Hellraiser 4 Sabotage Sent Pinhead Franchise To VHS Hell Claims Writer

Hellraiser 4 Sabotage Sent Pinhead Franchise To VHS Hell, Claims Writer

Veteran Hellraiser writer Peter Atkins opens up about his thoughts on why Hellraiser V didn’t get a theatrical release, blaming studio interference.

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Hellraiser 4 Sabotage Sent Pinhead Franchise To VHS Hell Claims Writer

Veteran Hellraiser writer Peter Atkins opens up about his thoughts on why Hellraiser V didn’t get a theatrical release, blaming studio interference. Atkins wrote the sequels Hellraiser II, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, and Hellraiser: Bloodline, the fourth installment in the franchise. Hellraiser: Bloodline was the last film in the franchise to date to receive a theatrical release.

2000’s Hellraiser V: Inferno saw many changes for the horror franchise when compared to prior installments. Though Scott Derrickson’s feature-length directorial debut saw the return of Doug Bradley as the horrific Cenobite leader Pinhead, the film also marked the first installment in the franchise to not have any major involvement of author Clive Barker, whose novella “The Hellbound Heart” served as the source material for the original 1987 film. It also was the first release in the franchise to opt for a straight-to-video release. While Barker has since returned to the franchise, Hellraiser has yet to return to the big screen, with franchise veteran Atkins offering his thoughts on why distributors chose to switch to a straight-to-video strategy.

Speaking to Bloody Disgusting about the release of his original Hellraiser: Bloodline screenplay as a book, Atkins opened up about his thoughts on why Hellraiser V: Inferno never saw a theatrical release. Placing the blame with Miramax, Atkins speculated that if the studio hadn’t interfered with the production of Hellraiser: Bloodline, the franchise wouldn’t be in a position where it would have to have a straight-to-video release. Atkins explicitly blamed the studio for cutting the budget and altering the film’s story to the point director Kevin Yagher chose to be credited under a pseudonym, suggesting that if they hadn’t intervened that he and possibly Barker would have returned to work on the fifth film. Check out Atkins’s response below.

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“From this point, everything I’ve said so far has been factual, Jason. This is speculation: if Miramax hadn’t f***ed Kevin Yagher over so badly, ripped his budget in half, taken it away from him, driven him to the Alan Smithee credit … if they’d allowed him to direct the movie we all thought we were going to make – and these are all “if’s” – and if that movie had been a bigger hit, there might well have been a theatrical Hellraiser V that might still have involved me and/or Clive.”

Yagher chose to be credited as ‘Alan Smithee’ after feeling that Miramax had altered Hellraiser: Bloodline drastically from his original vision. After reacting negatively to earlier cuts of the film, the studio demanded rewrites to feature more scenes featuring Pinhead, as well as altering the ending to be happier than what was originally intended. Yagher declined the opportunity to return and direct the new scenes due to a lack of time and feeling exhausted after difficulties filming the original cut. After seeing Miramax’s final cut, Yagher felt it strayed too far from his vision and requested his name be removed, and the film ultimately received negative reviews from critics.

Atkins’s frustration captures many issues seen around horror sequels in the late 20th century. Due to the initial successes, studios would capitalize on the genre, greenlighting sequels that solely tried to recapture the original films with little care for the creative’s vision. With the Hellraiser reboot also avoiding a theatrical release, instead being released as a Hulu Original on the streaming service, fans may be disappointed that they don’t have a chance to see this new take on the iconic horror franchise on the big screen once more.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/hellraiser-5-movie-theatrical-release-video-why/

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