The 2022 Hellraiser reboot prominently foregrounds the lead’s identity (gender and sexuality) over deeper character development, with some roles seemingly cast based on modern diversity checklists. The film’s changes often feel more about ticking boxes than staying true to narrative roots, with the Cenobite leader’s recasting a particularly on-the-nose example.

Traditional aspects of horror—like dark explorations of morality, gender, and the supernatural—are reinterpreted through a new lens, often undercutting classic themes. Masculinity gets notably sidelined, with the protagonist’s arc and side characters reflecting a thoroughly modern sensibility that softens or deflates the genre’s raw edge.

There’s little room for alternative worldviews; every antagonist fits a certain ‘old order’ type that the film is eager to move past. Dialogue and choices make it clear which beliefs are ‘correct,’ and alternate perspectives are generally not explored except as mistakes or corruptions.