hellraiser inferno

Since the TV industry has a lock on the phrase “jumping the shark” to describe a show past its prime, perhaps we should consider adopting “launched into orbit” to explain a horror franchise in the same situation. After all, Jason X, which continued serial killer Jason Vorhees’ adventures where no man had gone before, is the epitome of desperate studio executive brainstorming. And yet Hellraiser: Bloodline (part 4 in the series and the last to be released theatrically) finds a clever way to expand the demonic mythology of Pinhead, serving as both a prequel and a sequel, while staging a dramatic change in venue for the opening and closing scenes. As a crude robot manipulates the infamous puzzle box, we’re introduced to the distant relative of the man who invented the darn thing, kicking off three different family histories beginning in Victorian England and ending up on an isolated space station where Doctor Paul Merchant (Bruce Ramsay) plans to destroy the evil once and for all. The original director was booted off the film, ostensibly for not including enough Pinhead action. But Clive Barker’s series was always a bit more ambitious than your average slasher film, and Hellraiser: Bloodline taps a new vein of creativity that unfortunately went completely unexplored in later installments. The bargain Blu-ray double feature released by Echo Bridge includes the next chapter, Hellraiser: Inferno which feels like a film that had the Hellraiser mythology introduced after-the-fact. Picture quality, while not a vast improvement, gets a little boost on Blu.

Just as a wine drinkers claim you must “train your palate” to appreciate a fine bottle or subtle blend, so too is the case with films of Andrei Tarkovsky. Of course, the folks at the Criterion Collection never shy away from challenging films, and Solaris actually has a very marketable sci-fi idea at its center (so marketable is was remade by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh in 2002). Arriving at a space station orbiting a distant planet, psychologist Kris Kelvin finds the remaining crew an edgy and neurotic lot, insisting that the planet’s ocean is alive and reading their thoughts. These fears are confirmed when Kris is greeted by his dead wife, who resurrects herself no matter what sort of bodily damage he inflicts…or she inflicts on herself. Solaris is an emotionally draining film, just the sort of somber, drown-your-sorrows-in-Vodka creation one might expect as a Russian cliché. But the story – and Tarkovsky’s long, uninterrupted takes and languid photography – create a mood quite unlike any other in the history of cinema. The first 45-minutes are an artistic rite-of-passage, but the dramatic payoff is well worth it. Criterion’s new Blu-ray edition, besides looking stupendous, includes a commentary by Tarkovsky scholars, deleted scenes, interviews and a booklet sporting an essay from none other than Akira Kurosawa.

Any film set in Britain during the plague is fighting an uphill battle. Not only is the subject matter generally unappealing, but shots of ox-carts loaded with dead bodies are bound to elicit a few catcalls of “Bring out yer dead!” from the back of the room. Director Christopher Smith’s film, Black Death, shares very little in common with Monty Python other than the accents. It’s a dead serious and surprisingly theological Middle Ages thriller starring Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and any other movie that calls for a guy wearing chainmail) as a Christian warrior on a quest to uncover the mystery surrounding a small village that seems immune to the death sweeping across the country. Led by a local monk (Eddie Redmayne), they arrive to find a seemingly peaceful community that’s bubbling with pagan evil under the surface. Comparisons abound if you look for them, but Apocalypse Now meets The Wicker Man seems the most concise. Premiering on VOD and now available on Blu-ray, Black Death is exceedingly well cast and bounces between action (there’s a memorably bloody battle scene to end the first act) and more literate ambitions with a confidence you wouldn’t expect…from a film you’ve probably never heard of. Extras include deleted scenes, trailers and behind-the-scene footage.