The next film in the Hellraiser franchise, Hellraiser: Judgment, is currently stuck in Purgatory with no release date in sight. What makes the delay of the franchise feel even more frustrating is that, back in 2014, Dimension rejected the concept of original writer Clive Barker helming a remake of the project. The folks over at Clive Barker Cast have gotten their hands on Barker’s remake script and revealed just how closely the film would have stuck to the original.
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“The script opens on Devil’s Island in the 1700’s where toymaker Philippe Lemarchand is being held prisoner by an evil warden who wants him to finish building the infamous box—its design closer to The Hellbound Heart here—known as the Lament Configuration,” the site explains. “Once done, Lemarchand only wishes to be free and return home to his family. The warden has other plans and wants Lemarchand to open the box, so he can show the toymaker what it does. Things turn quite grisly when a familiar lead cenobite shows up and wreaks havoc on the unsuspecting prison custodian.”
With the origins of the box out of the way, the film moves to a contemporary setting.
“The story then moves to present day Massachusetts where Larry Cotton, a college professor, and his unhappy wife Julia are moving into the ‘old homestead’ along with Larry’s daughter Kirsty,” the site details. “Also, to their surprise Larry’s brother Frank has been occupying the upstairs attic for the past few months. Larry allows Frank to stay in the attic until he can get back on his feet. Little does Larry know, that Frank and Julia have been having an affair. These early parts of the script—other than Larry letting Frank live with them—stick very close to the basic structure of the original film, but Clive writes all this in a new way that makes the material feel fresh. Eventually, Frank opens the box and is torn apart during a ritual where he summons the Hell Priest which forces Julia to once again find himvictims, so he can have a new skin.”
The script did make some deviations from the original story, which the site makes sure to point out.
“It’s only when Kirsty escapes from Frank and steals the box, that this story really starts to develop its own identity,” the review pointed out. “The sequences of Kirsty in the hospital are some of the strongest in the script. This is where Barker begins to introduce his new mythology and let Pinhead have some devilish fun.”
We’ll have to wait patiently to see if this remake, or even Hellraiser: Judgment, ever sees the light of day.
[H/T Clive Barker Cast]
