Pinhead and his fellow Cenobites return in a new limited-edition Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment Pinhead Slipcase Edition on 4K UHD and Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
Any horror fan worth their salt probably already owns at least the first two Hellraiser films on VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray, so is it worth the upgrade?
Each box set contains the first four films in the Clive Barker franchise, with Hellraiser, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, and Hellraiser: Bloodline all represented here.
The 4K version is composed of restorations from the original camera negatives with presentations in Dolby Vision, and each 4K and Blu-ray set are loaded with Arrow’s typical bonus features and content, totaling hours of both new and archival special features.
If you choose to solve the infamous puzzle box (otherwise known as a slipcase), you will find an exclusive 200-page hardback book with new writing from Clive Barker and archivists Phil and Sarah Stokes titled Age of Desire. The book is a perfect example of why hard core fans can’t say no to Arrow when new editions are released, as Age of Desire delves into the series in a unique way that can only be found in this set.
As far as new bonus features (and all of the previously released content is back as well), the first film has an audio commentary track featuring genre historian Stephen Jones with author and film critic Kim Newman, a 60-minute discussion (“Power of Imagination”) about Hellraiser and the work of Clive Barker by film scholars Sorcha Ní Fhlainn and Karmel Kniprath, the “Unboxing Hellraiser” visual essay about the Lament Configuration by author Alexandra Benedict, “The Pursuit of Possibilities” 60-minute discussion between horror authors Paula D. Ashe and Eric LaRocca celebrating the queerness of Hellraiser and the importance of Clive Barker as a queer writer, and the “Flesh is a Trap” visual essay exploring body horror and transcendence in the work of Clive Barker by author Guy Adams.
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) also found their way to the surface for the new box set.
The subsequent films have less bonus footage than the original, but there are still plenty of new devilish delights for fans of the later material. The even more disturbing and visceral Hellbound: Hellraiser II includes a new audio commentary featuring with Jones and Newman, the “Hell Was What They Wanted!” 80-minute love fest about Hellbound, the Hellraiser mythos, and the work of Clive Barker by horror authors George Daniel Lea and Kit Power, and “That Rat-Slice Sound” featurette about composer Christopher Young’s scores for Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II by Guy Adams.
The Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth and Hellraiser: Blood Line films suffer the most from the law of diminishing returns, as Pinhead becomes more akin to wise guy Freddy Krueger than his original incarnation, but both films are still of a higher quality than later entries.
Both Hell on Earth and Blood Line also include new audio commentary tracks by Jones and Newman (with Peter Atkins joining in on Blood Line).
1996’s Blood Line disc also features “The Beauty of Suffering” featurette exploring the Cenobites’ connection to goth and BDSM culture and a surprising newly uncovered workprint version of the film, which demonstrates how much it changed during post production.
The Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment Pinhead Slipcase Edition is a sumptuous offering, and if you are a big Clive Barker or Hellraiser fan, an upgrade may be inevitable.
