I'll be the first to admit I'm not someone who holds any nostalgic attachment for the Hellraiser franchise; not out of any sort of hatred for the material or anything, but I just never really had access to those films as a kid and I never actually seen the original film all the way through until well into adulthood, so maybe I'm coming at this from the wrong angle, but I honestly really enjoy David Bruckner's spin on things.
I feel like for as much love as there is for Doug Bradley's portrayal of Pinhead/The Hell Priest, people sometimes forget that he and the cenobites are kind of an afterthought in the original film, so as this movie ticked forward and more and more focus was being put on these grossly mutilated beings, I was quite happy with that. It helps that Jamie Clayton does a fantastic job at threading the needle (no pun intended) of putting her own spin on The Priest while keeping enough of Doug Bradley's influence in her performance to not make the character completely unrecognizable.
Another thing this movie does that I think trumps the original is the way it handles the Lament Configuration. This puzzle box is actually treated like a puzzle box and there is tension that comes with every time someone starts playing around with it, because there's that knowing that whoever solves it is in for a really bad time. There's even certain twists to the box and how it works that were pleasant surprises to me when they were revealed.
I do understand the complaints about the character development and most notably the lead Riley, but I personally thought it was fitting. Clive Barker tales aren't unfamiliar with focusing on deeply flawed characters and I thought in the context of this story, it made sense that so much focus would be on a character who is purposefully written to be a rather toxic person whose poor choices throughout the film negatively impact everyone around her. The movie never once mistakes her for a heroine and even goes out of its way at parts to spell out how her poor decisions were effectively all for nothing. The other characters aren't particularly interesting and they are definitely the weak point of the film, but they do serve a purpose.
That leads me to the gore, which is obviously the main reason why anyone really watches these films in the first place, and no, this movie is not as gory as other entries, especially when it comes to the first half when there are a few cutaway kills. Once things pick up however, the film doesn't really stop and here is where I feel the film more than makes up for the slow beginning. It also helps that the one thing the actors do nail effectively is conveying the pain they're in when they're being tortured. One character in particular has a rather prolonged sequence where the facial expressions and the screams they made were enough to make me feel uncomfortable even without the film being overly gratuitous.
Overall this is a remake I really had fun with, and one that I think hardcore fans can enjoy too with an open mind.
I feel like for as much love as there is for Doug Bradley's portrayal of Pinhead/The Hell Priest, people sometimes forget that he and the cenobites are kind of an afterthought in the original film, so as this movie ticked forward and more and more focus was being put on these grossly mutilated beings, I was quite happy with that. It helps that Jamie Clayton does a fantastic job at threading the needle (no pun intended) of putting her own spin on The Priest while keeping enough of Doug Bradley's influence in her performance to not make the character completely unrecognizable.
Another thing this movie does that I think trumps the original is the way it handles the Lament Configuration. This puzzle box is actually treated like a puzzle box and there is tension that comes with every time someone starts playing around with it, because there's that knowing that whoever solves it is in for a really bad time. There's even certain twists to the box and how it works that were pleasant surprises to me when they were revealed.
I do understand the complaints about the character development and most notably the lead Riley, but I personally thought it was fitting. Clive Barker tales aren't unfamiliar with focusing on deeply flawed characters and I thought in the context of this story, it made sense that so much focus would be on a character who is purposefully written to be a rather toxic person whose poor choices throughout the film negatively impact everyone around her. The movie never once mistakes her for a heroine and even goes out of its way at parts to spell out how her poor decisions were effectively all for nothing. The other characters aren't particularly interesting and they are definitely the weak point of the film, but they do serve a purpose.
That leads me to the gore, which is obviously the main reason why anyone really watches these films in the first place, and no, this movie is not as gory as other entries, especially when it comes to the first half when there are a few cutaway kills. Once things pick up however, the film doesn't really stop and here is where I feel the film more than makes up for the slow beginning. It also helps that the one thing the actors do nail effectively is conveying the pain they're in when they're being tortured. One character in particular has a rather prolonged sequence where the facial expressions and the screams they made were enough to make me feel uncomfortable even without the film being overly gratuitous.
Overall this is a remake I really had fun with, and one that I think hardcore fans can enjoy too with an open mind.