UPDATE: We have been informed that while Doug Bradley's Pinhead Experience did start the makeup process with Tom Savini's school, they were later taken off the project. Savini has little to do with the project now and serves as a consultant at this point. Tolin FX in Pittsburgh and their artist Kyle Roberts have been solely responsible for the new sculpt and makeup. Tom was introduced to the team at Tolin FX, where everyone is getting along famously. While Tom had been given credit for coordinating this project, it has been ALL Doug.
Original Story: Horror icon Doug Bradley and special effects legend Tom Savini have teamed up to bring Hellraiser legend Pinhead back to "life" for a special event in Arizona. The union was announced early this year, but now pictures of Bradley are starting to get posted on social media and excitement is building because number one, this is completely unexpected and number two, this will likely be the last time to see Bradley in the iconic role as Pinhead. The event takes place at the Mad Monster Party next weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona. The event is advertising The Pinhead Experience as taking you straight to hell to come face to face with Pinhead. No green screens, this is going to be a fully immersive live experience that will be legendary. Bradley's Facebook page announced the news at the end of March. Read the announcement below.
"The cat is out of the bag, so to speak. When fans and show organizers started to ask about the possibility of a Pinhead photo op with Doug a few years back, we dismissed it as an impossibility."
It's interesting to see that Bradley and the team also saw it as an impossibility as the announcement definitely caught fans off guard who thought they would never see Bradley as Pinhead ever again. Because for true horror fans it doesn't matter who plays Pinhead in a reboot or in sequels. Doug Bradley is and will always be Pinhead period. End of sentence.
Bradley's Facebook page goes on to talk about how there wasn't anything Pinhead related around anymore and that the idea by itself sounded kind of lame. But the more that the team got to thinking the more they thought of something entirely new and unique to offer fans.
"Almost nothing relating to Pinhead existed anymore. No makeup. No costume. Not even a life cast. Besides, shaking hands and "posing" for a picture with Pinhead seemed like a silly idea. The more time went on, the more the questions persisted and the more we talked about it. An idea evolved. If Pinhead can't enter the fans' world, how can we bring you into his? We wanted to present an experience and not just a photograph, as close to stepping on set with Doug as Pinhead as we could make it."
This is huge news for horror fans everywhere and the photos do a great job of hyping the event without giving too much away. Mad Monster Party is a horror, sci-fi, and fantasy themed convention that offers all kinds of various experiences, but the Pinhead Experience is expected to be on a whole new level of meet and greets. This year also sees the return of Linda Blair (Exorcist), Eugene Clark (Land of the Dead), Zach Gilligan (Gremlins), Sid Haig (The Devil's Rejects), Butch Patrick (The Munsters), and many, many more. Speaking of experiences, Sid Haig in full makeup and character will be performing weddings on Sunday morning starting at 10am. This is literally horror heaven (or is it hell?)
Bradley has not played Pinhead since 2005's Hellraiser: Hellworld so demand for tickets was expected to be off of the charts. Saturday is completely sold out for the Pinhead experience, but there are a limited amount of tickets available for Friday evening. Check out the behind the scenes pictures of Bradley and crew getting ready below.