It was just a short story, a novella, published in 1986 by Clive Barker and titled “The Hellbound Heart.” Who could have imagined that it would spawn a four-film cycle beginning the following year that still resonates to this day.
It gets better, Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, announced this past week that Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, along with the three sequels — Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth and Hellraiser: Bloodline — will be released as a 4K Ultra HD collection (4K restorations from the original camera negatives) titled Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment on Oct. 22.
So let us get right to it … what is included in this stunning 4K Ultra HD collection from Arrow Video!!
Hellraiser (disc one) features a newly-minted commentary with film historian Stephen Jones and author/film critic Kim Newman. This is paired with two archival commentaries featuring Clive Barker and Barker with actor Ashley Laurence (Kristy) as moderated by screenwriter Peter Atkins.
There are four newly-produced featurettes — “Power of Imagination,” “Unboxing Hellraiser,” “Flesh is a Trap” and “The Pursuit of Possibilities” — plus an unearthed EPK featuring interviews shot during the production of Hellraiser — Barker, Laurence, f/x artist Bob Keen and actors Andrew Robinson (Larry) and Clare Higgins (Julia) are featured.
That’s a load, but not done yet. Additionally, there are three vintage featurettes included with this 4K Ultra HD edition of Hellraiser — “Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellraiser,” “Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellraiser” and “Soundtrack Hell: The Story of the Abandoned Coil Score.”
The second disc featuring the sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, begins with a newly-produced documentary (feature-length, 80 minutes) titled Hell was What They Wanted! and a pair of commentary options — the first with director Tony Randel, who is joined by Laurence and screenwriter Peter Atkins … the second features just Randel and Atkins.
There is a new featurette titled “The Rat-Slice Sound,” vintage video sessions with Barker and members of the cast and crew, behind the scenes footage and three vintage featurettes — “Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellbound,” “Under the Skin: Doug Bradley (aka: Pinhead) on Hellbound” and “Lost is the Labyrinth.”
Up next (disc three) are two viewing options for Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth — theatrical cut and unrated — and two commentary options … Atkins on the theatrical cut and director Anthony Hickox and Bradley on the unrated presentation of the film.
There is a newly located extended EPK featuring Barker and Bradley, f/x dailies and three archival featurettes — “Time with Terri,” “Raising Hell on Earth” and “Under the Skin: Doug Bradly on Hellraiser III.”
And lastly (disc four), we have Hellraiser: Bloodline, which has a new commentary featuring Atkins, who is joined by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman. Plus, There is a “work print” viewing option, a new featurette titled “The Beauty of Suffering,” documentary filmmaker Anthony Masi’s 2015 film titled Hellraiser: Evolutions and the archival featurette titled “Books of Blood and Beyond: The Literary Works of Clive Barker.”
That is one HELL of a 4K Ultra HD collection from Arrow Video on Oct. 22. There is also a Blu-ray collection available from Arrow on the same date.
