Review for HELLRAISER QUARTET OF TORMENT

Pain and Pleasure. This is quite an apt description of watching the Hellraiser series. The first is a pure masterpiece of body horror, effects, violence and gore, the second amps this up, but ultimately falls short of the original. The third brings Pinhead to earth and (though I love it) it is seen as a weaker part of that trilogy. (I reviewed these more thoroughly in the previous release)

With this set we get all of that previous set plus also the fourth (and last theatrically released film) and I will sum it up in two words:

Alan Smithee

Sigh. If you don’t know what this means then you have not watched enough awful films. This is the pseudonym that Directors (in this case Kevin Yagher) use when they don’t want anything to do with a film anymore. Now usually this is because of arguments over cuts or budgets, but the funny thing is they include both the original cut (although no where near finished) and the released Smithee cut. Both are almost unwatchable and all I could think while watching is the Muppet announcer booming:

“Pinhead innnnnnn SPPPPPAAACCCCCCEEEEE!!!”

Yes this time Pinhead goes back and forth through time until he’s on a spaceship with the ancestor of the creator of the Lament Configuration box. It’s not good in either version and even the gore seemed campy by this point.

However, if you are fan of Hellraiser, Pinhead or Clive Barker then you are in for a treat with the sheer amount of special features included. There are multiple documentaries, commentaries, behind the scenes footage and interviews. Not all is gold, but there are hours of entertainment to be had from it all.

Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment is a fantastic boxset for fans of the Hellraiser series. True only the first film is a masterpiece, but there is still much to enjoy in the other three films and this set is worth it just for the wealth of extra features that will keep you entertained until the scream with pleasure... pure pleasure!!!

But once again I must be thankful that they didn’t release the rest of the sequels with it. Then the pain would truly begin.