The first four Hellraisers make a good set because they were all theatrical. The straight to video ones, even those starring Doug Bradley as Pinhead, probably don’t warrant 4K upgrades. Even as direct to video larks, they don’t really have any fun with the franchise, even the one with Henry Cavill in a hell video game.
Even the first four are quite a journey. Hellraiser is a faithful adaptation of The Hellbound Heart and Hellbound: Hellraiser II a journey into hell. Hellraiser II: Hell on Earth is where Miramax/Dimension took over and tried to make it a slasher franchise, though it has more mythological connections than I remember. As ‘90s an idea as Hellraiser in space is, I defend Bloodline. Following three generations of Marchants makes sense and showing Pinhead in the future doesn’t make it a joke like Jason X, which I love but that franchise is more flexible for comedic entries.
These are grainy ‘80s and ‘90s films but I actually miss that look, and those of us who discovered these on VHS never got the full experience now. The 4K really comes into play in the dark recesses, but not just in Hell. Frank’s candlelight chamber is shrouded in purs shadow, as is his attic rebirth. Even the corners of the staircase are haunting voids.
I also appreciated seeing this detail in the cenboites. The female cenobite in particular has more blue to her pale face than was ever evident before, or even in the pages of Fangoria.
Hellbound adds deep voids in the surgical theaters of the Chenard Institute and throughout the hospital, let alone Hell itself. Skinless Julia in white suit in a white house remains a striking image. Hellraiser III has the big city, even though it’s North Carolina for New York.
Some of Bloodline looks like 2001 with deep black space and a few of the ship corridors. Mostly, the film grain is so thick it does look ‘90s but that is how it looked in theaters. The robot opens the box against a pure void.
The historical flashback has a Barry Lyndon vibe w pseudo candle light and more deep shadows than space as La Marchant builds the box. Modern day has some good shadows too in the laundry basement, and still some classic Hellraiser blue light
A few surround effects kick in when the Hell monsters emerge or the Cenboites shoot their chains from out of nowhere. The storm in Hellbound echoes and causes lightning bolts and broken glass. The Hell ambience has crying babies, clanking chains and screams ove your shoulder. Hellraiser III has cops shooting for all the good it does. And the score fills all the films.
All four films have new commentaries with Kim Newman and unit publicist Stephen Jones. Jones has interesting production stories between the New World and Dimension films, including why Andrew Robinson said no to Hellbound, why Claire Higgins said no to Hellraiser III and how Clive Barker was paid to take his name off III then paid to put it back on and promote it.
On Bloodline they tell the familiar story from Fangoria and other coverage how the film was taken out of Kevin Yagher’s hands. Details like the inexperienced producer asking ILM for an FX estimate show how inexperienced people didn’t know horror companies were more economical.
The biggest extra in the set is the Bloodline work print. This rearrangement of scenes begins appropriately with the creation of the box and makes you wit for space. As a defender of this movie, I really don’t have a problem with intercutting all three timelines. The work print still intercuts past and present, so why not all three?
The space sequence has the most new additions. Paul Marchant (Bruce Ramsay) has long hair he shaves off, and there’s a holographic priest. Otherwise, I’m not in it so deep I can tell all the differences, though it is nice to hear Valentina Vargas’s real voice.
There are plenty of new bonus features on Clive Barker as an author, not just of The Hellbound Heart but all of his works. There’s also a perspective from the actual BDSM scene. Archival extras cover the making of the films from EPK interviews to DVD commentaries. The made for video sequels are are explored in an archival doc that features Scott Derrickson!