Watch On
Hellraiser’s twisted puzzle box has spawned a whopping 11 films, loads of comics and a TV show is on the way (allegedly). But until now, videogames have been left out—with the exception of main antagonist Pinhead’s appearance in Dead By Daylight. Thanks to Saber Interactive, that’s about to change.
Saber’s just unveiled Hellraiser: Revival (or Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, if you want to be pedantic)—a singleplayer survival horror romp featuring original Pinhead actor Doug Bradley, reprising the role for the first time since 2005’s rubbish Hellraiser: Hellworld, where some kids got hooked on a terrible MMO.
Revival spins a new but familiar story, with protagonist Aidan making a pact with Pinhead so he can unlock “the dark powers of the Genesis Configuration” to save his girlfriend from Hell. To fight “Hell’s wretches, deviants, cultists and its most infernal priests” you’ll have to use the powers gifted to you by the not-to-be-trusted puzzle box, along with earthly weapons.
“Working on the first true Hellraiser game has been a venture deep into the recesses of my darkest imaginings,” said Clive Barker, who’s had a complicated relationship with the series after he sold the rights before the first movie even launched.
The series really started going downhill pretty quickly, and after the third film we stopped getting theatrical releases—and nothing of value was lost. The original Hellraiser is one of the horror GOATs, but it just got incredibly silly, and by Hellraiser 3 we were getting Cenobites with CD drive mouths and camera heads.
But since I really don’t see Saber’s survival horror action game managing to match the original, which was a smart, slow-burning and serious horror film that provided an alternative to the teen-focused and very American slasher flicks of the ’80s, I’m hoping it just leans into the silliness instead.
So yeah, while only the original quartet—Butterball, Chatterer, Deep Throat and Pinhead—are shown in the trailer, I’d like to see some real weird Cenobites. A DJ transformed into a CD-spitting demon might not make sense in 2025, but I bet Saber could come up with a Cenobite who’s well into spewing fascist vitriol on X, or one who’s been twisted by their obsession with AI and crypto. Just real dumb shit. I want it.
The trailer suggests that Revival is going to be mostly inspired by the first movie, though, so it’s probably going to take itself a bit more seriously. But you never know!
The Steam page is live now, but there’s no release date yet.
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