Jul 15, 2017
It’s no coincidence that this week’s Retro Cinema choice is “Hellraiser.” Because in case you haven’t heard, the remake has been given a green light. Now, I know you hard-core horror fans like me are out there saying “Oh, God no, not another remake!” But fasten your seatbelts kids, because for once this is good news: Clive Barker is gonna direct and Doug Bradley is coming back as Pinhead.
Now that’s how you do a freakin’ remake.
When Barker first directed “Hellraiser,” he had a very limited budget and in fact, he confesses in the DVD commentary that he basically got the resurrection scene special effects done for much less than what it should’ve cost (only $25,000) because the studio liked what they saw of the film and threw a few more dollars their way. That scene wasn’t even in the original script due to not having a budget for it.
I think it’s fair to say that this time around, Barker won’t face those kinds of problems. Nor have to resort to the cheesy painted in special effects he did himself — those being my main criticism of the original as well as the pretty dreadful acting of Ashley Laurence (sorry, but it’s true.) Sure, there are a few things that went wrong, but a whole lotta things went right.
While I’m sure most people reading this have seen the film, I don’t want to give away too much just in case, but let’s just say after “Hellraiser,” people really didn’t look at hooks and chains quite the same way again. Nor their prim and proper British wives.
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Jul 20, 2013
Clive Barker made an official announcement on his Facebook Friday night that his cult classic, “Nightbreed,” will get a DVD release of the “Cabal Cut” by Shout! Factory’s Scream Factory line.
Barker himself was harshly critical of the 1990 theatrical edit of the film and felt the studio completely mishandled the editing and marketing of the movie, which was a huge box-office and critical flop. The lost footage was found years later, but the studio had no interest in an extended release despite its rise to cult status. Then in 2012, Russell Cherrington, a senior lecturer in film and video production at the University of Derby, created a composite cut of the film using the footage found on both VHS tapes as well as the Warner Bros DVD. This version is the most complete version of Barker’s film available and has been dubbed The Cabal Cut, running 155 minutes long.
This isn’t the only time Barker’s work was misunderstood and mishandled by studio execs. “Lord of Illusions” suffered a similar fate of being over-edited, and critical failure. But the extended cut adds back much need elements to the story, and is one of the more disturbing horror films out there. Which, it should go without saying, is considered a compliment here.
It’s not so hard to figure out why the man stopped directing.
Barker is such a mad genius of dark fantasy, he’s beyond anything Hollywood could possibly ever grasp. And “Nightbreed” presents a shining example of a world created by Barker, full of creatures who form their own tribe as outcasts of humanity, or the Nightbreed.
No details on release date or extras, but Shout! Factory has quite a collection of special editions, including films like “Prince of Darkness,” “Terror Train,” and “The Funhouse.” Or, you could read the book “Cabal” while you wait for the “Nightbreed” release.
