{"id":29806,"date":"2024-10-24T15:12:51","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T22:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=29806"},"modified":"2024-10-24T15:12:51","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T22:12:51","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-4k-ultra-hd-review-hellraiser-quartet-of-torment-1987-1996","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=29806","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! 4K Ultra HD Review: HELLRAISER: QUARTET OF TORMENT (1987-1996)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This 4K Ultra HD, 4-disc \u201cLimited Edition\u201d release from\nArrow Video is currently available for purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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English horror\/fantasy writer and artist Clive Barker drew\nattention from horror fans very quickly as a novelist when his work started\nbeing published. As a young reader of Fangoria<\/em> magazine, positive\nreviews of his Books of Blood<\/em> compilations even drew my attention. It\nwasn\u2019t long before film producers started calling. Two of his works were\nadapted for the screen to generally disappointing results. Barker decided that\nhe should take the helm of the next picture based on his stories and the result\nwas Hellraiser<\/em> (1987). Produced by low-budget New World Pictures, the\nfilm was better received and found a big following, thanks in part to a\nvisually striking demon named Pinhead, who would immediately become an iconic\nhorror figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the years passed, the franchise passed around and\nnumerous sequels were produced. After securing the rights to the first four\nfilms in the series, Arrow Video is now presenting the Hellraiser: Quartet\nof Torment<\/em> set, which can be purchased either as a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K\nUltra HD or Blu-ray set. As always, the company has done their best to deliver\nthe best possible versions of the movies, along with stellar extras. If you\nenjoy the series, then you\u2019ll certainly be pleased with this release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hellraiser<\/em> follows a man named Frank Cotton (Sean\nChapman) who enjoys forbidden carnal pleasures. He purchases a strange puzzle\nbox, hoping it will lead him to the ultimate in gratification. Instead, he is\nliterally torn apart by demonic sadomasochists called Cenobites and their\nleader (Doug Bradley) who is informally known to series enthusiasts as\n\u201cPinhead\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When Frank\u2019s brother Larry (Andy Robinson) moves into the\nhome of Frank (who has vanished) with wife Julia (Clare Higgins), she discovers\nand reanimates the deceased sibling. As it turns out, she and Frank once had an\nintimate relationship. He begs her to help him return to his full state so that\nthey can be together again. Julia begins luring men into the home for Frank to\ndevour and help regenerate his body. But her college-age niece Kirsty (Ashley\nLaurence) discovers their brutal plot. Kirsty ends up making a deal with the\nCenobites in order to try and save herself from Frank and Julia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a low-budget film (several sites report the budget\nas being $1 million dollars), but still manages to exceed expectations with the\noriginality of its concept, some excellent performances, memorable make-up\ndesign, and plenty of nasty shocks. It\u2019s a very assured feature debut and one\nthat isn\u2019t easy to forget. The movie still manages to shock and disturb all\nthese years later. The committed cast and villainous turn by Julia from\nwallflower to deadly killer is wonderfully performed and fun to watch. Its\nthemes were certainly more adult than most teen-centric films of the era and,\nof course, the Cenobites were something new and strange to behold. This is one\nof the most striking horror pictures of the decade and it\u2019s easy to see how it\nquickly found a cult following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 4K edition looks very strong and presents a sharper\nimage than ever seen before. The transfers were taken from the original camera\nnegative for all four titles. Of course, this is a low-budget feature and so\nthere is natural film grain present, but this reviewer has never seen it look\nso good. The grisly details of the Cenobites and the graphic bits are very\nstriking and will disturb\/delight fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are familiar with the title, then you\u2019ll know that\nthe movie has been released on DVD and other formats before. It seems like\nmost, if not all, of the extras from those editions are added. There is an\narchival commentary track with writer\/director Clive Barker, and another with\nthe filmmaker and star Ashley Laurence. They\u2019re both informative tracks with\nfirst-hand details about the production. Of course, all of the promo and EPK\nmaterial is included, including newly discovered and extended press kit interviews\nwith participants. A talk about an abandoned score is also featured, as well as\nscreenplay drafts and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And yet, even with all the old material, the new bonuses are\nalso fascinating. There\u2019s a 60-minute discussion on Barker\u2019s writing and movies\nfrom film scholars, another hour-long talk between authors Alexandra Benedict\nand Eric LaRocca about the writer\u2019s work, the queer elements in the film and\nhis general influence expanding boundaries in the genre, as well as a visual\nessay on body horror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, the most enlightening bonus is a new commentary from\nfilm critic Kim Newman and Stephen Jones. The latter worked as unit publicity\non the first three pictures and has great insight into the productions. They\ngive an excellent overview and analysis of the movie, noting that the picture\nworks particularly well because of its unique perspective and that many of the\ncharacters in the stories are adults. Jones talks about how he came onboard,\noffering his publicity services for free. He was accepted because they\notherwise couldn\u2019t afford a publicist on the movie. Jones talks about his\nexperiences on-set and just how friendly everyone was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The pair also note the work of seasoned crew that helped\nmake the film look more lavish and expensive than it was. A lot of it was shot\nin a real house and there were challenges in trying to create interesting shots\non location. There are great stories about New World Pictures as well, who\ninsisted that the setting of the picture not be London. Barker and the team\nwere forced to try and remove any references to the city (it doesn\u2019t work, as\nthere are many elements that give it away). Additionally, the producers\ninsisted on an ending that allowed for another sequel, which Barker added\non. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more interestingly, New World were so impressed with\nthe finished product that they greenlit a follow-up before the movie was even\nreleased. Perhaps that was why it was only one year later that Hellbound:\nHellraiser II<\/em> (1988) was completed and arrived in cinemas. While Barker\noffered input on the follow-up, screenwriter Peter Atkins was brought in to\nwrite the screenplay and the first film\u2019s production supervisor, American Tony\nRandel, flew out to the UK to direct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This story is set immediately after the first, with Kirsty\n(Ashley Laurence) being institutionalized after the events of the first film.\nOf course, no one believes her story about Pinhead (Doug Bradley) and the\nCenobites or the possibility of demons appearing from Hell. One of her\ncaregivers, the sociopathic Dr. Phillip Channard (Kenneth Cranham) is\nfascinated by what he hears and ultimately raises Julia (Clare Higgins) from\nthe dead. He suddenly becomes enraptured by the skinless woman and is soon luring\nvictims into his home for her to feast on and regenerate. Kirsty also receives\na message from someone claiming to be her deceased dad asking her to rescue him\nfrom Hell. Everyone is soon drawn into this terrifying world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While not as powerful as the original, this is an effective\nfollow-up that expands the mythology of the series and delivers the nasty\ngoods. Julia becomes a femme fatale in this picture and seems to be relishing\nher role, while Channard makes an impression, especially after his own\ntransformation into a Cenobite. Unlike other victims, he really enjoys the\ntransformation. We also learn more about Pinhead and his history. There are\nsome murders that are even messier and more disturbing than the original and the\nfilm does manage to present more unique and strikingly horrible imagery in its\nnew setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Like Hellraiser<\/em>, the 4K presentation of Hellbound:\nHellraiser II <\/em>is excellent overall. It\u2019s particularly slimy and bloody, and\nthose scenes are even more sickening than ever now that the image quality has\nbeen improved. I recall the movie being cut to receive an R-rating in North\nAmerica, and this looks like the complete, unrated edition that arrived on VHS\nafter its cinema release. The crew and cinematographer on the picture are the\nsame, meaning that the visuals, which are a little more elaborate this time\nout, look similarly impressive as the previous title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Like the previous title, this disc contains an archival\ndirector commentary with Tony Randel and writer Peter Atkins, archival on-set\ninterviews with Clive Barker, the cast and crew (including Doug Bradley and\nSean Chapman, and the make-up effects team, behind-the-scenes footage and promo\nmaterials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a new 80-minute appreciation of the movie which\ncontains authors George Daniel Lea and Kit Power talking about Barker and this\nsequel. They note how well it holds up and all the interesting new additions\nand ideas contained in the story. They also note that the story is\nunpredictable and takes many unexpected turns, a quality they admire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Additionally, there is another entertaining commentary from\nunit publicist Stephen Jones and Kim Newman. They also are shocked by just how\nnasty this picture is (if my memory serves, it is because there are a few\nminutes of gruesomeness added from the original theatrical release) and share\nmemories of the production. They also note that at this point in the series,\nJulia was the main villain. Of course, everything changed when Hellraiser<\/em>\nwas released, featuring Pinhead on the poster. The attention of the public soon\nbecame focused on the Cenobites and future titles would primarily focus on\nPinhead as the antagonist. There are plenty of fascinating, revealing notes and\nstories that were new to this reviewer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the financial success of the first two movies, New\nWorld Pictures would ultimately go bankrupt and the rights to the Hellraiser\nfranchise would land in different hands. Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth<\/em>\n(1992) came from a different production house. It moved the setting to New York\nCity and, as everyone involved notes, the film became more of an American take\non the series. For the first time, the crew was largely different this time\naround, and so the look and feel of the movie is decidedly different. Still,\nthe second film\u2019s screenwriter Peter Atkins was one individual who did return\nto write the screenplay for this picture.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the events of the second chapter, Pinhead has split\ninto two separate entities, one good and the other the familiar monster.\nSelf-centered, womanizing nightclub owner J. P. Monroe (Kevin Bernhardt)\ndiscovers a \u201cPillar of Souls\u201d statue seen at the climax of the second title and\ndecides to purchase it. The artwork contains the puzzle box, which is soon\nremoved and causes havoc at the club. Pinhead (Doug Bradley) reveals himself to\nMonroe. Eventually, the Cenobite is freed and literally the dancehall apart,\ncreating new Cenobites in the process. Reporter Joanne Summerskill (Terry\nFarrell) and clubgoer Terri (Paula Marshall) try to survive the ordeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is a bit of a step-down from the previous entry, but it\ndoes have a few fun moments as Pinhead and his new Cenobites go on the rampage\nin and outside of the club. A few elements are dated, like a DJ monster who\nfires CDs at victims, and another who uses a video camera to brutal effect, but\nthey do make an impression. The new female Cenobite does make a more lasting\nimpression and there\u2019s an effective scene involving Pinhead entering a church\nand acting in a blasphemous manner. The main villain gets more screen time here\nand does have some great lines (thanks to the screenwriter, who was familiar\nwith the character). It also features an effective ending with plenty of\nstriking and darkly amusing imagery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The film is included in both its theatrical and unrated\neditions. Since the unrated cut was only available on VHS, the extra footage,\npresented in standard formatting (1.33:1), is cut into the cleaner R-rated\nversion (1.85:1). To be honest, there isn\u2019t a lot of bonus footage of note.\nIt\u2019s mostly longer establishing shots, a few extended conversations and some\nextra footage of dead bodies lying in the club. While interesting to see, one\ncan understand why the material was excised and I almost feel like the R-rated\nversion is better.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image-wise, the picture is grainier than the first two. This\nisn\u2019t the fault of the transfer though, rather the source material. The\nlighting isn\u2019t quite as strong and it looks like there was a bit of brightening\nup in the lab with a few shots during production, leaving more grain on the\nprint.  At least there are some clean shots involving Morgan\u2019s bedroom,\nthe neon-tinged club and during the explosive final conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bonus material on this disc is fascinating. Again,\nyou\u2019ll get an archived Peter Atkins commentary, as well as one with director\nAnthony Hickox (Waxwork)<\/em> with Doug Bradley. There are also EPK cast and\ncrew interviews, previously unseen extended press interviews with Clive Barker\nand Doug Bradley as well as a trailer, press photos and more. Once again, the\nhighlight is the new commentary from unit publicist Stephen Jones and Kim\nNewman. There is a lot of background detail about the new US rights owners and\nthe involvement of Dimension Pictures (the Weinstein brothers), who would\neventually take control of the series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Perhaps the funniest story is that Clive Barker was\ninitially paid by producers to have his credit removed from the film and not\nhave input on the picture. After the rough assembly, they changed their minds\nand paid his fee a second time in order to receive comments on how to improve\nthe movie (apparently, the memorable finale moments were one of his\nsuggestions). Barker\u2019s name was also reinserted into the credits. The pair\ndiscuss some of the strangeness occurring behind-the-scenes and the stories are\nvery interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hellraiser: Bloodline<\/em> (1996) was the last movie in\nthe series to get a theatrical release and was made and distributed through\nDimension. It was something of a disaster and is largely regarded as a weak\nentry in the franchise. In fact, the pseudonym Alan Smithee is used as director\ncredit. The story jumps around through three timelines and involves the origins\nof the puzzle box, made by a toymaker in France. After characters use it to\nopen a gateway to Hell, we see a descendant living in the modern age dealing\nwith the Cenobites, and a final battle between another family member set on a\nspace station. While it was all intended as a linear anthology, but after poor\ntest screenings, the Weinsteins took control of the film and recut it. The\nmovie actually now starts in space and jumps back and forth between the\nsegments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s a mess, but an intriguing one. Adam Scott has a small\nrole in the period segment as a Frenchman, which is amusing to see. Once again,\nPinhead has some great lines and there are a few wince-inducing moments\ninvolving impalements and other horrors. But the segments don\u2019t feel unified.\nThe cross-cutting sometimes kills momentum within the individual stories and\nthe picture simply looks cheaply thrown together. Apparently, due to firings\nand reshoots, there was a revolving door of crew and there are issues with the\nphotography. From my eyes, this includes shots that are too dark, as well as\nimages of Pinhead in which his face is lit but you can\u2019t really see his eyes.\nThe entire film is quite grainy as well. This has the worst picture quality in\nthe set. It is not because of the transfer, but because of the photography\nitself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As with other titles, there are preexisting bonuses\nincluded, like a commentary with various figures about the importance of the Hellraiser<\/em>\nfranchise. There is an archival analysis of Barker\u2019s written work and tons of\npublicity material. The new material includes the Cenobites and their\nconnection to goth, fetish cultures and BDSM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one of the most impressive new additions is the new\naudio commentary with Kim Newman, Stephen Jones and screenwriter Pete Atkins.\nAtkns hates what occurred during production and tells many of the details about\nwhat went wrong. He and Barker discussed creating an anthology that could wrap\nthe series up. After completing the script and sending it to Miramax, they\ncomplained about the costs involved. These were issues behind-the-scenes with\nmoney and the budget was slashed (he says almost in half) days before\nproduction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Atkins notes that he was befriended by the Weinsteins initially, but when the first test screenings showed that the crowds wanted Pinhead to appear earlier, he became nasty and angry at them. The original director, make-up effects man Kevin Yagher was also treated poorly by the Weinsteins and eventually exited the project. Despite cutting the budget before production, the Weinsteins then spent money on reshoots with director Joe Chappelle (it’s always funny how some movie executives want to cut costs, but ultimately end up not only having the cash, but spending more towards the end of production).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Weinsteins then re-edited the movie from a linear format\nand crosscut between segments, starting with an action scene on a spaceship.\nIt\u2019s all stunning to listen to. Jones states that he thinks the film holds up\nbetter than remembered, but clearly Atkins and others involved aren\u2019t as\ncertain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazingly, Jones himself was given a VHS tape with an early\nre-edit after Yagher left the project. That has also been included as an extra.\nNaturally it doesn\u2019t look great, but one can see plenty of difference between\nthis and the final cut and it\u2019s a really interesting feature. Personally, I\nthink a linear narrative was the right way to go. Throwing spaceships and the\npuzzle box around in the first few minutes is a stretch and, for those\nexpecting horror, feels silly from the get-go. If the movie had progressed in a\nnormal timeline, it would have been an easier transition into science-fiction,\nbut the jumping around is jarring and also leaves viewers disconnected from the\ncharacters and story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From this point forward, all of the Hellraiser<\/em>\nsequels from Miramax became direct-to-video features (the recent 2022 Hulu\nreboot came from the new franchise owners). For those curious about the series,\nthe 4K Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment<\/em> set delivers the best presentation\nof the first four titles. And, of course, those with a Blu-ray player will find\nthat that version also provides much improved picture quality). The first two\nmovies in particular look really strong, and it’s interesting to see the\nvarious filmmakers try to adapt and continue the series. This disc contains\nwonderful bonuses and new, informative extras that explain what was going on\nbehind the scenes and what ultimately occurred behind-the-scenes. It\u2019s a great\nset that is highly recommended. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This 4K Ultra HD, 4-disc \u201cLimited Edition\u201d release from Arrow Video is currently available for purchase. English horror\/fantasy writer and artist Clive Barker drew attention from horror fans very quickly as a novelist when his work started being published. As a young reader of Fangoria magazine, positive reviews of his Books of Blood compilations even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":29811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29806\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}