An Average Movie-Goer’s Review
No spoilers! If you would like spoilers – check out the Spoiler post
I love horror movies and if I’m going to watch them anyway, why not write an entertaining/funny review from the POV of an average movie-goer and not a professional critic.
Today we’re looking at the 2022 Hulu original and remake Hellraiser
After Riley comes into the possession of a puzzle box, she is stalked by supernatural beings called Cenobites that require violent sacrifices in order to grant a wish.
Is it Scary?
Hellraiser is gory and the cenobite/monster design is creepy and disturbing in a good horror way. The movie might not have a lot of jump scares, maybe one or two real ones, but the cenobites might just terrify you if you’re not used to it.
In the end you’ll be unsettled to the point of horror and you might catch yourself sleeping with the lights for at least one night. Also if anyone gives you a puzzle box as a gift, you might find yourself involuntarily throwing it back at their face.
Review:
Hellraiser is good. It’s well-acted, especially Odessa A’zion as Riley, and overall the movie has natural sounding dialogue. The story makes sense and is pretty easy to follow despite the amount of lore that could have been included in the movie.
The movie does rely on some tropes in order to get you to know the characters but luckily it doesn’t detract from the movie since we get into the actual story extremely quickly.
I can’t say enough good things about the designs of the cenobites, Jamie Clayton and Selina Lo as The Priest (AKA Pinhead) and The Gasp respectively were standouts. The Priest’s stoic demeanor and slight smiles at times were creepy and The Gasp was disturbing to look at and hear.
Yet, as with all movies, there are still some negatives. The movie overall is a bit too dark and some scenes happen in dark halls and at night so it can be annoying. Some of the choices from the main antagonists don’t make a lot of sense but it only happens at one point of the movie and doesn’t affect much.
Overall I highly recommend Hellraiser currently exclusive to Hulu in the U.S. but if you’re squeamish at gore and can’t watch movies with body horror, you might want to stay away as there is a good amount of it.
Cast IMDB