“Hellraiser”The depths have been surpassed.
The franchise, which began with 1987’s Clive Barker-directed original (based on his novella), has returned. This time, a young woman (and, crucially, recovering addict) named Riley (Odessa A’zion) comes into possession of the cursed puzzle box and becomes a target for the Cenobites, ghoulish demons from another dimension, led by The Priest aka Pinhead (this time played by Jamie Clayton). It’s a terrifically smart reinvention of a franchise that has languished for far too long, aided by a whip-smart script by David S. Goyer, Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski and wonderful direction by David Bruckner (who worked with the same team on the underrated 2020 chiller “The Night House”).
spoke to Bruckner and Clayton about what appealed to them about the property, their approach to the material and whether or not they’d return for future Cenobite-filled adventures.
What attracted you to? “Hellraiser” specifically?
David Bruckner: Hellraiser has everything I could ever love in horror filmmaking. I mean, it’s surreal, it’s visceral, it’s psychological. It advances design. It’s absolutely terrifying. It’s mythic, it’s sci-fi, it’s ancient. It’s really, really dense, layered stuff. It’s something I cherish so much that I can play with it, to make a. “Hellraiser”Movies are a true dream.
Jamie ClaytonI watched the original before auditioning. I hadn’t seen it before. When I saw it, I immediately was struck by how sexy it was because I don’t think that that’s a word that I would normally use to describe a horror film. But it was so sexy and it was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Then I read up on Clive’s homosexuality and the entire thing. When I finally read the script, I was like ” “Oh, shit. This is good.”
I didn’t think in a million years that I would ever get this part. I didn’t even want to audition because I was like, “I’m never going to get this. This is crazy. They’re never going to let me do this.”My manager was like this: “Don’t play casting director, just go tape it.”I taped it, and it was amazing. It was the most fun I’ve had taping an audition, I think, because I didn’t think I would get it. I let it go and had fun. It was sent in and I received a return call.
Then I met David, and after that call back and working closely with David, nothing was going to stop my getting this part. It was so much fun working with David and getting an idea of what it would be like to work together and what he wanted for the film. I was so impressed and amazed. It was almost like I was, I need to be a part of this man’s world and a part of this story, please.
David, what about Jamie’s audition or this conversation made you say, “Okay, she is Pinhead?”
David Bruckner: I mean she scared the crap out of me in the beginning. But also, I didn’t know how to do it. Doug’s performance is so iconic and we knew we didn’t want to imitate it and that we had to let this go in its own direction. But I didn’t know what that would be. I didn’t know where it would take us.
And so looking at Jamie’s work, and I’d been a fan of her work, but seeing what she was doing with the character and the drop-in moments and the way she would lose herself was utterly fearless. There was something incredibly captivating about the way she played with the words. And I always felt Hellraiser has this tension of it’s beautiful but terrifying. I can’t look away and yet I really should. She had a way to lure us in, I felt.
As we worked together on the project, she became more open to exploring different aspects. And she found sensuality in the character and I think a curiosity that I do think differentiates it a bit from Doug’s performance. She’s got a silky quality. It’s easy to feel yourself being pulled closer, and then the hooks sink. It was evident, I believe.
Jamie, I was going ask you if you were nervous about taking on such an iconic role. But, having seen the film 24 hours prior to auditioning, was that enough to allow you to go full force?
Jamie ClaytonI wanted to be able to understand the tone and I wanted to see it in its original form. I wanted to get a sense of the world these characters lived in, as well as the tone and feel. I’m very into the color palette, the music, all of those things.
It being so sexy, it was important that I add a little bit of that sexiness. I mean, of course to fill Doug’s shoes would be impossible. I mean, they’re the biggest blood-soaked shoes in the business. And so wouldn’t try to emulate his performance in any way, shape or form. I really wanted to make it my own, with David’s ideas of what The Priest would be feeling or thinking or doing. This was followed by what I was capable of doing when I was wearing the costume and in makeup. This is what we got to. I have to admit, I was terrified. It is a special place that I think we reached. It pays tribute to the universe and characters, but it doesn’t try to be anything other than its own unique idea of The Priest.
Many attempts have been made to resurrect the dead. “Hellraiser”The last ten years have been a great time. David, did any of this material come into your mind while you were developing this version?
David Bruckner: No, I hadn’t followed any of the development. I’ve seen the movies, and I’ve read many of the stories. When I got to this David Goyer treatment, Ben and Luke had completed one pass. I was about to finish. “Night House.”It would be teased by the Phantom Four team. They’d be like, “Hellraiser’s coming up.”And I said: “Just don’t even talk to me unless you’re going to talk to me about it. I’m not going to let this in until we’re really having the conversation.”They were able to move the needle a little on this. Then I was able come in and start. “Okay, this is really fascinating what you’re doing.”The franchise is sacred, obviously. I felt that I instantly understood. It was like this: “Okay, they’re doing this right.” I mean, they’re allowing this to be a new story in this world. It’s not an overt remake. And it’s taking some risks and that excited me and felt like it was in the spirit of the franchise.
“Hellraiser”This franchise has many sequels. Are you willing to return for more?
Jamie Clayton: Yes, I would. I mean, people haven’t even seen this one, so I’m just hoping that they like it. Let’s just cross this bridge first.
David Bruckner: It’s such a wonderful world to play in. Are you kidding? I mean, it’ll never get old. However, this is not the last Hellraiser movie. However, I would be delighted if you liked the movie and wanted us to continue.
“Hellraiser”Hulu is now available
