The long, long-gestating remake of Clive Barker's Hellraiser seems to be sharpening its knives at Dimension again. Closely following the quickie ninth original instalment **Hellraiser: Revelations **- recently greenlit to stop Dimension's rights option from lapsing - the new Hellraiser** reboot has peaked the interest of director Christian E Christiansen.
Christiansen directed the upcoming teen thriller The Roommate, and Dimension are reportedly hoping to cast Amber Heard (The Ward, Drive Angry, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) as the puzzlebox-finding protagonist. Which means that, unless Christiansen and Heard are planning to get their hands dirty and sink their teeth into some more adult material than they've previously tackled, we're alarmingly heading into teen territory.
It's certainly very different ground to the remake's previously mooted incarnation at the hands of Pascal Laugier, whose brutally horrific Martyrs sensibility seemed well-suited to Barker's demented s&m vision. BD's various sources all indicate that the Weinsteins are keen to refit the franchise for teens. Dimension have always scratched their heads at Hellraiser's ethos (the question "can't we get Pinhead out on the streets beating up teenagers?" was the one that caused Barker to wash his hands of the series early on), so it seems they're finally getting their way. Did they not watch Hellworld?
Could **Hellraiser **possibly work at a PG-13 level? And will Stephan Smith Collins get to cling on to his iconic new role? All will, no doubt, be revealed in due course.
The Roommate is out on March 18 next year.