And what’s to come has actually been approved by the architect of the “Hellraiser” franchise, Clive Barker. It might be easy to assume that his executive producer credit is nothing more than a legacy credit, but Bruckner revealed that he was extremely hands-on during the shoot.
“He was really generous with his time, and very welcoming of the idea that this was a new group of artists, and that they were going to run with this and land in different places with it,” he said. “He was very supportive of that.”
Perhaps part of this has to do with the fact that this could be the most explicitly queer iteration of “Hellraiser” since the first two films, which were made with Barker’s direct involvement (he directed the first film). The Cenobites under his creation were never actually villains in a typical sense, but rather beings wanting others to feel the immense pleasure granted to them by the Lament Configuration. Given how so much about queer identity revolves around this so-called forbidden pleasure (along with the casting of Clayton, who is a trans woman, as the new Pinhead), seeing these themes potentially return to the franchise after many of its sequels erased them is exciting.
However, the return of these ideas, as well as the final designs for the rest of the new Cenobites, won’t be confirmed until October 7, when “Hellraiser” finally arrives on Hulu.
