Hellraiser was a big success and sure enough, a second film was made and released the following year in 1988. But, a sequel was already greenlit when the first film was in post production. So it is safe to say that there is a lot that this film should bring to the table. Clive Barker (who was the author of the original book and wrote and directed the first film) stepped away from the director's chair this time and instead was a producer and this time Tony Randel (who did makeup effects on Escape from New York) is in the director's chair. Much of the original cast (and I say most) returned for this film with Ashley Laurence being the lead for this film. The film was still a modest success at the time of release, so much so that a third Hellraiser film was released in 1992.
Kirsty is in a mental hospital run by Dr. Chanard. Police have found the dead bodies and want answers. Kirsty recieves a message from who she thinks is her father who is trapped in hell. It is up to Kirsty to help rescue her father and along the way she will meet an old friend...
Hellbound: Hellraiser II was one of those films that when I first watched it, I liked it better than the original. Now, that is not so much the case. Hellbound: Hellraiser II retains much of the same style and tone of the original which makes this an easy double feature with the original film (much like the first two Halloween films). What Hellbound: Hellraiser II does is try to go bigger and bigger it goes with it's special effects. The special effects are just plain amazing and dare I say, better than the original though I do not think that I can argue that there is more gore in this film than previously. The acting is heavily improved this time around and here is something original. Apparently there was ADR used and what not. Anyways..... I find the acting to be improved. Gone is the hammy line deliveries. The Cenobites are in the film a little bit more and their role in the film is probably the best depiction of the Cenobites in any of the Hellraiser films (at least that I can recall). We even get a small bit of an origin story of Pinhead in the very beginning of the film. Now my big negative with this film is it's story which is a mess. Now I can largely watch this film without any problem with regards to the story. The story just does not work well with me. Gone is the eroticism of the first film and whatnot. The story brings up interesting points and then just does not expand upon them. Along the way, I find lots of inconsistancies with the film as well. There is alot and I mean A LOT. There is one big key point of the story (perhaps already mentioned) that I cannot go too deep into without spoiling the film. Let's just say that the story should have been rewritten. Some questions are raised about the amount of Lament Configuration boxes in existence as we before believed that there was one and to my knowledge there is only one (except in this film where multiple are shown but only one is in use). Location change from England to America (which slipped past me the first time I watched this film). Those are really the only ones that I can truly give out without spoiling the film.
The question remains..... Is Hellbound: Hellraiser II a fun film? Yes, I think so. Hellbound: Hellraiser II is not any better than Hellraiser. It just isn't. By itself, it could be a great film. But as a sequel, it pales.
Kirsty is in a mental hospital run by Dr. Chanard. Police have found the dead bodies and want answers. Kirsty recieves a message from who she thinks is her father who is trapped in hell. It is up to Kirsty to help rescue her father and along the way she will meet an old friend...
Hellbound: Hellraiser II was one of those films that when I first watched it, I liked it better than the original. Now, that is not so much the case. Hellbound: Hellraiser II retains much of the same style and tone of the original which makes this an easy double feature with the original film (much like the first two Halloween films). What Hellbound: Hellraiser II does is try to go bigger and bigger it goes with it's special effects. The special effects are just plain amazing and dare I say, better than the original though I do not think that I can argue that there is more gore in this film than previously. The acting is heavily improved this time around and here is something original. Apparently there was ADR used and what not. Anyways..... I find the acting to be improved. Gone is the hammy line deliveries. The Cenobites are in the film a little bit more and their role in the film is probably the best depiction of the Cenobites in any of the Hellraiser films (at least that I can recall). We even get a small bit of an origin story of Pinhead in the very beginning of the film. Now my big negative with this film is it's story which is a mess. Now I can largely watch this film without any problem with regards to the story. The story just does not work well with me. Gone is the eroticism of the first film and whatnot. The story brings up interesting points and then just does not expand upon them. Along the way, I find lots of inconsistancies with the film as well. There is alot and I mean A LOT. There is one big key point of the story (perhaps already mentioned) that I cannot go too deep into without spoiling the film. Let's just say that the story should have been rewritten. Some questions are raised about the amount of Lament Configuration boxes in existence as we before believed that there was one and to my knowledge there is only one (except in this film where multiple are shown but only one is in use). Location change from England to America (which slipped past me the first time I watched this film). Those are really the only ones that I can truly give out without spoiling the film.
The question remains..... Is Hellbound: Hellraiser II a fun film? Yes, I think so. Hellbound: Hellraiser II is not any better than Hellraiser. It just isn't. By itself, it could be a great film. But as a sequel, it pales.