Inverse - 🍿 Reviewing 'Hellraiser'

Wednesday

Oct 05 2022

It’s been 35 years since Hellraiser first appeared in theaters and made Pinhead a disturbing-to-look-at household name.

Now, Hellraiser is back with a reboot on Hulu that dives deep into franchise lore while still delivering plenty of the gruesome body horror Pinhead fans have come to expect. This is definitely not a movie for the squeamish, but hopefully after three-and-a-half decades, you know where you stand on the Hellraiser saga.

If you still can’t decide, check out our review and plenty more in today’s issue of Inverse Daily.

What's New

Review

Hulu

Hellraiser (2022) is the best horror reboot since Halloween (2018)

Before the fidget spinner, there was the Lament Configuration. Or, as all but the most diehard horror fans probably know it, the Hellraiser cube.

First introduced to cinemagoers in the 1987 movie, the story behind this interdimensional puzzle started out pretty simple. Some poor soon-to-be victim mindlessly plays with what looks like a bespoke Rubix Cube until it whirs and clicks into a new position and promptly summons monsters from a dimension much more horrifying than ours to do what they do best.

The interdimensional laws that guide the cube have never really been as important as the demons behind it, a group known as Cenobites who take pleasure in inflicting (and experiencing) pain led by a being known as Pinhead. But in the 2022 reboot, streaming this Friday on Hulu, the rules of the Lament Configuration are suddenly very important.

This is the new Hellraiser’s biggest strength — and also its worst weakness. By focusing attention on the rules that bind its universe, the film delivers the sort of lore-heavy details that most fans can’t get enough of right now. But in the process, it also loses some of the chaotic joy that made the original movie so great, though there’s still plenty of gross body horror for anyone who’s just in it for the skin flaying and the leather.

Read our review

AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE

Gear

Amazon is building the anti-metaverse

In the short hour Amazon jam packs with product releases every Fall, it can be hard to see the forest for the trees on why the company might need to sell both a sleep tracking alarm clock and, say, a robot.

But as Amazon figures out how to best offer “ambient intelligence” — products where computers and interfaces driven by screens fade into the background in favor of proactive information and natural, voice-driven interactions — filling every possible niche with its Alexa voice assistant might seem like a valid solution.

This year, Amazon framed its products around reducing distractions and limiting screen time, but its most interesting announcement might be how it’s now subtly positioning itself against the current industry obsession with mixed reality and the metaverse.

Learn more

Ancient Humans

Science

Scientist wins Nobel Prize for work that revealed the first Neanderthal-human relationship

Homo sapiens owe a lot to their ancient human ancestors. It’s not simply because, without them, we wouldn’t be here, but it’s their genes persisting down the generations, influencing our health and well-being today. It’s a scientific effort that hasn’t been without its challenges.

On Monday, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo for his work in decoding the Neanderthal genome, which was unveiled in 2010.

“Through his pioneering research, Svante Pääbo accomplished something seemingly impossible: sequencing the genome of the Neanderthal,” the Nobel Committee said in a statement.

“[His] seminal research gave rise to an entirely new scientific discipline; paleogenomics. By revealing genetic differences that distinguish all living humans from extinct hominins, his discoveries provide the basis for exploring what makes us uniquely human.”

Watch

Science

Stunning visualizations reveal the Moon's violent birth

Though it lacks an atmosphere and can’t sustain life, the Moon still has a lot in common with Earth. The two celestial bodies have an interconnectedorigin story — one that researchers are still trying to unravel.

Rocks on the Moon and Earth are often similar in their mineral compositions, meaning that both bodies were likely part of the same ancient space object. Many researchers hypothesize that the Moon was created when a huge celestial body impacted early Earth, spewing debris that would form a satellite.

This week, newly-published models reveal how the Moon’s birth could have played out. A team of scientists simulated the collision between Earth and a second celestial body, Theia, in stunning detail for a study in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Tesla

Innovation

Why Elon Musk's robot dreams may be a step too far for Tesla

Like many carmakers in recent years, Tesla is expanding into the robotics business — with a unique Musk spin.

On Friday, the company hosted its second Tesla AI Day at its Palo Alto, California headquarters — a recruiting event that aims to attract top talent. As anticipated, Elon Musk showed off Optimus humanoid robot for the first time (which was announced at last year’s inaugural event).

As with some of his other gizmos, Musk offered a highly optimistic timeline: He claimed Optimus would ship in merely five years and cost $20,000. Meanwhile, many Tesla owners are still waiting for the Full-Self Driving tech that they paid for half a dozen years ago.

Business

Gaming

New Cyberpunk and Witcher games prove CDPR's wild ambition remains intact

CD Projekt Red has certainly made a name for itself over the last decade, with games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077. The studio has already made some big moves, but its has some incredibly ambitious plans for the future, as evidenced by a massive update provided yesterday.

On October 4, 2022, CD Projekt held its “Group Strategy Update,” but in a surprise move the studio made all of its future plans entirely public. There’s a lengthy video walking through all of the news, as well as a slide presentation you can view, but essentially the company announced five new Witcher games, a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, and a brand new IP.

It’s rare to see a studio share its development pipeline for the next 10-15 years, but that’s exactly what CD Projekt Red has done. With that, we’ll break down everything that the company announced and talked about in its recent strategy update.

Learn more

Meanwhile...

12 aerial views of Florida show the extent of Hurricane Ian's damage

Space beaches may be more common than once thought, new study reveals

'Wakanda Forever' trailer reveals incredible Ironheart armor

Netflix has the perfect sci-fi thriller to kick off your spooky season

Today in history: Steve Jobs, a pioneer of the personal computer era who cofounded Apple, died October 5, 2011.

Song of the day: "Kammy (like i do)," Fred again..

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Inverse - 🍿 Reviewing 'Hellraiser'

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