It’s become a common practice in modern-day Hollywood for once-popular horror classics to be dissected, repackaged, and pushed forward into the public as a remake or reboot. The concept is crafted in an attempt to introduce long-standing genre franchises to an entirely new generation of moviegoers — an execution that often falls flat and causes the remake in question to receive complete and total backlash. However, this was somehow not the case for 2022’s Hellraiser, which has apparently gone down in horror movie history as a well-received feature.
In fact, the positive reaction has been so overwhelming that movie buffs over on the r/horror subreddit have not been shy when it comes to vocalizing their appreciation for the genre-bending remake — despite its obvious mountain of flaws. One eager user even noted that because 1987’s Hellraiser is so old and outdated, and that villain Pinhead has barely any screen time, the updated remake is a far better horror flick.
Strangely enough, a large portion of Redditors in the comment section were firmly in agreement with the OP — with many hailing the remake as “dumb fun” and insisting they were hoping to see the franchise continue with more entries in the future. But considering the film was considered to be lackluster by a broad range of critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the overwhelming urge for horror fans to stick to the movie comes as a real shock.
Then again, if a franchise like Lake Placid can exist and keep pumping out unnecessary sequels, then it seems only fair that Hellraiser filmmakers insist on reintroducing and recreating Pinhead as the horror genre becomes increasingly popular. We’ll hold out hope for a potential Pinhead vs. Jason crossover at some point in the future.