When the Hellraiser franchise launched in 1987, the initial film didn’t rake in massive box office bucks, and neither 1988’s Hellbound: Hellraiser II nor 1992’s Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth did any better. However, likely spurred by solid home video sales, the series enjoyed a strong enough fanbase to send a fourth effort into theaters via 1996’s Hellraiser: Bloodline.

Because his ancestors freed the wicked Cenobites led by the malevolent Pinhead (Doug Bradley) centuries earlier, Dr. Paul Merchant (Bruce Ramsay) finds himself haunted. In the year 2127, he builds a space where he hopes he can put an end to this curse.

Dr. Merchant believes that if he lures Pinhead and his minions to this location, he can close the gates of hell forever. Inevitably, Pinhead has other ideas.

“Pinhead in Space” sounds like an awfully gimmicky concept for the fourth Hellraiser film. It seems kind of desperate as well – even the Friday the 13th series held off until its tenth entry to embrace such a goofy concept.

As it happens, Bloodline spends surprisingly little time in the future. While the movie’s 1996 trailer implied the space station would exist as the film’s primary location, instead a huge chunk of the tale presents flashbacks.

After a quick introduction to the space station and the characters in 2127, Bloodline revert to the 17th century. There we meet Dr. Merchant’s ancestor Philippe "Toymaker" LeMarchand (also Ramsay) along with others who will persist over the years.

All of this acts as an “origin story” for the Cenobites’ entry into our world – and a long-winded one, as this 17th century segment runs forever. When it concludes, we leap back to the 22nd century and get “Pinhead in Space” like the trailers promised, right?

No. Instead, we meet another ancestor in 1996 via John Merchant (Ramsay again again) to see the continued pursuit of evil. Between the 17th and 20th century segments, it takes Bloodline 62 of its mere 85 minutes to really embrace is “primary location”.

All the flashbacks feel entirely like unnecessary padding. Honestly, roughly five lines of dialogue would sum up the information they provide.

And that’s if we think the movie actually needs what we learn from the flashbacks. I’d argue it doesn’t.

After all, we already saw three prior Hellraiser movies, and those offered more than enough backstory. While Bloodline expands these elements, it fails to do so in a manner that seems compelling or purposeful.

Which takes me back to the notion that the flashbacks exist as padding – and a way to save on the effects budget. Space station elements will require some visuals that cost a few bucks, whereas scenes in the then-present day of 1996 don’t.

As for the 17th century scenes, they forced the filmmakers to spend some money on period costumes and décor. I still suspect those factors cost less than those required for futuristic domains.

Whatever the case, Bloodline spreads its story across the centuries in a wholly uncompelling manner. Even if viewers don’t get impatient for the implied “Pinhead in Space” action, the flashback chapters simply seem plodding and without real purpose.

I will give Bloodline credit for its willingness to try something new with the franchise. The first two sequels largely stayed with the “tried and true”, so I respect that the fourth chapter attempted to broaden horizons in some ways.

I also appreciate that Bloodline retreats from the comedic vibe that cropped up in Hell on Earth. That one pushed the franchise in the campy way the Nightmare on Elm Street movies devolved, a choice that felt wholly inappropriate for the moody and ominous world of Hellraiser.

Nonetheless, Bloodline doesn’t find a satisfactory way to explore its new horizons. A “cursed” production, the movie went through a slew of problems and eventually saw the departure of original director Kevin Yagher, a fact that explains the generic pseudonym “Alan Smithee” in the credits.

If Yagher and all involved didn’t suffer through so many problems, would Bloodline have fared better? Almost certainly, but I find it tough to believe they could’ve produced a genuinely good movie.

Well, Bloodline does allow us to see Adam Scott in a very early film role. Otherwise, it turns into a nearly incoherent mess that feels too much like a generic slasher flick a lot of the time.

Hellraiser: Bloodline appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Though it showed the limitations of its source, the Dolby Vision presentation worked fine.

Overall delineation seemed pretty good, as most of the movie appeared reasonably accurate. Murky settings meant some softness but these remained infrequent.

No issues with jagged edges or shimmering materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. A healthy layer of grain implied no intrusive noise reduction, and I saw no print flaws.

Bloodline mainly stuck with a palette that emphasized ambers and blues. These looked fine given the choices, and HDR offered a bit extra oomph to the colors.

Blacks largely felt deep and dense, while low-light shots seemed adequate, if a bit thick. HDR provided a moderate boost to whites and contrast. Nothing here impressed but the 4K appeared to accurately reproduce the original footage.

I also thought the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack proved more than satisfactory. While the soundfield didn’t dazzle, it opened up matters in a positive manner.

Most of the flashy elements came from supernatural and/or violent scenes, as those managed to use the five speakers in an engaging way. Music offered positive stereo spread and quieter sequences came with an appealing sense of place.

Audio quality held up over the last 28 years, with speech that consistently came across as concise and distinctive. Music appeared vivid and full.

Effects felt accurate and broad, with nice low-end response. Even if the track didn’t dazzle, it still suited the film well enough.

As we move to extras, we find a new audio commentary from screenwriter Peter Atkins and critics Stephen Jones and Kim Newman. All three sit together for a running look at Atkins’ original script and all the changes it underwent as well as genre domains, alternate versions, their view of the flick and the project’s many problems.

A troubled production from which original director Kevin Yagher removed his name, the commentary offers a pretty good look at what went wrong along the way. This means the participants virtually never actually discuss the film as it evolves – which explains the lack of “scene-specific” in the last paragraph – but we get a vivid and informative take on the project.

Discussed in the commentary, a Workprint Version of Bloodline spans one hour, 22 minutes, 11 seconds. A title card at the start notifies us that we will see a presentation with temporary music and effects put together after director Kevin Yagher quit the movie but it does not offer a “director’s cut”.

The text also relates the “Workprint” alters the released version’s narrative progression and gives us some unused footage. It comes from a timecoded VHS tape, so expect problematic picture and audio.

Though it includes some flashbacks as well, “Workprint” follows a more chronological framework than the released version of Bloodline does. It also seems more coherent and effective.

Does this make “Workprint” an actual good movie? No, but it fares considerably better than the final product and implies that Bloodline might’ve been something pretty solid if the filmmakers had been able to do what they wanted without studio interference.

Included under the “Workprint” umbrella, we find “More Alternate Footage”. Also sourced from VHS, this reel lasts five minutes, 51 seconds.

We get four snippets that offer a few more character points and some violence. Nothing that seems important emerges.

Video features follow, and The Beauty of Suffering goes for 27 minutes, 48 seconds. It offers remarks from writer/photographer Dave Edmond, event organizer Ricardo Castro, and author/performer Jo Weldon.

This program looks at how BDSM, fetish and goth culutes intersect with the Hellraiser franchise. A little of this goes a long way and “Beauty” lacks the substance to keep us with it over nearly 28 minutes.

Hellraiser Evolutions lasts 48 minutes, 15 seconds. It involves Atkins, filmmakers Scott Derrickson, Tony Randel, Rick Bota, Tim Day, Neal Marshall Stevens and Stuart Gordon, executive producer David Saunders, composer Christopher Young, special makeup effects creator Gary J. Tunnicliffe, author Del Howison, and actors Doug Bradley.Kari Wuhrer, Sarah Hayward and Khary Payton.

With this documentary, we find a mix of appreciation for the franchise as well as notes about different domains related to the creation of the different films. Some decent notes emerge but the show feels a bit scattered and doesn’t turn into the concise franchise summary it seems to aspire to become.

Next comes The Books of Blood and Beyond. In this 19-minute, 23-second piece, we get info from horror author David Gatward.

As implied by the title, “Books” examines the literary offerings from Hellraiser creator Clive Barker as well as their cinematic adaptations. This turns into a reasonable overview.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we conclude with an Image Gallery that presents a mere 12 stills. None of them seem interesting.

Though more ambitious than the prior two entries in the franchise, Hellraiser: Bloodline offers an experience too muddled to work. The plot flounders and doesn’t go anywhere consistently compelling. The 4K UHD comes with generally positive picture and audio along with a mix of bonus features. Bloodline boasts potential that it fails to achieve.

Note that as of November 2024, this 4K edition of Hellraiser: Bloodline comes only as part of a four-movie set called “Quartet of Torment”. The box also includes 1987’s Hellraiser, 1988’s Hellbound: Hellraiser II and 1992’s Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth.