Hellbound: Hellraiser II

Starring: , Ashley Laurence, Doug Bradley, William Hope, Imogen Boorman, Clare Higgins, Kenneth Cranham, Sean Chapman
Directed by: Tony Randel
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Thriller
1988

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) struggles with the awful memory of the Cenobites as she is once again pulled back into their nightmarish world.

Review:

Tim: I have to admit that I was very uncomfortable with the thought of watching this film. The original Hellraiser was one of the most disgusting movies I've ever seen, and I was not looking forward to another round with the Cenobites and their sadomasochistic hell. I swallowed my fears, though, and I watched Hellbound: Hellraiser II. What's funny is how uncomfortable these movies make me. I found myself having trouble keeping my eyes on the screen- I kept glancing out the window or down at the table, rather than looking at the film directly. I had to force myself to keep my eyes focused on the screen. That's an amazing achievement for a horror film.

This movie did fix some of the complaints I had with the original (although it's still plenty flawed). I appreciate that this film was not nearly so vile and disgusting as the original. There's still a ton of cringe-worthy moments, but this movie didn't make me feel sick like the original. Whereas Hellraiser spent way, way too much time focused on bringing Uncle Frank back from the dead, this movie fast-forwards through those similar scenes quite quickly. I was very thankful for that. While there's still many nightmarish, phantasmagoric moments, they were a little easier to handle this time. I also appreciate that the characters act slightly more logically. One of the biggest flaws in the original is just how stupid so many of the characters were- their actions made no sense at all, and it was maddening. This film still has a few of those moments, but they were fewer.

While several things were improved, there were still some major flaws here. The biggest complaint I have with this sequel is that the story is just a mess. I followed the story, but it wasn't exactly easy. The movie is a bit too muddled for its own good. There are several moments, especially in the middle of the film that feel like the wheels had fallen off the script. I get where the movie was trying to go, but it certainly didn't take the best way to get there. I lost interest at a few points. I think much of Clive Barker's original story showed up here, but there was something seriously wrong with the screenplay.

I have to say that it was interesting to learn more about the Cenobites, but I don't feel like their story was told very effectively. In the film's prologue, we see Pinhead before he became a Cenobite, and we witness that transformation. That is really cool, but this scene gives us just a little glimpse. I wish the film would have spent a little more time exploring their backstory. Likewise, towards the end of the film, we learn that all the Cenobites were human once. This wasn't exactly a revolutionary revelation, but it was kind of cool. Again, though, I was a bit confused about what exactly that was supposed to mean. I get the revelation, but in the context of the movie, it felt underdeveloped.

The special effects were pretty good in this film. It certainly looked better than the original. I liked that we got to see into the Cenobites' world a little bit, although I admit being very confused about their giant God thing (was it called Leviathan? That's not very original). That view was pretty interesting. Unfortunately, the story that got us there was just a mess. Kirsty, who's definitely our main protagonist (I love that most of the original cast came back here) decides to find her father, who is trapped in hell. That is what propels the story forward, but it just gets muddled beyond belief. We have a doctor obsessed with the cube, we have Julia trying to come back from the dead, a bizarre and ineffective subplot with Uncle Frank, a weird girl who's very good at puzzles, and a few others. These storylines aren't told very well, so it just gets messy. They are too disjointed, and the connections aren't done properly. It just didn't work story-wise.

It would have helped to have a decent actor in this film. Ashley Laurence is less than decent, but I have to say she's better here than in the original. Doug Bradley was probably the highlight of the film as Pinhead. I suppose Clare Higgins was decent, but not great. No one in the cast does anything noteworthy.

I appreciate that this film was much easier to watch than the original. It was still nasty, but much less disgusting. I also like that some of the flaws from the original were fixed- unfortunately, the story is just too weak, and that completely sinks the film. This isn't a terrible movie, but it is a step down from the original. I thought it was a decent horror movie sequel, and it did make me very uncomfortable watching it. At some point, I'll try to watch the third film, but I need some time to push these images out of my head before I do.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Hellraiser, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth