessed with the mythology behind them. That’s always been a major point of intrigue.”