This news might actually ruffle a few feathers, but it sounds as though the classic villain, Pinhead, is getting gender-swapped, though it won’t be the new girl to the franchise, Odessa A’Zion that since Jamie Clayton will be taking on that role. Plenty of fans are going to be likely to have something to say about this since the lead role in Hellraiser, the top Cenobite, has been male throughout the entire franchise thus far, and there are a few good points to be made when it comes to arguing against such a noticeable change. But on the other hand, it might be interesting to see what can happen with such a change, but if the expected happens, and the gender-swap comes down to stating in a certain way how a woman is so much better and blah, blah, blah, then it will prove to be an annoyance, even if it’s a success. One thing about a gender-swap when it comes to any story is that it can work with certain stories since there’s nothing saying that it can’t, but there are times when rubbing the swap in the faces of the fans isn’t a wise move.
But before bashing the movie or even seeking to condemn it, there is the need to see how things might go with a female Cenobite leading the charge since it could be interesting enough that it might be a new and worthy chapter in the Hellraiser franchise, which hasn’t seen the inside of a movie theater in a long time. This version won’t break that trend since it’s set to be released on Hulu in 2022. It’s an easy bet that plenty of those that have been fans of Hellraiser for years will want to at least check this out and see whether it’s worth their regard or not since there are quite a few people that have been loyal to the franchise for years as it’s taken its twists and turns.
Hellraiser has been one of the more terrifying horror movie franchises over the years and has also been one of the bloodiest thanks to the nature of the story and how it was devised. Clive Barker brought the fans something that was definitely odd and out of sorts when it first hit the bookshelves, but when it was adapted to the screen it became something that held the attention of the fans in such a way that even if the quality of the movies went down a bit over the years, a lot of people stuck with it in order to see each new chapter that arrived as the franchise has spanned 10 movies at this time, most of which have gone straight to DVD. Hellraiser is an oddity since it’s such a well-known story but it’s also faded into obscurity since the movies that came after the first and second descended into obscurity as the movies stopped showing in the theaters after a while. While this won’t be a return, it might be a way to bolster the franchise in a way that will attract new interest and possibly get people to think that Hellraiser is still worth their attention. That’s a less than educated guess really, but it’s still a possibility that a swap will manage to generate at least a little interest.
Giving Hellraiser a reboot sounds like a pretty solid idea anyway since it feels as though the franchise was languishing a bit as it’s become something that still has value to a lot of fans, but is otherwise existing on the edge of the horror genre, not quite to the fringe, but on its way. There are probably several people who would gladly disagree with me, and it makes sense considering that a lot of us movie and pop culture fans would argue for movies or ideas that others feel are tapped out. But Hellraiser definitely needed a facelift of some sort, funny as that might sound. The first few movies went from being terrifying to downright silly, but after that, the blood quota was raised and things took a turn that lead to less publicity and more reliance upon the actual name of the franchise to survive. That one is tough to argue against since Hellraiser hasn’t exactly been blazing on the billboards in the last several years.
Hearing about Hellraiser has been about as constant as ever, but hearing it spoken of with any real gusto hasn’t happened in a while. Perhaps this will change that, or perhaps it will toss another layer of obscurity over it. To be honest it’s hard to say since the reaction of the fans will be what really decides whether or not this swap is a good idea. All one can do is hope for the best, but it’s a good idea to at least see what happens before condemning or praising the move.
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