Using real effects, the crew led by director David Bruckner produced that iconic ending sequence.
This week, Pinhead was brought back to life with fresh experiences of both pain and pleasure thanks to Hulu’s brand-new Hellraiser movie, which tore and ripped its way onto the streaming service.
The reboot-like horror movie debuts just in time for the Halloween movie season and carries on Pinhead’s illustrious heritage of adding more misery and pleasure to people’s lives. Jamie Clayton took us through the demanding makeup and prosthetics required to assume the role of Pinhead, as well as what it takes to become a Hellraiser.
But what about that unexpected conclusion? We discussed the making of the film and its significance with Clayton and the filmmaker David Bruckner.
The main character Riley and her friends have arrived at the compound of the reclusive billionaire Voight in the closing scenes of Hellraiser, followed closely by the Cenobites. Before it is revealed that (1) Voight is still alive (despite having a huge, nerve-wracking machine jutting out of his torso, my favourite part of the movie), and (2) Riley’s boyfriend has been working for Voight the entire time, they have set up shop and have blocked out Pinhead and her friends.
We’re not here to discuss the entire scene that takes place between Voight, the Cenobites, and Riley’s buddies. We’re here to discuss what happens next: Voight receives his “prize,” a horrifying show of skin-flaying in an all-white space that turns him into a Cenobite himself. One of the most memorable and startling scenes in the film is this one.
According to Bruckner, the sequence was built using a variety of useful components. The Hellraiser team constructed a “genuine torture table” and a skin suit, pulling apart the skin using monofilament fishing line.
No CGI gore, according to Bruckner. “We insisted on that,”
Fresh Pinhead Jamie Clayton remembered Bruckner mentioning it right away.
According to Clayton, “He said he wanted to do a lot of the effects practically.” And I thought, “They did it,” with unrestrained laughing.
According to Bruckner, technological advancements have made these techniques more feasible, using subtle VFX to support practical effects like prosthetics work.
According to Bruckner, “It felt like there were new opportunities along that line.” “Showing them something they haven’t necessarily seen before is a part of the franchise’s character. So, allowing ourselves to kind of imagine and invent felt more in line with that spirit.
“Cenobites are typically naked, they don’t require clothing, they seem to be somewhat above all of these earthly problems, and they are just lost in their quest for experience. The flesh has been folded and sort of shaped to resemble garments. In certain aspects, they resemble their own leather, as we would say. To make it come to life, you only need a small amount of augmentation, but everything else is also useful. All of the light falling on the prosthesis is real. And we’re only making minor adjustments.
Why then did Hellraiser end in that manner? It’s straightforward, claims Bruckner, and it fits with the series’ intrinsic themes of development and change (and the Cenobites).
To have that as [Voight’s] last destination, according to Bruckner, “plays to the irony of the gifts, the joys of Hellraiser.” You may not want to attend the party the Cenobites are inviting you to. I don’t sure if I’m going to enjoy this, which is the irony of being told “you’re going to adore this”! It simply felt like the ideal location to leave it.
As Clayton can confirm, that was quite the experience to witness on set.
Everybody was drenched in blood on the days that all seven Cenobites were at work, she claims, and many of them also lost arms or had their flesh flayed. “Those were huge days. They carried out all of that. That was all going on right in front of us.
