Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) Reviews

• The Cenobites Return in a Gruesome and Great Sequel

  Witchfinder-General-6662009-03-20

  "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" of 1988 is an almost perfect sequel to one of the most effective and terrifying achievements ever in Horror cinema, Clive Barker's 1987 masterpiece "Hellraiser". Director Tony Randel's sequel keeps up the terrifying atmosphere and genuinely infernal creepiness of its predecessor and is even considerably gorier than the (also very gruesome) original. This second entry to the "Hellraiser" franchise epitomizes pure Horror as its predecessor and takes the viewer on a terrifying journey into the pits of a Hell from the mind of Clive Barker. The film starts off pretty much where the first part ended. After the horrifying events that took place in part one, survivor Kristy Cotton (Ashley Laurence) awakes in a mental hospital. One might think that psychiatrists are not eager to believe stories about Cenobites, demons from a bizarre, sadomasochistic Hell. The head of the institution, Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham), however, is obsessed with occultism and has his own plans with his new cognitions about cenobites and resurrection from Hell... ***Warning! BIG SPOILERS Ahead!*** Kristy's evil stepmother Julia (Clare Higgins) returns from Hell, and she is not the only one. So do the Cenobites. The cenobites, especially the iconic Lead Cenobite (commonly referred to as 'Pinhead', played by Doug Bradley) are some of the most terrifying creatures the World of Horror has ever brought forth. My only slight complaint about "Hellbound" is the manner of how the cenobites are humanized towards the end. It seems to be a common assumption among makers of Horror-sequels, that they somehow need to explain how monsters became monsters - which is not always a good idea, in my opinion. Ever since I first saw the first two Hellraiser parts many years ago, I have held the view that the Cenobites were most terrifying in the first part, when they were still utterly mysterious and their origin was not yet explained. This minor fault is not yet extreme in this second part, however, and it does not waste its status as a fascinating sequel. The visions of Hell are extremely creepy and terrifying and character actor Kenneth Channard brings in a new type of purely evil villain. The sequel is, once again, filmed excellently, the settings are sublime and the gore-effects are as gruesome as it gets. Overall, "Hellbound" is an extraordinary sequel that must not be missed by Horror fans. After this, the series spiraled downwards. My rating: 8.5/10

• One of the most kickass horror films of the '80's

  firefrost792001-06-25

  Thus far and no further is how I view this film - while 'Hellraiser' was a smooth and well-handled interpretation of 'The Hellbound Heart', this serves as an interesting extension to that story. OK, the acting is largly dire - but is this not a horror movie tradition? The film excels in its MENTAL imagery, not physical: Tiffany's disturbing visions of babies with their mouth's sewn shut as Leviathan plays with her fears; Channards violent, acid flashback-style memories... they are all insightful and well-thought out as they deal with that which cannot be tamed easily - the human psyche. Director Tony Randall has a lot to live up to following Clive Barker's '87 epic, but he takes the reigns of the story with good grace and presents a slick and progressive tale - although I do agree with the general consensus that the Cenobites should NOT have been humanised. All in all though a great film, fantastic visuals - the fall of Leviathan at the climax has to be one of the most gripping and explosive deaths of a movie monster in horror film history - and one which should have ended the tale.

• All time fav. Beautiful, visceral, multi-layered and vaguely erotic.

  Naturezrevenge2004-10-10

  Clive Barker is still the king. He brings us to a world where monsters have politics, the 5 senses rule, and we sometimes question whether our pre-notions of pain are as accurate as we think. The Hellraiser series is a lush, nightmarish, subliminal journey into human desire, masochism, mythos and madness. Pinhead is not so much the generic, evil antagtonist as he is a source of comfort and logic sometimes. Clive Barker has often toyed with our preconceptions that all "monsters" must be blindly destructive brutes, as opposed to the endearingly rational and decidedly intelligent Cenobites. Perhaps the fact that I have Cenobites tattooed makes me biased;) But it's still a unique piece with gorgeous imagery (to some.) Angels to some, demons to others... If you haven't seen Hellraiser 1 and 2 (the rest are not so great IMHO)...you must!

• A roller coaster ride of violence and sheer terror!

  roger-dalazen2001-07-06

  After the strange events of the first movie,Kirsty is sent to a Institution for the Mentally Sick, commanded by the mysterious Dr. Channard,a crazed psychologist who is willing to open the doors of hell by manipulating the Puzzle Box.In doing so,Channard brings Kirsty's perverse stepmother Julia back to life,and consequently he provokes the rage of the dreadful cenobites,the cruel and evil creatures that give pleasure and pain in the same measure.Hellbound Hellraiser 2 is an extremely well-done film,thanks to the generous budget given to newcomer filmmaker Tony Randel and a first-rate production.The special effects are simply terrific (specially considering the time in which the movie was done,1988) and they create a bombastic,scary visual.I never saw a movie with such an incredible scenery and imagery,except maybe for Dark City.Clive Barker's vision of hell is brought to life with mastery through the work of Randel and Director of Photography Robin Vidgeon. The plot sustains the tension and keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish,though the first half hour of Hellbound: Hellraiser II is a little bit slow and descriptive (but never boring); a great portion of the action and the terror is concentrated in the last minutes. The last thirty ones are a realistic and gutsy "tour de force" through fear,violence and suffering.This is definitively a masterpiece, but not for the squeamish.Hellbound: Hellraiser II is rated R for extreme violence and sex scenes,it runs 99 minutes(uncut version released by Anchor Bay).It stars Clare Higgins as Julia, Ashley Laurence as Kirsty, Imogen Boorman as Tiffany,William Hope as Kyle McRae and Kenneth Cranham as Dr. Channard.If you like this movie, you might also enjoy Phenomena and Suspiria.

• Goes to hell when they, uh, go to hell

  udar552006-02-08

  Released just over a year after the original, HELLRAISER II picks up right where the last one ended. But with Clive Barker releasing a majority of creative control (he still receives a "story by" credit) to screenwriter friend Pete Atkins and first time director Tony Randel, the end result is a film that faithfully echoes Barker's earlier work yet also undermines it. The film's biggest problem is the script which relies too much on coincidence. For example, new character Dr. Channard has a deep and previously existing interest in the Lament Configuration. And Kirsty's neighbor in the mental ward just happens to be a mute girl who is really good at solving puzzles. Things like this exist solely to move the plot from point A to B and so on, something the original HELLRAISER lacked in its confined dysfunctional family storyline. To Atkin's credit, the script does effectively introduce the back story of Pinhead and features some appropriately bleak dialogue (including perhaps the series best line: "Your suffering will be legendary, even in hell."). In their attempt to deliver something bigger and better than the original, the filmmakers further damage themselves when it comes to Kirsty's adversaries. The sequel has two great foes for Kirsty to battle – Julia and Pinhead – but the script makes them secondary and shifts the focus to the ridiculous Dr. Channard. While in human form he is a fearsome villain but once he becomes a Cenobite, all that goes out the window in favor of a guy who delivers one liners ("The Doctor…is…in!"). At this point in the series, even Pinhead hadn't sunk that low. On top of all that, Atkins actually has the Cenobite Channard dispatch the lead Cenobites in a battle that is so trivializing that it makes you wonder why anyone feared these guys in the first place. Tony Randel handles the film well visually with his two best sequences taking place in hell. One is when mute Tiffany experiences her own surreal vision of hell that includes everything from deranged clowns to a clever giallo tribute. The other is when Kirsty confronts her Uncle Frank in a fiery tomb housing floating slabs that carry moaning, bloody bodies. These visions of hell are certainly unique to the film world but ultimately the film doesn't have the budget to properly convey this. Instead of a sweeping landscape, we get characters traveling what seems to be the same tunnel over and over and a few MC Escher style matte paintings. Most disappointing is the unveiling of Leviathan as an amorphous black blur emitting from a large version of the box. Outside of those uneven effects, the rest of the film's effects work is really well done. Bob Keen and his crew return from the original film and deliver an abundant amount of blood, making sure that the standard of delivering cinematic images beyond belief continues. The bloody resurrection of Julia and the transformation of Dr. Channard are the film's FX highlights. Obviously the unrated version is the way to go. In addition to these striking images, HELLBOUND contains the world's first male/skinless female kiss. And for a film with such taboo images, it features some consistently great acting. Lead Ashley Laurence (was she really in her teens when this was filmed) is actually better than she was in the first film. New faces Kenneth Cranham and William Hope are both good as the bad doctor and good doctor respectively. Doug Bradley, graduating from "Lead Cenobite" to a full fledged Pinhead, maintains his wicked demeanor as a hell's no. 1 agent while projecting the right amount of emotion when reminded of his human form. However, if HELLRAISER II truly belongs to anyone, it is Claire Higgins as the evil stepmother Julia Cotton. With a cold manner dipped in extra bitchy-ness, Higgins is almost too good for the proceedings. New World's efforts for the low budget follow up paid off with the film earning just under ($12 million) what the original grossed ($14.5 million). Sadly, the next time Pinhead and his brethren appeared on screen, they were firmly in the claws of Miramx's Dimension line. This move resulted in a succession of sequels that, while passable, moved the series further away from Clive Barker's groundbreaking original.