Hellraiser: Arrow Video 4K release of first four films includes newly uncovered Bloodline workprint

A couple years ago, screenwriter Peter Atkins – who worked on the scripts for the first three Hellraiser sequels – published his original screenplay for the famously troubled fourth film, Hellraiser: Bloodline (the script is available for purchase at THIS LINK), saying, “Whilst you’ll never get to see a Director’s Cut of Hellraiser: Bloodline, you can read in this book what was supposed to be…” But even though the production was too complicated for us to ever see a proper director’s cut, there is a “newly uncovered workprint version” – and it’s going to be included in Arrow Video’s upcoming 4K box set release of the first four Hellraiser movies!

Arrow Video’s Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment box set is available for pre-order HERE and will be released on October 23rd. This is a UK release, but 4K discs are region free. (If you order the regular Blu-ray edition, there will be region locking to deal with.)

Here’s the information on the films: We Have Such Sights To Show You… In the 1980s, Clive Barker changed the face of horror fiction, throwing out the rules to expose new vistas of terror and beauty, expanding the horizons for every genre writer who followed him. With Hellraiser, his first feature film, he did the same for cinema. Hedonist Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) thinks he has reached the limits of earthly pleasure. But a mysterious puzzle box will take him further than he can possibly imagine, opening the doors to a dominion where pain and pleasure are indivisible and summoning the Cenobites, whose experiments in the higher reaches of experience will tear his soul apart. When he manages to escape, Frank returns to the world skinless and in need of help. Now his former lover Julia (Clare Higgins) must kill to make him whole again. But the Cenobites want Frank back, and there’ll be hell to pay when they find him.

Hellbound: Hellraiser II expands on Barker’s original vision as screenwriter Peter Atkins takes Julia Cotton, her step daughter Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) and the sinister Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham) into the dominion of the Cenobites themselves. Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth sees Pinhead set loose on the sinful streets of New York City to create chaos with a fresh cadre of Cenobitic kin. Then, Hellraiser: Bloodline sinks its hooks into past, present and future with the story of Phillip LeMarchand, the 18th-century toymaker who made the lament configuration puzzle box, his descendent John Merchant – a 20th-century architect whose most recent building bears a striking resemblance to the lament configuration – and Dr. Paul Merchant, a 22nd-century engineer and designer of The Minos, a space station which is a great deal more than it seems.

Experience the sublime agony of this quartet of torment like you never have before in all-new 4K restorations from the original camera negatives. Hell has never looked better!

And here’s the list of product features:

Brand new 4K restorations of all four films from the original camera negatives by Arrow Films
Ultra High Definition (2160p) presentations of all four films in Dolby Vision (hdr10 compatible)
Original lossless stereo and Dts-hd Ma 5.1 surround audio for all four films
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Ages of Desire, an exclusive 200-page hardback book with new writing from Clive Barker archivists Phil and Sarah Stokes
Limited edition layered packaging featuring brand new Chatterer artwork

Disc 1 Hellraiser

Brand new audio commentary featuring genre historian (and unit publicist of Hellraiser) Stephen Jones with author and film critic Kim Newman
Archival audio commentary with writer/director Clive Barker and actor Ashley Laurence, moderated by Peter Atkins
Archival audio commentary with writer/director Clive Barker
Power of Imagination – brand new 60-minute discussion about Hellraiser and the work of Clive Barker by film scholars Sorcha Ní Fhlainn (editor of Clive Barker: Dark Imaginer) and Karmel Kniprath
Unboxing Hellraiser – brand new visual essay celebrating the Lament Configuration by genre author Alexandra Benedict (The Beauty of Murder)
The Pursuit of Possibilities – brand new 60-minute discussion between acclaimed horror authors Paula D. Ashe (We Are Here To Hurt Each Other) and Eric LaRocca (Everything the Dark Eats) celebrating the queerness of Hellraiser and the importance of Clive Barker as a queer writer
Flesh is a Trap – brand new visual essay exploring body horror and transcendence in the work of Clive Barker by genre author Guy Adams (The World House)
Newly uncovered extended Epk interviews with Clive Barker and stars Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, and effects artist Bob Keen, shot during the making of Hellraiser, with a new introduction by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
Original 1987 Electronic Press Kit
Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellraiser – archival interview with the actor
Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellraiser – archival interview with the iconic actor about his first appearance as ‘Pinhead’
Soundtrack Hell: The Story of the Abandoned Coil Score – archival interview with Coil member Stephen Thrower
Trailers and TV spots
Image gallery
Draft screenplays

Disc 2 Hellbound: Hellraiser II

Brand new audio commentary featuring Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
Archival audio commentary with director Tony Randel, writer Peter Atkins and actor Ashley Laurence
Audio commentary with director Tony Randel and writer Peter Atkins
Hell Was What They Wanted! – brand new 80-minute appreciation of Hellbound, the Hellraiser mythos and the work of Clive Barker by horror authors George Daniel Lea (Born in Blood) and Kit Power (The Finite)
That Rat-Slice Sound – brand new appreciation of composer Christopher Young’s scores for Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II by Guy Adams
Archival on-set interview with Clive Barker
Archival on-set interview with cast and crew
Behind the scenes footage
Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellbound – archival interview about the actor’s return to the role of Frank Cotton
Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellbound – archival interview with the iconic actor about his second appearance as ‘Pinhead’
Lost in the Labyrinth – archival featurette featuring interviews with Barker, Randel, Keen, Atkins and others
Trailers and TV spots
Image gallery

Disc 3 Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth

Alternative Unrated version (contains standard definition inserts)
Brand new audio commentary featuring Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
Archival audio commentary with screenwriter Peter Atkins (Theatrical Cut only)
Archival audio commentary with director Anthony Hickox and actor Doug Bradley (Unrated Version only)
Previously unseen extended Epk featuring interviews with Clive Barker and Doug Bradley
FX dailies
Time with Terri – archival interview with actor Paula Marshall
Raising Hell on Earth – archival interview with director Anthony Hickox
Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellraiser III – archival interview with the iconic actor about his third appearance as ‘Pinhead’
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery

Disc 4 Hellraiser: Bloodline

Brand new audio commentary featuring screenwriter Peter Atkins, with Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
The Beauty of Suffering – brand new featurette exploring the Cenobites’ connection to goth, fetish cultures and Bdsm
Newly uncovered workprint version of the film, providing a fascinating insight into how it changed during post production
Hellraiser Evolutions – archival documentary on the evolution of the franchise and its enduring legacy, featuring interviews with Scott Derrickson (director, Hellraiser: Inferno), Rick Bota (director, Hellraiser: Hellseeker, Deader and Hellworld), Stuart Gordon (director, Re-Animator, From Beyond) and others
Books of Blood and Beyond: The Literary Works of Clive Barker – archival appreciation by horror author David Gatwalk of Barker’s written work, from The Books of Blood to The Scarlet Gospels
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Easter egg

Are you a fan of Hellraiser films, and will you be buying the Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment 4K box set? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and while you’re scrolling down, check out the images of the set. There’s the limited edition with a Chatterer slipcase and the standard edition with Pinhead: