All Pinhead ever does is stand there and talk. How could a 60 year old Bradley not pull that off in heavy makeup?
If it's gotta happen, I'm glad it's happening THIS way. Some of those remake pitches were just not right at all... And really, I say if Doug Bradley is game then why not have him reprise the role? If not well, they better get someone with some goddamn gravitas to fill those shoes.
I'm interested in this now that Clive Barker is involved. It would be great if they went back to the original story and started fresh but bringing back Doug Bradley as Pinhead is still good. I don't agree that Doug Bradley needs to be replaced... what's the big deal with 60, anyway? He's a coenobite, not an action hero. The original was great but there are a few things that could definitely be improved, like the optical effects at the end.
I've only seen the original once. I think. I can't remember it clearly and I want to see it again. I think it was very out there with the monsters. I can't wait to see what the original creator can come up with. I think he's the real deal with horror. At least from some of the stuff I've seen and his ideas.
I think bringing back Barker and / or Bradley is a mistake. If you're going to reboot / remake something, start wth a clean slate. Otherwise, everyone can just stay home and watch the first Hellraiser again. This is like taking shot-for-shot remakes like Psycho and The Omen a step further, and we know how well those turned out. If Barker wants to be involved, he should do so in a producing / supervisory capacity while handing everything else off to young new talent (more like the Evil Dead remake). If he insists on writing / directing again and casting Doug Bradley, he should just make another sequel. Remake / reboot = START OVER.
I don't think there's anything wrong with a director going back to old material and putting a new spin on it. Even Hitchcock did that. http://mentalfloss.com/article/51881/9-directors-who-remade-their-own-films
You are correct, however I am in the opinion that the original The Man Who Knew Too Much was far superior to it's successor. It felt like a Fritz Lang film, hell it had Peter Lorre in it. The ending was awesome, whereas the remake fell flat. James Stewart, Doris Day, their son and that hideous song didn't help. Anyway, I'm getting off topic. This just brings back the remake discussion all over again. You picture the studio executives sitting around a board room asking "What franchise hasn't been milked to death or remade yet that we have the rights to?" Other than money, why would Clive Barker, or Doug Bradley want to do this? The first film (special effects aside) was perfect. If they wanted to do something different (i.e. New Nightmare) or even just another sequel, I would be fine with it. Same with a Cunningham/Hodder Friday the 13th, Craven/Englund Elm Street or Carpenter Halloween sequel. Retelling the original story with the same director and actor seems strange to me. And why has Ashley Laurence's name not been mentioned? She's not even 50 and she is still drop dead gorgeous. If they want to retell the original story with the original cast, she had better be included.
I thought Clive Barker was always unhappy with the original as it was his first directing gig and felt that he could have done it better. At least I remember him saying he had several regrets while listening to the commentary on the DVD years back. It's Barker's novella, his film ... I figure he can do whatever he wants with it and am surprised people aren't more excited to see him return to tell the story that is his. Surely, it will be better than the last 5-6 films.
George Lucas said something similar once... Lol. I guess I'm just confused by this. Especially off the heals of the last Hellraiser film (which I refuse to watch).
This is great news. Glad to see a company not only get the original writer/ Director involved, but agree to keeping the effects practical and bringing back Doug Bradley. I wish more remakes were like this, instead of shoving young TV actors in our faces and over doing everything with bad CGI.
http://www.ew.com/ew/static/longform/nightbreed/desktop/ New interview with Clive Barker. A lot of it is regarding Nightbreed, but towards the end, there is some Hellraiser news: Barker remains a prolific: He’s currently finishing the fourth volume in his epic fantasy novel series The Books of Abarat; the second volume of Clive Barker’s Next Testament—a comic he co-writes with Miller—is due out in February; and a new novel, The Scarlet Gospels, which features both Pinhead and the Lord of Illusions character Harry D’Amour, and will be published in May. In fact, these days, Barker is very much back in the Pinhead business. The writer reveals he recently sent Dimension Films chief Bob Weinstein the second draft of his screenplay for a new Hellraiser movie, which Barker describes as a “very loose” remake of his original film. “I think the phrase is ‘reboot,’ although I’ve never really understood what that meant,” he says. “I wanted to make sure we sounded some fresh notes. The movie actually begins on Devil’s Island. I wanted to fold into the Hellraiser narrative something about the guy—the Frenchman Lemarchand—who made the mysterious box, which raises Pinhead. I figured, ‘Well, what would have happened to him?’ He might well have been taken to Devil’s Island and I thought that would be a pretty cool place to start the movie. We’re waiting for Bob to come back to us and see when we’re going to actually make the movie.”
I wish it was plausible to adapt his excellent Boom Hellraiser comic, but it wouldn't make sense to the studio since it's a direct continuation of Hellraiser 1/2.
I just watched almost all of the Hellraiser movies. I passed on Part 9. At least for now. I'm going to post mini reviews on all of them soon. I'm looking forward to the remake even more now.
