Audio commentary with Clive Barker – This archival audio commentary track from 1996 by Barker is a solid listen. Also the bonus information is rich in detail and opens a new view on the works of Clive Barker, especially with the Disc 1. The first two Hellraiser films are, in this Hellraiser fan's humble opinion, the only two unimpeachably excellent entries in Clive Barker's long-running franchise. They all utilise 10-bit video depth, have WCG and both main HDR grades (HDR10 and Dolby Vision) applied and have been encoded using the HEVC/H.

The leather-bound bondage demons, angels to some, demons to others, are the real stars of the movie, despite hardly being in it. Here we carry thousands of new and used Blu-Ray, DVD, VHS, Laserdiscs, Vinyl, Collectables, Enamel Pins, Stickers, Patches and so much more. Whilst out on a story she stumbles across a mysterious death that leads her to a nightclub where the owner has a strange, column-like statue that contains the spirit of Pinhead following his apparent destruction in the second film. Whilst the first film kept its setting unknowable, and the second mixed together the US and UK even more, the third film takes a strong stance on setting, and moves things to New York, where we meet young reporter Joanne ‘Joey’ Summerskill (Terry Farrell), who is haunted by dreams of her father dying in Vietnam. Christopher Young’s now-iconic score really adds to the theatrical feel of the picture and Barker’s direction is fairly excellent for a newcomer to the genre.Adams dives into what inspired Young’s early scores, his love for Bernard Herrmann’s work and Young’s future work in horror cinema. In 1987, Liverpudlian author turned film maker Barker unleashed Hellraiser on a very unsuspecting public, a public weaned at that time on generic slasher films populated with wise-cracking antagonists who did little but satisfy the repressed bloodlust of its mostly teenage audience.

Not because of Yagher’s vision but because of the Weinstein’s and their insistence on interfering with filmmaker’s visions. Arrow Video’s presentation of the first four Hellraiser features is yet another winner from the label. The Clive Barker EPK runs for 5 minutes and hearing him talk about how he hopes for the film to have an impact is really great all of these years later, knowing how huge the franchise would end up being. Audio commentary with director Anthony Hickox and actor Doug Bradley – Only viewable with the Unrated cut of the film, this archival commentary track from 2004 is a fun one. I’m glad it’s included for completionists and the inclusion of the workprint is neat, giving us a closer look at what could have been, but it’s an unfortunate film to end the collection on.All three films are cornerstones of the 1980s horror scene and are all regarded as some of the greatest films in their respective genre, with outstanding practical effects bringing the sick creations to screen in ways that almost felt impossible before. Arrow's new HELLRAISER: QUARTET OF TORMENT collection is jam-packed with extras, and includes a never-before-seen version of Kevin Yagher's film. The Pursuit of Possibilities – brand new 60-minute discussion between acclaimed horror authors Paula D.

The plot has far too many holes and dead ends and raises more questions that it answers, thanks in no small part to the removal of 30 mins of footage from the first cut of the film that caused director Kevin Yagher to walk away from the final film – the relationship between Angelique and Pinhead is now woefully ill-defined and makes little sense, their interesting old school/new school versions of hellish ideologies and their conflict that results now little more than a few scattered lines of dialogue; the lack of focus now on the second box also undermines much of the hunt through time of the Merchant family; and the final act back in the 22 nd century simply didn’t have the budget to realise it as anything other than a very cheap looking stalk n’ slash denouement, with little of a finale to Merchant, Angelique and Pinhead’s centuries spanning storyline. And Arrow have delivered top notch restorations and a wealth of new and interesting supplementals to help ease the pain for those double and even triple dipping on these films. Narrative contrivances abound, but with Julia bursting forth from her bloodbound prison, all begins to be forgiven.

Some of the kills in the film are delightfully graphic, with death by CD being a memorable highlight. Similar to the Resurrection featurette included on the first disc, it’s a watch that’s worth viewing for the die-hard fans and offers a good retrospective on the film.

Hedonist Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) thinks he has reached the limits of earthly pleasure, but a mysterious puzzle box will take him further than he can possibly imagine, opening the doors to a dominion where pain and pleasure are indivisible and summoning the Cenobites, whose experiments in the higher reaches of experience will tear Frank’s soul apart. This was included in Arrow’s previous Scarlet Box release of the Hellraiser films and it’s great to see it back in print as it’s a great look at the franchise as a whole. It’s a great look-back on the film and it’s troubled production and out of the commentaries included on this release, it’s by far the most revealing.For those who are into the horror genre but somehow let Hellraiser slip them by, I can’t recommend the film enough. Experience the sublime agony of this quartet of torment like you never have before in all new 4K restorations from the original camera negatives. However the new features on the first film’s disc take an interesting look into Barker and what his work meant to people and it’s a lovely approach to take rather than regurgitate the same talking heads talking about the same film again.