“Hellraiser” has risen from the depths.
The franchise, which began with 1987’s Clive Barker-directed original (based on his novella), has returned. This time, a young woman (and, crucially, recovering addict) named Riley (Odessa A’zion) comes into possession of the cursed puzzle box and becomes a target for the Cenobites, ghoulish demons from another dimension, led by The Priest aka Pinhead (this time played by Jamie Clayton). It’s a terrifically smart reinvention of a franchise that has languished for far too long, aided by a whip-smart script by David S. Goyer, Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski and wonderful direction by David Bruckner (who worked with the same team on the underrated 2020 chiller “The Night House”).