French Director Pascal Laugier Remaking 'Hellraiser'

It seems like a great week to trumpet a major announcement on Hellraiser, doesn't it? So forgive me for not being bowled over when the curtain was pulled back to reveal the remake's director...Pascal Laugier.Who?To be fair, Laugier has never heard of me either, but this news is puzzling at first. You would think a more recognizable name would be attached, at least for the first film in the series. But Laugier is not just some bum off the street. His new film Martyrs was apparently so brutal that it barely got released in his native France, and if the report from The Hollywood Reporter is to be believed, caused several people to faint at midnight screenings at the Toronto Film Festival in September. I haven't said it in a while, but it bears repeating now: No movie genre has a litmus test as powerful as The Horror Movie Faint Test. That tells you all you need to know.Having heard that, you may want to see Martyrs now to see how it measures up, but Dimension has not issued an American release date. We did track down the trailer, though, if you're interested. And here's Laugier's in for Hellraiser: Dimension is also making that film, which means the studio already has faith in his ability to scare the bejesus out of audiences.On writing and directing Hellraiser, Laugier says, "This is a dream project for me. I know Clive Barker's work very well, and I would never betray what he has done. Fans are expecting a definitive Hellraiser, and I don't want to take that away from them." Laugier is the latest in a long line of writers and directors attached to the project. So maybe Bob Weinstein finally has his man and we can move forward. If they can get this done right, Hellraiser has the potential to be one of the best, most haunting horror films and franchises. But based on our history with the original series, that's a big if.