Hellraiser Star Goran Visnjic's Favorite Movie In The Franchise Might Surprise You - Exclusive
One of the most enduring franchises in the history of horror cinema is the "Hellraiser" series, originally based on author Clive Barker's 1986 novella "The Hellbound Heart." The first film in the series, released in 1987 and simply titled "Hellraiser," was adapted from the story and directed by Barker himself. Based around a puzzle box called the Lament Configuration that opens to a dimension of sadistic creatures known as Cenobites, "Hellraiser" was a box office hit and began spawning sequels almost immediately.
While the next three movies in the series — "Hellbound: Hellraiser II," "Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth," and "Hellraiser: Bloodline" — were all released in theaters, the subsequent six entries all went straight to home video. The budgets and quality of the series also went down correspondingly over the years, with some of the films starting out as different movies completely (via The Official Clive Barker Website) and having the "Hellraiser" mythology grafted onto them merely as a way to retain the rights to the property.
Now, however, there is a new reboot of the franchise, once again titled "Hellraiser," coming to Hulu and aiming to restore the series to its classic status. Directed by David Bruckner ("The Night House"), the film stars Odessa A'Zion, Jamie Clayton, Hiam Abbass, and Goran Visnjic in an all-new story that still incorporates the deadly, horrific Cenobites and their quest for pleasure through pain.
Goran Visnjic told Looper in our exclusive interview that he saw many of the "Hellraiser" sequels when he was younger, and that one in particular was memorable enough for him to want to sign onto the new film: "I was really interested to see what was going to be there," he said. "I was like, 'I must be a part of it. This is going to be pretty cool.'"
The controversial Hellraiser film that Goran Visnjic prefers
Best known for his breakout role on "ER" as well as stints on "The Boys" and others, actor Goran Visnjic told us that he watched many of the early "Hellraiser" sequels when he was younger. "When I was a teenager, [I saw them] in my local video club, on VHS tapes still," he recalled. But Visnjic's favorite might not be what die-hard fans of the series expect. "Number four ['Hellraiser: Bloodline'], in my teenage mind, was my favorite," he revealed.
"Hellraiser: Bloodline," released in 1996, was the last in the series to play in theaters and also the last one that Clive Barker himself was directly involved with until the new reboot. Set in three timelines — the 18th century, the present, and the year 2127 — "Bloodline" does indeed feature a space station that's built as a gigantic new puzzle box to destroy the Cenobites.
The movie was plagued by budget cuts, last-minute rewrites, crew turnover, and a merciless edit by the studio (Dimension Films) that saw the original 110-minute cut reduced to 85 minutes. The director, Kevin Yagher, even had his name taken off the final product (via "The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy"). A bomb in theaters and with critics, "Bloodline" has since been reappraised as an ambitious project damaged by studio meddling.
"I'm a huge sci-fi fan," said Visnjic about his appreciation for the movie. "They built that space station, and there was also a lot of history involved in that one. That one was very operatic, and I loved it. It was the age of 'Star Wars' and stuff, so that one was one of my favorites."
"Hellraiser" is now available on Hulu.