When it comes to Halloween season horror films, I’m a movie monster kind of guy. I tend to rely on the genuine classics (i.e., Universal monsters) or the huge 80s franchises, which makes a lot of sense since those films – Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, and Friday the 13th – are just the modern equivalent of the classics. Freddy, Michael, and Jason are just a different kind of movie monster.

I’ve never been into overly gory or violent horror movies. And the swing toward “torture porn” (e.g., Saw, anything by Rob Zombie) held zero appeal for me.

But growing up, I devoured anything I could get my hands on that was written by Stephen King. I was actively looking to have the bejeesus scared out of me.

But for some reason, Clive Barker’s books and the Hellraiser films completely evaded me until now. Which seems strange, especially since King’s infamous quote “I have seen the future of horror… his name is Clive Barker” was plastered across so many of Barker’s books in the 80s.

I was certainly aware of The Books of Blood and The Great and Secret Show when I was in the midst of my King-obsessed horror binge. And I was intrigued by them. But I never read them.

The same goes for Hellraiser (the 1987 film written and directed by Barker, based on his novella The Hellbound Heart) and its first sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, which came out in 1988 and was cowritten by Barker. I knew of them. But I never saw them.

Sure, they’re a touch more graphic than your typical Elm Street or Halloween movie, but not overly so. And in theory, Pinhead and the other Cenobites should fit right in with the other modern-day movie monsters, so what happened?

Well, in an attempt to answer that question, I dug through the brand-new Blu-ray releases of each film from Arrow Video. Each sports a pristine 2K restoration and uncompressed DTS-HD 5.1 audio, so this seemed like the ideal way to experience the films for the first time.

And I wasn’t wrong. The movies themselves are beautiful. Arrow put a LOT of love into these releases, and each is positively overflowing with special features. So whether you’re a newbie to the franchise (like me) or a long-time fan, there’s a ton to dig through here.

EACH RELEASE includes a feature-length documentary look at the making and legacy of the film; two audio commentaries; featurettes on the cast, crew, and music; vintage interviews and featurettes; behind-the-scenes footage; trailers; and loads more.

Unfortunately, the only involvement Clive Barker seems to have had in any of the special features on these releases are the two audio commentaries for the original film. Aside from those, he doesn’t appear in any of the bonus features or documentaries. Though many of the interviews and “talking head” segments are certainly ABOUT Barker and his genius.

Despite that, these releases are a goldmine for Hellraiser fans, and it’ll take you hours to get through it all.

So, verdict from this newbie? These movies are definitely unique. They’re far more psychological, philosophical, and… scholarly (?) than your typical horror film. These aren’t mindless “slasher” films. Even the sequel is more introspective (and better!) than many horror sequels. Clive Barker was trying to say something with these films – something a lot deeper than “Boo!”

It’s also obvious why Pinhead doesn’t really fit in with the Freddy/Michael/Jason crowd. He’s not in the movies very much. Whereas those other three are a constant feature of their respective films – either on screen or contributing to a sense of dread and imminent doom – Pinhead and the Cenobites are merely a side note to the overall horror the main characters experience.

They’re not running from Pinhead in the same way that Laurie Strode runs from Michael Myers. They’re literally running through hell, which happens to be Pinhead’s home. So he’s bound to pop up and “have a little fun” with the trespassers.

So am I all in on the Hellraiser franchise? Eh… probably not. There are apparently 10 films, as of this writing. Though they seem to be direct-to-DVD/digital now, the most recent came out only last year, so they’re still going strong.

The first two films, though – the only ones with which Clive Barker actually had a role – tell a more or less complete story. And I’d like to leave it at that and not fall down the rabbit hole of inevitable plot twists and nonsensical tangents.

These releases of Hellraiser and Hellbound are fantastic, though. So if you’re a fan, you really should add these to your collection. If you’re curious in checking the films out, this is definitely the way to do it.

(Disclosure: Arrow Video provided review copies of these Blu-rays. All opinions remain my own.)