Hellraiser’s Stars Go Deep Into The Making Of The Film

Hellraiser is finally here on Hulu and the film is causing quite a stir among fans of the series. It’s getting rave reviews including our 93% review. The stars and crew sat down with Angel Melanson from Fangoria to talk about the production and the film. The panel included Jamie Clayton, Goran Visnjic, Brandon Flynn, Odessa A’zion, Drew Starkey, Adam Faison, Hiam Abbass, David Bruckner, and Keith Levine.

David Bruckner started off the panel by making sure everyone knew that this was not a remake of the original films.

Yeah.  This is a new Hellraiser story.  It’s not a remake of the original films, necessarily.  It does harken back to them quite a bit, but it is the tale of Riley played by Odessa here who discovers the box and opens it.  And all hell breaks loose.

Jamie Clayton has been heavily praised for her performance as Pinhead/The Priest in the film. She actually didn’t see the original Hellraiser before auditioning for the role.

No, I was a big scaredy-cat when I was a kid.  And I was very, like, Cyndi Lauper, Janet Jackson.  Like, you know, I didn’t know.  Uh-uh.  I got into horror, like, in my 20s and this-like, there was a moment I had where I was really into horror.  Like Takashi Miike.  Like, you know, like The Audition and all, like, the Friday the 13th films. But I actually hadn’t seen Hellraiser.  I watched it the night before I auditioned.  Just to get a feeling, you know.  Yeah, so I watched it the night before I auditioned.  And I was like, “Oh.  Why haven’t I seen this sooner?”  Like, I get it.  Like, it’s, oh my god, this is so beyond, like, a horror film.  There are so many layers and, like, nuances to the story and, like, so much is implied. And there’s, you know, there’s a lot of glamour.  And, like, it’s very sexy.  So I was like, “Oh, I’m very into this.  I like this.”

Continuing on about Pinhead, it makes sense that Jamie hadn’t seen the original before auditioning. She tried to not copy Doug Bradley‘s performance as Pinhead for her turn. Here’s what she said about the comparison.

I really tried to do something uniquely my own… And I’m hoping that it’s something really unique.  I mean, Doug is incredible.  But I didn’t want to be, you know, sort of compared or, you know, have people be like, oh, you know, she nicked that from him.  You know, she’s doing that thing that he did, which is another reason why I think, you know, they wanted a woman to play the role because it takes the burden off the audience of that comparison.  So, like, it’s a whole new thing.  So just, you know, Doug is amazing.  No one could ever, ever, ever, ever, [LAUGH] like, do what he did.  No.  Love you, Doug.  [MAKES KISSING NOISE]

We got plenty of new Cenobites in Hellraiser and they’re works of practical art. Odessa A’zion had this to say about the Cenobites.

And you got, like, the most…  Just so different.  I just wasn’t expecting it.  I mean, like, you know, you know the characters.  And we have the Cenobites in our movie. We have…  You know, because Cenobites, they’re always…  You got the main ones, but you also have…  Like, you know, they’re people, so there’s always going to be new Cenobites. 

So it was cool that they brought back some of the old ones and had the new ones.  And the new ones were crazy.  And then, like, Jason is, like, what?  He’s, like, seven foot six.  How tall is he? Six foot seven.  He comes out in this, like, Chatterer costume.  And he’s, like, 10 times taller, and it’s the craziest.  And watching them, like, put everything on.  They had to screw him in.  

Finally, the actors in the costumes for the Cenobites all had some interesting experiences getting the suits on for filming.

Odessa and Jamie had differing experiences playing a human and playing a Cenobite.

Odessa: Like, he was in there.  And same with Jamie.  Jamie was, like, in a full, like…  She had to get, like, what?  They put, like, gel on you, and then you, like, slip on the suit?

Jamie: Lube.

Uh-huh. I would literally have to be lubed.

Odessa: Yeah. You know, lube it up.

Hellraiser is among the best in the series, you can check out our Hellraiser Series Ranking right here!

Check it out on Hulu right now!

For more on horror, check out Fright-A-Thon, the 61-day Halloween content marathon!

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