Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) New World/Horror RT: 99 minutes Unrated Version (language, extremely graphic violence and gore, brief nudity and sex) Director: Tony Randel Screenplay: Peter Atkins Music: Christopher Young Cinematography: Robin Vidgeon Release date: December 24, 1988 (US) Cast: Claire Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Kenneth Cranham, Imogen Boorman, William Hope, Doug Bradley, Nicholas Vince, Simon Bamford, Barbie Wilde, Sean Chapman, Oliver Smith, Deborah Joel, Angus McInnes. Box Office: $12 million (US)
Rating: ***
As far as horror sequels go, Hellbound: Hellraiser II is solid, but I’ll always remember it as the last movie distributed theatrically by New World Pictures. I was blindsided by the news a few months later that the studio had effectively shut down. I don’t think they were expecting it either.
When I saw Hellraiser II with a group of friends on Christmas Eve that year, it came with trailers for two upcoming movies, The Punisher and Warlock. 1989 stands as the year that the Golden Age of B-movies came to an end with the closing of New World and Cannon Films. But at least NW went out in style.
Like I said, Hellraiser II is a surprisingly decent fright flick. Once again, it more than delivers when it comes to gore. It was sufficiently bloody in its original R-rated form, but the unrated version is an even bigger and bloodier mess. I knew it would have to be since it’s six minutes longer than the version released to theaters.
That aspect of Hellraiser II is awesome. Sadly, it stumbles when it comes to narrative. It starts out strong, but kind of loses its way about midway through. That’s not to say that the picture is a failure, it just isn’t as strong a movie as its predecessor. Such is the fate of many a sequel.
The movie opens with Pinhead’s backstory. Prior to becoming a Cenobite, he was a British Army captain named Elliot Spencer (Bradley). He’s transformed into the evil being after solving the puzzle box and opening the door to Hell. The scene then shifts to present-day, just hours after the events of the previous film. Kirsty (Laurence) awakens in a psychiatric hospital where a detective proceeds to question her about what happened. Naturally, he doesn’t believe her story and leaves her in the care of Dr. Phillip Channard (Cranham, Closed Circuit).
What she doesn’t know is that Channard knows all about the Cenobites and the Lament Configuration. He’s been obsessed with the puzzle box for years. He brings home the bloody mattress that Julia (Higgins) died on and resurrects her by sacrificing one of his most disturbed patients, a self-mutilator. When Kirsty hears of this, she convinces Channard’s assistant Kyle (Hope, Aliens) to break her out of the institute so she can stop Julia. Also, she believes her father is trapped in Hell because of a mysterious message written in blood on the wall in her hospital room.
Shortly after Kirsty arrives at the doctor’s home to deal with her revived stepmom, he brings home a young patient named Tiffany (Boorman, Dreamchild), a semi-catatonic girl with a penchant for solving puzzles. She easily solves the puzzle box and opens the gateway. The four of them- Kirsty, Channard, Julia and Tiffany- enter into the Cenobite realm and begin a journey through Hell.
That’s when Hellraiser II loses its way. The characters spend the second half of the movie wandering around Hell which is envisioned as a huge labyrinth in a stormy void. Okay, I have to admit it’s pretty cool-looking. I like that the makers don’t go for the traditional fiery pit of doom and gloom scenario. However, the movie slows down once the characters enter Hell. It doesn’t derail the picture, but it does make it less than it could have been.
I think a huge part of the problem is that writer-director Clive Barker didn’t return for Hellraiser II. He hands the directorial reins to Tony Randel (Ticks) who does a capable job of it as does screenwriter Peter Atkins (the Wishmaster movies). Since Barker wrote the novella upon which the first Hellraiser was based, it stands to reason he understands the material better than anybody else. He brought a unique vision to that first movie. The makers of the sequel attempt to duplicate it and mostly succeed. It just lacks Barker’s special touch.
At least Hellraiser II doesn’t skimp on the gory stuff. I forget who, but one critic said that if your idea of entertainment is seeing people without skin, then this movie’s for you. I think there’s more to the film than that, but gory horror isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, so I understand.
Once again, Christopher Young’s score adds a strong note of eeriness to the proceedings. The visuals are top-notch as well. That’s another area in which Hellraiser II delivers. Like its predecessor, it resembles a nightmare. The two movies are very imaginative in the scariest sense of the word. The cast does a commendable job. Boorman is especially good as Tiffany. Bradley does an amazing job as well with Pinhead discovering his forgotten past as a human.
Like its predecessor, Hellraiser II is a full-blooded horror movie. It has some genuinely scary moments and frightening imagery. Despite a few flaws, it works rather well. It’s definitely the best of the Hellraiser sequels.
SPECIAL NOTE: Some have complained that they don’t understand everything that’s going on in the Hellraiser movies. I see their point. I guess you really need to read the book or at least check out the synopsis on Wikipedia. It really does explain a lot. For example, I didn’t really know what that lozenge-shaped structure was floating above Hell. It’s Leviathan, a god-like entity that rules the realm of the Cenobites. Now I know and so do you.
