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:

They will tear your soul apart. Again.

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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

At the time filming took place, Kenneth Cranham was doing a play in London with Gary Oldman. When Oldman heard Cranham was doing Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), he told him he would love to play a part in a horror movie. Years later, he starred in Dracula (1992).

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Goofs

During Elliot / Pinhead's torture and creation scene, the cutting makes his facial scars briefly vanish then reappear.

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Quotes

Channard Cenobite: The doctor is in.
Tiffany: [speaking for the first time] Holy shit!

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Alternate Versions

There are two alternate releases of "Hellbound" in addition to the standard R-rated U.S. theatrical/video release.

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Connections

Referenced in Hellraiser: Judgment (2018)

User Reviews

A Dark And Nasty Horror Fantasy...

One of the best things about this film is its continuation from the first. Dr Channard (Cranham) takes an interest in Kirsty (Laurence) after she's institutionalised after her family's slaughter. However, Dr Channard has darker ulterior motives as he also has an interest in the L'Merchant Configuration. Taking possession of the mattress where Julia (Higgins) was murdered, he begins to bring her back from her torture in hell. He also has a genius puzzle solver in his asylum... a mute girl called Tiffany...

This is a horror film that verges on a dark fantasy, which is especially evident in the scene where Tiffany is opening the box. What with the musical score and the atmospheric colours pulsing, it gave the film a much different feel to other horror flicks of the time. There's more than a feel of Argento here. I think it's this reason we didn't really enjoy or appreciate it at the time. However, watching it again has been very enjoyable. There's a lot to like about this film. It's packed full of atmosphere, though it's not always horror or fear. There are lots of iconic shots, such as a newly reborn and skinless Julia in her white suit, smeared with blood... Dr Channard undergoing his transformation... and the labyrinth itself. Even the acting is stronger this time around, as Laurence, Higgins, and Chapman who resume their roles from the original film, appear more comfortable in their roles. Then there's Cranham, who is a wonderful actor, he can do nothing but add strength to the cast. Of course, there's Bradley who is Pinhead - there can be only one. He was the strongest actor in the original, and thanks to his delivery of the best lines in the script and his skill to be ominous and scary... just by being there, he still stands out in the sequel.

There are some things that just don't work. One of which is the guardian of the labyrinth, the Leviathan. Which is just a revolving piece of metal that casts out a dark light over its dominion? We then learn that the end transformation of the L'Merchant cube is a miniature Leviathan... This may have worked better had the mini-L been able to create dark thoughts in peoples minds... or to create hellish scenes. But this and the subsequent ending is a little weak. It was nice though that they decided to reduce the number of light effects in this film, which made it a little stronger. I didn't even mind the energy bolts shooting through the labyrinth at the end. However, the stop-motion animation does look a little dated today, but what else were they supposed to do(?) The new Cenobite has some special skills and there was no CGI at that time which would do it justice.

This is a big film with big ideas. Unfortunately, at that time they were really restricted by budget, means, and running time. This film should have been at least another half an hour longer... maybe an hour... to do the story justice and to help build up a couple of characters a little more, like Tiffany and Kyle (Hope), and to stretch out the ending as it feels rushed to fit the 90minute runtime, which most horror flicks of the '80's & '90's rigidly stuck too.

That said, this is a superior horror flick to the majority of the fodder being created today. This kicks arse in imagination, story concept, scale, direction, and acting. So if you are wanting a classic horror to watch then the Hellraiser movies are worth a viewing or three.

I would recommend this to all lovers of the dark and nasty.