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It’s a Hellraiser sort of Halloween.

Sure, each Halloween is an effective Halloween to observe a Hellraiser film, however this 12 months there’s a brand-new one: The Night House director David Bruckner’s reboot-ish continuation of the Clive Barker collection, starring Jamie Clayton as the long-lasting Pinhead.

Clayton is the newest actor to step into Pinhead’s self-made leather-based boots. Polygon was fortunate sufficient to meet up with Clayton and Bruckner over Zoom, the place they defined what it truly takes to play a Pinhead and gave us a step-by-step information to changing into a “hellraiser” your self.

[Ed. note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.]

Step 1: Watch the unique Hellraiser

Image: Anchor Bay Entertainment

Clayton watched Clive Barker’s lauded 1987 movie the evening earlier than her audition for Bruckner’s model, however Cenobite wannabes ought to be happy to observe it as many occasions as they need (on Prime Video, Shudder, or without spending a dime with adverts on Tubi and Pluto TV). It’s one of many greatest horror motion pictures ever made, as Bruckner will inform you, it’s a little bit of a miracle that it even exists.

“I think about the original Hellraiser and I think it’s a marvel that all of those images were released at once in one movie,” he says. “It came out, and we’d never seen anything like that before.”

After watching the unique, Clayton mentioned she had “many, many, many” discussions with Bruckner over the minutest of particulars, like Pinhead’s posture and voice.

“I was very grateful to David for all of the time that he took,” she says. “He was working in Serbia months before any of us even arrived. David took so much time to schedule with me, late at night on Sundays […] to sort of help me get to a place where I could really become the Priest.”

Step 2: Spend half your day stepping into costume

Image: Spyglass Media Group/Hulu

For Hellraiser, Bruckner teamed up once more with the make-up artists at Russell FX, who labored with him on The Night House and The Ritual. Clayton estimated it took between 4 and 6 hours to get within the Pinhead make-up, relying on the day, and one other hour to take away all of it on the finish of the day.

What did she do throughout this lengthy ready time? Listen to music (Nina Hagen, Depeche Mode, and The Sisters of Mercy had been on repeat) and zone out. Clayton says the Russells had been “phenomenal” to work with.

“I could not have asked for more amazing makeup artists and confidants,” Clayton says. “I always say getting your makeup done is a very intimate experience. I mean, you have someone in your face like this [gestures right in front of face]. And with prosthetics, it’s a whole ’nother level of intimacy.”

“It’s a testament to the makeup effects team, because we have a lot of Cenobites,” Bruckner says. “They were really at the brink the entire time. It was kind of amazing what they were able to achieve.”

Step 3: Walk on set and astonish the crew

Image: Spyglass Media Group/Hulu

So you’ve achieved your analysis, spent your time within the make-up chair — now you’ve simply received to exit and do your factor. But that’s tougher than it sounds whenever you’re underneath that a lot make-up.

“I remember saying to David a couple times, ‘Is any of this working?’” Clayton says. “‘Is any of it reading, do I have any expression on my face at all?’ It’s completely glued and I can’t really move my face.”

That was not a priority for Bruckner, who was Clayton’s “eyes and ears” and reassured her all through capturing.

“From the very first read that we saw, she scared the hell out of me,” Bruckner says. “Pinhead has been burned into our memory in so many different ways. […] We knew that you couldn’t do an impression of Doug Bradley. It’s too iconic. We’re going to have to find something that makes sense to us, something personal. Jamie instantly dropped into certain aspects of the character and had her own thing going. She found a curiosity in the Priest, a sensuality, like there was the feeling that the Priest could revel to some degree in her designs, whatever they may be, particularly when she has a subject in her clutches. That was really engaging for our story, but it was also kind of hypnotic for me to see.”

Even if Clayton couldn’t inform whereas she was filming, everybody else took discover. Bruckner mentioned she would get “possessed” when the time got here, resulting in a palpable vitality on set.

“You can always feel it on set,” Bruckner says. “A hush falls over the crowd, the crew pays their respects. Her Majesty is here. And it is her turn to speak.”

Step 4: Raise hell

After mentally making ready, getting suited up, and capturing, there’s just one factor left — ship it out into the world. And Clayton’s pleasure can hardly be contained.

“I’ve been sitting in this for a year, not knowing what’s going to happen,” she says. “And finally people are starting to see it, and I’m starting to get caught [up in it] and really getting emotional. I’ve just been really worried and really scared. I mean, I liked it. Even David said to me after I saw it, ‘I’m so glad you like it.’ We’re all just, you know, on pins and needles.”

Hellraiser is accessible to stream on Hulu.