While masked killers in horror movies are able to return time and again without much worrying about the ages of the costumed performers, it’s a wholly different ball game for actors whose faces become synonymous with the characters. Such as it goes for Doug Bradley, who entered horror history’s hallowed halls as Hellraiser’s key Cenobite, later dubbed Pinhead. The actor’s last fully fleshed-out Pinhead performance came 24 years ago, but both he and franchise creator Clive Barker have reunited to raise some Hell in a completely different way.

Get ready for a new era of interactive sadomasochism with Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, the new (and excellent-looking) horror video game from the teams at Saber Interactive and Boss Team Games. It’s not a video game adaptation of the original film, in case the colonized title wasn’t a big enough clue, but rather a newly crafted narrative that will put players in control of a certain puzzle box, with the overall task of fucking up every last Cenobite that gets in the way.

Pinhead and other cenobites in Hellraiser: Revival video game

(Image credit: Saber Interactive)

As a huge Hellraiser fan (more the first couple of films and the 2022 remake as opposed to the long tail of sequels, but I’m not judging), my biggest goal will be to hear Doug Bradley newly dish out Pinhead’s iconic phrase as many times as possible. Which, to be fair, is a pretty easy task since the highly repeatable horror quote is right there in the game’s first trailer! Enjoy.

Watch On

red-band trailer is even more NSFW, believe me.) Hellraiser: Revival truly looks like it could be one of the gnarliest horror games to to hit the current generation of consoles. (It’s heading to PS5, XBox Series X and Steam.) So much bloody gore happening in such visceral ways.

I mean, just the thought of pushing Chatterer’s head back using my hands is almost more horrifying than whatever else the nasty bastard would do to me. I mean, not really.. But I still wouldn’t want to go toe-to-toe with any of the original four Cenobites that are seen in the trailer. You can bet a lot of surprises are in store, too.

Plus, it’s just wild in general to hear Doug Bradley back in full as the core antagonist. He was 33 when the first Hellraiser was filmed, and will be turning 71 this year. So Pinhead’s growl is definitely as pronounced as ever, which gives it even more of an unnerving edge. I cannot wait to see the rest of this performance, even if it means having to face the almighty CD HEAD!!

Clive Barker shared a statement that addressed his return to the franchise to take it in a new direction. As he put it:

Working on the first true Hellraiser game has been a venture deep into the recesses of my darkest imaginings. The dedication that Saber and Boss Team Games have shown is nothing short of remarkable. They’ve immersed themselves in the Hellraiser universe, capturing its essence—the seductive pull of suffering, the beauty within the grotesque—and forged a narrative that invites players to step beyond the threshold. I’m eager for both the curious and the damned to experience this new chapter in the Hellraiser mythos, where every moment balances on the brink of nightmare and revelation.

I’m not 100% more excited about Hellraiser: Revival than every other upcoming 2025 horror movie, but it’s in the running, and if follow-up trailers and early reviews go in the game’s favor, it could very well win out that race by a pin-impaled nose.

Hellraiser: Revival is available for wishlisting and pre-ordering on the website above with the red-band trailer, with an official release date yet to be announced.

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