Hellraiser II : Hellbound (1988)

classics, demons, ending, horror, monster, movies, reviews, sequel, series, Slasher, Uncategorized 2 Minutes

Written by Peter Atkins and Directed by Tony Randel and Starring Ashley Laurence, Doug Bradley, and Clare Higgins

Plot: Kirsty plus new and very talkative friend Tiffany are trapped in an institution by uber-weird Dr. Channard who checked every future serial killer box when he was young and is now obsessed with the box, leading him to resurrect Julia.

I really enjoy many aspects of this movie however it is flawed. If you look into the production of the movie you learn there was a lot of disfunction behind the scenes and many of those issues show up in various ways on screen.

This sequel has many hallmarks of the overall series. Plenty of gore, there is a carnival scene where they could have amped up the scary. Pinhead has more great lines. “Your suffering will be legendary, even in Hell!”

Overall, the movie suffers from inconsistent writing, as if they made it up as they went along with no plan or goal. Likely a direct result of production problems. If you ever had the opportunity to hear the film makers speak at a q & a or meet and greet then you know that isn’t far from the truth. Really wish they had a better process, would love to have seen a purposeful followup.

Kirsty and Tiffany are likable, there is some good dialogue, great special effects. Some funny parts managed to make it into the script. Altogether good cast. I dug the lighting, but Tara didn’t, it felt cheap to her. I love the soundtrack. Not highly rewatchable for either of us, it has poor continuity.

My biggest gripe however is the “fight” scene. The travesty of a confrontation where pinhead gets to show the deep soul within backed up by his loyal troops against the truly deplorable and depraved Dr. Channard. It would make me laugh if it didn’t frustrate me so much. It’s like a boxing match with a knockout of the champion in round 1, after said champion was built up and supposed to be badass. Maybe it is cool to see for some but for me is ultimately empty and unsatisfying. The “battle” is made even more stupifying by the fact that pinhead returns again and again in the sequels and Channard is one and done, but I digress.

Tara didn’t care for it with a score of 35/100 and this one dropped almost 40 points for me for a score of 62/100, watch it for the experience.

If not for pinheads’ one liners , some great effects and Kirsty and Tiffany it would have been a take it or leave it film for me, if not less. But if you disagree watch it and let me know!

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Published by DJVoorhees13

10 Things That Make Me DJVoorhees. 1. My favorite food is pepperoni pizza. From the East Coast of course. 2. My most prized possession is a replica of the Hellraiser puzzle box. My sister haggled the price for me, but she still doesn't like touching the thing. 3. Controversial Food Opinion Time! For one, fish is meat. It was once alive. Now it's food. Fish is meat. For another thing, a lot of fish can be paired with different kinds of cheese and be quite delicious. Gordon Ramsey and many other chefs are wrong. Yeah, I said it. 4. A lot of movies make me tear up. I'm not too proud to admit that. Even horror gets me when done well. Train to Busan, for instance, hit me so hard, I think I cried during the whole end credits. 5. My dream house would be all one story, have a huge back yard for our 2 dogs, a huge catio for our 2 cats (complete with tunnels, trees, and a cat door so they can run in and out whenever), several industrial-sized airconditioning systems, a solar array, a panic system, a library, a game room, a movie theater, 3 different kitchens, an indoor swimming pool, 2 koi ponds and a giant wall surrounding the whole damn thing. 6. If I could have superhero type powers, I'd want to make anyting I can imagine, a reality. Organic or inorganic. A living thing or a sandwich. If I see a Burger King commercial, I want to be able to think a Whopper into being right in front of me. 7. I'm enjoying a lot of interesting music lately. From classic rock to modern singer-songwriters. Some of my favorites are Jasmine Thompson, Norah Jones, Chris Stapleton and the great James Taylor. 8. I watched wrestling for over a decade from the 90's into the 2000's. Recently, with the introduction of the Bloodline faction and the return of The Rock, I started watching it again. I'm really liking it, too. Some of my favorites are Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Rhea Ripley and Sami Zayn. 9. Creepy, sickly, old women scare me. Think "Zelda" from Pet Sematary, "Mrs. Kersh" from IT, and "The Countess" from Black Sabbath. 10. My first pet ever was a bunny named Buffy. Yes, after the vampire slayer. The movie slayer though, not the show one. Do not like the show.

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