Bloody Disgusting reported today that, in a completely unsurprising turn of events, the remake of Hellraiser currently being penned by original creator, Clive Barker, will in fact be rated R. Now, just take a second and picture a Hellraiser with a rating of PG-13. Makes ya feel funny, doesn't it? Well thank God that ain't gonna happen, but with all of the other doubts surrounding this one that is one that never crossed my mind.
Barker elaborated on his Facebook page, where all of this news is emanating from: “As questions are asked I’ll do my best to answer them, though as you
all know making movies is a volatile art, and things seldom remain
fixed. One
question regarding the rating has been asked. I asked it too, and
Dimension confirmed that they are purely interested in an R-rated
picture."
In another interesting bit of news, when asked why he isn't embarking on an original artistic endeavor, he had this to say: “Somebody else asked why I’m not writing something original. The answer is that I am. After Hellraiser
I intend to write and direct a completely new horror movie, which will
mingle graphic horror and erotic content, to create an unrated film
which will push the envelope of extreme content further than ever…”
Now that I am very interested in seeing.
But folks, let's keep something in mind. BD posted an editorial about this last week and I think it needs to be said across all mediums that are reporting news of the potential Hellraiser remake. This is not official. Nothing is set in stone. That being said, this is merely news of an idea that has been pitched, and Pinhead is not officially out of development hell yet. In the past week since this news has been announced I have been approached my hoardes of friends, and co-workers (all people who know my love for his film, and have love for it themselves) asking my thoughts on the matter, and I've told them the same thing. While it's very exciting that Dimension bit on the pitch, that doesn't mean anything. Think about the countless other films (especially horror) that were going to happen and then just fell by the wayside.
Doug Bradley himself took to Facebook to share his thoughts on the matter as well:
"Hi everyone! Just arrived in Orlando for Spooky Empire, to be
greeted by the news via Clive Barker’s Facebook that he is writing a new
Hellraiser script and intends that I should play Pinhead again. This is intriguing news, about which I know absolutely nothing. No
one has contacted or spoken to me about returning. So until you hear
from me to the contrary, assume that all rumors about me returning as
Pinhead are only rumors.
Peace & Pain.
-Doug”
This, of course, doesn't mean you should keep your fingers crossed. I want to see Pinhead up on the bigscreen just as much as the next guy, but we can't get too ahead of ourselves. That will only lead us towards disappointment and pain (but maybe that's what Pinhead wants anyway).
- Rg Lovecraft
So this weeks kicks off with amazing news, and ends with amazing news (let's forget the terrible nougat of meat in the middle). Good god almighty, I couldn't be more excited to announce this on here.
There's something called in the horror industry, lovingly referred to as development hell, in which hopeful films-to-be never see their way out of. Unfortunately, after the last four Hellraiser films, and especially Revelations, Pinhead has been dwelling in that very place for years. Meanwhile fans have been clamoring for Doug Bradley to don the pins and terrify us once again in a true-to-the-original re-imagining of the hellish world we all visited since 1987.
Well my friends, by beautiful, beautiful, friends, according to Clive Barker's Facebook he HIMSELF is embarking on the quest to unleash Pinhead from development hell and he's making sure that Doug Bradley is the one (and the only one) who will be feasting on our suffering.
He wrote an open letter to his fans, which you can read below, which discusses how this has come to be but I'm warning you, you may want to have a tissue on hand because it's just so damn beautiful:
“HOT FROM HELL! My friends,I have some news which may be of
interest to you. A few weeks ago I had a very productive meeting with
Bob Weinstein of Dimension Pictures, in the course of which I pitched a
remake of the first ‘Hellraiser’ film. The idea of my coming back to the
original film and telling the story with a fresh intensity-honoring the
structure and the designs from the first incarnation but hopefully
creating an even darker and richer film-was attractive to Dimension.
Today I have officially been invited to write the script based upon that pitch.
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. So once the
papers are signed, I will open a Lemarchand Configuration, dip my quill
in its contents and start writing.
I promise that there will be nowhere on the Internet where the news
of my progress will be more reliable than here, because the only author
of these reports will be Your Infernal Corespondent, me. My very best
wishes to you all, my friends.
Clive.”
Give me a minute while I collect myself. The Horror Gods have been good to us this week. Army of Darkness 2 AND Hellraiser? What's next, Scream 5? Good things do come, and my god, are they coming in droves this week.
We will see Pinhead again, in all of his BDSM glory!
Cheers my friends, as always, keep it spooky,
Rg Lovecraft
Happy Monday everyone! It was a fun weekend fueled by booze and rock and roll for me, but I'm excited to be back and even more excited to be back with a juicy nugget like this one.
Attention all you Scream fans, there is hope yet for us to see Ghostface on the big screen one last time! If you're anything like me, you're more than a little upset that MTV has recruited Wes Craven to develop his 90's slasher franchise into a series so this news is like Christmas morning for a six year old.
Here's the scoop: Harvey Weinstein is giving it his all, trying to convince his brother Bob (who heads Dimension Films) to wrap up the franchise with one final film, Scream 5, so that we can all say goodbye to Sid Prescott, Dewey, Gale and of course, Ghostface for good. As Harvey says, "We've milked that cow dry", and he wants to lead her out to pasture.
I am so excited to hear this, all that I've been wanting is one more romp in ze hay on the big screen and was pretty devastated when talks of a series on MTV (of all stations) began making the rounds on the 'ol internets. Now all that's left to do is play the waiting game and hope and pray that Bob begins to see things the way his brother does.
- Rg Lovecraft
