Clive Barker has given Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival his full blessing. In an exclusive interview with Dread Central published earlier this week (October 14th), the creator of Hellraiser said he went in worried the game would be watered down, and came out amazed by how far the developers were willing to push his world of pain and pleasure. His verdict was blunt, and it came with a few words you will not hear in a press release.
"I'm proud as f*** at the end result," Barker said. The game launched last week (October 8th) from Saber Interactive and Boss Team Games, and it brings Doug Bradley back to voice Pinhead. Check out the official launch trailer below:
Barker Feared The Game Would Be Censored
Barker explained that the team reached out to him directly and that he was eager to get involved. "The folks at Boss Team Games were kind enough to ask me," he said. "I was passionate about doing this and astonished by the quality of the content. The quality and defiance of the game is extraordinary."
His biggest worry was that the darker parts of Hellraiser would get sanded down along the way. "I was fearful at one point that the game would be overly censored but I'm genuinely astonished by how far they've been able to push it," Barker continued. "I think for the audience that loves Hellraiser and horror video games this will be a knockout."
That fear makes sense given Barker's history with the franchise. Hellraiser has always been built on sex, gore, and transgression, and a lot of the later films drifted away from the material he wrote. Hearing the man who made the Cenobites call the game defiant is about as strong an endorsement as a Hellraiser project can get.
"Doug Is Pinhead And Pinhead Is Doug"
A big part of why Barker loves the game is the return of Doug Bradley, who played Pinhead in the original 1987 film and many of its sequels. "Doug is Pinhead and Pinhead is Doug," Barker said. "They occupy the same space. He does a wonderful job and I would have hated to see anyone else in that role."
The two go back much further than the puzzle box. Barker said he has known Bradley since Bradley was 14, that he has been his best friend for most of his life, and that the pair worked in theater together for seven or eight years before Hellraiser. "We had no money, but we learned to become artists with each other. We taught each other. We didn't go to theater school," he recalled.
Barker also shared the note he kept giving Bradley on the set of the first movie. "When we started shooting the first Hellraiser, I kept giving him the same instruction: do less. He rolled his eyes, but he got it." He credited that restraint with making the character work, saying Bradley plays Pinhead "in a very cool and detached way," which is what makes Pinhead and the Cenobites scary. Barker even said that in another universe, Bradley could have been James Bond.
A Wake-Up Call For The Franchise
In a second part of the interview published the following day (October 15th), Barker said the game should send a message to anyone who has worked on the series. "I think what was achieved in the game is a wake-up call to anyone who's been involved in the making of a franchise like Hellraiser," he said. "I have many ideas that I'd like to see realized in the Hellraiser universe, and I'm planning to keep my fingers in that pie."
Barker regained his U.S. copyright interests in The Hellbound Heart and his original Hellraiser screenplay, effective December 2021. He told Dread Central he has been collecting darker story ideas in note form, inspired in part by a trip to Rome and the Vatican, the history of the Inquisition, and Italian horror films like Black Sunday and Suspiria. He also mentioned that some of that mythology is being expanded in the new comic books. Barker made it clear he is not announcing a movie based on the game, but he did say he is looking forward to working with the team again on other projects.
What Hellraiser: Revival Is
Hellraiser: Revival is a single-player survival horror action game set in Barker's universe of Cenobites and the Lament Configuration. It is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. Boss Team Games has also been posting regular updates for fans who bought the physical Collector's Edition, asking buyers to check the email tied to their order for tracking information.
Barker's comments line up with how the game has been sold from the start, as an uncompromising adult take on Hellraiser. For fans who have sat through years of sequels made without his involvement, having Barker and Bradley both attached again is a big deal.
Does Clive Barker's approval make you more likely to open the box on Hellraiser: Revival, or are you waiting to see if it leads to a new Hellraiser film?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.