French director Pascal Laugier has revealed that his upcoming Hellraiser film won’t be a remake but a reboot of the franchise.
The film will reportedly mix elements from both the first film and the “The Hellbound Heart” novella from which the original was adapted. Both the characters of Frank and Julia will be present. The first draft of the script – written in French – has been finished and is being translated to English.
Laugier after finishing the reboot will start work on writing the first draft of the adaptation of China Mieville’s short story “Details” for Paramount Vantage.
French director Pascal Laugier is in final negotiations to write and direct Dimension’s remake of the classic Hellraiser film.
The 1987 original was directed by Clive Barker who wrote the story himself, telling the tale of an unfaithful wife who attempts to assist her lover’s escape from “hell”. It introduced the Cenobite demons who have since then become iconic horror characters.
Laugier claims that he will be very faithful to Barker’s material. The project is due to go ahead with production soon.
One of my favorite authors Clive Barker recently spoke to MTV, revealing that he is up for remakes of his movies, including Hellraiser and Candyman, noting that as long as there is a good story to be told, the characters can be revisited many times.
He goes on to say that the last few Hellraiser movies went and used the character to make money with no story, and that is the reason they didn’t work. Barker is reportedly excited for the upcoming remake.
The writer also talked about the PG-13 rating that has found its way into horror movies lately.
"It’s one of the most disgusting developments in the last few years; the whole notion of a PG-13 horror movie to me is a contradiction in terms," he said. "It’s like having a XXX Disney picture. It doesn’t work."
French director Pascal Laugier has revealed that his upcoming Hellraiser film won’t be a remake but a reboot of the franchise.