Clive on Hellraiser VII : Deader

Oops. We've drawn a complete blank on meaningful comment from Clive - or even passing reference ! All help gratefully received.

...other comments

Tim Day : "We've taken a script called Deader that Neal Marshall Stevens sold to Dimension almost two years ago as a spec, and I've rewritten it to incorporate the Hellraiser mythology. Our heroine is a female reporter for a London newspaper, who is sent to Bucharest to investigate an underground suicide cult known as the 'Deaders.' She is quickly drawn into their dark world and soon can see no way out other than to join them in preparation for the coming of... Well, I don't want to ruin it for you."

Hellraiser: Deader Ready To Roll

By [ ], www.fangoria.com news, 16 August 2002

Neal Marshall Stevens : "In addition [to] the script being changed to incorporate the Hellraiser mythology, it was also changed in locale from the lower East Side of Manhattan to London and Romania. Most painfully of all, the second writer felt the need to 'sex up' my scare sequences with 'boo' moments that they did not previously possess because I think such moments suck.
"In broad outline, much of my script is still there. How much of it will manage, given the changes in locale, given the accompanying changes in tone and dialogue necessitated thereby, given the changes in the scare sequences, will actually manage to make it to the screen - it's hard to say. I frankly have little hope...
"Pinhead has been brought in as an additional character. As in most recent Hellraiser movies (from what I hear - I haven't seen them) - he does not have a large part."

My Interview With NMS

By Levi Tinney, The Hellbound Web, www.cenobite.com, 22 September 2003

Tim Day : "I initially got involved with Deader after Bob Weinstein had watched Hellraiser: Hellseeker and loved it. Dimension sent me a copy of Neal Marshall Stevens spec script for Deader to rewrite it as a stand-alone feature with Rick Bota directing. They also sent me videos of both 'Ringu' (this was just before it was about to be remade as 'The Ring') and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 'Kairo' -- which I loved, to give me a feel for the direction they wanted Deader to go in.
"Deader had one of the greatest first acts I've ever read. It really hooked you into the story. Creepy as hell. Unfortunately by the middle of the second act it started to wander a bit and got real expensive with a lot of creature and prosthetic effects. Stan Winston was a producer on the project and his company was going to handle all of the creature effects. My take on it was to tone down the second half and ground it in reality a little more so we would stay hooked in to Amy Klein as a character and not lose the story's focus and still keep it creepy.
"Rick and I met with Bob and Dimension co-heads of production Andrew Rona and Brad Weston and by the end of the meeting Deader was put back on the shelf and I was writing the American remake of 'Kairo', which is now called 'Pulse' with Jim Sonzero directing. At different times Rick Bota and Wes Craven were attached and now there's a new writer working with Jim. I'm not sure how much of my work will see the screen. After my work on 'Pulse', this is now about six months later, Dimension called me about turning 'Deader' into a Hellraiser movie. I had been working on an original idea that continued where Hellseeker left off leading to a final confrontation between Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) and Pinhead (Doug Bradley).
"Dimension really wanted to make Hellraiser: Deader. It's a cool idea going back to Clive's original premise that there is more than one door into the world of the Cenobites and these doors can take any shape. Enter the Deader suicide ritual. Without giving too much away the Deader suicide cult's leader Winter believes that he is the rightful heir to the puzzle box and sees himself replacing Pinhead as the leader of the Cenobites. Amy Klein is a necessary piece in Winter's puzzle so she is slowly seduced into the world of Deaders. Suddenly nothing is what it seems and the only way out is for Amy to keep moving forward, deeper into the ritual, deeper into her own twisted soul.
"Deader was originally set in New York. The film was going to be shot in Bucharest. I thought it would be ridiculous to try to fake New York there so I suggested we just embrace the location and tweak the script."

Hellseeker and Deader Writer's Short Film

By Tim Day, Hellbound Web Forum, 18 May 2005 (note - full thread online at www.cenobite.com)

Scott Derrickson : "I was asked to direct Hellseeker, and (along with Paul [Boardman]) to write Hellraiser: Deader, both of which I turned down. I chose not to do them because I'm too busy with other things, and I also honestly felt like I had already done my part in the series, and that somebody else would bring more inspiration to it now than I would."

Interview

By Scarecrow, The Hellbound Web, www.cenobite.com, 24 September 2002

Doug Bradley : "I haven't seen the script for Deadworld yet, and I'm just now looking at Deader and making notes. The script looks interesting. Rick is very creative and took a lot of ideas on board while we were shooting Hellseeker in Vancouver. He has been happy to let me take a pass on Pinhead's dialogue. I am very happy with our working relationship."

Doug Bradley Talks 7th And 8th Hellraisers

By [ ], Fangoria, www.fangoria.com, 28 October 2002

Kari Wuhrer : "I was living in New York and I heard about the project, read the script and I've always been a fan [of the Hellraiser films]. After reading the script I saw that it was different to anything they had done in the franchise... The way that we tried to make Amy Klein fit into a Clive Barker scenario was really fun and cool, and we thought that he'd really dig it.
"I just liked being able to play somebody that I could stretch a little bit to play, instead of being the jiggly-boob girl! She's a cynical tough woman.
"For thirteen years or so I was the body with the fake boobs playing these sort of light female characters. I had just gotten rid of the fake boobs, and this part came across my lap and I figured it was a really good way for me to start in the other direction. I had done things like Eight Legged Freaks where I was the woman with the gun, but here I was the woman with the pen and I thought that was a little bit of a departure for me and I really enjoyed it."

Girls Of The Clive Barker Mansion

By Ewan Cant, Gorezone, No 37, November 2008

Gary Tunnicliffe : "We're doing lots of hooks, lots of box stuff and lots and lots of gore. There will also be a homage of sorts to the female Cenobite that appeared in the earlier film, and there will be an appearance by Chatterer. Doug is coming back to do Pinhead again for both films."

Tales Of The Miramax Assassin

By Marc Shapiro, Fangoria, No 219, January 2003

Vivi Dragan Vasile (DP) : "I haven't seen any part of the series. Actually before Hellraiser VII I had no experience in this particular genre of films. It was also my first collaboration with the Director, Rick Bota. So I wish to see if my 'innocence' in this genre will be - or not - a benefit to the final result.
"The [underground] station was real, using the local neon lighting without filtering it. The result was a green-bluish hue, cold and strange. This came in balance with the inside of the train, with red light sources in some important areas of the shooting space. The outside windows brought cold light (HMI) reflected in fast rotating mirrors to enhance the idea of speed in the tunnel. Obviously the shots took place with the train in a fixed position and rendering this atmosphere of fast movement by rotating lights was maybe the toughest challenge of the shooting."

Pin Sharp Shoot

By [ ], www.Kodak.com, April 2003

Rick Bota : "We have contacted Castel films regarding the post they have done on their site. It is unfortunate that both the plots have been given away so early. The films are not set for release yet (one actually won't be until 2005!) and the stories have already been unfolded. Almost 2 years early!"

Forever Horror

By Joseph Benedetto and Nicholas J. Michalak , e-mail to Forever Horror, www.michalak.org, 11 September 2003

Doug Bradley : "I have no idea [when these will be released]. We shot the movies between October and Christmas 2002, so they've been sitting in the can for nearly two years. I looped the movie with Rick Bota - who directed both films and also directed the sixth movie, Hellseeker - more than a year ago when I also recorded an alternative audio commentary for Deader with him, so the whole film was pretty much cut together then: and looking pretty good, I thought. Hellworld was not so far advanced and I didn't see any of that beyond the scenes I was looping, but I was hearing good reports of it. At that point, I understood that the plan was to release Deader for Halloween last year with Hellworld coming out Spring this year [2004]. Then I heard Jan/Feb this year for Deader, which became Spring, which became August which now doesn't seem to be happening.
"Exactly what the hold-up has been, I don't know, but anyone keeping tags on industry gossip/news will be aware that there's a swirl of rumours coming out of Miramax (who own Dimension Films) at the moment... But the upshot is I think nothing will happen before next year. It is really frustrating and irritating, not least for the number of times I have to answer this question. None of us go through the effort of making these films to have them gathering dust on the shelves. We want them out there for you guys to see - and for us to see!...
"Meanwhile, I was talking to a director recently who said, 'So, you're getting ready to do Hellraiser 9, are you?' In response to my dumbstruck ignorance he insisted that he'd heard it was. So who knows?"

Hell Raiser Interview

By Mike Hodge, www.milenko500.com, 25 August 2004

Doug Bradley : "I'm still enjoying doing the movies, still having fun doing them, still finding fresh territory to explore myself. And I always try to make sure those lines of communication are well and truly open with the director. The last thing I would want would be any feeling from the director that I'm the guy who does Pinhead, and I know everything about it and therefore I can't be directed. I always go to the director and say, 'Look, I do know what I'm doing here but any new thoughts or ideas or anything you feel is amiss or something new we could throw in, I'm fully open to suggestions.'
"It also helped with Parts 7 and 8 that they were again directed by Rick Bota, who directed Hellseeker, Part 6. I got on very, very well with him, so it was great to have the chance to go back and work with someone who I knew got [it] and that I'd worked with previously. It's actually the first time in the whole series that I worked with the same director twice, so that was certainly an advantage. If there are going to be any more - and who knows at this stage - I have no barriers to going there again."

The Face Of Evil

By Joseph McCabe, Starburst, Special No 66, [October] 2004

Kari Wuhrer : "I love love love Rick Bota. He is the most fun, hard working, creative, and energetic person I can say I had the pleasure of working with. He made us all laugh, he made me feel creative and strong and important, like what I had to say mattered. For an actress that is a big deal. You make me feel that way and I will take a million risks for you. We took risks and I think it is a better film for it."

Exclusive Interview : Kari Wuhrer

By [ ], Moviehole.com, 30 May 2005

Review : "This movie works on several levels. Yes, there are a few of the cliche genre pitfalls you'd expect from a seventh film in a series, but the combination of Bota's slick direction and Wuhrer's way above and beyond the call of duty acting bring this one a cut above the rest. It's apparent that everyone involved had a passion for what they were doing, and that passion comes across on the screen in a big way. Hellraiser: Deader is much better than it should be, but not perfect. A couple of scenes play on for a bit too long here and there, but honestly, you cannot expect much more from a direct to video film than what we get here, especially one with a shooting schedule of only 25 days."

Hellraiser: Deader - Review

By Uncle Creepy, Dread Central, 9 June 2005 (note - full text online at: www.dreadcentral.com)

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