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The remaining characters in this new “Hellraiser,” including Matt’s boyfriend Colin (Adam Faison) and Riley’s roommate Nora (Aoife Hinds), only have personalities enough to react to whatever circumstantial peril arises from Riley’s quest for answers. That general lack of personality wouldn’t be so bad if there wasn’t so much dead air throughout—seriously, one hundred and twenty-one—which mainly gives viewers time to wonder who exactly these new Cenobites are and why their opaque personalities now have all of the charm of well-restored hand-me-downs.
Granted, the Cenobites’ redesigns make them look appropriately unnerving and they are thoughtfully presented here as inter-dimensional sharks who establish their reflexive cruelty by lazily circling about Riley and her friends. Bruckner, who’s already confirmed his reputation for effects-driven shock scares in his two previous features, confirms that again here with a few memorably upsetting moments. (I did not expect to see a REDACTED enter REDACTED’S REDACTED.)
Bruckner also confirms what his strong, but not-all-there previous feature, “The Night House,” suggested as far as his casual indifference to character and narrative continuity. Even the agonizing dispatch of Serena (Hiam Abbass), Voight’s weary assistant, seems inconsequential since her personality is neither reflected in establishing scenes nor in her seemingly interminable showdown with the Cenobites. It’s always nice to see Abbass pop up in English-language productions, but the poor woman can only do so much with a supporting character who’s more of a prop than a person.
Still, there’s a chance you’ll enjoy Bruckner’s “Hellraiser” if you’ve seen or care for Barker’s “Hellraiser.” This updated version doesn’t hang together very well from scene to scene, and it doesn’t really enhance Barker’s original character concepts, which were really only ever great plot suggestions to begin with. But there are, however, enough pleasurable callbacks and suspenseful moments to keep you waiting expectantly for something to happen.
On Hulu today.
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