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).
