Hellraiser appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This turned into a surprisingly strong Dolby Vision image.
Sharpness worked fine. Sporadic interiors could seem a bit soft, but the majority of the film appeared accurate and concise.
I saw no issues with jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes remained absent. Grain felt heavy but natural and I discerned no print flaws.
The movie’s palette leaned toward a mix of reds, ambers and blues, all of which looked positive. The hues appeared well-rendered, and HDR added heft to the tones.
Blacks came across as deep and dark, while low-light shots displayed appealing clarity. Whites and contrast got a boost from HDR. Given the nature of the source, this became a solid presentation.
As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it created an active but not especially natural impression. While a lot of information came from the side and rear speakers, the elements didn’t blend as smoothly as I’d like.
This left us with a soundscape that added a lot of material but not one that felt particularly well-integrated. Not that it became a bad sonic setting, but the remix felt a bit overdone.
Audio quality was dated but fine. Music showed fairly nice range, and effects packed a decent punch. Those elements could come across as metallic at times and suffered from too much reverb, but they mostly came across with appropriate reproduction.
Speech seemed intelligible and reasonably natural, without obvious edginess or other issues. Though not a great track, this one was somewhat above average for its age.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray from 2009? Though it swapped DTS-HD MA for Dolby TrueHD, I thought audio seemed virtually identical.
On the other hand, the 4K UHD’s Dolby Vision image seemed considerably better defined and more vivid than the semi-mediocre Blu-ray. This turned into an obvious visual upgrade.
The 4K’s extras mix old and new elements, and we start with a circa 2000 audio commentary from writer/director Clive Barker and actress Ashley Laurence. Moderated by writer Peter Atkins, Barker dominates the discussion as he talks about what he attempted to do with the film and also relates various technical aspects of making it.
Laurence also offers her take on the movie, and Atkins helps move the proceedings along nicely, though Barker and Laurence seem to do well on their own. The three appear to gel with each other, and the commentary has a pleasantly relaxed tone about it. Overall, it's a solid track that should be interesting to fans.
Recorded in 1996 for a laserdisc release, the next commentary comes solely from writer/director Clive Barker. He offers a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, effects, music, sets and locations, effects and connected topics.
For the most part, this becomes a decent chat, though it suffers from one issue: Barker too often tends to simply narrate the movie. While the piece still merits a listen, it sputters a bit more than I’d prefer.
New to this Arrow release, we end with a commentary from critic/unit publicist Stephen Jones and critic Kim Newman. They sit together for a running, screen-specific look at aspects of the shoot, genre domains, story/characters, themes and their view of the film.
The fact Jones worked on the production makes this more enriching than an average “critics commentary”, as he brings first-hand knowledge to the table. He and Newman combine fairly well to make this a pretty engaging and useful track.
Four featurettes follow under “Archival Features”, and Resurrection provides a 24-minute, 27-second featurette with Barker, Laurence, Young, actors Doug Bradley, Simon Bamford, Nicholas Vince, and Oliver Smith, special effects make-up artists Steve Johnson and Bob Keen, Cenobite costume designer Jane Wildgoose, performance artists Puncture, and filmmaker Bill Condon.
As expected, “Resurrection” brings a fairly general view of the production, so it touches on a wide mix of topics. While it lacks depth, it becomes a satisfactory overview.
Under the Skin gives us a 12-minute, 32-second piece with actor Doug Bradley. He tells us about his role and experiences through this enjoyable program.
Next comes Being Frank. Next comes Being Frank. It spans 26 minutes, 22 seconds and features actor Sean Chapman.
We learn what brought him to acting, aspects of his career, his role and his work on Hellraiser. Chapman offers an engaging view of these domains.
Soundtrack Hell goes for 18 minutes, nine seconds. We hear from musician Stephen Thrower.
This one tells us about his band Coil and the unused score they recorded for Hellraiser. We find good insights about the music and why it didn’t make the final release of the movie.
As we shift to new featurettes, Power of Imagination lasts 58 minutes, 14 seconds. It involves film scholars Sorcha Ni Fhlaiinn and Karmel Knipprath.
They chat about Hellraiser as well as other creations by Barker. They give us some good perspectives.
Unboxing Hellraiser takes up 21 minutes, 53 seconds. This one offers remarks from author Alexandra Benedict.
Here we locate notes about the movie’s key prop and related areas. She digs a lot deeper than I think the topics probably warrant, but Benedict nonetheless covers the subjects well.
After this we find The Pursuit of Possibilities. It goes for 40 minutes, 57 seconds and features horror authors Paula D. Ashe and Eric LaRocca.
They look at “queer” aspects of Hellraiser and Barker’s influence as a gay writer/filmmaker. This leans more toward appreciation than interpretation but they deliver a moderately engaging view of Barker’s work from the “queer” perspective.
Flesh Is a Trap spans 18 minutes, 19 seconds. The program involves author/film critic Guy Adams.
He covers his life and how he relates to Barker’s work, especially in terms of bodily functions. This leans self-indulgent and not especially interesting.
Within Behind the Scenes, we open with an “Intro by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman” that goes for 10 minutes, 30 seconds. They tell us about the EPK format as well as some of Jones’ memories from the publicity side of the production.
From there we find “Extended Clive Barker EPK” (4:49), “Extended Andrew Robinson EPK”(4:24), “Extended Clare Higgins EPK” (3:18), “Extended Ashley Laurence EPK” (3:07), “Extended Creatures and Effects EPK” (9:28) and “Original 1987 Electronic Press Kit” (6:00). Special effects makeup designer Bob Keen appears in “Creatures”.
EPK interviews rarely become especially informative, as they exist to promote the film, and that remains the case here. At least we hear from some folks who don’t appear elsewhere on this disc.
In addition to three trailers, we get four TV spots. We also receive an Image Gallery. It shows 51 screens that mix shots from the set, ads and promo elements.
The disc concludes with both First Draft and Final Draft Screenplays. The former spans 116 still frames while the latter uses 97 screens. Both are cool additions.
Hellraiser isn't one of the greatest horror films ever made, but it holds up well after 37 years. The story seems creepier and more insidious than most, and director Clive Barker provides a tale that really sinks into your subconscious after a while. The 4K UHD offers positive picture and generally good audio along with a long array of supplements. This winds up as a solid release for a compelling movie.
Note that as of October 2024, this 4K edition of Hellraiser comes only as part of a four-movie set called “Quartet of Torment”. The box also includes 1988’s Hellbound: Hellraiser II, 1992’s Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth and 1996’s Hellraiser: Bloodline.
To rate this film, visit the prior review of HELLRAISER
