How to watch Hellraiser (2022): Stream Hulu’s new horror hit from anywhere in the world
The iconic Pinhead returns in this reboot of the Hellraiser franchise from ‘The Night House’ director David Bruckner
Following in the footsteps of Prey, which breathed new life into the ailing Predator franchise back in August, Hellraiser (2022) looks to continue the trend of bold new franchise updates that are actually good – if early reviews are to be believed, at least.
Serving as an adaptation of the novel The Hellbound Heart upon which Hellraiser (1987) was also based, the 2022 reboot is reportedly seeking to shake things up by sticking more closely to this source material than the original film. However, fans needn’t worry about things being too different, as iconic Cenobite villain Pinhead is confirmed to return and looks as sickeningly spooky as ever. Keep reading to find out how to watch Hellraiser (2022) this Hallowe’en season.
Hellraiser (2022) will be released on US streaming platform Hulu on 7 October, giving stateside fans plenty of time to watch the new instalment before All Hallow’s Eve. Things are a little more uncertain for UK horror fans, as there has been no confirmed streaming release date or platform for the film in the UK. However, previous Hulu releases, such as the abovementioned Prey, have ended up on Disney Plus UK a short while after their US release, so keep your eyes peeled and check back for updates. In the meantime, you can catch up on Hellraiser (1987) and Hellraiser II currently streaming on Shudder.
READ NEXT: The best TV streaming sticks available
What is Hellraiser (2022) about?
While we don’t know the full plot details of Hellraiser (2022) we do know that its lead character will be a young woman struggling with addiction issues, who comes across the ancient puzzle box which summons everyone’s favourite interdimensional sadists, the cenobites. Aside from that, the film’s producers have stated that the film will follow the plot of Clive Barker’s 1986 novella, The Hellbound Heart, more closely than the original 1987 adaptation.
In terms of cast and crew, Hellraiser (2022) has some intriguing names attached. The film is helmed by director David Bruckner, whose previous feature length outings The Ritual and The Night House both received praise for their interesting stories, immersive production design and unique visual takes on supernatural creatures. On-camera talent includes Odessa A’zion (Fam, Grand Army), Brandon Flynn (13 Reasons Why, Ratched), Drew Starkey (Love, Simon, Outer Banks), and Jamie Clayton (Sense8, The L Word: Generation Q), pictured above, who is slated to play iconic villain Pinhead.
How to watch Hellraiser (2022) in the US: Sign up to Hulu
US viewers can stream Hellraiser (2022) from 7 October on Hulu. Aside from the new Hellraiser, Hulu hosts plenty of great recently released horror content for you to work your way through this Hallowe’en season, with some of our favourites being Run, Censor, Fresh and Possessor. Outside of the spooky sphere, Hulu also has a wide range of top movies and shows like Parasite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Bear, Conversations with Friends and much more.
There are a range of plans and bundles to choose from when signing up to Hulu, including an ad-supported version which costs $6.99/mth, or $69.99/yr, as well as ad-free plan costing $12.99/mth. If you want to get some real bang for your buck, Hulu can also be bundled with Disney Plus and sports streaming platform ESPN+ for just $13.99/mth with ads, and $19.99/mth ad-free.
How to watch Hellraiser (2022) in the UK: Disney Plus and Shudder
While there is no official release date or platform for Hellraiser in the UK, we can pretty safely assume that it will make its way onto Disney Plus eventually, as Disney is Hulu’s parent company and has used their streaming platform as the UK home for several Hulu Originals in recent times. Disney Plus is available to UK customers for £7.99/mth, while signing up for a year upfront costs £79.90, a 16% saving over paying month to month. Besides blockbusting Marvel movies and new Star Wars TV shows, Disney Plus also hosts a great range of movies and TV such as The Shape of Water, Atlanta, Lost, The Simpsons, Alien, Gone Girl and more.
However, if waiting a few weeks for confirmation of a UK release is too much, and you find yourself needing Cenobite action immediately, then your best bet is to check out the original 1987 Hellraiser, and its sequel Hellraiser II, which are currently available to stream on horror-focused streaming platform Shudder. A more niche service, Shudder is available for a very reasonable £4.99/mth, or £47.88 for an annual subscription (which works out to £3.99/mth). Shudder has trove of twisted hits for horror fans, including The Invitation (2016), Goodnight Mommy, Oldboy, Mad God, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, The Babadook, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead, Hellbender, Insidious, Donnie Darko, House of the Devil, Bone Tomahawk, Host and more.
How to watch Hellraiser (2022) from anywhere in the world: Sign up to a VPN service
If you’re likely to be outside the US during the month of October (for a work trip or holiday, say) you may find that your access to your US streaming services is limited due to geo-blocking restrictions. To get around these pesky restrictions and regain access to your favourite movies and TV shows, your best bet is to employ the services of a quality VPN.
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a privacy software tool that allows you to browse the web without anyone, your ISP, government or hackers and scammers, being able to access or log your data. One of the ways a VPN does this is by encrypting your traffic, with another layer of security involving rerouting your traffic through different servers around the world. It’s this rerouting process, also known as ‘location spoofing,’ which allows you to access geo-blocked content from abroad.
For a more in-depth explanation and a wider range of VPN options and suggestions, check out our What is a VPN? and Best VPN pages respectively. However, to save some time, we’ve outlined our two favourites in brief just below.
Express VPN, as we detail in our full-length ExpressVPN review, is a top tier VPN for security, speed and user-friendliness. The company itself is based in the British Virgin Islands, outside the jurisdiction of the US, EU and UK, and operates an audited no-logs policy, so you can be sure that no one is snooping through your browsing history and data. In our original tests, we found the service provided solid spoofing and swift streaming, as we managed to stream multiple 4K videos from US servers without a hitch. Beyond all that, ExpressVPN has straightforward and easy to use PC and Android clients, 24/7 customer care and, for Expert Reviews readers who sign up using the link below, an introductory offer of three free months.
NordVPN is a longtime favourite here at Expert Reviews, being one of the most popular, reliable and high-performing VPNs available. Like ExpressVPN, NordVPN is based outside of the remit of the Five Eyes’ Alliance, with its headquarters being based in Panama, and operates a securely audited no-logs policy. NordVPN also gives you access to over 5,000 servers spread across 60 countries, with excellent download and streaming speeds to boot. In terms of spoofing, NordVPN allowed us to reliably access a variety of geo-blocked streaming services in testing. NordVPN also offers around the clock customer service, a money back guarantee and solid sign-up discounts for those who sign-up longterm.Check out our full-length NordVPN review for more information.