After years of hoping and begging, the Hellraiser remake has finally moved out of development Hell. But more importantly, we finally have another good Hellraiser film! In this Hulu exclusive, the puzzle box falls in the hands of Riley, a woman struggling with drug addiction. Once she accidentally starts playing with the puzzle box, the Cenobites make themselves known, putting Riley and her friends in danger.

Let’s get some basic stuff out of the way. While some people were hoping this would be a theatrical release, having it be a streaming movie is actually a big step-up from being straight-to-DVD. A lot of streaming movies have large budgets and people put a lot of care into the best ones. And you can tell this is one where the filmmakers cared, because it looks gorgeous. Some of the best visuals since the first two films. Speaking of visuals, the Cenobites look amazing. And Jaime Clayton as Pinhead, or The Priest, is a major highlight. Her look and scenes are very memorable. And the fact the puzzle box actually acts more like a puzzle box – including changing shape into multiple configurations – feels long overdue. It also stabs the person working it, taking some blood after completing each configuration, which is also a great addition. A lot of these changes are welcome and feel faithful to the Hellraiser lore.

Now let’s get into the meat of this review. A lot of reviews for this film have mentioned how this feels like a tame Hellraiser film. Mainly pointing to how the first act or even first half focuses more on the human characters figuring out what’s happening. Speaking for myself, this didn’t bother me. This movie isn’t meant to actually remake the original. It’s more of a remix of the first trow original films, telling it’s own story. This is a new beginning and needs to establish how it is different. That also means when the Cenobites are on screen, it feels that much more special. I will even argue that the Cenobites probably have more screen time in this film than the original. As for the actual gore, that’s admittedly trickier to determine. The original had the difficult job of showing amazing practical effects/body horror while not feeling exploitative. And the best Hellraiser films always knew how to make the gore feel meaningful. The same can be said for this film. Again, I will argue this probably has more gore in terms of screen time. But I’ll admit that while the new film has some good stuff, mainly inspired Cenobite designs, the gore in the original does feel more iconic and memorable. With all of that addressed, let’s dive a bit deeper, shall we?

A major reason the original film is so memorable was because it as focused on sex, more specifically the power people can have in a sexual relationship. And it also explored how far sexual appetites can go. That can be seen in the general design of the Cenobites, where they wore leather in addition to having parts of their bodies mutilated. Their general designs were inspired by outfits from various S&M and BDSM sex clubs in the real world. While the reboot still has a sexual element to it, it’s not as focused on that. This can be explained by how the general world’s attitude towards sex has changed. There are still issues, but overall the world isn’t as conservative regarding sex as it was when the original film released. But in that case, what does the reboot explore?

With the human characters, we see them being driven by their vices and obsessions. The human villain, Roland Voight, was the one to actively seek out the puzzle box and the Cenobites. He sought them out to satisfy his hunger for pleasure and power. And it is during that pursuit where he is ultimately changed, no longer recognizable and never able to go back. For the other human characters like Riley, they struggle with their vices. Trying to better themselves but ultimately drawn back to indulging in them for bliss. It can be argued that their personalities, tied to their past behavior, is what pushes them further down their paths as seen in the film. As for the Cenobites, they are still the beings who seek out experiences that mix pain and pleasure. That’s why in the film, they don’t wear leather, but multiple beings do seem to wear their torn and altered skin as a form of clothing. That change in addition to further body mutilations shows a different focus on their motivations. That their reasoning for doing these things are actually driven by religious reasons.

It’s more accurate to call the Cenobites a cult than a major religion such as Christianity or Islam. But the bigger focus on flesh and them pushing the characters to solve each configuration and provide a sacrifice shows a different kind of devotion than the original film. Riley and company see the Cenobites taking them as killing and capturing. But the Cenobites see it as freeing them. They encourage and force the characters to keep solving and offering sacrifices to their God, Leviathan. A better example of what I’m trying to get at is a scene from a movie. Riley is in a situation where a Cenobite is forcing her to offer herself or her friend in order to move onto the last configuration. But she ultimately selects the Cenobite, stabbing it with the box for the blood as required. There is a moment where the Cenobite and a nearby Pinhead pause, and you wonder what’s going through their minds. Will they try and use a loophole to take one of the humans instead? But no, the stabbed Cenobite actually freely offers itself up to be sacrificed. We see Pinhead give a vague smile, happy for her fellow creature. And then the Cenobite is torn apart. The scene feels like how a brainwashed member of a cult is unexpectedly selected for a deadly ritual but is more than willing to proceed.

This is a version of the lore where it explores how so many people are explored by the darker impulses we submit to. And yes, a lot of the time that has destructive results, as demonstrated in this film. But within those vices and obsessions we can find our true selves, an escape of the version we are expected to conform to. And when we fully deny ourselves what we desire for…what does that leave us? While Roland suffers and is unprepared for what happens to him, he ultimately gets what he has always wanted. And while Riley makes it out at the end of the movie, there is doubt about if she truly got what she wanted. The Cenobites seem to pity Riley’s desire to return to her regular life, struggling to stay away from the things that bring her pleasure and bliss. It can be argued that a reason Riley has done drugs, or briefly returns to them in the beginning of the movie, is to feel something, anything. At the end, she seems to feel empty. Going through everything for nothing.

While this movie is an exploration of how dangerous our various obsessions and vices can be, the movie also implies that a life full of denying yourselves pleasure is one not worth living. The original first two films are masterpieces, the first being one of my personal favorite films of all time. While I still like the original over the reboot, this film is worthy of being in the same league as these two films. And it explores truly fascinating ideas worth talking about and discussing during future viewings. This is truly a great film that any Hellraiser fan should seek out.