Hellbound
From AwardAnnals
| Film: | Hellbound: Hellraiser II |
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| Director: | Tony Randel |
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| Distributor: | Anchor Bay |
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Reviews
Amazon.com
Definitely not one for the weak of stomach, Hellbound takes up where the first Hellraiser left off, piling on the gore to near camp levels. Luckily, the 1988 sequel retains enough of British horror-meister Clive Barker’s macabre wit—like the original, it’s based on a Barker story—to save it from the schlock-heap. Hospitalized following her last misadventure, Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) implores authorities to destroy a bloody bed at the carnage scene, but the enigmatic Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham) brings an addled patient there and unleashes a dread Cenobite instead. As if that’s not bad enough, Kirsty’s getting distress calls from her father, who begs her to rescue him from hell. When she journey through hell’s dark labyrinths with a mute puzzle solver, however, Kirsty only finds the evil Pinhead (Doug Bradley) and other bizarro creatures, plus her nasty former stepmother and lascivious Uncle Frank. Much maniacal laughter and skin shedding later, the newfound compadres unlock the puzzle box again to safety. Hellbound isn’t genius, but it does have flair, which goes a long way toward offsetting Laurence’s leaden acting and occasionally over the top gore. —Diane Garrett
Barnes and Noble
Hellbound: Hellraiser II picks up after the carnage of Clive Barker’s first film to find Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) in the hospital, encountering the expected skeptical reaction from her psychiatrist (Kenneth Cranham) to her tales of supernatural encounters as she plots to rescue her now-deceased father from his sufferings in hell. The Cenobites appear again, of course, and Higgins reprises her role as Kirsty’s stepmother. There are also some stunning views of the netherworld opened up by the puzzle box; the dreamlike imagery is alternately gruesome and beautiful, but always compelling. Gregory Baird
Related works
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth
From horror legend Clive Barker comes “the ultimate in fear!” Dan Scapporotti, Cinefantastique. Some call him the Black Prince of Hell. Some call him the Angel of Suffering. The horror fans everywhere, he’s Pinhead (Doug Bradley), the urbane, spike-faced minion of evil with a bloodlust for human souls. Now Pinhead’s back in the most diabolical Hellraiser of them all—Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth!
TV reporter Joey Summerskill (Terry Farrell, Back To School) is on assignment at a local hospital when a bloodied teenage boy is rushed into the emergency room. As Joey watches, the writhing boy is literally torn apart by chains impaling his body. Fleeing the carnage, Joey follows the victim’s girlfriend to a downtown nightclub, the Boiler Room. In the apartment above the Boiler Room rests the owner’s newly purchased sculpture: A pillar etched with distorted figures and faces. Among the frozen images is Pinhead. Tonight he shall be released.
