The horror genre has long lead the race in number of popular franchises being remade, so hearing about yet another popular 80's flick getting the redo treatment is no surprise. The biggest complaint about most of the remakes thrown out is that the original theme is lost, replaced by flashy special effects and only the most surface level understanding of the original story. Bob Weinstein has set out to do what he does best, shake up the conventions and do something different with the remake of cult classic
Hellraiser. Clive Barker, writer and director of the original, is set to pen the remake and is dead set on having the iconic Pinhead played by none other than Doug Bradley the man who played the character up until
Hellraiser: Revelations in 2011. Barker poster the following to his Facebook page (via
LA Times):
“Today I have officially been invited to write the script…”
“What can I tell you about it? Well, it will not be a film awash with CGI. I remain as passionate about the power of practical make-up effects as I was when I wrote and directed the first HELLRAISER. Of course the best make-up in the world loses force if not inhabited by a first-rate actor. I told the Dimension team that in my opinion there could never be a Pinhead without Doug Bradley, and much to my delight Bob Weinstein agreed.”
There is nothing about that statement that I don't consider awesome. Think about the atrocity that was the remake of
A Nightmare on Elm Street, now picture what we could have had if Wes Craven had more of a role and Robert Englund had reprised his role. Why remake it at all? Well, in the case of
Hellraiser, I would point to two things, budget and effects. The original was done on a rather shoestring budget and the effects, though amazing for what they were, showed the financial constraints. That's not even to mention the scope that could be acheived when showing hell. This leads into Barker's commitment to the special effects. The conservative use of CGI can be a wonderful thing as long as the bulk of visuals are achieved with practical means, it sounds like this is exactly the road on which Barker wants to travel. The story concept has always been a favorite of mine, I can't even begin to imagine how great it is going to end up being with Barker's 20+ years of improvement notes and his commitment to the original feel.
