Every horror movie will eventually be remade, no matter what it is. And so it is with Hellraiser, except with a twist; the two people who made the series stand out, Clive Barker and Doug Bradley, are both coming back.
The bad news is that the Weinstein Company is in charge of it, so this could still go terribly wrong. This is, after all, a company that thinks people from Oklahoma will be confused by a movie about people fighting on a train. But so far, Clive Barker is making all the right statements. Here’s what he had to say, in full, on his Facebook page.
A few weeks ago I had a very productive meeting with Bob Weinstein of Dimension Pictures,in the course of which I pitched a remake of the first HELLRAISER film. The idea of my coming back to the original film and telling the story with a fresh intensity-honoring the structure and the designs from the first incarnation but hopefully creating an even darker and richer film-was attractive to Dimension. Today I have officially been invited to write the script based upon that pitch.What can I tell you about it?Well, it will not be a film awash with CGI. I remain as passionate about the power of practical make-up effects as I was when I wrote and directed the first HELLRAISER. Of course the best make-up in the world loses force if not inhabited by a first-rate actor. I told the Dimension team that in my opinion there could never be a Pinhead without Doug Bradley,and much to my delight Bob Weinstein agreed. So once the papers are signed , I will open a Lemarchand Configuration,dip my quill in its contents and start writing . I promise that there will be nowhere on the Internet where the news of my progress will be more reliable than here ,because the only author of these reports will be Your Infernal Corespondent ,me.
We’re not sure how much “darker and richer” will actually be allowed, but to hell with it, it’d be nice to get a Hellraiser fix that wasn’t the quite good comic books. And if nothing else, we can’t complain they’re not trying; bringing back Barker and Bradley is about as faithful as you can get. Now just don’t hire Rob Zombie to direct it or anything, Weinstein. We’re watching you.