Hellraiser [Blu-ray]

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There’s a gay subtext in Hellraiser, and even an incestuous one, as Larry comes to steal Frank’s body—an act that feels sexual in itself—while leering at Kirsty. Check out our Scarlet Box Trilogy Review for my full thoughts about this transfer and audio presentation.

Hellraiser Blu-ray - Zavvi UK Hellraiser Blu-ray - Zavvi UK

The DTS surround mix is quite good - especially in the last act when everything literally goes to hell - but that 2. While we’re not quite sure how we got there, the exploration of ‘Hell’ is a phantasmagorical ride, inspired by the works of Escher as well as Barker’s own demented psyche. And into this morass of stagnating blood and guts came Barker’s bizarre creation, itself a Frankenstein of unlimited imagination and horribly suffocating production restrictions, a film that at once showcased a first-time film maker and an author (the film is based on one of his novellas, The Hellbound Heart) whose worlds far exceeded anything in horror or dark fantasy before and arguably since. The track never sounds perfectly full and rich, something achieved to a greater degree by Anchor Bay's Dolby TrueHD track.It looks much more film-like, is even and banishes the slightly splotchy rendering it had on the previous 1080p releases…and has the knock-on effect of rendering fine detail with that extra little bit of clarity. Grain is present and resolved beautifully throughout (where the source allows of course), this being only the start of the significant improvements for the detail and colour grade of the films. One suspects that Barker wants the audience to yearn for the Cenobites, a reaction that fosters a kinship between us and the people of the world who have cravings which mainstream society abhors.

Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment 4K Blu-ray Review | AVForums Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment 4K Blu-ray Review | AVForums

Blacks are mostly deep with excellent shadow detail, while brightness and contrast levels are virtually perfect. The avenues for a series or a new movie based on his material actually directed by Barker are wide open. Far more than the sum of its parts, it opened up a landscape of twisted sexual fantasy intertwined with equally perverse physical torture; it parlayed a prosthetic-driven creature feature into the midst of a very suburban melodrama; and it delivered a sense of the dreamily uncanny, of the off-kilter shot through impossible environments (is it set in the UK? The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used except with the prior written permission of The Digital Bits, Inc. The Cenobites—especially Pinhead, a regal demon with pins sticking out of a white, bald dome that’s animated by piercing, hauntingly intelligent eyes—would become pop-cultural icons, and Barker uses them shrewdly and sparingly, contrasting them with the somewhat repetitive conflict between Larry, Frank, and Julia.However upon watching all four and on comparing back to the previous releases in The Scarlet Box, its apparent that these new restorations improve over their previous ones significantly in every way. Lovable everyday demon Pinhead (Doug Bradley) is just trying to do the right thing - be he struggles with the deep dark evil inside himself.