After Frankenstein, Guillermo Del Toro Should Resurrect This Horror Movie Franchise

Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein" proves that there's still life left in Mary Shelley's endlessly adapted monster story. In true del Toro fashion, the film shows sympathy for the Creature (Jacob Elordi) and throws in some romance to complement the scares and darkness. It's a haunting flick that finds beauty in the macabre — and that's why del Toro should be the next filmmaker to summon the Cenobites.

Now, del Toro is a well-known fan of Clive Barker's "Hellraiser" universe. In 2025, he auctioned off his horror memorabilia following the California wildfires, which included some "Hellraiser" artwork that Mike Mignola created for Barker's "Hellraiser" comic series from the 1980s. This suggests del Toro is familiar with the "Hellraiser" lore that extends way beyond the movies. What more, del Toro and Barker share similar artistic sensibilities.

The overall "Hellraiser" movie franchise is more painful than pleasurable at this point thanks to a plethora of underwhelming sequels. Most of them weren't even originally imagined as "Hellraiser" films in the first place and were only greenlit so Dimension Films could retain the rights. David Bruckner's 2022 "Hellraiser" film reboot is a step in the right direction for the long suffering saga, but it doesn't quite reach its full potential, and the lack of movement on a sequel is telling.

Be that as it may, the "Hellraiser" franchise still has such sights to show us, provided that it's handled by a talented storyteller who understands what made it great in the first place. At the same time, said filmmaker shouldn't be afraid to bring some new ideas to the table or delve deeper into ones that were merely touched on before. That's where del Toro comes in.

"Frankenstein" isn't the first Guillermo del Toro project to depict monsters in a sympathetic light. He's always shown affection toward his creatures, and Clive Barker's work resonates with the filmmaker. While speaking to the BFI in 2006, del Toro cited a line from Barker's story "The Skins of the Fathers" about a "feeling deep in her, a place touched only by monsters." The line has a literal meaning in the context of the story, but it speaks to del Toro's own soul, as fictional creatures had a transformative effect on him as a child.

Barker's monsters have sympathetic qualities, and that's especially true for the Cenobites. Most of them are former humans whose misguided curiosity led to them opening the Lament Configuration and being dragged to Hell, where they were mutilated, stripped of their memories, and turned into demons. Pinhead was formerly known as Captain Elliot Spencer (Doug Bradley), a soldier who sought out extreme pleasures to cope with his trauma. Deep Throat (Barbie Wilde), meanwhile, was a sexually repressed nun whose lust ultimately led to her making poor decisions. They were flawed people, but they weren't evil.

The Cenobites are inherently tragic figures, but "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" is the only film that explores this idea with any real focus. After "Frankenstein" reaffirmed his sympathy for devils, del Toro is the perfect filmmaker to bring the demons' nuances to the fore while still portraying them as scary and wicked. Indeed, the fact he's a fan of the "Hellraiser" comics makes him the perfect choice to helm a cinematic "Hellraiser" reboot, as the franchise's wider media goes into even more detail about the Cenobites' back stories. What's more, del Toro also understands that monster movies can be sexy.

"Hellraiser" is sexy. The Cenobites' costumes were inspired by Clive Barker's visits to S&M clubs, and their chains piercing flesh is basically the most extreme form of BDSM. Heck, Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) originally sought out the puzzle box because he's the hedonistic type, which is why his brother's wife, Julia (Clare Higgins), falls in love with him.

"Hellraiser" sees Frank escape Hell as a skinless man and return to the family home to have Julia do his bidding. She seduces men and brings them back so Frank can feast on their flesh and regain his body — the key to any healthy relationship. Now, one can argue that Julia and Frank are the real villains of the movie, and I'd argue that's true regarding the latter. However, there's also a twisted romantic element to their relationship, as Julia is so head over heels for the man that she is willing to go above and beyond to bring him back to life. Her love for him might be toxic, but it's genuine.

Guillermo del Toro made "The Shape of Water," a film where a woman literally falls in love with and boinks a fish man. Granted, their relationship is quite wholesome, but it's certainly unconventional and forbidden in the same way Julia and Frank's is. More so, del Toro is a storyteller who's known for finding romance in unexpected places, and that's why he's a perfect choice to rejuvenate "Hellraiser."

A true "Hellraiser" movie should walk the fine line between the monstrous, romantic, horrific, and erotic — something del Toro has already accomplished with "The Shape of Water" and, to a lesser degree, "Frankenstein." As such, he'd have such sights to show us if he brought Barker's world to life.