Hellraiser: Chronicles

Amazon.com

Liverpool-born Clive Barker has forged his macabre visions into a virtual literary/film/art empire. The early epicenter of that domain was the Hellraiser series, a demonology originally informed by Barker’s distinctly dark sense of style and storytelling. Crucial to their evocative atmospheres were musical scores (the first three of which are collected here) that eschewed much of the contemporary horror/slasher genre’s electronic synth’n’shriek sensibility for sweeping gothic orchestral concertos that played off decades of fright-film tradition, yet brought a tragic human melancholy to the table as well. Christopher Young’s masterful soundtrack for the first film sets the tone: Hammer horror visited by the enticing ghosts of 20th century modernism-past. The composer’s second installment explores more sonically mysterious terrain, veering from diabolic walls of percussion and demonic choirs to the eerie sounds of a hellish carnival midway. Randy Miller expands on Young’s work, informing the saga’s third installment with a driving, percussive sense that’s more traditionally action-film oriented in its approach, yet economically effective in its own right. This limited edition (3000 copies) three-disc set archives the scores for the original three films (as well as an informative new booklet) in an elaborate, fold-out puzzle box inspired by the films’ own mysterious central prop. –Jerry McCulley