"Hellraiser" 2022 Ending Explained: A New Cenobite Is Born

The new Hellraiser movie is now streaming online on Hulu.

Directed by David Bruckner, with a screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, this 2022 Hellraiser movie is intended as a reboot of Clive Barker’s classic 1987 supernatural horror movie. It’s the 11th movie in the Hellraiser franchise, but, luckily, you don’t need to have seen all 10 previous Hellraiser films to understand the plot of the new movie. All of the crucial Hellraiser elements are present in the new one—there is a race of demonic creatures called the Cenobites, which are summoned via a puzzle box that opens a gateway to a Hell-like dimension—but some changes have been made. Don’t worry, it’s all been approved by Barker, who was an executive producer on the film.

Even if you've seen the original, it might not be easy to follow the plot of 2022 Hellraiser. There’s a lot going on, from evil puzzle boxes to chattering demons to bloody human sacrifices

If you had trouble following the story, don’t worry, because Decider is here to help. Continue reading to find the Hellraiser 2022 plot summary, and the Hellraiser-2022 ending.

Warning: Major Hellraiser spoilers ahead. Duh!

WHAT IS THE HELLRAISER 2022 SUMMARY PLOT?

The movie opens with a young man named Joey, who is called into a very creepy room by a very creepy man named Ronald Voight (Goran Višnjić). Voight prompts Joey to solve his puzzle box, a sort of intricate, ornate Rubik’s cube. Joey does, in fact, solve it—and he is promptly stabbed by the box’s hidden knife. Joey is taken to another dimension through a portal that opens. Voight looks up to the heavens and declares, “I am a penitent of the Leviathan. Grant me this audience. Grant me this boon.” OK then!

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Riley McKendry (played by Odessa A’zion) is a recovering addict living with her brother, Matt (Brandon Flynn), and her brother’s boyfriend, Colin (Adam Faison). Riley is seeing a new guy named Trevor (Drew Starkey) and her brother does not approve—he thinks Trevor is bad news, will get Riley into trouble, and cause her to relapse. He’s more or less proven right when Trevor recruits Riley for a job robbing an abandoned warehouse, where he believes there are valuable goods stored in a shipment. They break in, but they only find the puzzle box inside the opening.

Riley arrives home late and drunk, and her brother kicks her out. She finds herself in a playground, taking pills in the middle of the evening, and pulls out the puzzle box. She uncovers the hidden knife in the box, summons Pinhead (Jamie Clayton), and summons the High Priest. He is the leader of the extradimensional demonic entities known as the Cenobites. Pinhead (let’s just call her Pinhead for clarity reasons) tells Riley the blade was meant for her and tells her to come with them. “If not you, bring us another,” Pinhead adds. This demon isn't completely absurd!

In his apartment, Riley’s brother Matt wakes from a bad dream about Pinhead and is compelled to go looking for Riley. He finds Riley and picks up the knife from the box. The puzzle box absorbs Riley's blood and the Cenobites snatch him while Riley is unconscious. Her brother is gone when she wakes up.

As she searches for her brother, more people are stabbed by a box and brutally murdered by the Cenobites. Each death counts toward a new “Configuration” in the puzzle box, meaning a human sacrifice gets the box one step closer to being solved. Riley is eventually stabbed by the box and Pinhead informs her that the Cenobites could claim Riley at any time. “If not you, another,” Pinhead says. “Choose.” Pinhead adds that Riley needs to only feed two more sacrifices to the box in order to get her “gift:” Her brother, resurrected.

Six final configuration gifts are available: Lament, which is aka life; Lore aka knowledge; Lauderant aka love; Liminal aka sensation; Lazarus aka resurrection; and Leviathan aka power.

WHAT IS THE HELLRAISER 2022'S ENDING?

Riley, Trevor, and Colin are being chased by the Cenobites at Voight’s mansion. When one of the Cenobites, Chatterer, is stabbed by the box and subsequently sacrificed, Riley realizes that killing the Cenobites technically counts as a sacrifice towards the box’s next configuration. Riley devises a plan to let the Cenobites in the mansion to offer her last sacrifice to the box.

But wait, there’s a twist! It turns out Riley’s terrible boyfriend Trevor was working for Voight all along. He is a traitor! Voight arrives at the mansion carrying a metal contraption in the chest. This lets the audience know that he is at the mercy the Cenobites and the box. To be freed, he must feed the box. Trevor was hired to do the dirty work.

Voight recalls how he solved the puzzle box with sacrifices six years ago, and chose “Liminal,” aka sensation. But it turned out that the Cenobite’s idea of “sensation” was actually weird body horror torture. Who would have thought? Voight warns Riley that no matter what the Cenobites promise her, it won't be what she wants. Voight stabs Colin and marks him as the next victim. The Cenobites are summoned. Voight demands Pinhead undo his “gift.” Pinhead says the gift can’t be returned, but it can be exchanged. Pinhead gives Voight “Leviathan,” aka power.

The Cenobites arrive to collect Colin. Riley intervenes and asks them to instead take Trevor, the traitor. She stabs Trevor and releases him from his Cenobite prison. Pinhead shows Riley her gift for the final sacrifice—her brother, resurrected—but she rejects the gift. She accepts her brother's death, but knows that the Cenobite reward won't be what they claim. Pinhead tells Riley this means she has chosen “the Lament Configuration,” aka life, and will always live a life of regret.

Riley and Colin leave the mansion alive. Riley isn't sure if she made a right decision not to bring her brother home.

WHAT HAPPENS TO ROLAND VOLIGHT AT THE END of HELLRAISER

In the movie’s final scene, Voight is transformed into a Cenobite in a graphic, skin-peeling sequence. He’s raised up in light by the Cenobite’s god, what looks like wings behind him. This brings back a lore from earlier in the movie that claimed some believed the Cenobites to be angels. They’re not, and they’re not demons; they’re just weird otherworldly beings with a fetish for peeling people’s skin off. Voight is now one of them. With a new Cenobite villain in place—setting up a potential sequel—the movie ends. This means that Voight can be expected to appear in a 12th Hellraiser film.