The original Hellraiser is one of the more iconic movies in the horror movie hall of fame. Its prickly antagonist, played by Doug Bradley, is one of the most recognizable faces in horror, with good reason. With a new female Hellraiser on the way, Bradley shared his thoughts on the updated franchise and what he thought of the new casting.
Bradley say down with Bloody Disgusting at the Silver Scream Con in Massachusetts and said the casting of Jamie Clayton was “interesting,” and that he was a fan of the actress.
“It seemed like [a female Pinhead] was coming. It’s an interesting piece of casting. I don’t know Jamie. Of course, they’ve taken even a little bit of a wrinkle in that, because Jamie is transgender. I’m not familiar with her recent work, but there was a science fiction series on Netflix several years ago called Sense8, which I was quite a fan of. Jamie was in that, and I really, really liked her performance in that.”
Bradley also shared how there are a “million shades of femininity” but it remains to be seen which direction filmmakers decided to take the role.
“I really can’t say more than that. I do like to point out that I did wear a skirt as Pinhead. It’s an interesting casting decision. Well, that only goes so far. We say ‘female Pinhead’ like we know what that means, but there are a million shades of femininity. Where exactly are they going to go with that?”
However, Bradley agrees the franchise has always pushed social boundaries and that the casting of Clayton was in line with the ethos of the film.
“Everything about Hellraiser has always been transgressive. Everything, always, from start to finish. It’s not a new idea in that sense, but I’m intrigued. I’m in the same position as all the rest of you, I guess, to see where that goes.”
Bradley also shared another fun tidbit about the film: it looks like Chatterer, one of the original cenobites (extra dimensional torturers who work for Pinhead), will be making his return after being killed off by fellow cenobite Channard.
“I was at Monsterpalooza, a convention in Pasadena, a couple months ago, and I met the guy who’s playing the new Chatterer. He’s like 6’9″ and a beanpole, so they’re going in lots of different directions. It’s another interesting casting idea. Cenobites of all shapes and sizes!”
He also said the movie’s score, by Chris Young, is “one of the best ever written,” and that the movie will live and die by its story: “If the story is strong,” he said, “the movie will work.”
Hellraiser will be available to stream on Hulu on October 7. Check out a teaser below.
