Long live the secret movies at Fantastic Fest. While there seemed to be many groans on the first offering (hop on twitter) many rejoiced at the second selection. Heading to HULU members everywhere on Oct 7th is David Bruckner HELLRAISER. The box is back with a new looking priest but unfortunately not a rewarding story to go with it. Hellraiser was a surprise to us all but the filmmakers may get the biggest shock when they find out how polarizing the viewers will be. All the elements you want to see in a HELLRAISER film are there. The return of the blood chains and wires couldn't be more than welcomed. What isn't wanted is a lukewarm storyline that never seemed to really take off.
There really is no criticism towards the cast as they clearly worked with what was afforded to them. I'm sorry the storyline was just awful. As a person who has seen the countless straight to DVD sequels this one felt no different. Something as bold as changing the sexuality of our favorite cenobite is so rewarding that there is a clear misfire happening here. The story was so rushed and clumsy that it never got me to embrace the elegance of HELLRAISER like the original did. This has throwaway written all over it which is such a shame with how beautiful the effects and characters were on the screen.
Still I will forever be a fan of the secret selections of the Fantastic Fest. Hulu has been busy as of late with horror content as we saw with the most recent PREY. It would have been nice to see HELLRSAISER really capitalize on the franchise they way the aforementioned did with PREDATOR. I'll be curious to the overall response from HELLRAISER when it invades homes this upcoming Halloween season. Hopefully you find more out of it than I did.
2.5 / 5
HELLRAISER is directed by David Bruckner it stars Odessa A'zion, Jamie Clayton, Brandon Flynn, Goran Višnjić, Drew Starkey, Adam Faison, Aoife Hinds, Selina Lo and Hiam Abbass.
It will be released on October 7th courtesy of Hulu and Spyglass Pictures
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