User Reviews

Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) survived the first attack from Hell in "Hellraiser", but her troubles are far from over. She is now locked up in a mental ward run by an occult-obsessed doctor (how appropriate) and her evil stepmother, Julia (Clare Higgins) refuses to stay dead.

This film is incredibly polarizing, I fear, because it has such strong qualities of both good and bad. The bad include special effects that really date the movie (though are still superior to much of today's work) and the introduction of a certain level of silliness that pervades the later films. The doctor as a cenobite is a bit strange in form, and opens the door for the even more bizarre creatures in part three.

There are some plot and continuity issues, such as wondering where Kirsty's boyfriend from part one went. And while the film seems to try to explain loose ends from the first film, it creates a whole lot more... the maze (presumably hell) is not adequately explained, nor is the role of the giant puzzle box. While some of this is addressed in later films, it seems that what we learn later tends to contradict what we see here.

But let us say some good things about this one. First and foremost, the Julia without skin looks incredible. It is hard to say they topped Frank without skin (from the original) but I think they did. The way she comes crawling up out of the bed... her blood-soaked flesh. Beautiful. "Right to Die" owes a huge debt to the work in this film, the same way that this film owes a debt to "Bride of Frankenstein" with its use of thunder and bandages...

We also have to give the gore creators some credit, because the insane man with the knife was pretty intense... actually, all the asylum inmates are well-played. For all the flaws this film may have, they more than made up for it with a couple of memorable scenes. While my favorite in the series is "Bloodline" (I believe I am in the minority on this), I think part two may have been the last great addition. Sequels were not necessary, and obviously everything after part four just gives the franchise a bad name.

Anchor Bay has released a twentieth anniversary edition, and I would strongly recommend it. Older features, such as an audio commentary from 2001, are available, as well as a few new featurettes. "The Soul Patrol" features new interviews with Barbie Wilde, Simon Bamford and Nicholas Vince. "Outside the Box" features a new interview with director Tony Randel and "The Doctor is In" features a new interview with Kenneth Cranham.

As someone who has met Ashley Laurence, Doug Bradley, Clive Barker and each of the cenobites, I have a strong personal interest in this film. I can say that the Anchor Bay edition is easily the best to date and any "Hellraiser" fan would be making a mistake in getting an older, inferior edition.

Even if the story's weak, bringing back the surviving (or not surviving) cast members of the original, can make a sequel better. Everyone thinks crazy old Kirsty Cotton is making up stories of demons from hell (which happened to be her attic), but we all know better, don't we? She's now in a mental institution with a girl with a penchant for solving puzzles, under the guidance of a sadistic doctor with a penchant for a skinless Julia. Part of the story is just a re-hash of the first with different characters in similar situations. This time around we go to hell and find that it's like an Escher painting with a giant "Lament" diamond spinning in the sky. Not as good as the first film, but pretty close--a bit gorier and disturbing (but after "Hellraiser", I was expecting this) The acting is similar to the first film, but the special effects are a bit more elaborate this time around as the budget was bigger due to the success of it's predecessor.

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.

The best thing about 'Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)' is its music; Christopher Young's fantastic theme is still a stand-out in the genre. The second best things about it are the numerous flashback sequences (the picture begins with an abridged version of the prior title's finale and its key points are also recalled by the protagonist later in the film), which serve not only to refresh the audience's memory but also (quite accidentally, I'll add) to remind them how much better the first flick is than this one. The feature isn't bad but, as you can probably tell, it isn't a patch on its predecessor. That's primarily because, despite its arguably more ambitious plot and accompanying aesthetics, it's simply more straightforward and, thus, isn't as interesting. Where the first flick played on the duality between the different types of evil that its two antagonists (Frank and the Cenobites) represented, this one reduces all of its villainous players to almost cardboard cut-out versions of themselves and portrays them as these much more generic 'demons' than previously seen. This removal of nuance is one of the major reasons that the villains just aren't all that frightening. The one area in which they are developed actually reduces their enigmatic nature, in turn further reducing their scariness. At this point, the filmmakers still hadn't realised the potential that Pinhead (now credited as such) had to lead the franchise as its pinnacle of pain, so he and his Cenobite cronies have arguably even less screen time than they did in their previous outing. They're also, as I've mentioned, decidedly less disquieting. Their scenes, though atmospheric, lack any sense of menace and the fact that a large portion of the piece takes place in their domain without them present makes them seem far less important than they ought to. Other issues with the movie include a messy, even slightly repetitive plot and a couple of weak characters. Having said all that, it's not as though the experience is exactly bad or anything. Its positives include some decidedly disturbing, undeniably inventive visuals and a generally ambitious, otherworldly aesthetic that must have took some skill to pull off. It's visually interesting, that's for sure, and it has a few sequences which are quite entertaining in their own right. The picture is also well-paced and generally enjoyable, even if it isn't all that compelling. It isn't scary or thought-provoking, but it's a decent attempt at dark fantasy/horror that's as ambitious as it is uneven. 6/10.

Despite appreciating horror very much (with a lot of classic ones out there, such as 'Halloween', 'Nightmare on Elm Street', 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', 'Night of the Living Dead' and 'The Exorcist', plus the best of Hammer House of Horror), even if not my favourite genre, it took me a while to get round to watching the 'Hellraiser' franchise. Due to having so much to watch and review, and the list keeps getting longer and longer.

The film that started the franchise off is not only for me by far the best of the 'Hellraiser' films it also for me, and quite a few others it seems, is one of the stronger horror films of the 80s, though not quite of all time. What is meant by being by far the best of the 'Hellraiser' films is that it is the only one to be above very good, the nine sequels were very variable (leaning towards the disappointing) and the latter films particularly are suggestive of the franchise having run its course.

While the original 'Hellraiser' will always be the best of the series, its first sequel 'Hellbound: Hellraiser II' is one of its better sequels. Would go as far to say from personal opinion it's the best. Not as good as the original and understandably polarising, but it doesn't disgrace it. In some ways it is somewhat of a retread in terms of story except with more gore and less clarity of storytelling, though the imagination and ambition remains.

'Hellbound: Hellraiser II' has its problems. The script is not as vivid and thought-provoking this time round, numerous times being cheesy and muddled. Will Hope is very bland in an underwritten role.

Coming off worst for me was the ending, the Cenobites did deserve a much better defeat than the slapdash and silly one that is here while the staging of the ending itself is more like an incomprehensible parody complete with a terrible, unintentionally silly looking Channard.

On the other hand, the production values mostly were fine. It's very atmospherically shot and the hellish imagery is disturbingly vivid. Apart from Channard, the effects are hardly schlocky and while prominent they are not overused or abused. The music score is an improvement here, more fitting with the atmosphere and very haunting music on its own. Tony Randel does more than competently when it comes to the direction, staying loyal to the spirit of the original. The script is patchy but still intrigues.

Same goes for the story, regardless of whether sense is a strong suit or not (it isn't), which is most notable for Pinhead's very intriguing back-story and more of the Cenobites. Do prefer the mysteriousness they had in the original from being catalysts rather than being heavily focused on, but they are genuinely frightening, still look good and seeing more of and to them made them more interesting. While the ending disappoints, the twist is a clever one. Like the original, 'Hellbound: Hellraiser II' is genuinely disturbing while having tension, suspense and dread, the creativity of the set-pieces and deaths still remaining. The inmate skin flaying especially will be embedded in my mind forever. The gore is more in quantity and more graphic, but it didn't feel that pointless to me even if some parts serve more purpose to the story than others.

Characters have personality and don't do anything that makes one infuriated by them, the detail to characterisation that was present in the original is here too. Cannot say anything bad about the performances, apart from Hope. Imogen Boorman brings nuance to a role not easy to pull off, while Clare Higgins and especially Kenneth Cranham are deliciously evil. Ashley Laurence is appealing and Doug Bradley shows why Pinhead is justifiably a horror icon.

To conclude, worthy sequel. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Disclaimer: I loved the original Hellraiser. The characters were interesting, believable and above all human. That made it all the more terrifying. The Cenobites were mysterious and undeniably evil. I had high hopes for Hellraiser II.

That being said, Hellbound: Hellraiser II is one of the biggest letdowns in movie history. Whereas in the original we had characters with believable motives (Julie was motivated by her lust for Frank, Frank was motivated by his obsession with pleasure and experiences etc...) in Hellraiser II we have bland caricatures. The bad guys are ridiculously evil, the good guys are pure and virtuous and nobody ever doubts anything. The original Hellraiser worked because we only saw glimpses of hell which allowed our imaginations to fill in the rest. There's nothing for the imagination to do here because the director felt like he should lay it all out for us. Tentacles, maggots, blades and blood galore. What's truly offensive is that the producers and director of the movie felt like they didn't need any of the basic elements used in movies and thought that the sheer amount of blood was enough to make a good movie. They were wrong. The further the movie goes, the worse it gets. By the time Kirsty and Tiffany are trampsing through hell, screaming each others' names, the movie itself has gone to hell. Seriously, we get all the clichés here. It's actually kind of admirable that they could fit it all in.

Hellraiser II is a boring, confusing slideshow of gory images with nothing to link them together, nothing to push the story along and nothing to emotionally connect the viewer to the movie. A real letdown. * out of ****

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!

I enjoyed the original "Hellraiser" movie and have been watching all the movies in the franchise as they have been released. Though I have to say that with each passing new movie that the franchise spawned, the quality of the storyline and ideas just grew weaker and weaker. However, the 1988 "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" is almost as good as the original movie.

The storyline in "Hellbound: Hellraiser II", as written by Peter Atkins, picks up after the events of the 1987 "Hellraiser" movie, and it is a good continuation of the storyline. There is a good continuity between the 1987 movie and this 1988 sequel, and that works very well in favor of the movie.

It was nice to see cast members from the original movie, such as Ashley Laurence, Clare Higgins and Sean Chapman return to reprise their characters from the first movie. Just as it was great to see the Cenobites return to the screen as well; that being Doug Bradley, Simon Bamford, Barbie Wilde and Nicholas Vince. I am not sure if all of those playing the Cenobites were from the first movie, though.

Visually then "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" is good. Sure, the movie is showing signs of being 34 years old already, but the effects are still adequate today and keep the movie as being watchable.

I enjoyed "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" and have seen it about five times or so, since it was originally released.

My rating of "Hellbound: Hellraiser II", from director Tony Randel, lands on a six out of ten stars.

Hellraiser was always going to be a hard act to follow (especially with Clive Barker handing over so much control to others). This first sequel starts promisingly enough though, beginning on the same night as the original ended. It features the return of Ashley Laurence's heroine Kirsty and the resurrection of wicked stepmom (no, really) Julia (Clare Higgins). However about two thirds into the movie any attempt at story progression, character development or coherency goes out the window and instead the film throws up albeit interesting imagery and ideas seemingly at random. That's not to say that Hellbound : Hellraiser 2 is a totally bad movie, it just seems like such a wasted opportunity. If the next sequel would have followed on more directly (instead of going stateside and bringing in different characters) maybe the ideas about Hell and Leviathan could have been explored and developed more fully. However without this safety blanket, much of Hellbound seems confused and half baked. Kenneth Cranham lends weight to the role of sinister Dr Channard but as soon as he's made into a cenobite the film goes into high camp and I wonder what happened to the sombre tone of the original. Clare Higgins seems t be enjoying playing her return as Julia like a Hollywood bitch on drugs and it's interesting to find out something about the origin of the cenobites albeit briefly(and at least Pinhead's human origin is something that does get explored further in Hellraiser III). If you like the first film, it's probably worth checking this one out and you may want t view it more than once to catch everything in it but just don't expect another Hellraiser like the original.

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.

Released a mere one year after the original Hellraiser movie shocked audiences with it's gore body horror and terrifying Cenobite demons Hellbound Hellraiser II continues the story from the first movie with the cast returning to reprise there roles including Doug Bradley as the lead Cenobite Pinhead his character became iconic in horror movie history and later became the focus of all the future sequels in the series and was the reason people still watched and followed the Hellraiser series long after the sequels became direct to video due to bad sales at the box office lower quality special and practical effects bad acting and storylines that went knowhere.

Hellbound expands on the story and goes more in depth with character backgrounds showing us the origins of pinhead and the rest of the Cenobites a more detailed look inside the hell summoned by the puzzlebox and it's inhabitants.

The Kirsty character returns in a story where she wants to find a way back to the Hellish world she had barley escaped from the first time around in order to find and save her father from the torture of the Cenobites also returning is the Julia character who is brought back from hell by a blood sacrifice on the mattress she died on in the first movie now a skinless monster like that of her traitorous ex lover Frank who wants her skin back.

If you enjoyed the first movie then you will enjoy the sequal it's bloodier more graphic and continues the original movies storyline with a great conclusion that adds more backstory to the characters more of the terrifying Pinhead and the Cenobites more of what made the first Hellraiser a masterpiece.

I don't recommend watching this movie if you are easily scared or have a weak stomach as it is one of the more graphic horror movies with lots of blood injury detail and gore.

Maybe it wasn't the best time for me to watch this, as I had a boil near my elbow and an expanding infection around it. That probably enhanced this movie's ability to make you feel queasy and light-headed.

I remember being fascinated by VHS covers as a kid at video stores. Horror especially got my attention. Hellbound seems to satisfy some of those morbid curiosities I'm sure we all carry to some degree. It doesn't have a rich or interesting story or characters, but it's imaginative in other ways.

There are all kinds of messed up images and concepts. It's weird that we watch horror movies in the first place. Why do we want to be scared, disgusted or horrified? I guess there has to be some sense of humour, morality or commentary on human nature for it to be properly enjoyable. But Hellbound seems to be more of a pure horror movie. I think that's why Ebert hated it and its predecessor. They're too depressing and pointless, even if the special effects are good and it establishes an effective mood.

It would be better if it explored the parallels between pleasure and pain more, which are only slightly alluded to. That seems to be a common theme in horror movies in general. It also could have showed us more about the origin and motivation of the Cenobites. And the doctor and girl's past could have been fleshed out more.

Apparently, it shares the record (with Titanic) for the most times two characters call out to each-other. I didn't notice so maybe that's a good thing. I was probably distracted by the disturbing and other-worldly visuals, wondering where it was going.

I think the original is probably better, but as horror sequels go, Hellbound is decent. I enjoyed the creative imagery. But it's not exactly upbeat or deep.

" A worthy sequel", " Better than the original", "A great horror movie"....

To those people who share these sentiments, i'd like to ask you... WHAT MOVIE WERE YOU WATCHING AND WHAT DRUGS WERE YOU ON?

This movie is an utter incoherent mess of a nightmare. I consider myself to be a person who is very generous with compliments especially when it comes to movies, and i especially like my horror movies with extra gore,and i loved the original Hellraiser. But this sequel is just terrible in every aspect.

First of all, The direction of the film is horrible, with scenes and sequences that were just messily and illogically slabbed together, and illogical actions by the characters(even for a horror movie)is commonplace. The plot is as plain and simple as a blank piece of paper, which is only prolonged by the seemingly never ending wanderings of two poorly built characters with irrational motivation in the corridors of hell. It seems like the story is simply made up along the way as the movie progresses, With "rules" suddenly changing...a reflection of weak foundation.

The special Effects were a significant step down from the original, even though they were more attempts at it in this sequel. The Effect with Dr. channard looked especially cheap even for the 80's.

This movie totally destroys what i feel made the first Hellraiser successful, Which is the mystique and the Darkness of the Cenobites and the Box, by over-exposure of "hell" and by over-revealing the secrets of the cenobites(such as how one becomes a cenobite). This takes away the mysterious, menacing factor to them, and makes them almost vulnerable. What were once strong, menacing characters are now just confused children with amnesia.

And then some scenes are just corny and lame, such as Kirsty wearing Julia's Skin, which is a weak attempt at a twist; and the lame attempt at a cool ending with the pointless rotating post scene.

Whether you're a fan of The HellRaiser series or not, I can't seriously believe that a person could say that he/she think this movie is even close to being decent. Quite possibly the worst sequel of all time. This movie alone could decimate the entire Hellraiser franchise.

Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 begins with Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) waking up in a hospital, after having survived the ordeal from the first film.

The doctors believe she is suffering from ptsd, after witnessing her family being murdered...and don't give much credence to her claims...thinking she has lost her mind.

The main doctor dismisses her calls to destroy the mattress that Julia died on...knowing that it will allow her to come back to life, like Frank (i'm pretty sure they say Ray in the film) did in the previous film.

Her only hope to prove her sanity is a young doctor, who is intrigued by her story- and probably crushing on her a little.

It's through his investigation that he discovers the doctor at the helm of the asylum is, himself, a sadistic madman- who, not only, encourages and enables his patients to torture themselves (as part of the ritual to revive those who've been taken to hell via the powers of the puzzle box)...but is also obsessed with the puzzle box Kirsty has been rambling on about...and seems to be sacrificing the mental patients to whatever it is he just spawned from hell.

So he starts to think she might be telling the truth...

The first 20-odd minutes of this film are essentially a re-cap of happenings from the first film (in the context of her telling her story to the police and doctors).

And, the introductory torture/reincarnation scene is super cringeworthy...in the sense that it literally makes you cringe.

From there, we watch as things go full on kinky, as the mad doctor forms a romantic relationship with his, now mummified, mistress from hell...whom he feeds other women that he keeps bound and naked in his home dungeon.

Obviously, after witnessing what he does...the young doctor helps Kirsty break out.

But he doesn't last too long...and she's, once again, left to fight Julia...and the mad doctor...on her own (at least at first).

(Because) The mad doctor- driven by an obsession to obtain occult knowledge- plans to use a traumatized young patient- named Tiffany- who he has been training to solve the puzzle boxes he has in his possession- to open a portal to hell.

When she does...their two worlds become one...as it enables Pinhead and his Cenobite minions to cross over into their dimension...while Kristy and Tiffany use the portal to enter Hell, with hopes they can free their parents from the confines of the labyrinth...which it is suggested, is the mind.

Upon confronting Kristy, Pinhead poses the question: if, when you enter Hell, you are trapped within your own mind...is it even possible to free another person, who is trapped in their own personal hell?

A very profound question, that requires psychological, mythological, and theological considerations to even begin to address.

Though, one particularly applicable to the situation that Kristy finds herself in.

Thus, in order to navigate her way through this mental prison, in which she has become trapped- and save her father- Kristy must confront her own trauma head on, and battle the demons that dwell within her own mind.

Her katabasis.

Though, I suppose it is also possible she really does traverse the dimensional boundaries into actual Hell...considering the young girl also goes through the experience, and all.

Either way, this all acts as a metaphor for them being trapped in a mental asylum (while, arguably, not even being crazy...or guilty of anything).

In this sense, the Cenobites become like the patients (whom Kristy is trying to free from the hell's of their own minds...by reminding them of who they were when they were humans); while the doctor/leviathan cenobite beast (who attempts to hold a coup in hell) is symbolic of the authoritarian level of control that the overseeing doctor has over the patients in an asylum.

The whole narrative in this film seems to be derived from the story of Guanyin- a Chinese princess, who chose an ascetic life, over one of a politically arranged marriage...before becoming a bodhisattva, and willingly going to hell, so that she could free the souls that have become trapped there.

And I really like the introduction of the character of Tiffany.

I'm hoping she maintains a leading role in the rest of the series, going forward.

Despite the fact that Barker delegated the screenplay writing and directorial roles to others for the production of this feature...it is actually the better of the two films.

As, storywise, it's much more complex than the first film...and does much more for the worldbuilding of the series.

While the setting and special effects continue to be badass.

Having watched the first two films now, I still feel like the Hellraiser story is incomplete.

As you are left with so many questions about the world and it's characters.

That being said...it's a good way to keep you engaged with the series, as it continues.

Looking forward to watching Hellraiser III!

7 out 10.

Hellraiser 2 starts where the previous chapter ended: Kirsty is traumatized on a psychiatric hospital, managed by doctor Channard, that is into the cube/puzzle that open up gates between the Earth and the Hell. I have to say that the quality of practical effects is (almost) always top notch. The realism of some dead bodies, or the make up on Julia when she is summoned back to Earth, is extremely well done, so nothing to say here. Hell locations looks creepy, physical sets were nicely build, they really paid attention to details, including the lighting. Regarding digital effects, well I was expecting an improvement, but I cannot complain too much, considering the technical limitations of the time, and the budget on play.

The real problem with this movie is the story itself. The first movie was way much more intriguing, and overall was scarier than this one, the acting was better, and the main villain was terrifying. Sean Chapman gave a wonderful performance. The whole production was undertone, and I did not feel any kind of anxiety or climax. I also want to point out how annoying and useless Kirsty is in the movie: she constantly needs help from other people in order to survive and she always take the wrong decision. If you have watched the first chapter, you can try to give it a shot, but you might be disappointed in the end.

Hellraiser 2 is a startling film. Clive Barkers imagery of hell is profane, violent, and an oddly erotic movie from the off. The sequel continues the fantastic story, and builds on the characters we saw, whilst adding some new ones to the mix. As well as re-introducing the dead ones! As foul and degrading as newer gore porn flicks are today, Hellbound walks all over them with style and substance which has been unmatched ever since. For 1988, Hellraiser 2 is nothing short of breathtaking, and has not dated one bit. The storyline is intelligent and despite the incredible sights of hell and its inhabitants, Hellbound justifies the fantasy with thoughtful dialogue and logic and a powerful story. It also benefits that the cast in this film are mostly great actors who do a great job of suspending the viewers disbelief.

Barker gives credibility to the monster in the movie. Every beast in this film has a human side and you may even feel warmed to them when they are faced with dilemmas and dramas which question even their beliefs. There is a powerful scene in which Pinhead and his minions learn of their own past from Kirsty, the heroin of the story who is pursued by the cenobites for opening the puzzle box. Pinhead even begins to look human at this point showing the "bad guys" in a different light. Before long the demons actually become the "good guys", and temporarily co-exist with Kirsty to counter the evil Doctor's hand over hell.

The violence and gore offered by Hellbound is excessive and delivered to the viewer in such horrific, profane ways it has definitely had an impact on its viewing demographic. Barker made a great job of communicating to the director his view of the film from a novel and it's a gruesome one. So gruesome it will immediately turn away many within the opening minutes.

I recommend this movie for anyone who's into horror or those who think the genre is just Hostel and Saw. Hellbound, as indeed the original, breathes new life into the horror movie and for every pint of spilled blood, brings intelligence and style in buckets.

9/10

Having earned fourteen times its budget at the box office, Hellraiser naturally ended up being classified as a great success, despite the many negative reviews the work had received at the time. That said, just over a year later their sequel, Hellraiser II - Reborn from the Dark, hit theaters, continuing the story of Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) and her accidental involvement with the cenobites.

The plot takes place shortly after the events of the first film, in such a way that the feature film is already opened with a sequence that summarizes the events of the previous work. Then we see the emergence of the iconic Pinhead (Doug Bradley), who, to our surprise, was an ordinary person who had unlocked the secret of one of the cubes. The focus then shifts to Kirsty, now in a mental hospital, since, as in any good horror movie, no one believes her story - something that, in this case, we have to accept, after all, who would believe someone saying who had had his family killed by sadomasochists from Hell, summoned by a magic cube? What Kirsty didn't expect is that her story with the cenobites isn't over yet.

Hellraiser was never a great movie, in fact, it can barely qualify as "good" as its many problems are hardly ignored. Even so, it is a work sustained almost exclusively by its look, which is worthy of going down in cinema history as one of the most frightening representations of the underworld. This is the factor that makes the first film something emblematic and much of this is due to the limited information provided by Clive Barker's script. In essence, all we know is that the mysterious cube summons these demonic creatures and nothing else. Such a question, of course, allows the atmosphere of horror to be established in an engaging way, leaving much to the viewer's imagination.

Hellraiser II, in turn, often ignores this aspect of its predecessor, bringing us details that undermine the mythology created by Barker - details that we never ask to see. By showing how the iconic Pinhead arose, in addition to revealing that all the other cenobites, too, were once human, his mysterious figure loses much of its luster, as now, somehow, the relationship of the spectator with the villain is made possible. At certain points we see him as a victim, just as Kirsty is - his curiosity was his undoing, and our knowledge of it pushes limits on our imagination.

And, albeit with some errors, Hellraiser II: Reborn of Darkness manages to improve and deepen the entire story about this Parallel Universe of pain and pleasure, as the story focuses especially on increasing that scope. The idea of the existence of several enigmas of the Configuration of Lamentations shows the vastness of this world. From the second act, practically the entire adventure takes place inside the Labyrinth, the Hell of the Cenobites. Here, the full appearance of the Order, of Pinhead and his minions also stands out. It could be a bad thing, since the antagonist's excessive use can discredit his image. However, that doesn't happen in this movie for the reason that its entrances get to be powerful, and of course with an atmosphere and a soundtrack that mark the presence of such creatures. Even the appearances of other characters from the previous film also create an idea of continuity.

This great slip, however, does not make this continuation something totally execrable, even if it is inferior to the original, even though many of the problems of the previous work were corrected. Tony Randel, having this as his first feature film, proves to be a far superior director to Barker, using his decoupage to play with the viewer's perception, taking away our notion of space in the many sequences set in the world of the cenobites. The feeling of claustrophobia is created, as we find ourselves as lost in that place as the protagonist herself. Furthermore, it is necessary to note how the film does not sin in its changes of focus in the same way as the previous one, knowing how to work with parallel times more organically.

Here, the use of practical effects here is even improved. With a bigger budget, which is visible in production, the Cenobites and producers could literally use rivers and rivers of blood. Not least, the scenes are effusively stained in red tones in practically every corner. The return of Julia Cotton, the previous character through a bloodied mattress, is one of the most emblematic scenes in the film, and it abuses this graphic violence. As for the special effects, focused especially from the second act, logically for the current advances they are extremely dated. However, even so, for the time they were used correctly, without taking the position of practical effects, which remain the highlight of Hellraiser, coupled with competent direction and a play of light and shadow that causes this feeling of repulsion, but at the same time of curiosity.

However, although the more technical aspects were improved or remained constant, it is not possible to say the same about the story. Undoubtedly the main problem of Hellraiser II: Dark Reborn. First, as much as it is a continuation of the previous year's feature, it ends up getting lost in creating a safe bridge to continue its story. At the end of Reborn from Hell, the house was torched and, in theory, the mattress where Julia died was also. But he appears intact, with just the bloodstains. In addition, Kirsty ends up with her "boyfriend" throwing the Setting of Lamentations into a bonfire. And here, she finds herself alone inside a madhouse. Therefore, there are errors that come to be gross of continuity. However, even abstracting such situations and a better expansion of mythology, there are still other problems, the change in tone.

If the 1987 Hellraiser had a dark, unearthly tone of danger but not a Friday the 13th-style card-carrying slasher in Hellraiser II: Reborn from Darkness, the situation begins to change. As the script places most of its activities in Hell, we have a game of cat and mouse in this region. Here, Hellraiser loses one of its biggest mechanics, the mystery, to then be more tied to the idea of an antagonist who is always after the main characters. Even the twist within the third act, in which Pinhead realizes he once had his humanity, is unconvincing, and in fact completely wastes the character. There is a gap here between the mythology, which is authentic in its creation, and the script, which is not that creative. If before there was an aura of mystery, now the debacle of running practically takes the spotlight of the film.

Peter Atkins' script, too, has clear flaws, such as the entire construction and use of the character Tiffany (Imogen Boorman), which is presented early in the film, forgotten for a long time and then rescued by the text, offering lousy justifications for their involvement in the overall plot, none of them truly convincing us. The fact that Kirsty wasn't the least bit traumatized by everything she'd seen before, either, is hard to believe, an issue that only gets worse with the protagonist's little reluctance to return to that distorted dimension. The antagonist himself, who later becomes Doctor Channard (Kenneth Cranham) in a Cenobite version is completely devoid of the same energy as the original Cenobites. It is clear that the script tried to be different from the original, but it was completely lost.

Hellbound: Hellraiser II has two significant differences from the original movie. It features much more violence and gory scenes, and it's heavily exaggerated in the fantasy of its story, with most of the script being set in the hell of the cenobites. Overall, it's a little inferior to the Clive Barker movie, but still quite entertaining, with some pretty disturbing scenes like Dr. Channard's visit to the underground psychiatric clinic, where his patients are held in individual cells, and a of them in particular he has the insane habit of mutilating his own body violently thinking he is being devoured alive by worms; or the sequence of Dr. Channard's own transformation into a hideous cenobite suspended over his head by an enormous tentacle, presenting an infinity of sharp objects in his hands, and which all the time makes ironic comments and medical and surgical puns; or the scene showing several decomposed corpses hanging from ropes in the attic of Dr. Channard's house, which were slowly rotting among the pestilential flies and worms after serving as food for Julia to regain skin and physical shape.

Furthermore, without much different to tell this time, the film is limited to the process of repeating some situations from the previous one, something that, in the continuity of the franchise, would promote the characters from the hell dimension to the repetition status that involves tinkering with the box/cube, face the demons and send them to hell. Hellraiser II may not be as powerful as its predecessor, but it's still a continuation that retains the roots of its franchise. Firstly, it is obvious to denote that the use of the sadomasochistic atmosphere, with enviable amounts of blood and gore still continues. The construction of the skinless human body as well as the oppressive atmosphere of the Cenobites remains. The direction manages to maintain the standard, and increases the addiction of the grotesque and curious even more in relation to the first one. Furthermore, Pinhead remains in the same majesty as ever. In addition, the idea of increasing the franchise's mythology, adding the Labyrinth, as well as the Leviathan, for example, give strength to guide the script and the viewer in even greater curiosities in this world. Seeing other Lament Settings, as well as scenes of the Cenobites and Julia's return is without a doubt awe-inspiring.

I admit to not being much of a fan of horror films , I can take them or leave them , but that doesn`t stop me from knowing what a good horror film should be. Horror films should be about irony , protestant ethics and above all - fun . That`s why HELLRAISER is my all time favourite horror film . I`m not a fan of sequels either so I wasn`t really expecting much with HELLBOUND which is just as well because this a poor film with some disturbing scenes that are just plain cruel

The script is really bad with confusing continuity with the first film . Why is Kirsty confined to a hospital ? She looked relatively well in the final scene of HELLRAISER , but no explanation is forthcoming . And - unlike stomach churning blood letting - explanations are a scarce commidity in this film , we see a woman which I take it is Tiffany`s mother pleading for someone to help her daughter then a hand clamping over her mouth . What`s that about then ? It`s got nothing do with the plot because HELLBOUND has no plot , everyone runs back and forth through corridors like a bad episode of DOCTOR WHO. Another irritant is the fact that everyone states the obvious " It`s coming ....it certainly is ..... Weird . F****** weird " and the all time classic howler " It was horrible . She had no skin " Maybe HELLBOUND was originally written for radio ? Oh and watch out for the cop out ending where Kirsty saves Tiffany

Clare Higgins and Kenneth Cranham do the best they can with the script and they give the best performances of the film which isn`t saying much. Ashley Laurence is a very attractive young woman but being drop dead gorgeous is no substitute for acting talent and it comes as no surprise she didn`t win an oscar for HELLBOUND , but the worst performance award goes to William Hope as Kyle though perhaps I shouldn`t be so critical since he gets landed with the worst lines and Sir Alec Guinness would be hard pressed to make something of the laughable dialogue Kyle has to speak

Tony Randell seems to have taken the script too literally :" It`s a dire script so this calls for dire directing " Watch out for the umpteen revealing mistakes that can be spotted and also look out for the atrocious editing especially at the end where Channard menaces Tiffany . Tiffany has a terrified look on her face then when the camera cuts to another angle she has an entirely different expression ! This happens just before Kirsty saves the day . I know I`ve mentioned that before , but I`ll mention it again because I couldn`t believe the cop out ending, what an insult. Tony Randell also seems to think horror films are all about blood and boy do we get it by the bucket load . Most infamous scene as everyone has pointed out is the lunatic with razor blade which is just sick

HELLBOUND does have one thing that makes it worth watching and that`s the music . Christopher Young deserved at the very least an oscar nomination for the haunting score , but it`s a shame we got saddled with such a poor unpleasant film