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Hellraiser began life as a series of Clive Barker novellas entitled The Hellbound Heart, but I was first aware of it with the first movie in this series, and it’s a fab new boxset which is out now in advance of the Christmas sales rush. However, with only 2000 units for sale, if you want one now then you’ll have to fork out a few extra quid for it on the likes of Ebay or Amazon.
Hence, beg, borrow or steal to get one… well, don’t steal, obviously, unless you can cover your tracks by distracting its owner with hooks flailing out towards them on chains!
If you didn’t get one, however, and your Pinhead rapacity knows no satiety, then fear not because later on I’ll divulge how you can still mostly achieve your goal.
About this first film, in the meantime, I could go into detail about the ins and outs of the plot, but the chances are that if you’re reading this then you know what Hellraiser is about. a headstrong young man called Frank (Sean Chapman) goes to buy the mysterious box, which features through the series, from an elderly Chinese man who concludes their transaction: “Take it. It’s yours… always was”. And then it leads to his whole life falling apart… literally.
And then ol’ Uncle Frank comes back as the actor Oliver Smith, a gaunt man who, with the body internals make-up applied, looks proportional as a result. To make him whole again, Julia (Clare Higgins) brings men back to her house, while Larry is out, so that Frank, her bit-on-the-side, can feast on them. We’ve all had needy ex-partners in our time, but this one really takes the biscuit.
Things I love about Hellraiser:
- I love the construction of the box. It’s amazing how such things could be put together before the age of CGI came along and ruined things – just look at the recent Poltergeist remake for an example of extreme lazyness.
- Andrew Robinson plays Julia’s hubby, Larry – yes, it’s the baddie from Dirty Harry!
- At around 12 minutes in, check the older of the two delivery men. As the angle of the shot changes, suddenly he’s got a cigarette in his mouth!
- Why is the hallway taken up by so many stairs? They criss-cross over in exactly the same way that a normal house’s wouldn’t. There really is no need for that many stairs. Martin Roberts from Homes Under The Hammer would have a fit!
- Of course, the most horrific sight isn’t Pinhead (Doug Bradley), or Uncle Frank, or even the weird hobo in the pet store who eats locusts, but it’s actually Kirsty’s (Ashley Laurence) boyfriend’s bouffant hairdo!
- And if you ever find yourself in a situation when you’re playing with your funky box and Pinhead says “No, don’t do that!!” …. DO IT!!!
- In addition, recently, we’ve also had World Psoriasis Day, and just recently, my hands were like Uncle Frank at the end of Hellraiser! – and just as painful 🙁
- And having recently reviewed LEGO Dimensions, which features many different characters from TV and movies, is there any chance of a later wave featuring more adult characters like, say, Pinhead from the Hellraiser series? I believe he has such sights to show us…
The extensive extras on the Hellraiser disc are as follows:
- Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser (89:17): New interviews aplenty with cast and crew from all three films, including a now-bald Doug Bradley, albeit Clive Barker’s input comes from archive footage. I love how the descriptions come “Hellraiser is a domestic drama” and it’s a “love story”. However, I smile through gritted teeth that Richard Branson started the ball rolling by trying to get the first film financed, although he pulled out because it wasn’t family-friendly.
With 6 chapters to this segment, yes, this really does last 90 minutes, which is almost as long as each film!
- Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellraiser (26:24): This is a fascinating interview as Chapman takes us through Frank’s character and the development, as well as other films he’s been in such as Scum and, one of my favourites, Made In Britain, with Tim Roth.
- Soundtrack Hell (18:11): Stephen Thrower, from the band Coil, talks about the abandoned score. This is also something hinted at by Chapman in the previous segment. And from Thrower working in the Forbidden Planet comic book store, to Clive Barker simply walking in one day, it’s amazing how life can throw opportunities your way. And it’s also amazing the body modification discussion that ensues which Baker was also into. However, the one about splitting the penis in two… erm… how do you go to the toilet after that??
- Hellraiser: Resurrection (24:26): A featurette from wa back when with interviews including Clive Barker, Doug Bradley, Ashley Laurence, Bob Keen (special effects) and many more. This was filmed in 2000.
- Under The Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellraiser (12:31): Would you believe Doug Bradley did 10 years of theatre prior to Hellraiser? Well, yes, I know it’ll be true, but I can only think of Pinhead treading the boards 🙂
The interview was filmed in 2004, and I love the idea that somewhere there is footage of the Cenobites living in cages until they’re required to come out when the box is solved.
- Original EPK (5:58): aka Electronic Press Kit, this is a brief featurette shot in 4:3. It’s the kind of thing you’d see dished up as filler to TV stations, not that it’s likely to air around 7pm of an evening 🙂
- Trailers: Three here: the surprisingly non-violent Theatrical Trailer (1:37), Red Band Theatrical Trailer (1:36) and the International Trailer (3:27), the latter of which is notable for containing the original voice of Oliver Smith, aka the ‘skinless’ Frank.
- TV Spots Four short and slightly different ads running 34, 32, 32 and 33 seconds respectively. I love this sort of thing as they’re the kind of ads which will never surface anywhere else.
- Image Gallery: 51 fantastic images.
- Audio commentaries: Two on this disc. One with Clive Barker on his own, and one with Barker joined by Ashley Laurence.
Hellraiser
Director: Clive Barker
Producer: Christopher Figg
Screenplay: Clive Barker (based on “The Hellbound Heart”)
Music: Christopher Young
Cast:
Larry: Andrew Robinson
Julia: Clare Higgins
Kirsty Cotton: Ashley Laurence
Frank: Sean Chapman
Frank the Monster: Oliver Smith
Pinhead, the Lead Cenobite: Doug Bradley
Steve: Robert Hines
1st Victim: Anthony Allen
2nd Victim: Leon Davis
3rd Victim: Michael Cassidy
Derelict: Frank Baker
Bill: Kenneth Nelson
Evelyn: Gay Baynes
Dinner Guest: Niall Buggy
Moving Man 1: Dave Atkins
Moving Man 2: Oliver Parker
Complaining Customer: Pamela Sholto
Chattering Cenobite: Nicholas Vince
‘Butterball’ Cenobite: Simon Bamford
Female Cenobite: Grace Kirby
Nurse: Sharon Bower
Doctor: Raul Newney
Go to page 2 for a look at the sequel and its extras…
In Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Julia is back? Say whaaaaaaaaa! Well, it’s all to do with the mattress.
This was the only one of the three I went to see at the cinema, and by God (or Evil, given the movie) it was good.
We get the origin of Pinhead, plus classically-trained actor Kenneth Cranham as the.. not necessarily evil, but more… rather misguided Doctor Channard; and there’s a girl called Tiffany (Imogen Boorman) who never speaks and spends all day solving puzzles. No-one visits her, so when it comes to Tiffany, I think she’s alone now… (obscure ’80s reference alert!)
And, yes, Julia’s back. Doing so in a similar ‘vein’ to the way Frank did it. However, the first way she attempts a comeback, we see a man inadvertently sacrifice himself – a mental patient (played by Oliver Smith) solving his apparent body infestation by slashing himself up with a cut-throat razor – really is grim as fuck. And it’s utterly amazing!
And as for Julia, With no skin on her bones, like a typical woman she moans about being cold. And somehow blood doesn’t pour out through a single layer of bandages!
Hellraiser II has stop-motion animation like Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer, a problem for Kirsty in that can’t send Pinhead & co. back to hell because hell’s come to her! And ol’ Julia really has very poor choice in boyfriends!
There’s also a wealth of one-liners in this movie, even from Cranham, such as “The Doctor is here and he prescribes… amputation!”
This sequel really takes gore and grimness to a new level, and it’s a stunning vision.
Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II are very much like Alien and Aliens, in that I love them both but for different reasons. Alien is more drama and Aliens is more action, and it’s rather like that with these two films since the scene is already set once the first film concludes, so with some key cast members returning, they just pick up the ball and run with it once it begins.
The extensive extras on the Hellbound: Hellraiser II disc are as follows:
- Leviathan: The Story of Hellbound: Hellraiser II (120:46): Another hugely in-depth piece, this time about the sequel and running a mammoth two hours! It’s interesting to note that after Barry Norman slammed the first film on Film ’87, the makers invited him onto the set to be pictured with Pinhead and Clive Barker.
- Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellbound (11:35): It’s sequel time again. He’s very candid about the fact that he didn’t enjoy making this one as much, not least for the fact that there’s a lot less for his character to do and that they didn’t expand on his character.
- Lost in the Labyrinth (17:03): Shot in 2000, this segment features chat from all the cast and crew members, in turn, such as Doug Bradley, Ashley Laurence, Clive Barker, Tony Randel, writer Peter Atkins and many more. Sadly, there’s no Imogen Boorman (Tiffany), but she does feature in the main ‘making of’ on this disc, above.
- Under The Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellbound (10:53): He’s back, and this time he’s bringing his Dad… oh, that’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Seriously, it’s interesting to learn about why the surgeon scene was never shown, yet somehow featured on the cover of the Unrated DVD in the US. As for why, you’ll have to watch this disc.
- On-set interviews: Two brief pieces for completeness – one with Clive Barker (3:18) and one with ‘Cast & Crew’ (4:45), which features Tony Randel, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Imogen Boorman, Kenneth Cranham and… Clive Barker popping up again. These were basically short pieces put together for TV stations to use as filler, at the time of the film’s release and are in 4:3.
- Surgeon Scene (4:49): Can it really be that missing scene Doug Bradley frequently gets asked about? Either way, the sound quality is a little difficult to make out the dialogue.
- Behind the scenes footage (1:51): A brief piece in 4:3 that shows some on-set footage.
- Trailers: Two here, both in 4:3: Theatrical Trailer (1:52) and Red Band Theatrical Trailer (1:33).
- TV Spots Just two this time, running 33 seconds apiece.
- Galleries: Three this time – Storyboards (over 100 images), Alternate Ending Storyboards (10 images) and Stills & Promo Material (over 150).
- Audio commentaries: Two on this disc. One with Tony Randel and Peter Atkins, and a second with both of them again but they’re joined by Ashley Laurence.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II
Director: Tony Randel
Producer: Christopher Figg
Screenplay: Peter Atkins (based on the story by Clive Barker)
Music: Christopher Young
Cast:
Julia Cotton: Clare Higgins
Kirsty Cotton: Ashley Laurence
Dr Philip Channard/Channard Cenobite: Kenneth Cranham
Tiffany: Imogen Boorman
Uncle Frank Cotton: Sean Chapman
Kyle MacRae: William Hope
Pinhead/Captain Elliot Spencer: Doug Bradley
Female Cenobite: Barbie Wilde
Butterball Cenobite: Simon Bamford
Chatterer Cenobite/Chatter II Cenobite: Nicholas Vince
Mr Browning/Skinless Frank: Oliver Smith
Homicide Detective Ronson: Angus McInnes
Skinless Julia: Deborah Joel
Officer Cortez: James Tillitt
Officer Kucich: Bradley Lavelle
Wheelchair Patient: Edwin Craig
Workman 1: Ron Travis
Workman 2: Oliver Parker
Tiffany’s Mother: Catherine Chevalier
Larry Cotton: Andrew Robinson (archive footage)
Steve: Robert Hines (archive footage)
3rd Victim: Michael Cassidy (archive footage)
1st Victim: Anthony Allen (archive footage)
Female Cenobite: Grace Kirby (archive footage)
The Chatterer – human form: Kevin Cole (uncredited)
Go to page 3 for a look at the threequel and its extras…
Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth was the only one of the three movies in this boxset I hadn’t seen before. Well, that’s not counting the six further sequels that I still need to check out.
Star Trek: Deep Space 9‘s Dax (Terry Farrell) is intrepid reporter Joanne ‘Joey’ Summerskill, getting sidelined in crappy no-news stories, forever waiting for her big break, when into the hospital walks – or is rather wheeled – a young man with hooks stuck out of him, just like we’ve come to know and love. It follows a scene where the wealthy JP Monroe (Kevin Bernhardt) bought the spinning Cenobite post, known as the Pillar of Souls, and we know this is clearly the end game of such an encounter, and it ties in with The Boiler Room, the nightclub owned by JP where all the cool kids hang out, which also has the least cost-effective and least-health-and-safety-conscious indoor sign, since it pumps gas and flame through it constantly like it’s trying to burn off the entire North Sea oil reserves!
On the plus side, Pinhead shows up early, rather than turning up halfway through as in the first two films. He offers Terri (Paula Marshall) a life of unknown pleasures… He has such sights to show her, you see. And you know she’ll go with him because it’s a choice between either the banality of life, or the word of a man with pins sticking out of his head.
Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth is lesser in scale but the story is still a strong one. And there’s also a brief shot of director Anthony Hickox as Doc flicks through the TV channels.
This release also includes the Unrated Version as an option, which puts back in a few scenes, totalling an extra 3-4 minutes, which were taken from the sole surviving source – the NTSC laserdisc which was a pan-and-scan version, cropped from 1.85:1 to 4:3. Not ideal, obviously, but still great to see the scenes included. There’s nothing violent in these scenes, but they ‘flesh’ things out nicely (ho, ho, ho!)
The extensive extras on the Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth disc are as follows:
- Hell on Earth: The Story of Hellraiser III (32:01): A shorter making-of for a film that’s not quite as good. What’s weird, here, is that even though it’s been put together from interviews filmed for the main ‘Leviathan’ features in the extras on the first two discs, this is the only one which is NOT in HD. Why is this?
It’s interesting that some cast and crew don’t have a lot of nice things to say about No.3, and special make-up effects artist Bob Keen really has disdain for the continuation of the series beyond this one.
- Time with Terri – with Paula Marshall (14:55): Paula, still looking hot after all this time, tells how this was her first film, how much she enjoyed working with Terry Farrell and looking up to her, just as her character did, plus a surprise kudos from John Cusack. Thankfully, this interview IS in HD.
- Raising Hell on Earth: An interview with Anthony Hickox (13:59): The director talks about why he wanted to ‘conclude the trilogy’, plus accidental location scouting, and the problems with editing on video instead of film. This interview was shot in 2004, so it’s not in HD.
- Under The Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellraiser III (13:46): At the time of shooting this interview, in 2004, the man had made eight Pinhead films, with both 7 and 8 due to come out in 2005, but there was also Hellraiser: Revelations to come in 2011.
- Original EPK (5:12): In similar style to that on disc one. It says it’s the most terrifying Hellraiser yet. Of course it isn’t – it’s more like Carry On Hellraiser.
- FX Dailies (23:49): Work-in-progress SFX shots. Again, it’s amazing to see how they’re done without resorting to CGI as would be done nowadays.
- Theatrical Trailer (1:52): The aspect ratio was a little all over the place in this trailer, but it’s still worth a watch.
- Galleries: Firstly, there’s Hellraiser III Comic Adaptation which is around 50 pages and make sure you get up close to your TV for the dialogue within, but to get the entire comic book as an extra here is absolutely fucking awesome! After that, there’s Stills & Promo Material which is 25 images.
- Audio commentaries: Two on this disc. One with Peter Atkins (Theatrical version) and one with Anthony Hickox and Doug Bradley (Unrated version).
Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth
Director: Anthony Hickox
Producers: Christopher Figg and Lawrence Mortorff
Screenplay: Peter Atkins (ased on the story by Peter Atkins and Tony Randel)
Music: Randy Miller
Cast:
Joanne ‘Joey’ Summerskill: Terry Farrell
Pinhead/Captain Elliot Spencer: Doug Bradley
Terri/Skinless Sandy/Dreamer Cenobite: Paula Marshall
JP Monroe/Pistonhead Cenobite: Kevin Bernhardt
Bum: Lawrence Mortorff
Daniel ‘Doc’ Fisher/Camerahead Cenobite: Ken Carpenter
Blond Nurse: Sharon Hill: Sharon Ceccatti
Paramedic 1: Rob Treveiler
Paramedic 2: Christopher Frederick
Derelict: Lawrence Kuppin
Brittany Virtue: Sharon Percival
Brad: Philip Hyland
Bill the Bouncer: David Young
CD the DJ: Brent Bolthouse
Rick the Barman/Barbie Cenobite: Peter Atkins
Soldier 1: Paul Vincent Coleman
Joey’s Father: Peter Boynton
Soldier 2: Anthony Hickox
Bob: George Lee
Sandy: Aimée Leigh
Douglas the Bouncer: Ron Norris
Kirsty Cotton: Ashley Laurence
Young Guy: Steve Painter
Female Cop: Shanna Teare
Male Cop: Bobby Bragg
Second Male Cop: Bob Stephens
The Priest: Clayton Hill
Yuppie 1: Young Bobby Knoop
Yuppie 2: James DR Hickox
Go-Go Dancers: Tonya Saunders, Angela Thomas, Kim Ball, Cassandra Perry, Anna Marie Isaacs, Flame
Armored Saints: John Bush, Joey Vera, Phil Sandoval, Jeff Duncan, Gonzo
Boiler Room Patron Getting Stabbed with Pool Stick: Zach Galligan (uncredited)
Date: Rosemary Gore (uncredited)
Chatterer Cenobite: Robert Hammond (uncredited)
Go to page 4 for a look at the picture quality and the fourth disc’s extras, plus the book.
All three films are in 1.85:1 widescreen and in 1080p high-definition. The first film has a regular, very hazy picture, which is unfortunate. Sometimes there’s only so much you can do with the original elements yet that film is only 28 years old. Compare that to the stunning print on the recent Blu-ray release of The Fireman’s Ball, filmed in 1967, so 20 years earlier than Hellraiser.
The second film is better in parts, while No.3 has zero issues (if you discount the unrated version segments). Then again, the cleaner the print gets, the less menacing Pinhead seems! By the third film, he seems an almost comical character at times. Any time the print may look a bit soft, that is down to the original filming process.
The first two films are in DTS 5.1 and include a number of neat split-surround effects including the jangling of chains all around the room. No.3, however, is Dolby Surround only.
And if three discs full isn’t enough for you, then there’s also a fourth with some extras exclusive to this boxset:
- Clive Barker Short Films: Salomé & The Forbidden: Both come with or without an introduction, depending on…. what’s your pleasure, Sir?
Salomé runs 27:44 including a 9:20 intro, it was made in 1973 and features Doug Bradley as King Herod. I can’t pretend to know what’s going on, but as Barker says in the intro, when he was making them he just thought “I’ve got an 8mm camera. I can do this!”
The Forbidden was made in 1978 and runs 50:03 including a 7:08 introduction and a 2:35 outro, and also features much the same cast.
- Books of Blood & Beyond (19:25): Barker’s ‘Books of Blood’ series were written prior to the Hellraiser movies, and this is a look at them and other of his literary works, courtesy of horror author David Gatward, which is presented in HD.
- Hellraiser: Evolutions (48:17): A brand new documentary, again presented in HD, looking at the series of films.
- The Hellraiser Chronicles: A Question of Faith (31:40): A short film from director RN Millward, made in 2005, conceived as a showcase piece to promote a possible Hellraiser TV series. Clearly ahead of its time because, these days, long-form TV series are all the rage, particularly with the expansion into this format made possible with the likes of Amazon Prime and Netflix instrumentally taking the lead on House of Cards and the continuation of Ripper Street.
Presented in 4:3, this segment also includes an audio commentary.
- Damnation Games: Finally, there’s a 200-page book to accompany this boxset, put together by Phil and Sarah Stokes. It contains pictures, plus new writings on all three films as well as the press kits.
As I alighted to earlier, this boxset sold out quickly on its release, but if you still want to enjoy almost all of the sights Pinhead has to show you, then Arrow are releasing the first three discs in a slightly less-austentatious box in early 2016. Amazon currently have this listed as January 25th, but it might slip into February. More info can be found about that here.
Subtitles are in English for all three films, and as you put the disc in, the main menu features clips from the films set to the scores. There are 12 chapters to each of the main films, with some additional ones for the chapters.
Hellraiser: The Scarlet Box Limited Edition Trilogy is out now on Blu-ray Limited Edition and check out the full-size cover by clicking on the packshot.
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HELLRAISER HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II HELLRAISER III: HELL ON EARTH H1 PICTURE QUALITY H2 PICTURE QUALITY H3 PICTURE QUALITY H1 SOUND QUALITY H2 SOUND QUALITY H3 SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
10 10 8 7 8 10 10 10 8 INCALCULABLE! |
| OVERALL | BUY IT!!! |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 94 / 100 / 100 minutes
Year: 1987 / 1988 / 1992
Distributor: Arrow Films
Released: October 26th 2015
Chapters: 12 / 12 / 12
Cat.no: FCD1171
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, DTS 5.1, Dolby Surround
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 1.85:1
Disc Format: 4*BD50
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.