Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)

Kirsty is brought to an institution after the death of her family, where the occult-obsessive head resurrects Julia and unleashes the Cenobites once again.

Director:

Tony Randel

Writers:

Clive Barker (story), Peter Atkins (screenplay)

Stars:

Doug Bradley, Ashley Laurence, Clare Higgins

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clare Higgins	...	Julia Cotton
Ashley Laurence	...	Kirsty Cotton
Kenneth Cranham	...	Dr. Philip Channard / Channard Cenobite
Imogen Boorman	...	Tiffany
Sean Chapman	...	Uncle Frank Cotton
William Hope	...	Kyle MacRae
Doug Bradley	...	Pinhead / Captain Elliot Spencer
Barbie Wilde	...	Female Cenobite
Simon Bamford	...	Butterball Cenobite
Nicholas Vince	...	Chatterer Cenobite / Chatter II Cenobite
Oliver Smith	...	Mr. Browning / Skinless Frank
Angus MacInnes	...	Homicide Detective Ronson (as Angus McInnes)
Deborah Joel	...	Skinless Julia
James Tillitt	...	Officer Cortez
Bradley Lavelle	...	Officer Kucich

Storyline

Doctor Channard is sent a new patient, a girl warning of the terrible creatures that have destroyed her family, Cenobites who offer the most intense sensations of pleasure and pain. But Channard has been searching for the doorway to Hell for years, and Kirsty must follow him to save her father and witness the power struggles among the newly damned.

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Plot Keywords:

puzzle | demon | hell | psychiatric hospital | doctor | 

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Taglines:

Time to play.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 December 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hellraiser II

Filming Locations:

Pine Ridge House, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,185,511, 26 December 1988

Gross USA:

$12,090,735

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,090,735

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Futures, New World Pictures, Troopstar

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 99 min (uncut) 78 min (heavily cut) (TV) 88 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Andrew Robinson refused to reprise his role as Larry Cotton, forcing hasty script rewrites. This partially accounts for the muddled story structure of the final film.

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Goofs

When we see Julia in Channard's house, she is dripping blood, as she is skinless. From where she is standing, she would have had to walk across the room, dripping blood, but the carpet is very clean, excluding the area where she is standing.

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Quotes

Julia Cotton: Oh, you poor boy. You look awful. Come here. Come to mother. What's your name?
Kyle MacRae: Kyle...
Julia Cotton: I'm Julia.

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Alternate Versions

A scene was partially shot featuring Stephen Calcutt as the tall intern, and an unknown Canadian actor as the large intern, chasing after Tiffany (Imogen Boorman) into the fairground and returning her to the Channard Institute, however this footage was not included in the theatrical cut nor the special edition of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in City Dragon (1995)

User Reviews

Outstanding adventure in horror

Hellraiser 2 is a startling film. Clive Barkers imagery of hell is profane, violent, and an oddly erotic movie from the off. The sequel continues the fantastic story, and builds on the characters we saw, whilst adding some new ones to the mix. As well as re-introducing the dead ones! As foul and degrading as newer gore porn flicks are today, Hellbound walks all over them with style and substance which has been unmatched ever since. For 1988, Hellraiser 2 is nothing short of breathtaking, and has not dated one bit. The storyline is intelligent and despite the incredible sights of hell and its inhabitants, Hellbound justifies the fantasy with thoughtful dialogue and logic and a powerful story. It also benefits that the cast in this film are mostly great actors who do a great job of suspending the viewers disbelief.

Barker gives credibility to the monster in the movie. Every beast in this film has a human side and you may even feel warmed to them when they are faced with dilemmas and dramas which question even their beliefs. There is a powerful scene in which Pinhead and his minions learn of their own past from Kirsty, the heroin of the story who is pursued by the cenobites for opening the puzzle box. Pinhead even begins to look human at this point showing the "bad guys" in a different light. Before long the demons actually become the "good guys", and temporarily co-exist with Kirsty to counter the evil Doctor's hand over hell.

The violence and gore offered by Hellbound is excessive and delivered to the viewer in such horrific, profane ways it has definitely had an impact on its viewing demographic. Barker made a great job of communicating to the director his view of the film from a novel and it's a gruesome one. So gruesome it will immediately turn away many within the opening minutes.

I recommend this movie for anyone who's into horror or those who think the genre is just Hostel and Saw. Hellbound, as indeed the original, breathes new life into the horror movie and for every pint of spilled blood, brings intelligence and style in buckets.

9/10