in 2015, Arrow released the Scarlet set and I reviewed it. http://www.frontrowreviews.co.uk/dvdblu-ray/hellraiser-the-scarlet-box-blu-ray-review/35959 8 years later, we are back. With the 3 films in 4K and UHD, some new extras and the addition of the fourth film, BLOODLINE. So to enter an ever well worked adage

‘We Have Such Sights To Show You…’

But the question is surely ‘do you?’ The first film, HELLRAISER is an undoubted masterpiece. Clive Barker directs the adaptation of his novel, THE HELL BOUND HEART. It unsettled horror cinema and saw the move away from slasher grunge to something altogether more bleak and beautiful. It saw sleazy brother Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) buying a puzzle box that opens the gateway to hell. Once played with it sets about summoning the Cenobites, creatures from hell. Frank returns to the world after his brothers blood is spilled and in need of help, he reaches out to lover and sister in law Julia (Clare Higgins). The new disc suffers a bit in 4K and UHD. Its a grainy, grungy film that some how loses a bit of joy in its polish refrain. Undoubtably the new commentary is the exciting thing. It sees a lot more of Stephen Jones talking and Kim Newman sheltering behind this but it reveals new details (but avoids mentioning the bus shelter Hellraiser phenomena that plagued South East London in the late 90s…)

FILM 5/5 DISC 4/5

The sequel, green lit before the first was finished, is on the one hand, exciting in its focus and the other, confusing. HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER allows screenwriter Peter Atkins, to shift eyes to Julia Cotton, and her incarcerated step daughter Kirsty (Ashley Laurence). Julia has the ear and flesh of Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham), who is a brain surgeon and sadist. He wants to see hell, she wants to rule it… This looks better in UHD than the 4K. Maybe its the larger budget, maybe also its that creative angle that heightened the mise en scene and all that. What I liked was that I could see things after so many years of squinting. The extra Hell Was What They Wanted!, is brilliantly researched and dripping with excitement at sharing all of this with you. I wouldn’t say it is the thing to spend the money on for the set outside the films but it is really worth spending the 80 minutes on. Though the conversation on the new commentary, about the film flits around, but the older original deals with the confusion of how the film shifts to New York…

FILM 3/5 DISC 3/5

The Third film HELLRAISER III : HELL ON EARTH grows on me with each watch. Thats not like a carbuncle more its like Pinhead, nailing his desire into me. He is set loose on the streets of New York City (with a few friends) after blood splatter on a rotating lump of black stone fusion. This releases him to create chaos and hunt for the journalist that seeks him. The best looking film on the UHD version by some margin, might be a blessing in disguise. It fuses the films colour bleed, but deepens the texture. With the extras, the Alternative Unrated version with SD inserts, is the choice as it is the better version of the film. I said this before and stay with it again.

FILM 3.5/5 DISC 3/5

Finally HELLRAISER : BLOODLINE is a flat line of a good story, studio politics and just stupidness in film making and marketing. A space station, French 18th century toymaker Phillip LeMarchand, and his descendent John Merchant in the 20th-century, all link together. This set up seems strong but delivers poorly on expectations. This is a film I wonder why anyone spent a lot of money investing in. The stories and stuff are interesting but the UHD lacks so much due to the cheapness of the how delivery, that you feel nothing.  The Beauty of Suffering stands out but the UHD is almost pointless.

FILM 2/5 DISC 3/5

Product Features

Brand new 4k restorations of all four films from the original camera negatives by Arrow Films
Ultra High Definition (2160p) presentations of all four films in Dolby Vision (hdr10 compatible)
Original lossless stereo and Dts-hd Ma 5.1 surround audio for all four films
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Ages of Desire, an exclusive 200-page hardback book with new writing from Clive Barker archivists Phil and Sarah Stokes
Limited edition layered packaging featuring brand new Chatterer artwork
Disc 1 Hellraiser

Brand new audio commentary featuring genre historian (and unit publicist of Hellraiser) Stephen Jones with author and film critic Kim Newman
Archival audio commentary with writer/director Clive Barker and actor Ashley Laurence, moderated by Peter Atkins
Archival audio commentary with writer/director Clive Barker
Power of Imagination – brand new 60-minute discussion about Hellraiser and the work of Clive Barker by film scholars Sorcha Ní Fhlainn (editor of Clive Barker: Dark Imaginer) and Karmel Kniprath
Unboxing Hellraiser – brand new visual essay celebrating the Lament Configuration by genre author Alexandra Benedict (The Beauty of Murder)
The Pursuit of Possibilities – brand new 60-minute discussion between acclaimed horror authors Paula D. Ashe (We Are Here To Hurt Each Other) and Eric LaRocca (Everything the Dark Eats) celebrating the queerness of Hellraiser and the importance of Clive Barker as a queer writer
Flesh is a Trap – brand new visual essay exploring body horror and transcendence in the work of Clive Barker by genre author Guy Adams (The World House)
Newly uncovered extended Epk interviews with Clive Barker and stars Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, and effects artist Bob Keen, shot during the making of Hellraiser, with a new introduction by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
Original 1987 Electronic Press Kit
Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellraiser – archival interview with the actor
Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellraiser – archival interview with the iconic actor about his first appearance as ‘Pinhead’
Soundtrack Hell: The Story of the Abandoned Coil Score – archival interview with Coil member Stephen Thrower
Trailers and Tv spots
Image gallery
Draft screenplays

Disc 2 Hellbound: Hellraiser II

Brand new audio commentary featuring Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
Archival audio commentary with director Tony Randel, writer Peter Atkins and actor Ashley Laurence
Audio commentary with director Tony Randel and writer Peter Atkins
Hell Was What They Wanted! – brand new 80-minute appreciation of Hellbound, the Hellraiser mythos and the work of Clive Barker by horror authors George Daniel Lea (Born in Blood) and Kit Power (The Finite)
That Rat-Slice Sound – brand new appreciation of composer Christopher Young’s scores for Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser Ii by Guy Adams
Archival on-set interview with Clive Barker
Archival on-set interview with cast and crew
Behind the scenes footage
Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellbound – archival interview about the actor’s return to the role of Frank Cotton
Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellbound – archival interview with the iconic actor about his second appearance as ‘Pinhead’
Lost in the Labyrinth – archival featurette featuring interviews with Barker, Randel, Keen, Atkins and others
Trailers and Tv spots
Image gallery

Disc 3 Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth

Alternative Unrated version (contains standard definition inserts)
Brand new audio commentary featuring Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
Archival audio commentary with screenwriter Peter Atkins (Theatrical Cut only)
Archival audio commentary with director Anthony Hickox and actor Doug Bradley (Unrated Version only)
Previously unseen extended Epk featuring interviews with Clive Barker and Doug Bradley
Fx dailies
Time with Terri – archival interview with actor Paula Marshall
Raising Hell on Earth – archival interview with director Anthony Hickox
Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellraiser Iii – archival interview with the iconic actor about his third appearance as ‘Pinhead’
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery

Disc 4 Hellraiser: Bloodline

Brand new audio commentary featuring screenwriter Peter Atkins, with Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
The Beauty of Suffering – brand new featurette exploring the Cenobites’ connection to goth, fetish cultures and Bdsm
Newly uncovered workprint version of the film, providing a fascinating insight into how it changed during post production
Hellraiser Evolutions – archival documentary on the evolution of the franchise and its enduring legacy, featuring interviews with Scott Derrickson (director, Hellraiser: Inferno), Rick Bota (director, Hellraiser: Hellseeker, Deader and Hellworld), Stuart Gordon (director, Re-Animator, From Beyond) and others
Books of Blood and Beyond: The Literary Works of Clive Barker – archival appreciation by horror author David Gatwalk of Barker’s written work, from The Books of Blood to The Scarlet Gospels
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Easter egg