I'm old enough to remember the original Hellraiser (1987). That was a true horror film. There were horrible people, doing horrible things. It left you feeling really quite disturbed about the worst aspects of human nature.
The follow-up Hellraiser 2 (1988) managed to recapture a small part of that. But after that it was downhill fast. The sequels were nothing but parodies.
Well, for some reason, Hulu decided to remake it.
Shamefully, the film fails on nearly every level. It's not well written (terrible dialogue) and poorly acted. There's little horror and you simply do not care about anyone or anything happening in it. It doesn't give you a reason to care either. The Cenobites are not scary, or grotesque looking... they just look like cheap make-up and some bad CGI.
Like the later Hellraiser films It has more in common with trashy slasher flicks than anything else. Poorly done ones at that.
As is common today they gender-switched the main role. Did it add anything? Nope. In fact, I keep hearing about what a good performance Jamie Clayton was as The Priest. I don't know what they were watching. There isn't a performance, it's literally all make up and some lines read out flat. Look at the originals: Pinhead's character is all about small, slow movements and looming dread. He's literally an overwhelming threat and you are the prey. Not in this one though.
Or look at the secondary villain. In the original it's Uncle Frank, who is an awful person who fully deserves his fate. Even in the end as he's pulled apart by the Cenobites... he's drawn to it, and much as he tried to run he still wants what the Cenobites offer. In this new version... there's none of that same grimy, disturbing look into subcultures. It's all clean, boring and badly acted.
Watch Hellraiser (1987) and Hellraiser 2 (1988) and stop there. They did it better on much smaller budgets.
Hilariously, this is not a political film.
Coming from a background in photography and art, I appreciated the cinematography a lot. It felt like they looked right at me and said these shots are for you. Additionally, I was proud of Jessie becoming a photojournalist as the film went on. She started as enthusiast but as the movie went on you could see her learning and becoming more hardened. I also appreciated that she was shooing on film. So many moments in the film I could feel myself seeing the "right shot" and while Jessie missed some of them, she also got them too, especially at the end where she becomes actualized.
As someone with an education in psychology, I also really appreciated the film's portrayal of the artist. Both in Lee and Jessie. One dying as one, and the other becoming one. The changes in both of their mindsets and reactions to the events they encounter were interesting and I loved that there were small moments where the two of them got to reflect and contrast each other.
As a fellow viewer, I don't think this isn't for the lighthearted. I watched this not knowing anything about the film and walked out really impressed but also knowing that many people were not going to like this movie. Most of my friends were less enthusiastic about the film. Unfortunately the film was marketed to be more political, violent, and action adventure-y. It's not. It's gory, dramatic, and introspective. I warn people that this film is about war journalism and being an artist. The people behind me may have appreciated a warning like that because they were mostly bored throughout the film and gave the movie a lower score than I - and I can't blame them. It was not an action movie. But for those who seek the stories of the human condition, this was a masterpiece.
I'm a large guy. I'm probably not AS large as Charlie. But I'm big enough that the difference is negligible because at some point you hit a weight where aspects of our story can be universal.
That being said, this was not a universal story of a big fat guy. This was overwrote with emotion. We don's sit around feeling sorry for ourselves at all times. We don't ALL stuff ourselves in a feverish attempt for suicide. We don't ALL sit around and do nothing and can't move on our own. It's bulls****. And while I understand that this is one story, when I heard about Brendan Frazier's performance, I was so ready to see this.
All things previously said, it doesn't mean that we don't have demons that we deal with. I had hoped/expected this movie to be a cathartic experience based on some pieces of truth to my life. But I couldn't find empathy for Charlie because he was a man that had just given up.
And the whole church kid angle was definitely weird and could have been done better. It's more than a bit stupid.
My Ratings
10 - I love it, regardless of quality
9 - Very good, might not love but very well done or might love, forgiving some issues
8 - Very enjoyable or Just OK for me but well done
7 - Good
6 - Watchable despite not liking the film/show
5 - Mid
3-4 - Not great, but got through it
1-2 - Very bad/You might be a communist if you like this garbage
