The Clive Barker's seminal novella, The Hellbound Heart. Barker himself wrote and directed the first Hellraiser film in 1987, but he moved away from later installments and focused more on his books. With the latest movie, however, longtime fans and uninitiated viewers will have the chance to enter the world of the Cenobites.
Originally portrayed by Doug Bradley, the iconic interdimensional being known Pinhead (or sometimes simply the Priest) is the primary antagonist of the Hellraiser franchise and the de facto leader of a mysterious group called the cenobites. Jamie Clayton takes over the role in 2022's reboot, and her complete transformation after practical effects have completely amazed audiences. Hellraiser, directed by horror aficionado David Clayton, also introduces entirely new Cenobites to the mix.
Screen Rant spoke to Bruckner and Clayton and the physical and mental process of becoming Pinhead, the method for creating new and frightful characters, and what makes the Hellraiser playground so special.
Star & Director On New Hellraiser
Screen Rant: Jamie, first off, Pinhead looks amazing. What is that process like for you, both externally and internally?
Jamie Clayton: Wild, from start to finish. The second that I saw the drawings by Keith Thompson, who did all of the drawings and whom David's worked with before, I was completely floored. I had no idea how they were going to execute that. And then the Russells at Russell FX, Josh and Sierra, are incredible in the way that they executed the whole thing.
Once I'd have the makeup on and the whole thing, it was a double-edged sword getting there mentally and then also getting there physically. The suit and the neck and the fit, it all helps me get there physically. But David and I had many conversations about the Priest's intentions, and what she might be thinking or feeling in any of these different scenes with these different characters. We talked about them a lot, so I was able to mentally prepare on the day, as I'm going in through makeup. Music was a part of the process.
Then once the neckpiece goes on, I'm kind of in it. From the minute that I step out of the makeup trailer, I'm really in it for the duration of shooting. I'm just very quiet, and I isolate myself. I really only would talk to David while I was shooting, and then to Sierra in a corner.
David Bruckner: She's quite intimidating in that state. "Excuse me, Miss Priest. Can you take a second? Okay, cool. All right."
Jamie Clayton: "Can I talk to you about the next scene, please?"
David Bruckner: "Sorry, sorry. I know you just did it, but we need another one.”
Beyond the Priest, we have many other Cenobites both of new and classic varieties. David, what was that process like of deciding what new ones will look like and how to incorporate old ones?
David Bruckner: There's so much you can do in the Hellraiser world; Cenobites as a concept are just such incredible movie monsters. We really enjoyed focusing on their human qualities and thinking about the human body augmented and how far you can push that in different directions. We tried to give each of them a personality that was a combination of the stories as revealed in their designs, but also what each of the actors brought to them.
One of the great things about doing practical work is that you're there on the ground. It's everybody's having an experience together, and the limitations that you face become things that you pull from and you use. Just like the way Jamie was fighting the voice in the throat, for some of the other Cenobites movement was tricky. We found ways to use that in strange ways, and it's just a testament to the virtues and the pain of working practically.
What was your favorite aspect of working on the film?
Jamie Clayton: I think for me, it was seeing all the Cenobites. There's the one scene when we're all together in that room. That was a really, really special moment. And then also when we're all placed on the outside of the estate, when we're all staggered out there.
Those moments to me are so grand. Even while I was shooting it, I had no idea how [it would look], and then to see it on the screen? It was like, “Oh my God, this is so good.”
David Bruckner: Hellraiser is such a marvelous playground. It's both the interior and exterior, as you were saying before, that's a reflection of what's going on inside the characters. The Cenobites are there to greet them and tell them to go further with their vices, with their designs, with the things that they seek. But [they’re] also a great caution.
It's allegorical, it's metaphorical, and it's also visceral and real. There's a bit of the surreal, and it's just a wonderful way to explore human psychology through. It's just an honor to work on a Hellraiser movie and get a shot at that.
About Hellraiser
A reinvention of Clive Barker’s 1987 horror classic from director David Bruckner in which a young woman struggling with addiction comes into possession of an ancient puzzle box, unaware that its purpose is to summon the Cenobites, a group of sadistic supernatural beings from another dimension.
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Hellraiser premieres October 7 on Hulu.
