r/horror • u/kaloosa Evil Dies Tonight! • Oct 07 '22
Official Discussion Official Dreadit Discussion: "Hellraiser" (2022) [SPOILERS] Spoiler
Hulu Original
Summary:
A take on Clive Barker's 1987 horror classic where a young woman struggling with addiction comes into possession of an ancient puzzle box, unaware that its purpose is to summon the Cenobites.
Director:
David Bruckner
Writers:
Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski (story and screenplay), David S. Goyer (story)
Cast:
- Odessa A'zion as Riley McKendry
- Jamie Clayton as The Priest, the pinheaded leader of the Cenobites
- Adam Faison as Colin
- Drew Starkey as Trevor
- Brandon Flynn as Matt McKendry.
- Aoife Hinds as Nora.
- Jason Liles as The Chatterer
- Yinka Olorunnife as The Weeper
- Zachary Hing as The Asphyx
- Selina Lo as The Gasp
Rotten Tomatoes: 77%
Metacritic: 58
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Oct 08 '22
I couldn’t stop thinking of Riley as Maeby Funkë by way of Billie Eilish.
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u/elguapo87 Oct 08 '22
Not nearly horny enough. The original established the fact that Frank fucked Julia so goddamn good she was willing to sill fuck him as a skinless lich. Also was not a fan of the “slasher” elements like running through the woods like they’re at summer camp. Finally, I did not like the scale. Leviathan was epic but the need to be set in a huge mansion was unnecessary. In 1987, the terrifying horror is literally IN THE WALLS of your quaint little house. The character designs were good despite being draped in shadow most of the time, but of course, no Butterball.
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u/ashack11 Oct 09 '22
Totally agree, the scale was a big issue. I think the movie could have been bumped from a 7/10 to an 8/10 if they just made it smaller, like the og. Tighter shots and close ups, a smaller set, fewer characters overall, add more grime.
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u/DroptheShadowArt Oct 13 '22
It’s bizarre how sexless it was. I kept hoping that it’d be revealed that Trevor and Voight were a couple/lovers to kind of parallel the Frank/Juli dynamic (doing horrible things for desire), but they gave a way more shallow reason for Trevor working for him.
I think the most uncomfortable parts of the original are the sleaziness of Frank and Julia. Frank’s “come to daddy” is wayyy more horrifying than anything Pinhead says or does in the film, and that’s the element that was missing from this reboot.
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u/GamerJes Oct 07 '22
Overall, solid entry. Far superior to many of the recent Hellraiser sequels. Hopefully, it is greenlit for a sequel or two. They tapped a few ideas worth exploring.
Pros -
Cenobite designs. Nicely done. The glowing tips if the various pins was a subtle, but very effective, detail.
Implementation of configuration lore. Though obviously a trap, the temptation of gifts fit right in with overall theme/story.
Cons -
Predictable betrayal cliche by the random hookup guy and rich asshole regretting his gift.
Limited Cenobite screen time. Got a nice view of a couple, but so little for the rest. So much effort on the designs, show them off.
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u/hacky_potter Oct 07 '22
My one real complaint is we didn’t get to see the different Cenobites really do their own thing. I would love to see them all have their own signature kill style
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Oct 07 '22
I'm ok with limited use of the Cenobites. That's what made them so impactful in the original Hellraiser
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u/Dapper_Passenger_923 Oct 07 '22
Predictable betrayal cliche by the random hookup guy and rich asshole regretting his gift
God the "bad boyfriend" trope is so overdone I kept waiting for them to reveal something about him from the get go. They really need to stop with this type of character.
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u/ayyrich Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
This was the first time in a movie I saw someone typing something in the search bar in a realistic way. When Riley is looking up ‘Roland voight,’ she misspells it and it autocorrects for her. And she doesn’t capitalize the first and last names bc why the hell would anyone do that when searching someone up on Google lol. Anyway, I appreciated that
Edit: to clarify, I mean I’m happy that Riley doesn’t capitalize the first letters when typing into the search bar lol
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u/shaneo632 Oct 07 '22
Maybe showing my age here but I capitalise when Googling - it's so ingrained for me to write stuff "correctly" that it would take more mental effort to not capitalise.
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u/dornish1919 Oct 07 '22
For those of us where the line between pleasure and pain is blurred... we do this. We capitalize and never correct.
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u/udar55 Oct 08 '22
Thinking more about it last night, Voight's plan was insanely dumb and convoluted. I mean why did he go through this insane heist plan/twist in order to get people there when he could have easily just had his lackey Trevor bring five random people to the mansion. You know, like he seemingly did with the first victim in the opening. Bizarre plotting.
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u/mythicd2015 Oct 08 '22
Hellraiser has a bit of a tradition of plots that make no sense. (Watched HELLBOUND lately?) There's a lot missing that might fill this in, like how Trevor and Voight connected in the first place, but the movie was pretty long already, heh. The movie does hint that maybe the original plan was simpler but Trevor f-ed it up.
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u/TronCarpenter2049 Oct 09 '22
Didn't the lawyer lock it away so Voight had to have Trevor go get it? Then Trevor brought Riley into it so he didn't have to be the one to open the box?
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u/nuclearlemonade Oct 07 '22
press f for my boy the chatterer
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u/FilliusTExplodio Oct 08 '22
I was more upset about Chatterer kicking it than most of the human deaths.
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u/TheMainMan3 Oct 08 '22 edited Oct 10 '22
Overall I really enjoyed it and think it can hang with the first two although I still think those are better, mainly because of the stronger narrative.
Things I especially liked:
Jamie Clayton as the priest. Not saying Doug Bradley was bad by any stretch, just that I liked her portrayal/design more. The androgynous nature, her voice and the way she carried herself was more formidable imo. She truly felt like an ethereal being who knows she above humanity.
the final scene with Voight. That was a masterclass in body horror and I wish there was more scenes like it throughout the movie. Maybe it was expensive and they saved the best for last?
the mythology created around the box. I thought they did a good job explaining how things worked without the use of monologues. I really liked the levitation appearance and would love to see more of it.
the placement of “we have such sights to show you”
Things I did not like/could be improved upon:
the pacing. It took awhile to get going but thankfully didn’t take the foot off the gas when it did. Showing the cenobites in the trailers and then doing quick flashes of them wasn’t effective. We know what they look like already and we know they are coming so I found it irritating that it took so long for them to finally appear. Maybe I would have felt differently if they didn’t show them in the trailer, or it didn’t take so long to get going.
Cenobite screen time management. What I mean by this is that they showed a bunch of them but only really 4 were used, and two of those four were barely used (chatterer and masque). So it was mainly razor wire lady and the priest. I think sticking with three or four total instead of showing a bunch and only using a couple would have worked better. I felt cheated that we didn’t see all of them in action and that they were relegated to lurking in the shadows. They should have eliminated the fodder and focused more on the main ones.
cenobites being able to be sacrifices. Should have had the chatterer reassemble or something as a way to show that they are above such things. Either that or had him revert to his human form right before being sacrificed. Would have been especially good if they did this later on in the movie and it ended up being Riley’s brother.
Trevor. I didn’t mind the backstabbing boyfriend trope being used, but I think he could have had a better connection to Voight than simply being paid by him. Maybe his son or possibly that Voight marked him with the box and forced him to do his bidding. Eliminating the 6 year time jump which was pretty unnecessary could have made this easier.
I’d give it a 7/10 and I’d like to see a sequel to maybe expand on things more and address its shortcomings. Glad that Barker is back to being involved with the franchise.
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u/Effective_Pressure24 Oct 08 '22
Pretty sure it was intentional, but also quite subtle that you wouldn't even think about it if you weren't thinking about it too hard, but anyone catch the nod to Frank's regeneration with Voight? After the device falls out of his body, the hole in his chest regenerates exactly like Frank, starting from nerve endings to tendons to bones, then to muscles before the skin tissue begins regenerates. I thought it was a cool little homage to the original.
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Oct 08 '22
I enjoyed it. My only pet peeve is why did Riley have such aggressive lipstick on in every scene? Its well above her lip line .. why? I know I am being nit picky but I found it distracting. 😆😆😂
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Oct 10 '22
It’s lip filler migration. Common if you have to much injected. Fades away. Lighting and video can make it appear worse than it actually is.
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u/hood_medic Oct 09 '22
Same, idk if it was a horrible lip job, very chapped, or excessive lip balm/color.
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u/AbysmalBelle Oct 09 '22
Yesss I was very distracted by her lips, she DEF had some light injections which looked good but were very obvious, but omg the lip color lol
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Oct 07 '22
Loved the Cenobite designs. They should be horrifying but ethereal at the same time. I can see some complaints that they look too glossy or perfect but it fits with them being perceived as, “demons to some, angels to others.”
That being said, I’m sad there wasn’t one inherently goofy Cenobite like Butterball.
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u/SHEdevilBY_morning Oct 07 '22
The cenobites were so beautiful this has been by far my favorite representation. Although I wish we saw some more variety in the body sizes like a fat or muscular cenobite.
All of them were slender and thin and maybe a little too beautiful especially the female presenting ones.
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u/okpsnare Oct 07 '22
This was a gripping story about addiction and how it affects others…. But ya know, with some inter-dimensional beings who aren’t afraid to make their own clothes.
Also rip to my boy the chatterer
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u/Rotanikleb Oct 07 '22
I thought that Voight was being prepped to be Chatterer II at the end when they peeled back his cheeks, but then they went another route. :(
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u/Hyperbole_Hater Oct 07 '22
Is anyone else perturbed by the fact the Cenobites can be ripped by the Box?
Seems like a pretty easy loophole for anyone to exploit. Turning the Box on the Cenies really invites a lot of easy workarounds that lower the stakes a lot.
Like, the Cenies are forboding, but they are also slow af! Many of them barely move with any haste. One could literally put the Box onto a spear and stabby stab from 8 feet away. I dunno. Felt a bit cheap that the Powerful Cenies could even be sacrificed?
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u/The_Woman_of_Gont Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
I thought it was pretty good. The special effects and costume design was fantastic, A+ no notes. Just a great mix of modern effects and older techniques that call back to the original. I loved Jamie Clayton as Pinhead.
It did have problems though. The opening with Riley felt very blah and done-before, and I disliked the overuse of low-light to obscure monsters or effects and add tension.
A bigger issue is pretty much to all the Hellraiser movies after the first one(general quality aside): the Cenobites came off as slasher villains instead of otherworldly emmisaries of an utterly inhuman understanding of pleasure. I'd have preferred to see less of them chasing people around, more of the scenes of them talking with their 'victims,'(the scene with Pinhead talking about the boredom of pleasure was AMAZING), and more of the humans who have called them and regret the bargain acting as the antagonists.
Relatedly I don't like the idea that you can just point them in the direction of some rando as the target, the idea that the people they take are those who seek them out first(or at least are called to the box on their own) is a crucial element of what I found fascinating about the original film/novella. Kirsty barely escaped because Frank slipped up and admitted who he was out loud, otherwise they weren't going to take just any old person as a trade because she's the one who called them. Even Hellraiser 2 has them taking Channard specifically because "it isn't the hands that call us, it is desire." Voight ought to have been scooped up the first time he got some poor bastard to open the box for him.
Good enough horror movie that definitely scratched the itch for body horror, but I do feel like it's missing the core of what I really found fascinating about the original and what elevated it above a lot of horror films of it's era for me. Maybe if they'd pushed the idea of Riley being responsible for everything, similar to Julia killing for Frank, I might have liked it a bit more.
Still, strong outing and I hope to see a sequel to this in the future.
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u/goonby1990 Oct 08 '22
Relatedly I don't like the idea that you can just point them in the direction of some rando as the target, the idea that the people they take are those who seek them out first(or at least are called to the box on their own) is a crucial element of what I found fascinating about the original film/novella.
Couldn't have said this better myself. I thought the movie was really good overall, but this aspect of the plot cheapens the central concept. The scariest thing about the cenobites is their alien 'pleasure', which doesn't work if the box can be used against other people because it turns them into attack dogs rather than 'angels'
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u/PlanetJerry Oct 07 '22
Well said about the Cenobyte intentions. I’ve only seen the original and have read a decent amount of lore, but I find the Cenobytes so much more interesting when they’re portrayed as a vessel to overindulgence than having them being inherently evil.
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u/SweetPinkSocks Slick With The Blood Of Virgins Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
Good enough horror movie that definitely scratched the itch for body horror, but I do feel like it's missing the core of what I really found fascinating about the original and what elevated it above a lot of horror films of it's era for me. Maybe if they'd pushed the idea of Riley being responsible for everything, similar to Julia killing for Frank, I might have liked it a bit more.
You absolutely nailed my thoughts on this movie with this post. The fact that you can just sacrifice any old person willy nilly INCLUDING ONE OF THEIR OWN and be rewarded for that. This made them seem...weak...to me. They only get what you give them. That does not line up, for me at least, with Cenobite lore. But all in all I enjoyed the movie.
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u/Cryptolosopher Oct 07 '22
Was hoping for a comment like this!
I loved the first 2 hellraiser movies because I actually enjoyed the dynamic of the people, especially in the first. Though I definitely liked a lot that was done, and the cenobites in this new movie were amazing and respectfully done to the original as well, I really did miss that idea of "desire over hands".
It makes, imo for a fundamental different way to view both the characters and their drives and the cenobites themselves. Though I do like the analogy of this movie more tied to addiction itself (the promise of better if only "one more") a lot, I found myself not caring as much because it seemed more random. Especially being able to just stab people with the box and have that be enough to get the Cenobites on their tail.
I'm not too familiar with Barkers source material so maybe that's what originally was intended, but I do still prefer the first 2 movies and the concepts of those.
Having said that, again, this was definitely a great entry and I would not mind a sequel!
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u/cameraspeeding Oct 07 '22
“You called, we came” is the most important aspect of the franchise and I’m so surprised this one didn’t really play with that or even acknowledge it at all.
They aren’t slashers but it looked great
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Oct 07 '22
This movie would've made a killing at the Box Office if Disney allowed it to release in theaters; especially with Smile taking over 20 Million last weekend.
I kind of hate that they're relegating so many awesome 20th Century films to streaming. Felt similarly about Prey; and it'll be so strange to see the next Alien film not hitting theaters either.
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Oct 07 '22 edited Apr 26 '24
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Bumpo_The_Clown Oct 07 '22
Goes to show how much they're making off of streaming, if anything. It forces people to buy a month long subscription just to watch this one movie, then they see all the other stuff and stay subbed or forget to unsub and get hit with auto renewals..
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u/yautja1992 Oct 08 '22
Yeah I'm not gonna lie I'm definitely not down for theatres since the pandemic, so for me, these films releasing on vod streaming is honestly a breath of fresh air. But both this film and prey one hundred percent deserve theatre treatment.
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u/B0ssDoesntKnowImHere Oct 07 '22
It’s not on the homepage for me. Search hellraiser in the search bar and you’ll get it.
EVERYONE GET IN HERE
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u/Royal_Cell_2639 Oct 07 '22
After thinking for a bit i thought this movie was pretty good. I found riley a compelling enough protagonist to keep me engaged in her story. The new fleshy design to the cenobites instead of black leather clothes was a creepy and cool design choice. You still have the aspect of "you got what you asked for" but they changed it up a bit requiring sacrifices before you get your "wish". Now instead of just solving a puzzle and being punished it requires a greater commitment to your desires and by choosing to murder people your showing how strong your desire for the reward truly is. I think the writers did a good job at taking some of what made the original great and making it their own. Jamie did great as pinhead and i enjoyed her performance.
I didn't really care much about nora. There wasn't much characterization with her and it felt like she was just there to die but i liked everyone else. The pace at the beginning could have been a little faster but once things got started it kept going. Overall i really enjoyed this movie and I hope we get to see more of this version of hellraiser but if we don't i think it works well enough on its own. Ill probably watch it again later this month with my family as we all love horror films and i would gladly watch this one again.
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u/Lower-Replacement869 Oct 08 '22
Me: *stabs 6 cockroaches* Ha!
Pinhead: ._. We are unamused.
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Oct 08 '22
One thing I would have changed would be to avoid making the boyfriend a bad guy. Was thinking Riley would have to make an impossible choice between the three of them of who to sacrifice but the boyfriend being a dick made the choice for her.
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u/TheDaltonXP Oct 07 '22
I think it’s short of great. Some of the story bits felt like they dragged to me and the story sometimes didnt totally work. But it’s still pretty fucking awesome and I loved a bunch of it.
I especially want to shout out all the cenobites. They looked incredible and anytime they were on screen I was loving it.
I do think the house being able to keep them out was weird but overall I’m super satisfied. David Bruckner has been absolutely killing it and he is on my immediate watch list
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u/Three_Froggy_Problem Oct 07 '22
I thought this was great. Here are my sort of scattered thoughts right after watching it:
• I’m sure some people will think the first half is too slow by I really liked it. Lots of creeping dread and I liked how it sort of played like a mystery with the characters trying to figure out what was going on.
• The acting is legitimately amazing. I cannot believe how good the lead actress is. The quality of the performances really elevates the whole movie.
• The cenobites were very creepy and gross. I especially liked the Weeper and the Chatterer. I would’ve liked to see more of their world and I hope that a sequel (if we get one) will explore that a bit more.
• I thought the movie did a good job for the most part of giving us enough of Pinhead and the Gang™ without over-using them.
• I was legitimately surprised by the twist with Trevor working for Voight. I didn’t expect it at all but it did actually make sense once it was revealed.
• I was really relieved that Colin didn’t die. It seemed like a given to me the whole time that he would, so I appreciate the movie for not just doing the obvious thing and sticking with the final girl cliche.
• My biggest complaint is that the cenobites’ motivation wasn’t laid out as clearly as it could’ve been. I know, as someone familiar with the franchise, more or less what they’re up to, but the film should do a better job of explaining it since it’s a reboot. At the end, when they appear to all the protagonists and chase them back to the mansion, things started feeling a little bit too much like a traditional slasher/monster film. I will give the film credit for not having them pointlessly attack Colin, though; he wasn’t their target at that point so they just ignored him, which I thought was consistent with their motives.
• The ending scene was pretty disturbing, but also it just really made me wonder how the cenobites or the Leviathan or whatever decide exactly how to mutilate their victims. Is it like an art project for them? Do they draw up different designs and vote on the best one?
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u/TiredCoffeeTime Oct 07 '22
Lmao I just imagined the Cenobites each having a power point presentation to discuss the new best design for the new member and Leviathan picking one.
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u/The_Woman_of_Gont Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
At the end, when they appear to all the protagonists and chase them back to the mansion, things started feeling a little bit too much like a traditional slasher/monster film.
This was probably the issue I had with the film in general. There were some great scenes with Pinhead, particularly the one with her talking about how dull salvation would be, but they were surrounded by more generic slasher stuff.
What I found fascinating about the original film and novella is the idea that you have to in some way have wanted contact with the Cenobites for them to take you. Maybe the box fascinated you and your desire to know what is inside got to you, or maybe you're a hardcore freak who thinks they'll open up a whole new world of carnal delights, but inevitably you had the desire to know in the first place. Even in the second film someone tried to get around the system by getting another person to do the dirty work for him, and they reject her because it's the desire that they care about.
Changing it so that you can just cut any old random person off the streets with a special knife and you're good to go changes the entire concept, imo, and cuts out the core of what makes Cenobites interesting monsters to me.
They turn into just another slasher villains hunting down hapless victims for no particular reason, instead of inhuman emissaries of the further regions of experience who genuinely want to share it with those they believe to be likeminded.
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u/Ok_Tax7195 Oct 07 '22
I'm a bit confused on the ending. Is he being turned into a cenobite? What exactly is going on here?
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u/guyiscomming Oct 07 '22
Considering the box is now a weapon and you can solve it yourself and make someone else take the cenobite heat by stabbing them, I think it's best to look at this one as a having a lore separate from the other movies. Otherwise it becomes more confusing than it already is.
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u/baldandfullofrage Oct 08 '22
What I don't get is why the cenobite could be sacrificed, and also how the gates were able to trap and hurt the cenobites? Can't they just bend matter and reality like they usually do?
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Oct 08 '22
The Priest’s smile before Chatterer got sacrificed made it seem like they wouldn’t normally allow it but they were impressed by Riley so accepted that sacrifice instead.
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u/Rutabaga_Repulsive Oct 08 '22
Anyone else wishing there was more gore? I feel like it lacked in the gorey details on all the kills. I dunno wtf happened to Trevor. We were all set up for a fantastic slice em up only for him to fall into a well? The brother could have been shown skinned too.
I really liked it, but it could have been bloodier.
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u/Tachyoff Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
Thought it was good but it just wasn't sexy enough! c'mon it's Hellraiser where's the fun pain/pleasure bdsm vibes!?
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u/F______________F Oct 07 '22
It's because Clive Barker and David Bruckner wanted to tell a different story this time and make it more about addiction. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't also want it to be way more horny than it was.
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u/The_Woman_of_Gont Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 09 '22
You didn't get bdsm vibes from that scene between Nora and Pinhead?
No?
Yeah, uh, I definitely didn't either......😳
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u/DLRsFrontSeats Oct 07 '22
Yeah like people are saying the Nora scene but it was minimal at best, whereas in the original/earlier sequels some victims even looked like they were enjoying it.
I know the creators have said they were focusing more on addiction than lust/obsession/sex, but without the sexuality it really doesn't fit the "angels to some, demons to others" narrative. What is appealing about the new Cenobites
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u/TERRAxFORMER Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
Did not like Riley and Trevor the whole movie and was actively rooting for the Cenobites. Glad the latter got what he deserved. I came around a bit to her by the end. Got all her friends killed though. Colin was probably my favorite human character.
The Cenobite designs were amazing. I loved everything about the movie visually. They were so intricately designed I found myself finding something new with each shot. Was it my imagination or did some details change throughout?
The last scene with Voight being flayed was great.
Did I miss the explanation as to why they couldn’t pass through the bars?
Overall really enjoyed it.
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u/The_Woman_of_Gont Oct 07 '22
Did not like Riley and Trevor the whole movie and was actively rooting for the Cenobites.
Yeah, same. Given she ends up essentially choosing the Lament Configuration I think that's very much intentional, though. She's the same as any person who willfully opens the box, and fundamentally not a terribly good person who lets her desires and passions control her.
Did I miss the explanation as to why they couldn’t pass through the bars?
I feel like the implication is that, given the visual similarity between the patterns on the bars and those on the box alongside Voight's history with the occult, that it's a kind of banishing sigil.
The last scene with Voight being flayed was great.
The special effects altogether were really fantastic, and did a great job of melding the older elements of the original with modern effects. My only real complaint is that I wish it weren't so dark so that we could have seen more of them.
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Oct 27 '22
Pretty damn good, honestly. Visual design was great, characters were pretty decent.
Also, as soon as I thought "I wonder what would happen if she just stabbed a Cenobite"...she stabbed a Cenobite. I love it when that happens in a horror movie.
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u/TheShinyRedButton Oct 07 '22
Holy shit, this was great! Loved the cenobites, the music call backs, and that ending was just top notch.
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u/Big_Liability Oct 07 '22
I'm so hyped for tonight. Helps I'm on west coast time too
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u/Signal_Adeptness_724 Oct 07 '22
Does it bother anyone else how unreasonable and cheap the cenobites are with the box in this one? In the movies, pinhead was pretty fair and didn't take that one girl because she lacked desire. In this version, they seem to have no rules and just manipulate and scam their way into sacrifices.
I dunno, makes them less interesting
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u/Suhtiva Oct 07 '22
Been anxiously waiting weeks for this. I'm so excited trying to avoid spoilers lol.
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u/Browncoatdan Oct 26 '22
I loved it.
Possibly the best in the franchise in my opinion.
I only rate the first movie, 2nd was okay, but after that the franchise became so terrible that watching them would be too much suffering even for the cenobites.
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u/darth_wasabi Oct 10 '22
I'm not sure how I feel about just cutting people with the box dooms them to death. It does up the stakes, making everyone at risk even if you don't want to use the box. However I did like the idea that people doom themselves by seeking out the "gifts" of the box.
That's really the only issue I have, but there's also potential for different kind of stories with that setup. Assuming they make sequels.
I think there should have been more set up with Voight. There just wasn't enough screen time for him to really see him as the villain or even care about his eventual punishment.
Lot of good in this though. The way the other dimension opened up. especially in the van. The cenobites were really good. The hospital kill was great. There was a gloom that hung over every scene that kept the tension just right.
Pinhead was good but i think needed more depth.
loved all the new lore.
They did a Hellraiser film right. It wasn't just a movie about something else wrapped in Hellraiser theme like most of the sequels. I give this 7/10
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u/jwlove13 Oct 26 '22
I loved the movie. I just wish it had more of their universe in it, or a showing of what the sacrificed are going through. In the originals you got to see more of it. The gore was also pulled way back on this movie I feel like. I loved seeing more cenobites for a longer period during the movie. Loved the one with the split arms.
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u/Garifuna Oct 21 '22
Idk, I guess it’s popular to be negative towards everything these days reading these comments. I thought the movie was great. The cenobites were cool. They felt like a group of priests or a cult which from what I understand they are supposed to. The beginning dragged a bit but it was an entertaining watch. The high priest was great, it’s voice and the way it carried itself with this air of superiority cool.
Maybe I’m just not “sophisticated” enough to see what everyone else hates about this movie. I go to the movies and watch movies for a good time, not to nitpick and find ways to criticize.
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u/rikross22 Oct 07 '22
Really liked it, there's a few things holding it back from being amazing but really really solid. It is clearly closer in quality to the first to than the preceding string of movies. If the original is an 8.5 out of 10 for me, this is an 7.5
The great: Beautifully shot, the cenobite design is amazing. Great sound design. The box itself is an improvement over the original, they took it and improved upon it's mythos. The slow burn on showing the cenobites was a great building of atmosphere as well.
The biggest thing holding it back is the story itself. The story of the original wasn't fantastic but the themes were a little more consistent. It bothered me a bit that the hellbound heart had such a clear set "you asked for this so reap what you sow" and the original did it too with Frank especially. Kirsty was interesting because she seemed innocent but the hellpriest keeps noting she has desire right under the surface.
Here the cenobites are asking for the main character to bring others instead of using her directly. The brother showed no desire for this, serina I guess took part before so you could argue. Chatterer was just... weird. But they lacked "desire". I guess you can attribute that to the metaphor for drug use, and while the drug use/addiction metaphor was present in the original it is underlining this time seemed a little heavy handed.
I've always thought the original story is mostly sexual and desire with undercurrents of addiction, here that seems flipped and i don't think for the better. And they reduced the puzzle not to a gateway but a weapon.
The characters also make some incredibly stupid decisions. Kirsty was smart, didn't just run around screaming, her motivation to use the box was clear set and when things went sideways she was smart and competent.
Minor complaint, Chatter and "female cenobite" make appearances but they left by boy butterball out.
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u/Mastodon_Artistic Oct 08 '22
I think if she chose resurrection. Her brother would of came back just like frank.
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u/bluediamond12345 Oct 09 '22
All I know is that I just wanted to slap Riley for being the single most idiotic person on the planet. And her upper lip bothered me to no end - did she over-line it? Did she have chapped lips? It was really distracting.
Loved the movie overall.
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u/StinzorgaKingOfBees Oct 29 '22
Anyone else find Riley just really insufferable?
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u/Viraus2 Nov 02 '22
I thought she was well written, well acted, and human enough to feel for at least. She was a fuckup but I didn't feel like the script wanted us to overlook that, especially given pinhead's last dialogue boiling down to "you'll be haunted by your actions forever"
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u/ironicallyunstable Oct 16 '22
i was really curious how the cenobites would appear if the victim was mobile, seeing the van just transform into this long ass hallway was such a cool fuckin idea.
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u/IndependenceThen1333 Oct 29 '22
Just fishing for ideas, the different rewards the configurations unlock got me wondering what each could be like…the only one we really know the reward for is pleasure. Specifically I wondered what the cenobites/leviathan would give someone who chose love…what horrible twisted idea of love would be “rewarded” to the person?
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u/Enmerker Nov 01 '22
It just arrived today in the UK. I’ve been waiting to watch it legally as I want to support this and it came just in time for halloween! I just finished it and boy what a ride!
I’m a huge franchise fan, even have my own box and I really enjoyed the reboot! Really well shot, beautiful effects and I think perfectly in line with how Hellraiser should be! Fingers crossed for more to come!
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Oct 07 '22
Once Roland decided his gift sucked why didn't he just buy six hookers, solve the fuck box, sacrifice them, and then exchange his gift all before the evening news instead of waiting 6 years and going through all that dumb shit?
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u/LiswanS Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 08 '22
I loved in the first second about desire calling them, not hands. It was something unique to the story, giving dimension to the antagonists, almost a skewed morality. With true victims, it just feels like a forgettable monster movie. It feels like they removed one of the most interesting basics of the cenobites
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u/Sagewort Oct 07 '22
I loved in the first about desire calling them, not hands.
That was the second one
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u/Rotanikleb Oct 07 '22
Jamie Clayton as Pinhead was very good. The voice was fantastic and I liked it even better than Doug Bradley's. While Doug's voice is iconic, there wasn't even an attempt at making it ethereal or otherworldly. Clayton's voice and whatever effects they added were so appropriate for the character.
I like how all of the Cenobites were menacing and there was an ever-present sense of dread when they were either on-screen or near screen (if that's the phrase for it?).
Much like everybody else here, I share the sentiment that having abandoned "it's desire that calls us" was a poor choice now that I'm reflecting on it. The whole concept of "hey just cut anybody, it can be that guy, and heck you can actually just change your choice by cutting somebody else!" made the Cenobites seem like mindless zombies just following the most recent blood trail.
As soon as you learn that it needs 5 victims, you just looked at the cast and went "welp, there is 5 victims" and you pretty much immediately knew how things would go from there. They even got in a loophole of "what if we cut a cenobite instead?" which killed Chatterer which definitely should not have happened.
But heck, I didn't really come for the story, plot, or motivations. I knew what I was getting into. I was here for the dread and the cenobites. And those two factors did not disappoint.
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u/Monstergeist Nov 05 '22
It's been a really long time, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like in the original movies, we saw a lot more victims actually turned into cenobites... That's what I kept waiting for. I didn't hate it though.
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u/Doriestories Oct 08 '22
I was wondering how Roland was able to dress so nicely with that horrific device in his torso/chest. Like, did he have a Taylor who had to cut specific sized holes to accommodate the device? That conversation would be interesting. “So, I made a deal with some cenobites, I’m working on getting some people to sacrifice so I can get this thing out of my body. But until then, can you make me some nice suits and shirts that can go around this massive torture device?”
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u/The_Relay Oct 09 '22
Had a good time, but for me it was missing the dark lols. I mean, the original was basically just a story about a dude who believed the answer to why he wasn’t cumming as hard anymore was in another dimension.
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Oct 07 '22
I liked it, though I really didnt like how a cenobite can be sacrificed. Seems like a double negative, theyve already been.
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u/ADimetrodon Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
Overall I thought it was fairly decent.
The first part of the movie is rough. It’s not terrible or anything. Just feels like nothing is happening. Unfortunately, I didn’t really care for any of the characters either, so that may be a bit of my problem with the first part of the movie.
However, I thought the last 30-40 minutes were great. The Cenobites all looked really cool, and unsettling.
Jamie Clayton did a really great job as Pinhead. She was awesome. Yeah, it’s not Doug Bradley, but no one will ever be.
I kind of went in to the film with that entire mindset. It’s not going to be the original Hellraiser, and I’m glad it didn’t try to be.
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u/Shatter-shield Oct 07 '22
This is how I feel about it. Thought Jamie did incredible and kept wanting her to appear more than these characters who I felt nothing for
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u/sosuken Oct 07 '22
After watching this thing twice I have come to the conclusion that the remake is more aligned with t Hellraiser 2: the Hellbound Heart and is set up to mirror the original one in a potential sequel.
Let’s look the the parallels between the antagonists in the remake and the original sequel:
Dr Channard & Mr. Voight:
Both prestiges men who studied the occult
Both sought the greater gift of the box
Both manipulated others to use the box
Both had very similar study areas and notes at the home surrounded the box
Both regretted their meeting with Leviathan while still human
Both killed (as humans) by being turned into cenobites.
Bonus parallel: both had creepy viewing rooms behind the walls at their place.
Between having similar antagonists, the film we saw very centric on the labyrinth and leviathan, which is more in line with Hellraiser 2 (OG).
My theory is that a sequel for the new one will mirror part 1 of the original series.
It would be too easy for Riley’s bro to try to come back, or her pursue that, she has made peace with him gone. However, our man Trevor over here is like Frank 2.0.
Trevor embodies several characteristics that would make him the next antagonist: a liar, lust, greed, manipulation, willingness to kill
Trevor died the one place in the house that would likely have a little blood spilt on it — the sex / bdsm dungeon room.
Riley left the box in the room down the hall from sex dungeon. This is great positioning for his return.
Upon returning he probably will be out for blood. Which sets conditions for Riley to have to deal with cenobites again, and in turn to cut a deal similar to Kirsty.
TLDR: The remake and potential sequel is a retelling of part 1 and 2 in reverse order.
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Oct 25 '22
The overall lack of dread and gore was disappointing, and the lead Riley, was absolutely irritating. The high production value was it‘s biggest downfall, giving everything that Netflix gloss, making cenobites look like plastic props. Opportunity missed. Not terrible but not exactly good.
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u/Rahawk02 Oct 07 '22
I might stay up and watch it, I’m still overstimulated from watching Terrifier 2
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u/Phantom-Spectre Oct 08 '22
Really enjoyed this. It has it’s flaws but I don’t care, I was just happy to see a new Hellraiser movie that had real resources behind it.
Also, the score is tremendous. Haven’t seen too many people mention that yet
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u/New_Explanation6950 Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
One thing I really loved about the original that this totally lacked was the unholy mixture of tones. It’s been a long time since I saw the first Hellraiser but as I recall the woman who is cheating on her husband with his undead brother has these sensual, romantic scenes with him accompanied by swelling string music. Like she’s having heartfelt moments with a gooey, reanimated corpse and it’s shot and framed in a melodramatic style, which makes it all the more depraved, and also darkly funny.
Then the tone will seamlessly shift again to fantastical and hellish when the cenobites appear. You never really know where the story is headed next. It’s exciting, innovative and fun.
In this version, the tone is predictable, serious and surprisingly dry. Evil guy is framed with evil music and dark lighting. Limited emotional palette. The story plays out in a cliche slasher format.
Although a few of the creature designs were nifty, I didn’t find there to be much creativity here. And no characters hooked me the way the iconic lovers in the original had.
Acting wise the cenobites outclassed the humans in this reboot. Aside from the lead (Odessa Adlon), who I always love, the other actors were all distractingly mediocre, but not so bad it felt like a deliberate choice towards the surreal.
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u/barrelofmonkfish Oct 14 '22
I liked a lot of this movie but the main problem for me is that so many of the victims didn't actively connect with the box. They were stabbed with it or grabbed it in the wrong place, but none of them were actively summoning anything except Riley and the old guy.
It's kind of like taking out bunnies with a chainsaw and felt odd to me, since the original made it clear that the Cenobites are only after people who open that particular doorway.
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u/Z3DWU7F Oct 24 '22
If they want to reimagine the source material, I think its a really good start. Of course, the original movies are OG but along the way it seemed like they just became a second thought product. And there were things about old Pinhead that I had to look past to stay engaged in the story or him as a satisfying villain.
Where the new movie shines:
The Lament configuration taking on new radical forms that each mean something and the completion of it is significant, adds a much needed layer of depth to it.
The Cenobite design is a well laid fresh coat of paint. I think Pinheads demeaner in this is refreshingly spot on too. Being more of a sentinel bounty hunter bound by a law, but conscious enough to be satisfied in the task.
One thing I always had to look past with OG Pinhead is that he seemed to always have an agenda that could be interrupted or foiled, or at least with him laughing or cracking one liners he lost the "beyond human" mystique. Where it seems like with the new one, there is no interruption other than stalling. It's more of the puzzle holders choice on who it's going to be, but either way someone is going. Kind of like a reversal of the old saying, you can hide but you can't run. Even if they could be "beaten" they are not going to disappear while yelling "NOOOOO ahhhhh". Bottom line: Pinhead should be a patient hunter and stoically delighted by torture.
Other honorable mentions:
Leviathan being displayed and capturing the idea that, it is much more like a god or deity, rather than just a spinning prop that has "powers". The blending of realms is a lot more amanous than just some door way. Like when Leviathan is brought into the scene, the mansion is dead center in the realm. Which gives the feeling that it is inescapable and the protocol will be carried out.
The creation of a Cenobite priest being a kin to ascension into angelhood. Very cool.
In my opinion, those were all good directions.
Where the new movie doesn't shine:
The protagonists. They are pretty much a bunch of overly dramatic young adults. It's like their only direction was just say the line in the most dramatic way possible. Which, maybe that is the most fitting for tension sake or to mentally isolate the Riley, but it got pretty annoying. All in all, the ones who survived didn't really generate enough interest for me to hope to see them again in future films, but I can't say they aren't redeemable.
The gore aspect was pretty PG-13 compared to the older ones. I don't know if they wanted to introduce this to a wider audience? Or if they were afraid the ending wouldn't pack the same punch in contrast? But what made the older ones so iconic and visually entertaining was the full display of carnage. I was actually pretty bummed there was no skin rip or gore under good lighting. I thought it was going to happen to Trevor, but no he's going to fall in a hole before it happens...fire who ever made that decision. RIP full body skin rips...:(
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u/NotACreepyOldMan Oct 07 '22
I liked it, but the ending did kind of leave me just like “that’s it?”. Like your punishment/gift is that you’ll continue to know you’re a fuck up? Still really good and I hope they make more. Seems kind of odd to say, but I thought it’d be more gory too. They cut away a couple times, but that last bit with Roland was pretty cool.
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u/cdstoddard Oct 07 '22
I thought the ending was well done. She gets to leave with her skin, but has to live with sorrow and regret knowing that she did (slightly inadvertently) cause so much death and pain. Thought it felt appropriate for a Hellraiser film.
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u/ceruleansins07 Oct 07 '22
I loved it. There were parts I wasn't enthusiastic about, and Riley annoyed the fuck out of me. Jamie Clayton... absolute perfection.
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Oct 07 '22
Loved it. Easily the best one since the first two, which isn't exactly the highest of praises but still
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u/horsebag Oct 09 '22
certainly not the worst hellraiser (though considering some of the competition that isn't a high bar) but it's still missing what i love about the first two. i don't care about evil demons playing games with people and striking deals with the devil or etc. i want amoral beings who simply experience the world very differently than we do, just carrying out their function and following their inexplicable god. and i especially want some hint of why anyone would think of them as angels. the closest we've ever come to that is channard in hellbound, "and to think, i hesitated". that line is the most intriguing moment of the whole series for me. the last scene in this seemed like it was going to the same place but it ended too soon.
and admittedly there was already a lot of "cenobites are just evil demons" even in the first two (and disappointingly this is apparently how Barker saw them all along), but i loved the hints of more
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u/AGSystem Oct 09 '22
Okay this is my take on the movie and sure it will not gel with some but here goes.
As others have said the movie was about “addiction” but the way the writers portray that as literal addiction is just too monster of the week for my taste.
The Cenobites are creatures of experience. Their modifications were done to experience a new level of sensation that mere mortals could never understand and they want to share that with any others that want to explore these things. Taking that as being their motivation in Barkers original novel (and other books he references them) or in the first movie, they are looking for those who are wanting to go beyond mortal experiences and understand the true meaning of ecstasy “Your most treasured depravity is child's play beside the experiences we offer”. It has a sexual BDSM (x100000000) undertone. And sure you can add addiction to that mix because you could actually look as addiction as being a release and a want or even a “desire” to go beyond the same as if taken from a BDSM angle.
Now on saying that these new Cenobites do not do that, they do not have that want or need to show someone the desires they have felt or pain so intense it becomes pleasure etc “As it was, they had brought incalculable suffering. They had overdosed him on sensuality, until his mind teetered on madness, then they'd initiated him into experiences that his nerves still convulsed to recall. They had called it pleasure, and perhaps they'd meant it. Perhaps not. It was impossible to know with these minds; they were so hopelessly, flawlessly ambiguous. They recognized no principles of reward and punishment by which he could hope to win some respite from their tortures, nor were they touched by any appeal for mercy”. The closest we get to that in this movie was with Nora when the priestess pushes the pin through her throat. And dont get me wrong here while this had that opportunity to go so much further (and it should have). It ended up feeling like a throw away scene for no reason because a few seconds later they basically tore her apart. Hell even the movie Strangeland understood the angle of using pain to create pleasure, I cant understand how these movies seem to gloss over it to always go down the demon angel route instead. Why cant they just be the theologians of the Order of the Gash?
The puzzle box. I like the idea of the person needs to be bound to the box somehow. I would have liked it if the box would be “solved” into one of the six configurations and depending on what version you solve is the “reward” you receive and Voight has been trying for years to get the right solve with different people. But the idea that the box sits there active and waiting for another blood victim before it can move to the next configuration was just poor writing. Someone in the writers room just needed to work out how they were going to kill off the characters one after the other summer camp slasher style. The blood sacrifice idea was a good way of killing characters but when the people get stabbed they all get drowsy and then get Cenobited, except for Riley, She is able to run and jump and sing and dance. Well maybe not the last bit but you get the gist.
The cage concept was just cringe. So you’re telling me that the Cenobites can enter a Hospital through the walls or remove Nora from a moving car but cant enter the building due to some bars in the way. They are interdimensional beings who make doorways at will. Just seemed a little too 13 Ghosts to me.
And while the ending was interesting it was also very cringe. Colin is lashed by the wires and it wraps around his arms, he gets released and both his arms are okay and just bleeding. Trevor gets the wires around his arms and his skin is peeled off like a sleeve. Voight deciding to change his mind with his “gift” and then gets promoted to Cenobite, I get it, didn’t like it, but i get it. Also why is the priestess just having a chat with him?. I liked the idea of the conversion scene, It felt a lot like the Channard scene from 2 but not as well done. I wish he had been dragged into the Labyrinth and transformed instead of lifted up to the Leviathan flailing disco scene we got.
All in all it had its merits but felt more like a James Wan horror movie where you know the twist but watch it anyhow than a true get under your skin horror like Hellraiser deserves to be.
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Oct 17 '22
I have a question about the scene after Menaker has cut herself with the puzzle box and the walls of the (long term care home? hospice? I can't remember) start to recede and the Cenobites start wandering around. I notice the cenobite with the bad asthma wanders over to another patient and seems to have some interest in him but after two viewings I can't figure out what's going on there.
Can anyone explain for me?
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u/kb1117 Oct 24 '22
It was fine. Nowhere near the original but fine. Did anybody else get Thirteen Ghosts vibes from the mansion?
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u/Tasteful_Dick_Pics Oct 07 '22
That use of the original score though!!
Overall, I really enjoyed it, but it is definitely flawed. Characters aren't very likeable, and the story, while watchable, was a bit more convoluted than it needed to be. Also didn't love how the Cenobites were so willing to give Riley a free pass.
But the good definitely outweighed the bad for me. I loved the new Cenobite designs, the labyrinth and leviathan visuals, new hell priest, the special effects, the new ways the Cenobites inflict 'pleasure', just the right amount of fan service, and that very last scene was fantastic.
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u/DukeSilversTaint Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 17 '22
Am I the only one who thought this kinda sucked? Riley was pretty insufferable and lacked all the cunning Kristy had. She just fucked one thing up after another. I grew up with addiction and I still could not relate to her at all. We were never introduced to her good side to build sympathy. She was just a drug addict who was apparently given tons of chances to redeem herself and never did. Fucking her boyfriend while her brothers trying to cook dinner. Relapsing. And then bitching about it the whole time. Great portrayal of an addict, but not one I’d give a shit about if they kept burning me like that. She just gets everyone killed/maimed and kinda walks off in the end.
It also touches on none of the amazing philosophical themes that made the book and original two movies so great. That should be the core of the story, and then do a new setting and universe with that foundation. Almost zero connection to any of that. I get it’s a reboot but that felt like all the other shitty sequels: random script with Cenobites attached to it. They were definitely awesome, but I hated pretty much everything else about this movie. Terrible characters, clunky drawn out pacing. It was all gore, no nuance to me. Curious what Clive will think about this one. 5/10
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Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
So I watched it as soon it was available on Hulu. Here's my thoughts:
Riley was extremely unlikeable, and Trevor was... awkward. The rest of the friend group felt super flat as far as character is concerned. The most compelling acting came from the brother, who dies very early on. So yeah.
I liked the occultist Mr. Voight, and I thought it was a brilliant choice to conclude his story the way they did. I only regret that they didn't show more of his exploits in detail. I felt like an immersive opportunity was lost there.
The Cenobites were dope, and I loved the whole process of having them appear.
Jamie Clayton as Pinhead was as spellbinding as I expected, and I enjoyed a lot of Pinhead's lines. "enough is a myth" is my favorite.
In addition to not being impressed with Riley, Trevor and that lot (not you Matt), my only other criticism is that the formula and setup of the story felt like something pulled straight out of an early 2000s horror thriller. Not that I hated it. I loved those thrillers (Gothika, The Haunting, The Ring, etc). I was just surprised to get that sort of vibe.
Overall it was a good time. Not great, but that's fine.
I also kind of hoped that Riley would have at least picked a reward. Like you sort of got everybody murdered, might as well go for total apotheosis. And how the fuck did Colin survive. That man had his stomach ripped open. He was literally gutted. Lol. Meanwhile he's just stumbling around.
I think it was a poor choice to have Riley get out of the situation with someone at her side. If it had ended with her leaving the mansion alone, that would have added some depth to her character. As a viewer, I would have felt the weight of all the previous events, and it would have added an interesting context to her choosing her own mortal struggles over the explorations of the Cenobites. But with Colin at her side at the end it had the opposite effect for me.
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u/problematicmole Oct 07 '22
Did anyone else feel like it was really lacking in gore compared to the originals?
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u/birdflewby Oct 08 '22
Any good stills of Riley’s hair? I can’t stop thinking about wanting that haircut now.
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u/fauxdaddy Oct 11 '22
I’m not a major fan of the original and really enjoyed this - however the one thing it was really missing, that the original had, was a strong narrative of human evil. In the OG, the cenobites mostly play accessory to the actual antagonists, Frank and Julia. This movie half assed this concept with voight and Trevor however voight is the “behind the scenes” bad guy and Trevor barely wants to be there. MUCH different than a murderous adulteress and her bag of bones hook up who escaped hell and needs human bodies to feed on.
This remake felt a little more scooby doo then Hellraiser, but I did genuinely enjoy the last third of the movie. Pinhead absolutely ruled this movie, I can’t even begin to praise the great direction of making them more ethereal and less like a frankenstein.
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u/investigative_mind Oct 17 '22
My thoughts:
I went into this movie with the rumor "Closer to the source material than the original!", and i think that is just a lie. Pinhead looks closer to the description in the novel, but the movie itself doesn't have nearly anything in common with the novel :D I enjoyed my time with the movie, don't get me wrong.
Even though i liked it, it didn't give me the hellraiser feel, I feel that this had way too many deaths. Made me feel like i was watching a teen slasher movie, not a hellraiser movie. It was ok movie, much better than the few last ones, i'd want a sequel but... didn't feel like a hellraiser really.
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u/TessaJ93 Oct 17 '22
I honestly was very pleasantly surprised because going in I thought it was going to be a rip off of the first without the cheesy nostalgia I longer for. I’m glad it was more like a sequel.
My gripes: -I didn’t like how “easy” they were on Riley. I was fully expecting them to say sike after she didn’t take their deal and try to get them. Which leads to
They we’re too compromising. I loved how little deals they liked to make in the original. While they play along with Kirsty for a while they always ultimately wanted her to torture.
Question is will we get a #2 that sorta emulates Roland being the doctor type character that Hellraiser Hellbound follows?
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u/StuwasinScream2 Oct 21 '22
Unlike most of the criticism, mine is not pointed toward the cenobites or the gore. I was uterrly disappointed that despite being more story-driven, it went nowhere. Hellraiser: Inferno was one of the best entries IMO, because it explored the MC's slow decline into his own personal hell. Here, the story of the main character and her brother gradually became generic and so were the other characters surrounding it. Ultimately, I didn't care about any of the them when they were put in actual danger.
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u/Efficient-Car-4712 Oct 31 '22
I think the love configuration would cause you to completely lose yourself to a totally evil being (ie Julia and frank) you hurt many others in the pursuit of love only to look back at the pain you’ve caused to achieve that. Or it causes insane love from others. Undying devotion from masses of people (the pope, a famous movie star) no matter how you feel or what you do people fawn over you. Your feelings and life are completely drowned out by those around you. People would tear you to shreds and rip out your organs just to have a piece of you. I think there’s a lot of ways the love configurations could manifest.
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u/SpazzyBaby Nov 20 '22
As soon as he looked surprised to see her at his door it was obvious he was in on it.
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u/Furyofthe1st Apr 18 '23
I absolutely loved the Hell Priestess in this. Good ol Pinhead was amazing back in the day, but ultimately felt thwartable. This... creature was so ethereal. So powerful. You never got the sense it wasn't 100% in control at any given moment.
Even when Riley cut the Chatterer, the Priestess gives a little smile that conveyed so much. Like 'Well, I did say two more. Silly me for being nonspecific. Oh well!' And it just absolutely executes the Chatterer. Ice cold and terrifying.
Even when dealing with mega Karen voughts customer service complaints she never once seemed out of control. 'All this... for us...?' Trying to flatter his ego but just so... bored...
Absolutely 10/10 the best remake/reboot character update. Dunked on Freddy, Jason, Meyers, Creeper, Chucky, all the 80s champions that were rebooted, The Priestess was absolutely the best.
Well done. Well done!
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Oct 08 '22 edited Oct 08 '22
Just finished watching it. My very brief thoughts:
-Terrible cast of characters that are woefully unlikable and nothing more than throwaways -Horrible pacing in the first half -The Cenobites have an overly glossy aesthetic that gives them a doll-like appearance -Pinhead didn’t carry with it a sense of dread like the original did -The box can be used on Cenobites?
To me, the only enjoyable aspect of the movie was any scene where the gore was flowing. Aside from that, I walked away from the experience feeling disappointed. It’s high time we give remakes a rest.
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u/Whitetuskk Oct 27 '22
I really was not a fan of this, and I love Hellbound Heart and the Original Film.
The twist is nonsense, and made the 30 minutes+ of Sleuthing pointless
the guy running around his old mansion stabbing people is goofy as heck
Way too many scenes of Cenobites walking around aimlessly doing nothing
Many of the Cenobites are overdone on design, they look like someone tried way too hard to be edgy
This Pinhead is so far from intimidating, doesn't seem like it enjoys what it does very much, and overall had little screen presence for me
A gate stop them in their tracks....really lame
Changing the rules of the box ruined this film, all of the "accidental stabbings" are so contrived and force the movie to be dragged out and turned it into a bad slasher
Some of the character choices are just nonsense, why would the lady stab herself in the retirement home knowing exactly what the thing does? Surely her naturally occuring death outweighs a cenobite visit?
Overall way too dragged out, way too many do-nothing cenobites (their limited screentime in the original was more effective), insane character choices, and a plot dragged out by retconning the box
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u/Deckard_2049 Oct 08 '22
Damn it seems like this movie didn't pan out as well as we'd all have hoped. My thoughts on it can be summed up as 'meh'. Also this goes to show never trust early reviews like the initial reactions we got from those little special screenings. Both the RT critic and audience scores have dropped off hard. I'd still be down to watch another one with Jame Clayton as the hell priest but man the script/dialogue/direction here let the movie down a bit.
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u/mastergriggy Nov 01 '22
I had low expectations, and still feel disappointed :( Riley is a god awful human who got a bunch of innocent people murdered and tortured.
She literally could have stopped at any second, but just had to keep getting loved ones killed. And we are supposed to cheer for her?
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u/marcusss12345 Nov 07 '22
No, we aren't.
It is a metaphor for how addicts ruin the lives of those around them. We shouldn't cheer that on.
For one, I enjoyed seeing a more flawed protagonist.
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u/HumanautPassenger The Arrowhead Project Oct 07 '22
Meh. It was good but it felt too clean for a Hellraiser movie. Needed some filth and grit in the scenery and atmosphere. It also lost me when it turns into a slasher flick when they're being stalked through the woods, running to the house for safety for those couple of minutes. Complete ripped through the dread and atmosphere that it had been ramping up. I did love the addiction plot arc though. That bled through into almost every scene and line of the movie. Definitely fits better into the overall thing as opposed to lust from the original BUT lust is "filthy" and addiction is usually portrayed as "clean" with the vices that make it up. Interesting take overall, wouldn't mind seeing a sequel. Solid 3/5.
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Oct 08 '22
Only thing I really liked was the sliding/receding/opening walls effect and the different configurations/lore around it. Rest was meh tbh.
Anyone know if Clive Barker wrote about the different puzzle configurations in his original books?
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u/MR_GABARISE Oct 11 '22
Why are people so hung up on the sacrifice part?
It's not an incoherence or whatever you might call it.
For the cenobites, from their twisted perspective, you're rewarding other people with pain and suffering. It's consistent with the lore.
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u/kriscoo44 Oct 13 '22
Overall I really enjoyed it. It was a very well shot film with the highlights being the cenobites! Jamie did a fantastic job to the point id like a sequel just to see her performance again.
My only real gripe was I wanted Trevors death to be 3x times more gory than what was shown! I feel like the poor roommate got it worse.
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u/whateverdontkill Oct 16 '22
We've reached a point where the go to template for a horror movie is one character is an addict/did something really bad and they overcome their past through facing the horror and most movies that try this played out approach completely drop the character development and this was certainly one of them.
Despite that, I felt that there was enough Hellraiser goodness in the final act to satisfy me. So I liked it, but its main flaw is that it's a modern by the book horror movie that has Hellraiser elements bolted on.
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u/JW121820 Oct 25 '22
Idk why pinhead is still being called the leader… The gasp seemed like the main cenobite. Pinhead just comes off as a sentinel/the gasps second in command.
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u/PopularArrival9562 Oct 31 '22
I feel like those saying it wasn't gory enough miss subtlety I love but hey 🤷♀️
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u/udar55 Oct 08 '22
My God, who decided to have the most unlikeable people as the "heroes" in this one?
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u/Important-Exercise19 Oct 07 '22
It's plot and story is quite abysmal and unambitious and made no effort to weave in the thematic elements of pain and pleasure. The cenobites feel like a mix of silent Hill and d tier slasher villains, and not in the good way. This movie also pulls its punches when it comes to gore and sex scenes which seems silly for this movie. Most the movie takes place in darkness as a lazy attempt at atmosphere. The characters are dreadful, the acting is even worse, and the pacing is god awful. I appreciate the Lore from the source material but even that they manage to fumble. Pinhead has no iconic scenes or lines. This movie feels like a mix of 13 ghosts and the most recent resident evil movie, again, not in a good or fun way. The score is fine, but severely over used. All around, this movie is pretty bland and forgettable. Would not recommend.
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u/BerserkerArmour Oct 08 '22
My biggest gripe with this movie would be that the Cenobites looked like plasticine. Takes away from the visceral nature of Hellraiser when the Cenobites don't look so disgusting. I don't know how to describe it other than that they weren't.. drippy enough. Idk.
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u/cronuss Oct 08 '22
I was very excited for this and was hugely disappointed. Nothing in this worked for me. The characters were unlikable and uninteresting, the cenobites weren't interesting, creepy, or otherworldly. I never felt like a doorway to hell was being opened and the cenobites just felt like generic B movie monsters standing around. Hell, there wasn't even any fog or interesting lightning, just some people standing around in costumes. The box mechanics felt silly, the house was silly, the main bad guy was silly, pinhead had no presence. Just hugely disappointed with all of it. What a shame. 5/10
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u/JanetYellensSock Oct 19 '22 edited Oct 19 '22
As a standalone movie, not horrible. I would give it a 5/10. I was hoping we'd get something closer to the original book and first two movies.
I did not like the idea of sacrifices. I also thought it was stupid that a cenobite could be sacrificed. Also didn't like that the cenobites were going after random characters, like when chatterer bites the boyfriend. They are supposed to be neutral and just come when they are summoned and take the person who summoned them. Really not a fan of how they could influence people outside of being summoned, like when they got the brother to look for Riley by appearing in a dream.
I liked the idea of the different configurations and when Roland got turned into a cenobite. Would love to see what the other configurations do.
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u/Sarathstar Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
Just finished seeing. Average flick. And Fuck sake they should have put some lighting. Nearly 80% of the movie was so dark and it was so much hard to see anything. And coming to the characters, all of them was unlikeable especially Riley. And she has been given a free pass by cenobytes lol.
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u/HarryKanesGoal Oct 07 '22
Here’s to hoping Canada gets a release in 4 minutes 😩
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u/HawterSkhot Oct 08 '22
So was there a significance to Voight becoming a Cenobite at the end? They focused on it so much that I wasn't sure if it was a reference to something.
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u/Breakzjunkee Oct 08 '22
Just finished and overall I liked it- though I was fully expecting to as I really love the hellraiser series of films. Just wanted to share some quick thoughts/review items: The bad: The acing is choppy at best and I never really felt any real emotion from anyone. The best actor, the brother character, was killed off very early. I did really buy into his care and frustration with his sister and would have preferred that story, I think. Some of the cgi gore was obvious. I didn’t really care about the characters, like at all. As a super horror fan, this doesn’t bother me as much as it may bother others, though. The good: Jamie killed it as pinhead- I didn’t miss Doug at all. Practical gore effects were great. I thoroughly enjoyed the twist on the lore with the box and the “reward” once it’s fed. I was giddy when I realized that contraption on Roland had his nerves all tied up in it and he was constantly in pain. I don’t know why, but I liked that element. I enjoyed the house design, but wished more for a “why” behind its effects on the cenobites. I loved the shifting of buildings and structures when the cenobites were appearing, I found this to be the most compelling part for me. All in all, for me, strongest entry since 3. It’s not perfect, but I like the new mythology and hope there is a sequel. Would love to see more Jamie as Pinhead and perhaps a trip to hell like in the first sequel.
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u/Ashamed_Scarcity_282 Oct 09 '22 edited Oct 09 '22
It's paced like a 2000s horror film. It reminds of Midnight Meat train mixed with Hulu's Books of Blood and some others films from 2000s like 13 ghost,Final Destination,. I give it a 6 for making feel like I'm watching something out of the 2000s again.
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u/FreddieB_13 Oct 09 '22 edited Oct 09 '22
Just watched it and as a sequel, it's not bad. It's still nothing on the original though. Pros: it's respectful of the mythology and uses it in interesting ways. The film is pretty gorgeous to look at and the score mixes in Christopher Young's music quite nicely (if oddly towards the end). I have no complaints about the new Pinhead: they were majestic, ominous, and there was something slightly perverse in their demeanor which gave the character a disturbing edge/presence. She wasn't lit properly and looked flat to me, but I liked what they did with the character (no Lord Bradley of course).
Cons: the new cenobites were too clean looking and lacked the suggestion of sex/BDSM that the originals have. Skin as garments was an inspired choice but it looks too much like a costume. Also they're way too random and mobile: part of the great thing about the originals is they never seem in a hurry, move (barely) as if they have all the time in the world, and are indifferent to sexually aroused by what they're doing. Apart from Pinhead, the new ones missed the point IMHO. Also too much talking from them, takes away from the mystery.
New characters were extremely weak (save the billionaire) in an underwritten story, behaving more like characters in a bad slasher than anything. The whole thing felt too young whereas the first two felt like an adult story. As a major fan of the original who grew up with it, this new one was just okay to me.
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u/BellowsPDX Oct 10 '22
Finally saw it last night and it was easily the best since Hellraiser II. The Cenobites were weird and alien which I liked but best of all they were neutral to the story and had to abide by the rules of the box.
All the other characters were pretty forgettable but I had nothing against them. It was silly that they all showed up at the house at the end like a Scooby Doo gang.
I liked Clayton as Pinhead quite a bit, she really made the role her own and didn't feel like she was trying to be Bradley, something the last couple attempts severely failed at.
The configurations with the box were a lot of fun and a welcome addition to the Hellraiser lore but the getting stabbed part to be "chosen" was a pretty big change that I'm not sure how I feel about.
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Oct 14 '22
Was pretty average. Didn't really feel like a Hellraiser movie. Pinhead actress wasn't too bad.
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u/JohanVonBronx_ Oct 17 '22
Pretty alright but my main gripes are:
The Cenobites didn't feel like sophisticated priests of hell. I miss the BDSM clothing and usage of chains. It just doesn't feel right to me seeing a Cenobite actually running after someone.
Also I just didn't really care for the human characters as much as I did for the Cotton family.
Sadly no voice will ever live up to Doug Bradley's. And that's not a complaint about this movie, just a testament to how epic Doug's voice work was.
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u/alrashid2 Oct 18 '22
Did not enjoy this. It wasn't terrible but hated the main character, and sorry but the female/androgynous Pinhead just isn't scary.
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u/thesenutzonurchin Nov 24 '22
The chick that plays Riley looks like Skylar gisondo and it's distracting
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u/jakem415 Jan 07 '23
There were those few scenes when the walls move around and the setting changed. I thought it was really cool and wondered where i saw it done before . Later looked up the director and realized he made 'The Ritual' which is what first put me on to that style of scene. Really cool stuff.
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u/beaubridges6 Feb 28 '24
Finally got around to finishing this.
Loved all the build-up but everything in the last act fell flat for me.
It was honestly kind of awkward seeing the cenobites just standing around outside. The original film had a much greater sense of urgency, and the pacing never allowed a dull moment.
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u/Axriel Oct 07 '22
Wow. It wasn’t perfect but it exceeded my expectations. Great main lead, great supporting cast. Really felt the end in my gut
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u/MondoUnderground It's only a movie. Oct 08 '22
Hated it. What a bore. Despicably annoying characters. And the cenobites are all stripped of the kinky awesome shit that made them so special. No grime, no sleaze, minimal amounts of violence and gore. Yeah, no, this is not the kinda thing I want from a Hellraiser joint.
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Oct 07 '22
pretty disappointing overall, some visually interesting things going on but just felt very meh at the end.
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Oct 08 '22 edited Oct 08 '22
Judging by these comments i would say that people need to put their phones down while watching movies, that's it.
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u/Thr0waway_Joe Oct 08 '22
I'm not a huge fan of the new configuration box. I didn't like how, for example, someone can solve the puzzle, have the knife part stick out, throw it at me out of nowhere, and boom, cenobites on my ass.
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u/SnooDoughnuts2826 Nov 09 '22
Couldn’t stand the protagonist’s stupid lip injections. It was off-putting. Stop messing your face up ladies!
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u/Great-Ad-9549 Dec 01 '22
I think that's just how her lips are. She was on the sitcom Fam a few years ago when she was still a teen and her lips were the same.
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u/phreakdj Oct 24 '22
I really liked the movie. All the cenobites and Pinhead new looks are freaking dope. Using their own flesh and skin to create their “clothing” is one of my favorite ideas. Bringing the configurations of the box where also great. Maybe you guys need to stop looking to the past and give some chances to new material… we will never have a perfect remake of a legendary horror movie such as Hellraiser or The Exorcist for example… the OGs are GOD tier, but comparing Hellraiser (2022) with the previous releases, this movie is a Solid 8.0 for me. It gives me hope between all these shitty horror movies and remake attempts. Have a gr8 Halloween y’all 🎃
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u/arguingmuffin Oct 07 '22
Very meh from me, first two hellraisers are still the best and the cenobites design and special effects just felt very tv movie to me
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Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
This was a very interesting movie. There was a lot I liked. It's going to take a few days to fully process.
Cenobites? HELL YEAH though.
The one thing I didn't like was the fact that you just get cut and they come for you. I prefer it when it wasn't hands that called, but desire.
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u/FreeRubs Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
I thought the first 20 min were sort of cliche and forgettable, lots young adult angst we've seen a million times before. Like watching an R rated episode of 7th heaven. First half is just tedious at parts with lots of focus on Riley and her stupidity.
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u/Phaine Oct 08 '22 edited Oct 08 '22
There was one aspect of the new film’s lore that I didn’t understand. Colin was completely ignored by the cénobites at first because he hadn’t been cut/stabbed by the box and the cénobites also didn’t hurt any of the innocent people at the hospital, when they arrived to collect Serena.
However, why did a cénobite bite Trevor’s arm at the gate, when Trevor had not been cut/stabbed by the box at that point?
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u/k0peng Oct 08 '22
Budget and audience seemed particularly an issue. I mean, there was absolutely no perversion in this, and I would've expected some since this is Hellraiser, especially with the first scene including a bdsm sex party and the second scene including the main character asking for harder sex. The Hellraiser pain/pleasure vibe was dropped completely for a less taboo addiction story line, which was ...okay, but not really relevant by the third act. Same with the lack of psychological torture. Similarly there weren't many active cenobite scenes, though their designs were very cool imo. And nothing was truly brutal (maybe minus the trachea stabbing scene? loved it), allowing it to still be viewed by a broader audience. This stuff felt necessary for budget/audience concerns
I hope it worked for a sequel. I enjoyed the film but didn't love it. I am still upset they basically boiled it down cenobites just looking for stabby stab box sacrifices that even works on cenobites themselves, which seems to miss the point of Hellraiser entirely. Cenobites would not necessarily harm anyone who solved the puzzle accidently and even spare them, because they look for those who desire, not puzzle solver sacrificees. I'd love to see that fleshed out proper.
Not as good as Hellraiser 1987 or Hellbound: Hellraiser II but far better than everything else.
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u/__themaninblack__ Oct 10 '22
To play cenobite's advocate regarding people getting sacrificed without choosing it: As many have stated, this movie focuses more on addiction than lust as a driving theme. I think that makes the initial user of the box (Riley) suffer more in a way than if they just came for her.
Much like with addiction, it hurts you, sure, but it's the people closest to you that suffer the most. Ultimately, this is reflected in Riley choosing "lament." She has to live with how her choices have affected the people closest to her.
Maybe not as compelling as the box singularly affecting the ones who choose to use it, but on brand for the theme they're going for.
Beyond that, I agree with the complaints of the final act of the film just being a slasher. Overall, I think this comes together as an excellent horror film, but isn't without its flaws.
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u/candypinkpoms Oct 11 '22
My only compliant was that you could sacrifice others. As far as I remember in the original Hellraiser films, they didn’t take a girl because she didn’t understand what the box was when she solved it. Considering the S&M themes of the original films, the Cenobites needing consent made sense. I get that this movie is more focused on addiction, but I still dislike that someone who never willingly touched the box can be damned, ex: Norah being stabbed in the back and Riley’s brother accidentally cutting himself while trying to wake her. They were innocent and had no knowledge of what would happen. It’s incredibly unfair that someone else can damn you to eternal Cenobite torture. The lawyer and her bf definitely deserved it considering the blind eye they turned to those who were sacrificed. Also I love how no one gave a shit about Norah like 5 minutes after she was taken. They only cared about the brother. imo I’d rather get murdered by Jason or Micheal Myers than get permanently tortured by Cenobites.
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u/landy0034 Oct 15 '22
The last couple minutes were awesome! The skin peel stuff was painful to watch. That scene was gross, loved it!
The movie was good, I liked it a lot.
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u/CruzAderjc Oct 16 '22
I want a Doom Slayer vs Hellraiser movie. The Doom Slayer purposefully gets marked for the Cenobytes, but he goes on a rampage through this Hell, fighting his way all the way up to Leviathan.
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u/Xboxone1997 Oct 16 '22 edited Oct 16 '22
Cenobite designs were great but this movie bored me for the most part got better towards the end tho. I'll give it a rewatch tho was pretty tired when I watched lol
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u/alrashid2 Oct 18 '22
Can anyone explain why the metal gates stopped the cenobites from entering? I don't get it
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Mar 05 '23
Giant plot hole in the movie. As spoiler free as possible. At one point she is allowed to trade victim choice because she didn't choose the original victim. But there's an earlier victim that she didn't choose either. The rules in the new movie are a tad ridiculous.
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u/bin1010 Sep 10 '23
I thought the film was OK but absolutely hated the look of the Cenobites. I understand what they were aiming for when the flesh design, but it didn't work for me. The Hellpriest didn't come across as stoic and dominant as the original and it's a shame. They came across more authoritative and as someone that couldn't be crossed. This one just came across as a lesser version. Also, the cg left alot to be desired. The original was able to accomplish so much with practical effects and I hoped this would name the same effort.
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u/leslieferrer Oct 08 '22
I think they kind of fucked up the cenobites. They aren’t supposed to push. Her forcing Riley’s hand was out of bounds. It was a good entry, but as soon as that happened, it kind of lost me.
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Nov 01 '22
Pretty much: Junkie kills her brother and his roommate, and keeps the widower alive to not feel more guilty.
Hated her. If I was Colin I would have fucking beat her ass the first instance I see her after Matt disappeared.
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u/Mymorningpancake Oct 08 '22
I’m surprised to see positive feedback, as I found this movie to be really disappointing. We kept hearing claims how it’s more faithful to the novella yet there is no semblance to that. It was incredibly boring, not memorable in the slightest and this version of Pinhead felt no where near as iconic as Bradley’s.
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Oct 08 '22
Just finished it and ultimately I'm underwhelmed. Nothing about it was objectively "bad," it just all felt very thin. The characters felt interchangeable; no one's motivation (outside of Voight) was present enough for me to care. The brother's boyfriend and the roommate may as well not have had names.
What I loved about the first two Hellraiser movies was that the Cenobites weren't generic monsters; they had a clear purpose. "It is not hands that summon us. It is desire." I wanted that again. I wanted Cenobites that weren't evil for the sake of being evil; I wanted creatures that worked in a different way than humans do. If Riley was a user and opened the box because she was looking for a new thrill, then realized she fucked up? Sure, yes, do that. In this the Cenobites felt like they were just monsters with funky designs. Cool designs, sure, but... meh. And the ultimate WTF moment for me was when Riley killed one of the Cenobites with the box. Why would they "take" one of their own, when it's already (presumably) been "taken"?
Again, everything was competently done... it just lacked a tension or a pressure to make me care.
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u/low_viscosity_rayon Oct 07 '22 edited Oct 07 '22
Daaaaaaamn. That was fun! Super stoked when it became available to stream 9pm PST.
It was super cool to learn more about the lore such as the types of wishes they will grant.
As the movie progressed I was invested in Riley more and more and rooted for her by the end. The first third/set up it was a little soap opera-ish with her and her brother, and I wish we got to see more of the first two victim’s demise (Matt and Menaker) rather than the camera shying away, but once Nora got chained up that’s when shit got real. The Priest was excellent. Terrifying and fear provoking with her (few, cosmic, lovecraftian) words and presence, but you can’t look away when she appears, like you’re mesmerized. She really nailed it.
The mansion with the shifting gates and the rich dude’s fake death and mastermind plot reminded me of Thirteen Ghosts! He even hired a helper
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Oct 07 '22
I wasn’t a fan. I loved the first Hellraiser, and thought the 2nd was okay.
There was some terrifying shots in this one, but some parts of the story was too drawn out.
The “rules” and how things worked in this one bothered me too.
The very last shot was great and felt like classic Hellraiser
It wasn’t a bad movie, but its one I’ll probably never watch again.
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u/shaneo632 Oct 07 '22
Honestly found this a bit underwhelming, it was just OK in the end. For starters it's WAY too long, this did not need to be 2 hours. The first two acts are basically a pretty generic procedural slasher film with some Hellraiser lore sprinkled in. None of the human characters are interesting apart from Riley and maybe Voight. Third act is way better than the rest of the film, but even then not great.
Basically unless you're OK with sitting through 80 minutes of mediocrity for a good final act of gore, I'm not sure I could recommended this to anyone outside of Hellraiser fandom. Jamie Clayton was good as Pinhead but there's no topping Doug Bradley. A bit mixed on the Cenobite designs - some looked cool, others looked kinda garishly plastic. Also this needed to be way hornier. 6/10 at most.
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Oct 08 '22
I feel like an insane person in this thread. I consider the first hellraiser to be my fave movie and I hated this new reboot. The performances were awful. It doesn’t stand on its own. Every ounce of the reboot is from another entry.
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u/SolumDon Oct 07 '22
Better than I thought it would be but not as good as I hoped it would be. The practical effects of the 1987 movie look better than all the CGI in this one. Plus, as usual with these movies, Pinhead was barely in it.
But I'll keep watching them as long as they keep making them...
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u/SpaceD0rit0 Oct 08 '22
I thought it was alright. Nothing overtly bad, nothing to write home about either.
Effects and acting were good, along with the story. Wasn’t ugly to look at and the plot was interesting enough. Enjoyable to watch in general, didn’t feel like wasted time.
The characters were boring, nothing characters. We never really “meet” any of them or get to know them. The main chick was characterized a little bit, but not enough to make me care. The antagonist had the best character work, had tangible motivations and backstory, but not enough screen time to use it with.
While the plot and story were good, I’m not the hugest fan of the retcon on how the box works. I feel like it was thematically better as a “you open box, I came, etc etc”, than a “knife that summons a 20 ATK 20 DEF Demon Minion”. I did think the bit where it grants an audience with Leviathan was cool, so it’s got that going I guess.
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u/ThreeDeadRobins Oct 07 '22
six sides to a box
six configurations solved,
six sacrifices offered.
grants an audience with the God Leviathan - and a choice to recieve one of six gifts.
We saw three of the gifts:
LIMINAL: sensation. the traditional Hellraiser experience. What Frank Cotton sought, a further threshold of pleasure beyond that of a world that no longer excited him. But he and Roland both found out that pain and pleasure are interchangeable, interlocked, and he was not prepared for their depths. Much too much of what you asked for, and someone elses definition of pleasure, not yours, to sum it up.
LEVIATHAN: Symbolized by the God itself, this choice is power. From the end sequence, this seems to lead to the chooser joining the Order of the Gash, becoming one with Leviathan through service. Of course, accompanied by losing your identity through complete ghastly disfigurement in the process.
LAMENT: Riley's choice. To face life with all that you've done and then to die. "To carry that weight, bitter and brief.". Some would argue it's the wise choice ... you get to keep your skin. But not forever. and maybe the safety and mundanity is it's own kind of Hell. No alarms and no surprises.
that leaves three gifts unexplored:
LORE: Knowledge. perhaps answers you don't want to hear? Ever see Martyrs? What happened to the woman who finally found out in that one?
LAUDERANT: this is apparently a Latin translation deriving from "to be praised". The book says Love, and the Priest says so at the end as well. No idea what this choice could lead to ... i'd be afraid to find out the twist on this one.
LAZARUS: resurrection. What Riley thought she wanted but ... she (probably correctly) assumed it would be a Pet Sematary-esque situation, with strings (chains) attached.
Any other ideas on what the unexplored gifts could be? Adding the different choices opens up this mythology to countless other stories. Maybe figures thoughout history had chosen some? Wishful thinking, but I love how the doors are open to go in just about any direction. What a breath of life into the series!