Pinhead Actor Teases His Cold, “Menacing” Performance Ahead Of Hellraiser: Judgment

Pinhead’s attitude in the imminent Hellraiser: Judgment is one of cold indifference.

Or so says Paul T. Taylor. The actor, who is about to become the third person to play the malevolent Cenobite, spoke to ComicBook.com ahead of Judgment‘s release next week (February 13th), and drew attention to his character’s long, bloody career torturing souls.

Though some may view Pinhead and the Cenobites as angels, their barbaric torture methods are enough to make Jigsaw seem tame by comparison. But even Clive Barker’s Hellraiser is beginning to grow tired in his old age.

I think it kind of came from the script. It came from Gary’s direction. In this script, it seems that Pinhead is in more of a sort of bored place, but the arrogance is all there. He has all the power. As he says unknowingly, he doesn’t know what’s going to happen, he says, ‘I have nothing to fear.’ He’s just at a place in his life where he’s jaded. I think he’s possibly older than he’s been before in other films, if you can age, a demon can age. In Clive Barker’s world, a demon certainly can age. If you’ve read the Scarlet Gospels.

Unlike other slasher villains, who typically mow down their enemies without much care or thought, Pinhead is a cold, calculating, and highly intelligent demon, one who spearheads the Order of the Gash. It’s for this reason that Baker’s hellspawn has become a cult favorite among horror fans throughout the past 30 years, and with Judgment, Taylor promises to bring a “menacing” performance.

There has to be a stillness with menace. It’s more about the threat. What’s going to happen? You look at the nails, you look at the skin that’s exposed, you look at the agony and ecstasy in the face, and you know that this guy can cause some severe damage. The threat is in the way you say the lines. The threat is in the way you move and when you do move, it means something. Otherwise, you’re just like, ‘I have all the power in the world. I don’t have to do anything.’ There’s great power in just listening to the other person and then deciding what you’re going to do or say about it. That had to be there. [Original Pinhead actor] Doug Bradley always had that. He always has that stillness. You just see it. He’s just sizing you up, ‘Let’s see. What am I going to do?’ It’s great. It’s great. Loved it.

Lionsgate and Gary J. Tunnicliffe’s Hellraiser: Judgment will ooze onto Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand on February 13th – just in time for the most romantic day of the year – and is now available to pre-order on Amazon.