Surge Licensing’s Mark Freedman on Hellraiser, Pinhead and respecting horror fans

Mark, it’s always lovely to catch up. Park Avenue Entertainment and Clive Barker recently appointed Surge Licensing as the exclusive global licensing agent for Hellraiser. What about this brand appealed to you?
The horror genre has been tremendously popular recently, especially classic horror brands, which have been on fire. So, with this demand, when I learned that the Hellraiser IP could be available, I thought: ‘That’s one of the top five horror franchises of all time out there…’ And I was positive there’s an audience for Hellraiser licensed merchandise.

Various studios and licensors have worked across the Hellraiser franchise, but from my licensing perspective, there hasn’t been much coordination and brand building effort for the past Hellraiser IP – so when the opportunity became available, I jumped at the chance. It’s very exciting and an honour for Surge to represent such an iconic horror brand, and our goal is to align with licensing partners who are also fans and know the franchise intimately.

“When the opportunity became available, I jumped at the chance!”

And Clive Barker is something of a brand himself, right?
Definitely! He has a tremendous fan base. I think it would be great to have him do some signed editions of collectable cards or maybe author a foreword for some of the books we have in the works for the program. It’s all about respecting the fandom.

I imagine there’s many different strings you could pull at within the franchise when it comes to licensing – the Cenobites, the puzzle box… Where do you see the potential?
It’s a great question. There’s obviously the Cenobites, with Pinhead being the most iconic. They’re so hellish – pun intended! – and I think there’s fun to be had there, especially as fans seem to have their personal favourites.

Most of the previous licensing that’s been done focused on Pinhead, but I think we can do some interesting things by leaning into other fan-favourite characters too, like Chatterer, Butterball and the Female Cenobite. Launching them into consumer products will be a lot of fun. We’ll do that first in apparel, figures and masks. I had a conversation recently about doing apparel centred around Kristy, who appears in the first three films – which are the most important to the franchise.

The puzzle box with the Lament Configuration is also going to be key to our consumer product plans. In fact, Trick or Treat Studios is launching that as a standalone prop. We believe it also lends itself to tabletop board games and collectibles.

The other special aspect of Hellraiser is that we have actors’ likenesses, and we are able to use film clips easily. That’ll help us creatively broaden out the art assets and so we can expand the IP into unique and engaging consumer products in a very authentic way.

Amazing. And how does Hellraiser fit in with the other brands that Surge represents? Or is having an eclectic collection of IP part of the plan?
It complements some of the other brands we represent, in particular Stanley Kubrick, which includes the horror classic, The Shining. Some of our licensees will produce products for both Kubrick and Hellraiser. We represent that brand in North America, working with Caroline Mickler, who is the Kubrick global agent.

Are you a horror fan yourself Mark? And does that matter in terms of how you work?
It’s an interesting question. When I discovered Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a fledging comic book series all those years ago, I was not a comic book fan or expert… But I am an expert in storytelling, character development and what goes into building great franchises. While I may not be a horror expert, I’m a great student and now soaking up the genre like a sponge!

And it’s important to respect the fandom and understand what they are craving from a brand. We don’t want to launch product that’s clearly a label-slap… I mean, a Hellraiser shampoo or bubble bath… I dunno about that!

Ha! It might be a stretch!
In today’s world, you don’t have to worry about initially supplying mass retail a large quantity of licensed product to jump start your licensing campaign because there’s a direct-to-consumer business out there that’s very strong. It allows you to dig into a brand on a molecular level, get real time data and develop licensed product that doesn’t necessarily have to go mass. That’s a big consideration when it comes to licensing, especially when crafting product for fans and collectors.

Great answer. Now, you mentioned earlier that despite being iconic, the Hellraiser franchise has remained relatively untapped licensing-wise. Are there many of these ‘sleeping giant’ brands around?
Brands like Hellraiser don’t come around all too often. They’re like needles in a haystack.

“It’s important to respect the fandom and understand what fans are craving from a brand.”

Or pins…
Touché on that! And I mean, most likely there are a few other iconic brands that haven’t been licensed for various ancillary rights issues, therefore so many things in the universe must line up for it to happen. It’s not easy to acquire licensing rights, so with Hellraiser I consider myself very lucky to have been in the right place at the right time.

Mark, I have one last question! What helps you have ideas for how brands can stretch into other categories? What fuels your creativity?
We’re in the idea business and I’m always thinking about the possibilities and what makes sense for a brand. I’ll often dream about it too! I have a little notepad next to my bed and I’ll get up late at night – something to do with our subconscious – and I’ll jot the ideas down. The next morning I’ll look at the pad and think: ‘Well that’s a great idea’ or ‘That’s a pretty lame idea’… And go from there.

And connected to that, I don’t think you should put limits on your ideas. For example, I think Hellraiser could work in the food and beverage space tremendously well. I can envision a line of Hellraiser hot sauces – it’s a great name and I think that it could work well. The mark of a good IP is when ideas flow naturally and broadly. I’ll list all my ideas down, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Then I’ll narrow it down to what’s possible, what’s exciting and what’s a must do, because I can’t rest until I get it done… They won’t all be executable, but there’s always some gems in there.

Great stuff ­– and that idea for a line of Hellraiser hot sauces is a great idea! And if you’re having ideas in your dreams, I’d imagine for Hellraiser you’ll be having them in your nightmares too!
Well, I haven’t noticed any scratches across my chest in the morning, so I’ve been okay so far!

Ha! That’s a relief! Mark, as ever, this has been fun. Let’s check back in soon!