Now today I have decided to reach into my own personal stock of movies and watch Hellbound: Hellraiser II. But don't worry, you can still watch this on Netflix! (As well as all the other installments from the Hellraiser world).
You might be asking yourself, "Why didn't you start with reviewing Hellraiser?" Well I decided with the first sequel because A) As we already know I love mental hospitals and any movie set in one, for which this one is, and B) This movie has more Cenobites! Which makes it a lot more interesting (even if it's only marginally).
Anyways, here is the trailer:
Released in 1988 and directed by Tony Randel this movie stars Doug Bradley as Pinhead and Ashely Laurence as Kristy Cotton (oh what alliteration!) Honestly I am not sure why Clive Barker did not return to direct the sequel, but this movie is based on his writing.
What is great about this movie is that it gives us more back story as to who Pinhead is and why he became a pin cushion (Although most of these scenes had to be unfortunately cut due to budgetary reasons; however more of his story is touched on in Hellraiser: III) It also picks up right after the events from the first movie. Kristy finds herself in a mental institution where the occult-obsessive head of the institution resurrects Julia and unleashes the Cenobites! Also, if you will recall, from yesterday's Special Edition blog where my friend Amanda and I watched the movie Cabin In The Woods, one of the choices for death was a Cenobite like character.
Now I'm not saying that this one is better than the first, (it's not by any means). Unfortunately I believe that this is largely due in part because the actor who played Larry Cotton, Andrew Robinson, refused to reprise his role in the sequel which required the writers to do a hasty rewrite which can explain the muddled story structure of the film.
Going back to the story, after Dr. Channard brings back Julia, she is just a mess of blood and muscle. Makes you wonder how much blood they had to use on set and also how long she had to be in makeup for these scenes. If you notice when she is wearing the white suit, it is covered in blood from her putting it on, but when she is walking barefoot on the white carpet there are no bloody footprints!
Although nothing can beat the Frank resurrection scene from Hellrasier:
Imogen Boorman who plays Tiffany is a mute child who is apparently obsessed with puzzles. So who better to give the Lament Configuration to! Granted you have to give Pinhead some credit when the Cenobites are called forth. They do not take Tiffany away because he knows that it was not her hands that called them, but desire (from Dr. Channard).
Has anyone else noticed how much Ashley Laurence (top) and Heather Langenkamp (bottom) look alike? Must be a 1980's horror movie thing.
Okay, enough with the Hellraiser Memes...
Whoops, one got past me. Okay now that I got all of that out of my system.
Guess I should mention something about the DVD features. On the DVD copy that I own, there is a pretty interesting featurette that features Clive Barker, Doug Bradly, and a lot of other important people from the movies; it's called Lost In The Labyrinth and is produced by Mr. Barker. There is also the theatrical trailer as well as a still gallery.
One of the great things about the Hellraiser world is that the gore is really great. The special effects artists really put a lot into their craft to produce some really gnarly stuff. (And yes, I did just use the word gnarly).
Well to wrap up my rambling: IMDB gives Hellbound: Hellraiser II 6.2 out of 10 stars. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 50% with a 65% audience approval rating. I myself give it a very solid 3.5 out of 5 skulls. It just has so many sights to show you!
Well now that I know all of the Hellraiser movies are on Netflix don't be surprised if I review another one for tomorrow!
Until then,
Sleep tight and don't let the zombies bite!
- JD
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