Pinhead is, without a doubt, one of horror's greatest icons. Just ask the new Pinhead actress, Jamie Clayton. Even if you only have peripheral knowledge of the genre, you probably could pick out Pinhead in a lineup. Originally brought to life by British actor Doug Bradley, the character design is as memorable as Freddy, Jason, Michael, and Chucky – even if the movies don't always keep up the quality. It's no wonder that when it was announced Hulu was producing a reboot of the sadomasochistic and leather drenched 1987 horror cult classic Hellraiser, many scoffed at the perceived fool's errand.
Well, the joke is on the neigh-sayers because Hellraiser 2022 has been mostly well-received, and Jamie Clayton has proven to be a more than worthy successor to Doug Bradley's take on the horror icon. Thanks to a behind-the-scenes featurette titled: Becoming The Priest, released by 20th Century Fox Studies and Hulu, you can watch Clayton's four-hour makeup transformation happen in less than a minute.
The Sense8 star sits patiently for the first hour as her hair is slicked back and a bald cap, adorned with glistening pins, is applied to her scalp. The next step involves Clayton stepping into a heavy silicone bodysuit beautifully painted to look like the human muscular system. Then the lead Cenobite's face is delicately laid and glued in place before makeup artists spend the next several hours carefully airbrushing the prosthetic pieces to bring the look to life.
The second to last step of the makeup application process includes artists layering on intricately designed silicon pieces made to look like chunks of human flesh before a stunning neck piece (with brass metal cog) is put in place to complete the look. Says Jamie Clayton of the Pinhead look,
It's a lot of prosthetics, and the suit is very heavy, and very tight, and very constricting. But it's so beautiful. Oh, it's wild.
I couldn't agree more. The new Pinhead look is definitely wild and an exceptional update to the Clive Barker original. Jamie Clayton's breathtaking look took over four hours to apply and about forty minutes to remove. Her excitement to take over the role has been palpable since she shared the first look at the newly designed Cenobite, which is good because four hours is a lot of time to spend in a makeup chair before a single frame of film is shot if you don't enjoy playing the part.
Director David Bruckner (who directed the well-reviewed The Night House) and his team have done a brilliant job introducing Clive Barker's world to a new audience with 2022's Hellraiser. I hope the whole team reteams in the world soon for a sequel.
You can enjoy Clayton's reimagined take on Pinhead now with a Hulu subscription, and while you are at it, see what else is in store when it comes to new releases this spooky with our list of upcoming horror movies. For all of your film-going plans in the coming months, you can look at our 2022 Movie Release Schedule.
