I was young when I first saw HELLRAISER and it was one of those films that scared the living hell out of me. To this day I still think Pinhead is one of the most frightening villains in horror history. The creative and dark mind of Clive Barker is what really brings the story of the first film to life; however I am more of a fan of the second film, than the first, even though I know the first film is superior in so many ways. HELLBOUND is however a very fun and well put together horror fantasy film that brings you into the cenobites world and involves more monster and creatures.
HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II starts out with Kristy (Ashley Laurence) is brought to an institution after her family was killed by Pinhead and the rest of the cenobites in the first film. The head doctor ( Kenneth Cranham) of the place has a big obsession with the occult and just so happens to know a bit about Kristy’s case. He of course gets his hand on the puzzle box as well as the blood stained mattress in which Julia (Clare Higgins) Kristy’s stepmother was killed on. The doctor, with the knowledge of the occult, and the puzzle box brings Julia back to life by feeding her some of his patients, so she can grow back into her own undead skin. He wants her help in opening up the box so that he can experience the other dimension where the cenobites reside. However, Kristy with the help of a girl named Tiffany (Imogen Boorman) and an institution assistant named Kyle (William Hope) will interfere and try to stop the doctor and Julia from opening the gateway to hell. But that might not be the case as the cenobites have a plan to bring their human prey into their world.
My reason why I like this film more than the original merely comes from the fact that film moves along faster, has a lot more creatures and monster effects, and it brings us into this fantasy world where all hell brakes loose and around every turn is another problem for our characters. Sure it’s not a frightening or as dark as the first film was, but I think as a sequel to a great horror film, HELLBOUND stands on its own.
The overall script for this film is pretty decent, as well as the films acting and overall production value. The make-up and monster effects are really what make this film what it is. Pinhead is of course just as scary and morbid as he is in the first film and I think he, along with the rest of the cenobites get more screen time in this film. The odd fantasy world visuals and overall set design are not half bad for a film that was made in 1988, when CGI was first starting to make ground in films but was not quite there yet. Actually this film used optical effects to make the hellish world come to life in the film along with a series of camera tricks and matte effects.
Overall, I really don’t have anything but good things to say about HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II, it’s a great sequel to a horror film that is considered one of the most frightening horror films of the nineteen eighties. The problem is that when the franchised continued on after the second one, the movies progressively got worse. Still Anchor Bay put together one hell of a DVD for the films 20th Anniversary, and it’s full or many good features to make any fan of the HELLRAISER films happy as a cenobite in hell.
– Horror Bob
DVD DETAILS:
– Audio commentary with director Tony Randel, screenwriter Peter Atkins and actor Ashley Laurence
– Theatrical Trailers (4) and TV Spots (2)
– “The Soul Patrol” featurette – NEW interviews with Cenobite actors
– “Outside the Box” featurette – NEW interview with director Tony Randel
– “The Doctor is In” featurette – NEW interview with Kenneth Cranham
– “Under the Skin” featurette — Doug Bradley on Hellbound: Hellraiser II
– “Lost in the Labyrinth” featurette
– On-set interview with Clive Barker
– On-set interviews with cast and crew
– Poster and stills gallery
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
