HELLRAISER [1987, Clive Barker] - RARE ALTERNATIVE CUT

This is an edited version of Hellraiser which exists to compensate for 4 issues with standard prints of the film:
* the overdubbing of American accents despite a British setting
* an unsatisfactorily scary, if not rather lame, monster which appears twice
* pacing which sets up the plot too slowly & has an unnecessarily drawn-out ending
* an over-reliance on certain "women in peril" clichés, even if only brief.
These have been dealt with by the careful removal of various shots. Also, 3 musical pieces - The Hellbound Heart, No New World & Attack Of The Sennapods - composed for the film, but ultimately unused & only released in 1990 have been inserted to add atmosphere at different points of tension. The music over the end credits has been replaced, since the motifs from the main theme are already found throughout the film & the new score, again from the 1990 album Unrealeased Themes From Hellraiser, has a far more menacing quality.

The result of this is a film experience which works on the level of a gory psychological/fantasy thriller, instead of being an increasingly dated '80s monster movie. In terms of the characters, the cuts made do not undermine their understanding or expression, although, it's worth noting to those already familiar with the original, the relationship between Julia and Kirsty has a slightly more ambiguous quality. Overall, this new version is 9 minutes shorter & presents a fresh take on a classic work.

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Technical details:
Running time - 84m30s
Video format - MPEG-II (.mp4)
Video bitrate - 4040kbps
Audio bitrate - 96kbps, 44.1kHz
Aspect ratio - 16:9 (1280x720)
Frame rate - 23.9fps (progressive)


'Fair use' notice from original uploader: I claim no rights whatsoever over this work nor have I ever sought to financially exploit this material. It exists to comment on & criticise the original motion picture & the musical album from which it is wholly derived, as eluded to above & is an entirely unique presentation of both. It is intended that those downloading this material respect this & do not attempt to commercially gain from its existence. A direct request from a relevant copyright holder or authorised distributor to desist in seeding this bittorent will be immediately acted upon without the need for legal recourse.