Movies
Paul T. Taylor Talks Playing Pinhead in ‘Hellraiser: Judgment’
Tentatively set for release sometime this year, Dimension’s new sequel Hellraiser: Judgment will be the second film in the franchise without Doug Bradley; the first, Hellraiser: Revelations, understandably made fans worried about any actor other than Bradley playing the iconic role of Pinhead. Alas, Bradley didn’t want to do it, so Paul T. Taylor was brought in to take over.
Speaking with Dallas Observer, Taylor just talked a bit about the controversial recasting, assuring that playing Pinhead is a lifelong dream and that has done his best to honor Bradley’s work.
Said the new Pinhead:
It was the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me in my life. Being on that set was the coolest thing I’ve ever done. [Pinhead] was always my favorite horror icon because he was the most twisted and intelligent in my mind. And I love the fetish wear, and it’s just wrong. He’s just so wrong. Chains on hooks? That’s so gruesome and grotesque. Clive Barker’s mind is just so twisted.
I had a couple of months to work on it before we shot and I stayed home as much as possible with very few lights on while I was learning the lines. I live in South Oak Cliff in kind of a bad neighborhood, and I would just walk around like a badass basically. [I knew] that I needed to honor the Pinhead that everyone loved already, the Doug Bradley Pinhead.
Taylor admitted:
It is a little daunting. I’ve read some comments from the fans who are gonna hate me as Pinhead no matter what, but many of them are smart enough and cool enough to say, ‘I’m not gonna judge until I see Paul T. Taylor play Pinhead,’ and, ‘He’s not Doug Bradley but I’m gonna give him a chance.’
The actor also promised that the new film will “gross people out.” He added, “Hooks on chains might be mild at this point.”
In the new sequel…
Detectives Sean and David Carter are on the case to find a gruesome serial killer terrorizing the city. Joining forces with Detective Christine Egerton, they dig deeper into a spiraling maze of horror that may not be of this world. Could the Judgment awaiting the killer’s victims also be waiting for Sean?
The film also stars A Nightmare On Elm Street‘s Heather Langenkamp, along with Damon Carney, Randy Wayne, Alexandra Harris, John Gulagher, Mike Jay Regan, Diane Goldner, Andi Powers, Jeff Fenter, Helena Grace Donald, and Grace Montie (read about their roles).
Movies
‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons Is No Fan of Generative AI: “Defeats the Purpose Entirely for Me”
There has been a lot of talk recently about filmmakers embracing generative AI as part of the filmmaking process, from Darren Aronofsky to Martin Scorsese. But what about filmmakers that are against the use of Gen AI for creative pursuits? You can count 20-year-old Backrooms director Kane Parsons among that group, which should give you some hope for the future.
In a new chat with The Australian, the self-taught young filmmaker makes it crystal clear that he won’t be using generative AI in any of his upcoming filmmaking projects.
“I think I’m in the same boat as most well-adjusted people,” Parsons tells the outlet. “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me.”
“What interests me more is interrogating it artistically,” Parsons notes. “We already live in a world where you walk outside and there are billboards and signs that are obvious AI slop. That’s become part of our visual reality. To me, generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot.”
He explains, “I’m interested in using that iconography in art – not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents. I definitely want to explore it further in future projects.”
Kane Parsons also notes during the interview with The Australian, “… there’s so much at stake and so many genuinely harmful consequences already happening.”
Backrooms marks young prodigy Kane Parsons’ feature directorial debut, and it’s based on his own series of YouTube videos that were brought to life using Blender, the open-source 3D computer graphics software suite. So it’s no surprise that Parsons, who has hand-made his filmmaking career up to this point, isn’t buying into the hoopla around Generative AI.
His debut feature is the #1 movie in the world, so perhaps he’s onto something.
What’s next from Kane Parsons, you ask? Stay tuned…
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