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I’ve Read the ‘Hellraiser’ Treatments by Todd Farmer and Patrick Lussier [Exclusive]

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Image Source: Rick Jones and Horrify Me

Longtime horror fans know disappointment. We have suffered quite a bit when it comes to our beloved franchises, which all have gone through their own version of development hell. None quite as brutal as that of Hellraiser, which has been trapped at The Weinstein Company/Dimension Films for the better part of 30 years.

While we have seen several direct-to-video sequels rushed into production in order for the company to retain the rights, they have been in development on a remake for over a decade. Nobody knows the actual intentions or if the company was just spinning their wheels in order to keep the rights in their firm grasp. Over the years we’ve heard of several remake attempts, one even by Clive Barker, the creator of the franchise and its iconic, pain-loving Pinhead.

In 2011, director Patrick Lussier and longtime collaborative writer Todd Farmer (the duo behind My Bloody Valentine and Drive Angry) would spend the year developing several different takes on the Hell-verse. I was able to get my hands on two of them.


Those familiar with Clive Barker’s remarkable 1987 indie Hellraiser remember that the central antagonist wasn’t actually PINHEAD (brought to life by Doug Bradley) and the Cenobites, but “Uncle” Frank (played by Sean Chapman). The franchise kicked off with Frank receiving Lemarchand’s box and opening it in his attic. When his brother and wife move in, a drop of blood releases him from Hell, sending the Cenobites after him. The treatments that I read are very different and, while possibly also conceived as a prequel, these read as a canonized sequel to Barker’s film and its several sequels. In fact, the duo had hoped on bringing Doug Bradley back as Pinhead for one last hurrah!

The earlier of two drafts recalls much of the franchise’s mythology, but also introduces fresh elements. The TOYMAKER/ENGINEER is reintroduced and what we learn is that, over the years, hundreds of boxes have been crafted and put out into the world. In the process, the Toymaker is murdered with the killer taking the mantle as the new Engineer. The boxes multiply over the years, as do the creation of new Engineers.

An exciting new addition to the mythology would have been the TOYBREAKERS, a secret group of devoted individuals who dedicate their lives to finding and destroying these gateways to Hell.

This version of Hellraiser would have opened with a family’s house being blown up, killing a mother and two of her children. A surviving daughter becomes the central protagonist as “the” box eventually finds her. Later, two of these Toybreakers (BLYTHE and TRUMAN) discover a reconfigured box that offers hope to close all of the gateways forever. This insane sequence introduces the central Cenobites, BLACK and WHITE (the Yin and Yang of Hell) and the big bad, GLASS, a black-clad figure with ribbons of jagged stained glass protruding from his face.

White: “I smell deceit.

Truman turns on Blythe, but it’s in an attempt to stop the Cenobites forever. This will come into play later as the story returns to the survivor of the explosion, LISA, who is now 19 years old. The character MULE is introduced: a fat and sweaty man that actually delivered the explosive package in the opening scene. This becomes a huge ordeal for Lisa and her friends that ends with a car accident and a trip to the hospital. There, it’s revealed that Mule holds the box in his stomach and cuts it out, while also delivering a message to Lisa:

I have traveled far to make you an offer.

He recounts her loss and offers her the opportunity to reunite with her family. She must solve the puzzle and open the box. She’s then haunted by the sight and sound of her family calling her to use the key, and open the box. This unleashes an orgy of Cenobites onto the hospital which are known as LO-BITES. Aided by Black and White, and the return of Glass, the reckoning also reunites Lisa with her father… Truman! This set piece is a massive labyrinth of blood, guts, and torture, before Lisa eventually closes the box and shuts the door on Hell (for the time being).

As the characters come to terms with what just happened, there’s an interesting development in the morgue… the Mule, well, his flesh was just a shell…and inside are dozens of pins! Meanwhile, Black and White are attempting to convince Truman to destroy the Engineer and thus become the Engineer. You know, kill it from the inside. Another wild set piece traps Lisa and Erik in a Hellavator, while clues begin to emerge. The biggest tie-in is the infamous quote, “Jesus wept,” and the elevator leads them all to a frozen statue that doubles as the final puzzle. Lisa solves it and with it comes the Cenobites and a massive battle.

This is when the big reveal occurs: Erik is just flesh and underneath it all is a dying and withering Pinhead.

He urges her to stop her father if she ever wants to see her family again. With the help of Black and White, Truman kills Pinhead and thus takes his throne. Or does he? Something isn’t right. Lisa stands up to reveal her body has become a puzzle box and dares her father to solve it.Would you destroy the last of your family to get what you want?” Truman explains that he’ll do what he has to because he’s the good guy and folds Lisa up, solving the puzzle. As Pinhead slowly deteriorates, Truman exclaims, “Thought you could trick me? Make a puzzle of my daughter? Well, I solved your puzzle. The world is mine now.

Pinhead: “You did not… solve it. You put it… back together.

As Pinhead closes his eyes forever, the Lisa-box lights up and unfolds to reveal that she is now covered in pins. “Perfectly symmetrical pins. Row after row all over. Everywhere.” It is revealed that Truman and Lisa are both part of the Toymaker’s original bloodline and with these turns of events have created the most powerful of all Engineers. Truman has failed and Hell has a new Queen. Lisa’s family is returned, as promised by Pinhead, and Truman’s punishment is to be trapped in his body… to watch as his family lives among the most powerful demon Hell has ever seen.

End.


Interestingly, there was a different spin on this mythology that was outlined later that year, and leads me to believe the executives at Dimension wished for a more teen-friendly, toned-down version of the treatment. While it is dialed back, the film opens with an insane sequence in which the box quickly moves from person to person, killing everyone in its path (right down to a plane explosion) as it makes its way to…TANNER. In this version, which feels rights out of a Final Destination sequel, Tanner is a red herring that’s used to set up the surprise that the box was meant for Lisa. Through the outline, Lisa’s friends are, one by one, turned into Cenobites. In the alternate finale, Pinhead offers her their lives in exchange for her soul.

Choose hell and the suffering of your friends will end.

Lisa considers, then, “I don’t choose hell. I choose my friends.” Pinhead: “As I knew you would.

It appears that the twist here is that Pinhead is unaware that, in turning Lisa into Cenobite, he’s fulfilling the destiny that she’s the last descendant of the Toymaker. Lisa destroys Pinhead. Melts Glass’s face into an eternal, horrific smile. Combines Black and White making Gray.

As Pinhead lays dying, he exclaims, “So the power is yours now. Free your friends yourself then.” She turns to them within her newfound evil. “Why would I want to do that?” Suddenly her friends scream as she changes them back into Cenobites.

As Pinhead dies…he smiles. This was his plan all along…


It’s incredibly important to note that both treatments/outlines were in very early stages of development; much of the structure and dialogue would have evolved and changed drastically. With that said, it’s so much fun to see what could have been and I loved Lussier and Farmer’s strategy to pass the torch from Pinhead to Lisa. The plan to introduce a female Pinhead way back in 2011 was clearly ahead of the times.

What do you think?

Image Source: Rick Jones and Horrify Me

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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