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:

The Horror Continues.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

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:

$11,090,735

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

The movie was due to have a much larger budget but it decreased after financial issues with New World Pictures.

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Goofs

When the Cenobites appear in Dr. Channard's office, the curtains are ripped away from the window, and you can see the string that rips them away.

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Quotes

Skinless Julia: Now all we need... is skin.

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Alternate Versions

There are also reports of an additional scene featuring Pinhead and the Female cenobite in surgery room outfits, but this is not included in any known version (see below). A glimpse of the scene, showing the Chatterer jumping out of an elevator, can be seen in one of the trailers.

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Connections

Referenced in Tribes of the Moon: The Making of Nightbreed (2014)

User Reviews

One of the best horror sequels going

If you're considering watching 'Hellraiser 2: Hellbound' you should probably ask yourself if you're really into seeing skinless corpses ripping each other apart with hooks and chains. If this doesn't sound like something you'd observe over dinner then you should probably steer clear of any film with a man whose face is covered with pins is plastered all over the marketing. However, if you're one of those weirdos (and I include myself in that term!) who actually enjoyed the first 'Hellraiser' film and wants to explore that dark and depraved world a little more, then you can't go far wrong with the sequel.

Yes, I know that sequels are usually inferior to the original and almost unheard of in horror terms for one to outdo its first incarnation. Now, I'm not saying that 'Part 2' is as shocking and original as 'Part 1,' simply because by definition it can't capture the shock value of witnessing the Cenobites for the first time. However, it does give more of what Hellraiser's audience wanted, plus it explores this terrible universe and expands on all the major themes from the original. And, for a sequel, that does kind of mean it ticks all boxes you'd want.

Most of the original's cast return, we have the girl who survived the initial encounter with those flesh-hungry monsters, the Cenobites, Kirsty come back for more. Or rather she's been chucked in a mental institution due to repeated rants regarding how an escaped prisoner from hell seduced her stepmother into killing her father to satisfy demons who live in a puzzle box (to be fair, you can't blame the authorities for not believing her on that one!). And her torment isn't over, for, from the confines of her padded cell, she repeatedly sees images of her dead father, now trapped and skinless in hell and begging for help. However, it doesn't seem to just be her dad who's trying to get out of having their flesh torn from their body. Her wicked stepmother and sadistic doctor also have an interest in what secrets the puzzle box has in store. Enter the Cenobites.

Again, 'Hellraiser 2: Hellbound' isn't for the faint-hearted. You need a strong stomach, as the film-makers seem to delight in coming up with new and varied ways to remove and violate body parts using a variety of sharp implements. I won't go into too much detail regarding the rest of the plot, but I will say that I actually prefer this one to the previous Hellraiser movie. This is because my one main criticism of the first film as that the Cenobites weren't in it enough. Here, however, they're back for good and in it for a much longer period of time – no bad thing when you see that practical make-up is a million times more disgusting than today's overused CGI gore. Overall, whether you prefer the first or the second, I think most horror-lovers will agree that this is at least a fair sequel to the original and they do go together well as a pair. The third instalment takes the franchise in a bit of a new direction and some felt that that was the point when it started to lose momentum. However, these two films go together well, so if you have a strong stomach, give them a go with the lights turned out.