Hellraiser (2022) - Turbine 4K UHD SteelBook

Some franchise reboots are simply overdue. When a great series has been run into the ground with countless terrible direct-to-video sequels culled from scripts that were never even meant to be part of the franchise, it’s time to shake things up. Unfortunately, beginning with the iffy but entertaining Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Clive Barker’s descent into hell fell under the Weinstein-owned Dimension Films - to say those guys didn't care about the property is an understatement. After the dismally gutted fourth film, the franchise fell into the hellish wasteland of direct-to-video depravity. Depraved not because of the content, but because of how increasingly terrible to borderline stupid each movie became. Hellraiser: Judgment was the last film in that run, and it actually had a spark of imagination and direction, but it was sadly horribly underfunded and could’t realize its full potential. 

A few years, some legal hullabaloo, a little bit of rights turnover, a dedicated production team, and we now stand at the labyrinthian abyss of 2022’s Hellraiser. Director David Bruckner, along with his The Night House writing team Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, returns fans to the true horror of the Lament Configuration. Our story follows Riley (Odessa A’zion), a living train wreck who just can’t quite get her life back on track. In and out of rehab, at odds with her brother Matt (Brandon Flynn), Riley has fallen in with her rehab pal Trevor (Drew Starkey) to ripoff a forgotten estate shipment. Inside a safe, they find a mysterious puzzle box and nothing else. After getting into an argument with her brother and getting high, Riley accidentally opens the box, leading to Matt's mysterious and bloody disappearance. Haunted by visions of a monstrous pin-faced creature (Jamie Clayton), Riley must track down the origin of the puzzle box and its previous owner, the shady billionaire Roland Voight (Goran Visnjic). 

While not perfect by any stretch, 2022’s Hellraiser is at the very least a return to form for the franchise. The puzzle box is again a piece of a bigger mystery. Our imperfect protagonist, Riley, is her own worst enemy as her choices often condemn those around her. As the box is solved, we get a longer glimpse at the painful new vision of hell that awaits our hapless characters. We have ghastly but beautifully realized new cenobites: the Chatterer (Jason Liles), the Weeper (Yinka Olorunnife), the Gasp (Selina Lo), the Asphyx (Zachary Hing), the Mother (Gorica Redodic), the Masque (Vukasin Jovanovic), and a new vision of our classic “Pinhead” with Jamie Clayton as the Priest. For the first time, in a very long time, we have a Hellraiser that at the very least thematically fits alongside the first two films. 

But, as I said, it’s not perfect. At a little over two hours, the film’s pacing is frustratingly clunky. After the tantalizing opener, we’re given a six-year flashforward that effectively restarts the story to introduce Riley and her compatriots. It’s nearly a half-hour before the true “insighting incident” happens, and the film starts to move along. And even then, reveals are slowly doled out until we get to a climax that feels a little too rushed for comfort, slipping precariously close to slasher "run and hide" territory. Thankfully, it leaps past that issue, but it cuts some plot beats pretty close. But, after decades of junk sequels that weren’t even originally Hellraiser films, I’m all for a film that takes a big swing rather than settle as an uninspired cash-in.

When it works, this Hellraiser is terrific, terrifying, and leaves you excited to see what else could come our way. I just wish there were more movement on a follow-up. It’s been three years, and the initial talk of another film has dwindled to rumor and whispers. As we await yet another reboot of Halloween and Friday the 13th, I have hope Hellraiser will return to genre prominence. I’d even take a TV series if it were under the eye of the right creator and went in an interesting direction.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
Our collections will be legendary even in Hell - so long as we have someone like Germany’s Turbine releasing 2022’s Hellraiser on 4K UHD and Blu-ray! As the film was distributed by Paramount in Germany and other European markets, it’s not stuck in the hellscape of streaming. A three-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray with a bonus features Blu-ray disc, you can pick this film up in SteelBook. There were four Limited Edition Mediabooks available, but they all appear to have sold out. All discs are Region-Free, so no issues there. The 4K is pressed on a BD100 disc, a BD50 serves the 1080p, and another BD50 disc serves up the key bonus features. The SteelBook is a slick piece of work featuring Jamie Clayton’s new version of Pinhead on the front with an image of the puzzle box on the back. Inside art, there are different configurations of the box after someone has solved one of its pieces. Each disc loads to an animated main menu with standard navigation options.

So, I’m not a big fan of watching movies on streaming for a first-time viewing. This isn’t one of those “physical media-only” sort of rants; it often just comes down to presentation quality. As bitrates for streaming are dragged down into oblivion, even with a high-end screen and a top-speed internet connection (as I have), I still see all sorts of compression issues that become increasingly distracting. Especially with black levels and shadows, which are kind of important for a film like Hellraiser, and it just pulls me right out of the experience. There is a nice convenience to streaming, I can’t deny that, but I hate it when that’s the only way to see something. Suffice to say, if Hellraiser had been given a proper theatrical run, I would have been there with a large bucket of popcorn and a bladder-busting soda to match.

But I’m grateful this disc is here because now I finally feel like I’m really seeing this film as it’s meant to be seen. Gone are pixelated shadow details and flat depth. Right away, this transfer exhibits an impressive sense of depth and image dimension - and for that creepy-as-hell opening segment, it’s a trip! Later, anytime the hallways fall away when the Cenobites are about to appear, the experience is much stronger and dynamic. Dipping back into Hulu to compare, I felt like fine lines and facial details were also sharper on this disc. Colors, though on the drab side given the subject matter, pop nicely. Primaries are rich, reds understandably score extra attention. Skin tones for our human cast are healthy and normal. And again, with this Dolby Vision grade enjoying a proper high-bitrate encode, the deep inky blacks and creepy shadow tones are given their due attention. I’ve watched this Hellraiser four or five times now (I’m a franchise junkie, no shame, even for the bad-but-watchable sequels), and I finally felt like I was really seeing it and all the care and attention that went into the haunting visuals.

Kicking things into gear is a terrific Atmos mix that delivers an eerie wall-to-wall soundstage for our Cenobites to play in. At least here in the States, on Hulu, this film is presented only in Dolby Digital 5.1; to say this Atmos track is a more robust experience is an understatement. During that opening sequence in the mansion, and we hear the first rattles of chains and the first shrieks of pain, this track is firing throughout the base channels and into the heights with vigor. Things quiet down and aren’t quite as aggressive in the following moments, but after Riley and pals start solving that box and move into the mansion, the sound design becomes more aggressive, and that immersive experience returns. That first time we really get a good look at the new Cenobites in the hospital, that creepy wheezing and chattering is some delicious stuff! Throughout the run, the dialogue is clean and clear without issue. Ben Lovett’s score is a nice companion to the film, dovetailing with the original themes of the first films. A lossy DTS 5.1 and 2.0 tracks are also available on the disc, but having previewed those in some key scenes, the Atmos is very simply the stronger, more satisfying experience.

Digging into the good stuff, Turbine slings some chains for a robust bonus features package. At the top of the pile on both the 4K and 1080p discs are two interesting commentaries. The first features director David Bruchner, and the second with Makeup-FX team Sierra Spencer and Josh Russell, moderated by Ed Martinez. Both tracks are great. Bruchner does a solid job explaining some of the ins and outs of the film. The Sierra Spencer and Josh Russell track is a little more active and engaging simply because there’s more than one person to bounce tidbits off of, and I love a good VFX commentary where they describe how challenging it is to pull off a practical effect. For the Bonus Features disc, we have a terrific 55-minute documentary featuring Bruchner, the writers, and others discussing the development, shooting during COVID lockdowns, etc. Next, we get a 33-minute look at the making of the new Cenobite designs, which is a real treat for gorehounds and practical FX fans. The Leviathan Tech segment is almost ten-minuites of material focused on specific aspects of the Cenobites’ thematic appearance. After that, we have a pretty cool collection of franchise trailers for both the US and German territories. I'm not usually too interested in trailers, but it’s interesting to see how these films were marketed for regions with very different sensibilities with slightly different edits. 

4K UHD / Blu-ray Discs

• Audio Commentary featuring David Bruchner 
• Audio Commentary featuring Sierra Spencer and Josh Russell, moderated by Ed Martinez 

Bonus Features Disc

• Such Sights to Show You - Reimaging Hellraiser (HD 55:36)
• Creating Cenobites (HD 33:48)
• Leviathan Tech (HD 9:32)
• US Trailer
• German Trailer
• Hellraiser Franchise Trailers:
• Hellraiser US Trailer
• Hellraiser German Trailer 
• Hellbound: Hellraiser II US Trailer
• Hellbound: Hellraiser II German Trailer
• Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth US Trailer
• Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth German Trailer
• Hellraiser IV: Bloodlines US Trailer
• Hellraiser IV: Bloodlines German Trailer
• Hellraiser: Judgment US Trailer 
• Hellraiser: Judgment German Trailer

The more I watch it, the more I like 2022’s Hellraiser. It can be dismissed as another reboot, but all credit to the filmmakers, this one feels like an extension of the first two films. After so many genuinely terrible direct-to-video films, it’s refreshing to see the franchise treated with some respect and given the opportunity to shine again with fresh talent and something resembling a real budget. But, nearly four years later, we’re here without any movement on another film, so I hope this franchise isn’t stuck in development purgatory again. The series and its fans deserve better than interminable waiting - that's its own kind of torturous hell. But, leave it to our friends at Turbine to break this film out of the confines of streaming and deliver an exciting 4K physical media release. The Dolby Vision transfer is vastly better than the streaming, and the Atmos mix is a powerhouse to match. Completing the package is an excellent assortment of in-depth and detailed bonus features to enjoy after the show. If you’re a fan ready to make some shelf space in the collection, this is a  Highly Recommended release. All you have to do is pick which one you want!

Order Hellraiser 2022 4K UHD SteelBook from Turbine