Clive Barker's "Hellraiser" franchise might not be as popular as "Friday the 13th," "Halloween," "Evil Dead," and "A Nightmare on Elm Street," but most people still know Pinhead and the Cenobites. The leather-clad, extra-dimensional demons debuted in Barker's "The Hellbound Heart" novella before going on to cause legendary suffering in movies, comics, and Motorhead music videos, but they have yet to star in their own video game (unless you count the fictional one in the maligned "Hellraiser: Hellworld").
However, that's all about to change with Saber Interactive and Boss Team Games' "Hellraiser: Revival," which will take players straight into the Labyrinth. (Check out the gnarly trailer right here.)
"Hellraiser: Revival" tells the story of Aiden, a man who enters the Cenobites' lair to rescue his girlfriend from damnation. The plot echoes the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, as well as the underrated "Dante's Inferno" video game, but make no mistake about it: This is a "Hellraiser" story. Doug Bradley is set to reprise the role of Pinhead, and Clive Barker has assured fans that "Hellraiser: Revival" has such sights to show us (via Polygon):
"[The creators have] immersed themselves in the 'Hellraiser' universe, capturing its essence -- the seductive pull of suffering, the beauty within the grotesque -- and forged a narrative that invites players to step beyond the threshold. I'm eager for both the curious and the damned to experience this new chapter in the 'Hellraiser' mythos, where every moment balances on the brink of nightmare and revelation."
What's more, the decision to set the story in the Labyrinth appears to be a nod to "Hellbound: Hellraiser II," the most underrated and imaginative movie in the entire saga. That film also explores the darkest corners of the Cenobites' home turf -- and boasts plenty of ideas that will work in a horror game.
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What The Video Game Can Learn From Hellbound: Hellraiser II
The first "Hellraiser" shows a brief glimpse of the Labyrinth when the Cenobites arrive in the Cotton family's household, making us wonder what horrors lie beyond the shadows. That question is answered in "Hellbound: Hellraiser II," which sees Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) enter the maze dimension, only to encounter Cenobites, maniacal doctors, and old family members who've been cursed to an eternity of legendary suffering. Not only does she have to contend with monsters, but she must also confront past traumas, and it gets really messed up.
While the core plot is about Kirsty trying to escape from a demonic realm, the film hints at something even bigger. The Labyrinth is a dimension made up of endless mazes, populated by all manner of creatures and governed by its own hierarchies. The video game should embrace similar sensibilities by having Aiden's quest uncover more knowledge of the Labyrinth and its culture. The dimension has also been explored quite substantially in the "Hellraiser" comics, so there is no shortage of ideas for the game's developers to mine for inspiration, either. At the same time, the maze is big enough for the game's developer's to expand its lore and bring their own ideas to the table.
A demonic maze is an ideal setting for a horror game where the overarching mission is to find someone, and "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" embodies the type of nightmarish mysteries it should seek to explore. If nothing else, "Hellraiser: Revival" will be a challenging, scary game that's easy to get lost in. But we're really hoping the game capitalizes on the opportunity to expand the mythos, as the aforementioned sequel only covers a few corners of this unique world. Pinhead always has such sights to show us, so our fingers are crossed that this game will teach us more about his realm.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.
