Hellraiser – Blu Ray Review

The Film:

The box. You opened it. We came.

Critics and fans have been discussing for the last few years if this film is a classic. Well, what makes a classic? Iconic? Ageless? Influential? I believe Hellraiser has those qualities, but its the film’s subtext, something of which is rarely discussed. The film follows Clive Barker’s novella pretty closely, and while Barker freely admits some of his own indecisiveness when he was behind the camera, the film excels, or rather marvels.

While the Cenobites, Pinhead (Doug Bradley), and the franchise has gone on to be iconic in the horror genre, the nature of how Clive Barker handles religion-here Christianity-and sex is the X-factor to why this film wows audiences, unbeknown to them, over 20 years after its release. The film never takes any stance on Christianity; the film’s sets are littered with statues of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and it permanents throughout the film like an “elephant in the room”. Whenever a victim, Julia, or even Kirsty encounter Frank in his fleshless form, they mutter “Jesus Christ.” Uniquely, given the nature of Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection, seeing Frank emerge to later reform back into a man, is like a bizarre reversal of Jesus’ life, especially since each character mutters His name in front of Frank. A Jesus statue even makes a “jump scare” at us the audience. I don’t think any of this is blasphemous, but rather something in Clive’s life prior to 1987 that religiously had an affect on him. Perhaps it was ‘Catholic Guilt’, a form of preconceived knowledge that one feels guilty for, but only because of the nature of the religion. Clive is a gay man, which might be a cause for this unique perspective. Either way, religion in this film serves as a backbone to the pleasures of sin, the characters wallow in.

No tears, please. It’s a waste of good suffering.

Sex is another interesting aspect of the film. Long before the S&M culture boomed in the 1990s, Hellraiser proudly showed creatures that were affixed in pain from pleasure, latex, bondage, aggressiveness, and brought taboo to the forefront. Julia’s sexual awakening to the aggressiveness of Frank (shown in the past) and her husband’s weak persona, is a nice duality the film explores. Clive has always offered a unique perspective on heterosexual lovemaking, especially in Hellraiser. The way sex is used to control people, force people to feel guilt, just brings up repressed feelings in the audience. This isn’t a “boo” film, but a rather nasty piece of our ID, repression exploding through. And that, to me, is what makes this film a masterpiece horror classic.

The Blu Ray:

Audio/Video: We have such sights to show you! Let’s get right to why you’re here: How is it on Blu Ray? Well, expectations must be changed to appreciate this transfer. Initially, many might be unable to see a true difference from an up-converted DVD to this, but its all in the color representation, dark levels, and detail. I’ve owned Hellraiser numerous times in various mediums of home video, and after watching this high def transfer, I’ll vouch that this is the best it’ll ever look. Don’t expect what a new film gives us in high def, but rather enjoy the colors and details (like in Frank’s skin) and the overall enjoyment will be worth it. Probably the best looking Anchor Bay Blu Ray title yet.

Audio-wise, Hellraiser is just fine. It’s slightly warmer here than on the DVD, but only a lossless receiver will pick up finer details. Overall, a nice track considering its age and source limitations.

**Note: The extras here are all ported over from the 20^th Anniversary Edition Anchor Bay released a few years back, unless noted.**

Commentary: Barker, Ashley Laurence, and Peter Atkins offer a solid track of unbiased remarks about this film. Clearly, all involved have fond memories, but its Barker’s admittance of what he wished he did better, since he was a novice at directing, are refreshing. A must listen for horror fans.

Hellraiser Resurrection (a wonderful, informative documentary on the making of this film), Hellcomposer (a wonderful chat with Christopher Young about his score), Mr. Cotton, I Presume? (another great chat with Andrew Robinson), Actress from Hell (Ashley’s recollection of the film and its impact on her life), Under the Skin (Doug Bradley’s great insights into horror, Pinhead and the film), and rounding out are Galleries (advertising and posters). The only new feature here for Blu Ray is a Fun Trivia Track that uses the pop-up icon to give fans facts about the film during the playback of the film.

Conclusion: I thought I’d gone to the limits. I hadn’t. Blu Ray horror fans need to add this to their collection. A classic film, great extras, and it looks awesome on Blu Ray, should be a no brainer. Those who own the great 20^th Anniversary Edition DVD might ask themselves if they need one more Hellraiser in their collection, as the extras are the same, but you will have to weight out their love for both the film and high def. Own it.

Rating: