Chace Productions Raises Heck With Re-Mastered ""Hellraiser"" Films

Soundtracks To Clive Barker Horror Classics Re-Mastered Into 5.1 For DVD Release

10-Jul-00

""It will tear your soul apart."" With these ominous words, Director Clive Barker established a new benchmark for the horror film genre with the release of ""Hellraiser"" in 1987. The film spawned two sequels and played loosely with a modern twist on the fable of Pandora's Box. In the films, a magical French puzzle box, called the Lament Configuration, serves as a portal to the Netherworld. Individuals who solve the box's riddle unwittingly unleash a menagerie of evil demons, called Cenobites, who inflict both pleasure and pain. Along with an array of special effects which depict all that is evil from the depths of hell, the ""Hellraiser"" films were vividly remembered for the central character, a leather-clad, needle-skulled Master Cenobite named Pinhead, devilishly portrayed by Doug Bradley.Thirteen years after its original release (is this a mere coincidence?), ""Hellraiser"" and the sequel, ""Hellbound: Hellraiser II"" (released in 1988) have been re-mastered into 5.1 surround stereo by Burbank, California-based Chace Productions. The Anchor Bay DVD-bound soundtracks presented their own ""Pandora's Box"" of sound challenges in order to create a 5.1 surround stereo track.The puzzle for Chace Digital StereoÆ (CDS) Product Specialist John Blum was how to enhance the stereo opportunities of both films without having separate DME (dialogue-music-effects) stems. While both films were originally mixed for surround stereo, a complete set of stems was not available. The solution lay in the directionality enhancement capabilities of the CDS processor. This proprietary technology allowed Blum to inject new stereo imaging into individual scenes of the matrixed stereo composite track.Explains Blum, ""Re-mastering films into 5.1 stereo surround basically allows us to do three things that cannot be done with the conventional stereo format. Firstly, we are able to significantly augment the LFE (Low Frequency Effects) channel. With ëHellraiserí there is a lot of bass, and the 5.1 format lends itself very well to embellishing the low-end frequencies. When you see the 'gaping mouth of hell,' you now hear and feel it as well."" He continues, ""Secondly, using CDS technology, we were also able to expand the overall dynamic impact of the films. During this process, I was able to use the CDS processor to lend a great deal of sonic directionality to each scene. Both ëHellraiserí films are very action-filled, and in one scene where Pinhead shoots chains from his body to capture a victim, the sound effects pan in directional stereo to match the pacing of the events on the screen. Lastly, the 5.1 format allows us to place stereo imaging in the rear. This psycho-acoustic effect is tremendously effective for a horror film like ëHellraiser,í where a lot of the action is heard, but occurs off-screen.""Re-mastering Engineer Jim Young oversaw the final mixing. During this phase Director Clive Barker came down to Chace Production's renowned Rick Chace Theater to listen to the final 5.1 stereo surround mix. ""He was very happy with the entire mix,"" Young notes. ""The ëHellraiserí films were very groundbreaking for the entire horror genre. Barker noted during the listening session how the 5.1 format gave his movies a freshness that allows them to still hold their own almost a decade and a half after their initial release.""Anchor Bay DVD Producer Bill Lustig concludes, ""In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in many of the action and horror cult films from the 80s. The ëHellraiserí films are a fine example of this genre. If one believes the maxim that 'Sound is 51 percent of the picture,' ëHellraiserí and ëHellbound: Hellraiser IIí will be putting an entire new audience on 'pins and needles.'""About Chace Productions Chace Productions is a full-service audio post production facility. In addition to the restoration and re-mastering of film soundtracks, Chace also provides audio compression, NoNoiseÆ audio repair, music and effects construction and sync conversion transfer services.For more information, contact Chace Productions at www.chace.com.

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