The horror genre is one of those styles of film that naturally lends itself to the creation of icons. From endlessly iconic, knife-wielding bad guys like Michael Myers in Halloween, to fast-talking creeps like A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger, the world of horror comes chock full of terrifying and iconic personalities. That is something that CinemaBlend touched on in a recent interview with Hellraiser: Judgement's new Pinhead, Paul T. Taylor, and according to the actor, Pinhead is the best horror icon of the bunch because he's far more than just a slasher. Jesus wept, and Taylor explained:
To me, he's least like a slasher. He's not a killing machine. His purpose is to serve a higher God. That changed over the years with some of the lesser-known Hellraiser sequels or lesser-liked Hellraiser sequels. That sort of changed the meaning. Number three, he started becoming more of a slasher. They kind of went the Freddy Krueger route with him and made him the star of the movie, which I personally think was kind of the start of, I don't know, it wasn't my favorite thing in the world to see it... In the first movies, what I would say, to answer your question is, it is his eloquence, and his stillness and the threat is terrifying. All he has to do is stand there, and he's terrifying and that exquisite makeup, that exquisite pain that he's in, it's more twisted.
Paul T. Taylor is the latest actor to step into the Pinhead role (making him the third to take on the mantle since the iconic Doug Bradley stepped down), and he clearly has quite a bit of love for the character. By his estimation, what makes Pinhead work in his best movies is that he operates under a specific ideology and devotes himself to his suffering. Even when he's doing something rooted in pure evil, he's typically doing so because someone opened the puzzle box, and it's his job to deliver the pain they sought out.
Seemingly against the ethos of the character, the "lesser" Hellraiser movies (though it seems that Paul T. Taylor is referring to Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth) eventually tried to move him into Freddy Krueger-esque territory. This involved embracing the goofier immortal slasher tropes that don't quite work anymore, despite the fact that the core of the character lies in his slower and more methodical personality that doesn't rely on racking up a considerable body count or spouting off one-liners. Given Taylor's affinity for the old Pinhead, there's a lot for purists to get excited about with Hellraiser: Judgement's release finally upon us.
Hellraiser: Judgement is now available on Digital HD, Blu-ray, and DVD. Make sure to pick up your copy if you want to see Pinhead's latest dastardly deeds, and take a look at our 2018 movie premiere guide for more up-to-date information about all of this year's biggest movie releases, especially the horror movies to watch out for this year.
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