Hulu brings another legendary franchise to life on October 7, when the Hellraiser remake hits the streaming platform. After the accolades Prey received for reinventing the Predator wheel, audiences can’t wait to see what new life the next horror flick will breathe into Clive Barker’s iconic short story, The Hellbound Heart. After writing and directing the first film in 1987, Barker walked away from the final installments, which is why director David Bruckner is going back to basics in his reboot.
The fascinating world of Cenobites is explored through the eyes of the brash Riley as she and her friends search for her supernaturally missing brother. But in addition to reintroducing Pinhead and his interdimensional gang of pleasure seekers, Hellraiser also expands the mythology through supporting characters such as the mysterious Voight (played by Goran Visnjic) and Menaker (Hiam Abbass). Each of them sheds light on vital aspects of the Cenobites and their motivations throughout the film.
. spoke to Abbass and Visnjic about their relationship with the Hellraiser franchise, their characters’ contribution to the mythology, and the fear they had of Cenobites in full costume on set.
The actors speak Hellraiser
Hiam, what was your experience with the Hellraiser franchise, if any?
Hiam Abbass: None, really. No, I couldn’t cope. It was too dark for me. I tried, but there’s no way it could get to me [scared]and I am very weak in front of them.
Goran, your character is very mysterious, but he has a very important piece of mythology in him. What can you say about him and his role in the film?
Goran Visnjic: The most important thing about him, I’m not allowed to talk about because it happens at the end of the movie. And that’s a great kind of thing; great revelation. This little part of the script was my favorite part. When I read that, I was like, “Okay, I have to do this. »
But it is he who initiates the action with the box. He is the one who thinks he can get something good out of this connection with the Cenobites. And he doesn’t know, of course, that it’s impossible. He gets a really bad end to the deal, but then he tries to do it again. He thinks this time he will succeed and then the whole story starts to happen.
What I loved is when you do a remake or when you do a new movie after [it hasn’t] go out in a long time – normally you see people [being] like, “Let’s do this one, and we’ll get away with CGI.” ” This is not the case. It’s sort of a good installment and a good sequel. We did it in a very old fashioned way, which is to say nothing negative. On the contrary, everything is done practically. CGI is used sporadically where needed, but whatever we could do with our hands on set and the proper costumes, makeup, and aesthetics, we did. And I think you can actually feel it, and it makes the level of horror that much higher. I think it’s a lot scarier because of that.
You have to be scared on set, which I’m sure was awesome. What is the Cenobite design that terrified you the most or found the most fascinating?
Hiam Abbass: I mean, all of them. I worked with three of them in one scene. Without spoiling you, they were there all three. But even the first one to come, this breathing machine where you see the whole inner body in this costume that she wears. It just made me go, “Wow, okay. It’s really unbelievable. »
But as Goran said, one of the most important things to me that happened on set was that nothing felt wrong. Some special effects will come later, but everything was there to play with. Everything was true; everything really offered you to give the best of yourself, because you don’t pretend. Everything is here.
I like to say it, but for me the ending was spiritual. It was really kind of a goodbye to life in a very spiritual way, which I really loved. All these characters around me are not real, but the fact that there were human beings inside and there was interaction with real people? It was very good. Very funny.
About Hellraiser
A reimagining of director David Bruckner’s 1987 horror classic Clive Barker 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 sadistic supernatural beings from another dimension.
Check out our other Hellraiser interviews:
Hellraiser premieres October 7 on Hulu.
Interview with Hiam Abbass and Goran Visnjic: Hellraiser | Pretty Reel