David Bruckner to direct Hellraiser reboot for Spyglass Media

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Sooner or later, every horror franchise gets the reboot treatment, and one of the next will be Clive Barker's HELLRAISER. There have been several attempts at relaunching the franchise over the decades, and it seems that the latest will come from director David Bruckner.

THR has reported that David Bruckner has boarded the HELLRAISER project at Spyglass Media which will be scripted by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski from a story by David Goyer, who will also be producing. Bruckner is best known for helming THE SIGNAL, THE RITUAL, and THE NIGHT HOUSE, as well as segments of V/H/S and SOUTHBOUND as well as episodes of Creepshow. Based on Clive Barker's novella "The Hellbound Heart," HELLRAISER followed a puzzle box which opened a doorway to an alternate dimension occupied by creatures known as Cenebites who subject humans to extreme sadomasochistic experiments. There are few details on the remake, but Spyglass is describing it as "loyal, yet evolved."

When the project was first announced last year with David Goyer slated to pen the script, Spyglass CEO David Barber said, "Clive and I go back more than 30 years together. For generations, his brilliantly twisted and imaginative 'Hellraiser' haunted the minds of moviegoers with its searing imagery of Pinhead. David is the perfect storyteller to continue Clive’s vision for a new theatrical version of 'Hellraiser.'" In his own statement, David Goyer added:

I’ve been a fan of Clive’s work since the original Books of Blood paperbacks and ‘The Hellbound Heart’ novella. Having the chance to reimagine Pinhead and the Cenobites for a new audience is a nightmare-come-true. Gary is a true fan as well and we’re committed to making something dark and visceral.

The HELLRAISER franchise has spawned nine sequels of varying quality, so I'm certainly down for a reimagining if they can bring back the gruesome frights of the original.