Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)

Truly Dreadful Film

just watch it!

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Nightmare of the king of horror continues. Hellbound is direct sequel to Hellraiser and, in my opinion, it's a bit better than the original. Opinions are divided about which one is better, but it is certain that the sequel is more complex, bloodier and, thanks to the success of the original, it had a much bigger budget. While in the first movie Cenobites introduced a hint of horror to our world, this time we join them on their field. Morbidly imaginative display of Hell that will forever be carved into your memory. One of the best horrors of all time, which, in my opinion, belongs to the domain of general culture.8/10

The saying "less is more" couldn't be more fittingly applied than to this sequel. Whereas the first movie was a simpler told story, though still with it's problems, this one is an all out gorefest, full of badly connected scenes with no coherency of plot. As mentioned in the title, it's an overblown incoherent mess that throws everything it can at you and in turn negates any effect or atmosphere it could have created. It's amazing how many people will rate things a 10 out of 10. I know we all have different tastes, but it seems that logic, clear plot and characters takes a back seat to other lesser things which though not unimportant, are the added extras which should be the finishing touches to the film. There are many film makers out there, but very few skilled storytellers.

On the whole, Clive Barker's "Hellraiser" has become one of the more head-scratching film franchises in recent memory, thanks to the wild and crazed range in quality of the films themselves. What once started as perhaps the most promising and rewarding new franchises quickly took a nose-dive in quality with the bizarrely dated and amusingly cheesy third and fourth entries. And since then, starting with the admittedly very decent fifth film, all future follow-ups skipped theaters and hit the shelves as direct-to-video releases... being plagued with lowered budgets and lowered expectations with each new chapter. But before it's all too soon downfall into near-oblivion, there was one very fascinating and completely fulfilling follow-up in the series that took audiences by storm and showed just what a properly-realized sequel was capable of. And that of course was "Hellbound: Hellraiser II."Directed by Tony Randall from a screenplay by Peter Atkins and a story treatment by series creator Barker, "Hellbound" is a curiously strong horror sequel that builds on the foundation of the original, further developing previously established characters and concepts in a near-ideal fashion and fleshing out the backstory in startling new ways. Barker's original, while relatively self-contained, did plant some questions in the backs of viewer's minds regarding the rules and history of the devilish world he built, and "Hellbound" expands on these in a wonderfully organic fashion. And though it may never quite match the ferocious originality of that first film, it comes darned close and stands tall as a very good sequel to an iconic original.Set almost immediately after the heart-stopping finale of "Hellraiser", we pick up with protagonist Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) as she is admitted into a mental institution due to the trauma she experienced. Soon haunted by visions of her father's skinned and agonized remains, she deduces that he is stuck in Hell, and that she must try and find a way to save him. At the same time, Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham), the devious head of the hospital has secretly acquired the mattress upon which Kirsty's step-mother Julia (Clare Higgins) died, and brings her back through a disturbing sacrifice of blood. Obsessed with the puzzle-box and the cenobites, Channard is seduced by Julia, who manipulates him into using one of his patients- the brilliant but mute puzzle-solver Tiffany (Imogen Boorman)- to open the gateway to Hell once again. And thus, the stage is set, as all of our characters enter Hell itself for their own reasons...The film is a bold exercise in atmosphere and pure dread, with wonderfully disturbing visual direction and some strong and well- established characters. Randel's direction is remarkable, and his keen eye for composition and flow helps create and ever- rising sense of tension and fear, which perfectly compliments the tight yet larger-scoped script by Atkins. From the dreaded return of the cenobites (lead of course by the brilliant Doug Bradley as "Pinhead") to the disturbing realization of Hell itself, the film is constantly upping the ante when it comes to pure horror. It's also even occasionally surprises with moments of true emotional and a few of the twists and turns it takes come completely unexpected in the best of ways.The cast is just wonderful. Ashley Laurence grows tremendously as a performer this time around and does a very decent job as a likable protagonist. Clare Higgins is as devious and deadly as ever, and seems to be having an absolute blast chewing the scenery in her villainous role. Kenneth Cranham and Imogen Boorman round out our human cast nicely in their supporting roles, both doing great jobs with the material. And as always, the cenobites are played to perfection. Doug Bradley is an absolute joy as the pure evil that is Pinhead, and it's nice to see him given an expanded role, especially one that even offers glimpses of the man Pinhead was before he journeyed into Hell.While the film does occasionally suffer a misstep here and there due to some problems with the wonky pacing and some questionable scenes that felt like they were thrown in without much thought or deliberation, I find "Hellbound" to be a completely entertaining, engrossing and atmospherically frightening follow-up in the best of ways. It's not a perfect film, and it can be a bit uneven, but it does a great job continuing the story so deliciously crafted by Barker in the original, and it emerges as one of my personal favorite horror sequels as a result.And so, I give "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" a very good 8 out of 10 as a fan of horror.

HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II is the horror film that shows such nasty horrors that other late '80s horror films can only dare to hint at, and to boot it's a film made at Pinewood Studios. I have a feeling that this was the last horror film made in Britain (not counting amateur productions of course) to really offer up graphic, depraved horror, the stuff of nightmares, and we've never seen its like since. This is in some ways a superior sequel to the first film and I would rate the two almost equally as horror classics of the 1980s; it's merely that HELLRAISER came first with a delightful and raw simplicity that gives it the edge. HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II takes the basic premise of the first film, only to expand upon it, explore the mythology created, and deliver an even bigger and better adventure.The gore and violence certainly hasn't been toned down, and in some ways it's even nastier than before. There are skinless people, hooks ripping flesh and, in a moment of pure evil, a man who hallucinates that his body is covered with grubs is given a straight-razor with which he proceeds to slash himself before a living corpse comes out of the mattress he is sitting on and devours him - if that isn't spine-chilling then I don't know what is. This is a very visual movie which is one of the few to offer up a depiction of hell; the resulting images are both creepy and highly disturbing. The hell displayed here is a labyrinthine maze of ancient corridors, populated by the weird figures of giant babies with their mouths sewn shut, undulating bloodstained bodies, and a clown who juggles his own eyeballs. Then we get skinless corpses writing "I AM IN HELL HELP ME" on walls with their own blood and one of the scariest mental asylums I've seen on film (you know, the 'maintenance' level).The special effects are varied and entertaining, aside from the huge spinning demonic shape in the sky at the end which is a little bit rough around the edges. The makeup is gruesome and the cenobites are as disgustingly awful as ever. Even some cool stop motion animation pops up at the end of the movie to menace our heroes. The music is evocative, the pacing excellent and Tony Randel's direction top-notch - compare this to a pitiful mess like DREAM DEMON and you'll see what I mean. The film also benefits from a high calibre of acting from most of the cast, some of whom return from the first film.First up is Ashley Laurence reprising her role to good effect as the feisty Kirsty, although Imogen Boorman stands out more as the strangely beautiful mute girl who has a way with jigsaws. Clare Higgins is back and even more deadly-but-beautiful than ever. However, the film is commanded by Kenneth Cranham playing the fiendishly perverse Dr. Channard who eventually ends up becoming a new, even more horrific Cenobite (one with plenty of comedic one-liners too). Cranham's initially decent doctor soon turns out to be a sweaty bastard as the cracks start to show and it's another excellent performance from the underrated actor. Watch out for William Hope playing a young male doctor, Kyle, who helps Kirsty in her quest.Doug Bradley is perfect as Pinhead although largely underused here, what with all the other sub-plots going on. HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II is an imaginative piece of work with a truly unique visionary style, a masterpiece of the macabre and not for weak stomachs - this comes highly recommended. Unfortunately it marked the end of quality in the series which, with the arrival of HELLRAISER III : HELL ON EARTH, turned into just another US horror franchise, albeit one with a little more class than most.