New Pinhead actor on how to be a Hellraiser

It’s a Hellraiser kind of Halloween.

Sure, every Halloween is a good Halloween to watch a Hellraiser movie, but this year there’s a brand-new one: Night House director David Bruckner’s reboot-ish continuation of the Clive Barker series, starring Jamie Clayton as the iconic Pinhead.

Clayton is the latest actor to step into Pinhead’s self-made leather boots. Polygon was lucky enough to catch up with Clayton and Bruckner over Zoom, where they explained what it actually takes to play a Pinhead and gave us a step-by-step guide to becoming a “hellraiser” yourself.

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

Step 1: Check out the Hellraiser Original

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Clayton watched Clive Barker’s lauded 1987 film the night before her audition for Bruckner’s version, but Cenobite wannabes should feel free to watch it as many times as they want (on Prime Video, Shudder, or for free with ads on Tubi and Pluto TV). It’s one of the best horror movies ever made, as Bruckner will tell you, it’s a 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 original, Clayton said she had “many, many, many” discussions with Bruckner over the minutest of details, 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 spent so much time scheduling with me on Sundays, even late at night. […] to sort of help me get to a place where I could really become the Priest.”

Step 2 – Spend half the day dressing in costume

Image: Spyglass Media Group/Hulu

Find out more HellraiserBruckner was reunited with Russell FX makeup artists who collaborated with him again. Night House Ritual. Clayton said it took him between 4 and 6 hours to apply the Pinhead make-up, depending on how busy he was, and an additional hour to take it off at night.

How did she manage to get through this lengthy wait? Turn on music and get into the zone. Clayton says the Russells were “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. This is how you feel when someone touches your face. [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 onto the set to amaze your crew

Image: Spyglass Media Group/Hulu

So you’ve done your research, spent your time in the makeup chair — now you’ve just got to go out and do your thing. But that’s harder than it sounds when you’re under that much makeup.

“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 concern for Bruckner, who was Clayton’s “eyes and ears” and reassured her throughout shooting.

“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 immediately fell in love with certain parts of the character, and she had her own ideas. The Priest was a source of curiosity for Jamie. She also found sensuality in him. That was really engaging for our story, but it was also kind of hypnotic for me to see.”

Even if Clayton couldn’t tell while she was filming, everyone else took notice. Bruckner said she would get “possessed” when the time came, leading to a palpable energy 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 present. And it is her turn to speak.”

Step 4: Raise hell

After mentally preparing, getting suited up, and shooting, there’s only one thing left — send it out into the world. And Clayton’s excitement 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]It’s been very emotional. I’ve just been really worried and really scared. It was actually something I enjoyed. David also said this to me, after seeing it. ‘I’m so glad you like it.’ We’re all just, you know, on pins and needles.”

Hellraiser You can stream the video on Hulu.