Hellraiser (2022) #488

Watch the trailer here!

    After all of the fanfare, the buildup, excitement, and naysayers full of doubt, the long-awaited revival of "Hellraiser" has arrived! Now that it has had some time to be seen by the masses and picked apart by those who didn't care for it for one reason or another, I'm here to share my thoughts about the eleventh film of this beloved franchise. I enjoyed the movie and recognize that it is not a direct sequel to any of the films but rather a clever reimagining of the powers of the puzzle box and its wicked guardians.

While the original narrative is about a degenerate rake seeking supreme pleasure obtained by solving a mysterious puzzle box, this outing offers additional "prizes" to choose from if you can solve the puzzle. Replacing Frank, we have Voight, an ultra-rich entrepreneur who is collecting victims to solve the puzzle box in order to achieve the final configuration. The film begins with his latest victim, Joey, being ripped apart by the chains and hooks after he solves the puzzle while attending a lavish party. 

The story then refocuses on Riley, a struggling former drug addict who is trying to balance life between her new bad influence boyfriend Trevor and her estranged brother Matt and his circle of friends. Trevor convinces Riley to help him with a heist but all they find is the strange and unassuming puzzle box within a safe. When Riley returns home, she has an argument with Matt who accuses her of using again. She leaves to a park and solves the puzzle, barely missing getting cut by a blade that springs forth from the box. Matt comes looking for her, is cut by the box, and accidently becomes the next victim and is taken as a sacrifice by the Cenobites. Matt's boyfriend Colin and his roommate Nora help Riley and Trevor search for Matt and try to solve the mystery around the puzzle box.

Riely and her friends are eventually led to Voight's abandoned mansion, itself a puzzle box of sorts that very reminiscent of the house from "Thir13en Ghosts". As they come closer to finding out the truth about the box, the Cenobites make their presence further known and try to regain the puzzle box by whatever means necessary. They demand sacrifices, even at the expense of sacrificing one of their own, and if enough tributes are offered, who will receive the "gift" and what will they choose?

I appreciate the risks they took narratively and I feel it stays true to both the original "Hellraiser" film and the novella "The Hellbound Heart". Yes, the story is about the demonic Cenobites but it's more focused on desire from those tempted by the puzzle box. The make-up for the Cenobites is creative and clean, and that might be the only real low point of the film; for so many open wounds, they tend to be extremely dry.