Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Marvel's Spider-Man Secret Lair promotional image

    Get a Look At the Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man Superdrop

    09/08/2025
    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions gameplay still

    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions Is All About Adventure (with Friends)

    09/08/2025
    Chord in Persona 5 The Phantom X

    Now Is The Perfect Time To Jump Back In ‘Persona 5: The Phantom X’

    09/05/2025
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » FANTASTIC FEST 2022: ‘Hellraiser’ Is One Hell Of A Story

FANTASTIC FEST 2022: ‘Hellraiser’ Is One Hell Of A Story

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez09/28/20224 Mins ReadUpdated:12/10/2022
Hellraiser - But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Hellraiser - But Why Tho

Sequels coming decades after their originals are hard, and when a franchise is already littered with bad ones, well, the task seems insurmountable. But the Hulu Original Hellraiser is up to the bloody challenge. Directed by David Bruckner and written by Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski, and David S. Goyer, this original film manages to capture the sex appeal, gore, and moral tale of the original with relative ease. Evil permeates it, human desire fuels it, and the wildly creative and gore-gously beautiful cenobites push it to a height close to the original. The film stars Odessa A’zion, Jamie Clayton, Adam Faison, Drew Starkey, Brandon Flynn, Aoife Hinds, Jason Liles, and Yinka Olorunnife.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

A reimagining of Clive Barker’s 1987 original, a young woman, Riley (Odessa A’zion), is struggling with addiction when she comes into possession of an ancient puzzle box, unaware that its purpose is to summon the Cenobites, a group of sadistic supernatural beings from another dimension.

Maintaining the sharp body horror edge that the series is known for, Hellraiser also manages to tell an intimate story of family, addiction, and how to live with guilt when the ramifications of the latter shatter the first. There is a beautiful horror that embodies high-paced slashers but when you peel back that flesh, you’ll see a nuanced look at overcoming your desires. But where Hellraiser diverges from the original it will surely be compared to the exploration of addiction instead of sex as the axis of choice that complicates the story. This allows for a rather nuanced look at pain, not in something we seek to enhance our pleasure but as something unavoidable that we have to learn to live with instead of run from.

Hellraiser as a franchise has long held an iconic status in horror thanks to the designs of the Cenobites, even those featured in the less-loved sequels. And somehow, in Hellraiser (2022), the cenobites have gotten even better. More bloody, more sexual, and more visceral, the bevy of cenobites we see are gorgeous in the most macabre ways. Each design stretches and cuts skin, exposes musculature, peels back pieces of a human form, or distorts into something otherworldly. Even the most terrifying among them like the Chatterer, manages to be designed with a delicate hand. Their leather is their flesh and it’s gloriously worn in a couture fashion. And this is no more present than in Pinhead herself.

Beautiful and commanding, Pinhead is somehow both terrifying and delicate. Gone is the black trenched dress and instead, we see bits of flesh cut away to look like a costume with gold adornments completing a regal look. Pinhead is striking and gorgeous, as are some of the other female Cenobites. But visuals aren’t the only thing that must be praised; Jamie Clayton as Pinhead has to be as well. Her voice and the distortion add even more terror and supernatural to an already uncomfortable appearance. And yes, I am uncomfortable seeing her and her Cenobites on screen. But when she speaks and her eyes pierce you as Bruckner crops in close to her beautiful face, you fall into her. A stunning take on a classic character, Clayton is perfection.

Hellraiser is worlds different from the original Clive Barker story of the same name and the adaptation that came from it. But this Hellraiser is worth every minute of its two-hour run time. Bringing together slasher stalking, supernatural fever dreams, and loads of body horror, it fits the world it’s set in and stands out as Bruckner intended. To call Hellraiser is to do a disservice to the beautiful reinvention we see on screen. Capturing the beauty and terrifying nature of the franchise through a view of a desire other than sex shows reverence to the source material.

It’s an original story at home in its franchise’s universe. Hellraiser is utterly exquisite and exactly how you bring a franchise back.

Hellraiser screened as the second secret screening of Fantastic Fest 2022 and is available now, exclusively on Hulu.

Hellraiser (2022)
  • 9/10
    Rating - 9/10
9/10

TL;DR

It’s an original story at home in its franchise’s universe. Hellraiser is utterly exquisite and exactly how you bring a franchise back.

  • Watch Now with Our Affiliate Link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Fullmetal Alchemist: Final Alchemy’ Delivers A Dizzying Ending
Next Article FANTASTIC FEST 2022: ‘Chop & Steele’s’ Real Muscle Is In Its Comedic Talent
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

09/11/2025
Natasha O’Keeffe in Whitetail
6.5

TIFF 2025: ‘Whitetail’ Is An Intimate View Of A Woman Stuck In Time

09/10/2025
Love Brooklyn
6.0

REVIEW: ‘Love, Brooklyn’ Rests on Pretty

09/10/2025
Park Jeong-min in The Ugly
7.0

TIFF 2025: ‘The Ugly’ Is A Harsh Exercise In Self-Reflection

09/09/2025
No Other Choice
9.0

TIFF 2025: ‘No Other Choice’ Delivers a Bleak Vision of Capitalism

09/09/2025
Molly Lewis in Whistle
8.0

TIFF 2025: ‘Whistle’ Is A Breath Of Fresh Air

09/07/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

By Kate Sánchez09/11/2025Updated:09/11/2025

The Long Walk is a brutal watch. Equally heartfelt and heartbreaking, it’s one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s work.

EA Sports FC Icons Match promotional image from Nexon News

2025 Icons Match Returns With Football Legends Bridging The Pitch And Video Games

By Kate Sánchez09/03/2025Updated:09/03/2025

NEXON has announced the return of the ‘2025 Icons Match,’ a live event that brings a full roster of legendary players to the pitch.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 11
8.5
Anime

REVIEW: ‘DanDaDan’ Season 2 Episode 11 – “Hey, It’s a Kaiju”

By Allyson Johnson09/11/2025

The ragtag group faces down the mysterious kaiju in the thrilling and beautifully animated DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 11.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here