Hellbound: Hellraiser 2
Clive Barkerâs seminal 1987 Masterpiece, Hellraiser, was a horror film unlike any other, with a truly potent thematic statement, as despite featuring a slew of monsters and demons as a major part of its narrative, it was really about how the normal humans were the REAL monsters after all, possessing as we all do the all powerful ability of free will and thus choosing by how they felt in their hearts on whether they will commit acts of either good or evil and thus as a result being forced to withstand the consequences (intended or not) of their own fully thought out and chosen actions, whereas the primary demons of the story (The Cenobites) are essentially amoral beings doing the admittedly horrible things that they do because in essence it is their assigned duty to bring due punishment on said humans who push the lines between good and evil a little too far. This is the idea that would resonate with audiences worldwide, and when the demand for a sequel managed to up the ante, Barker laid down an outline for a new story but would leave the directing chores to journeyman Tony Randel, and having Barker at least signing off on having story approval would prove to be a wonderful thing for this follow up released the very next year in 1988, as things here feel like they have almost a continuous flow from the first film, retaining the same themes but now telling a different story using most of the original cast (except Andrew Robinson as the father, who apparently felt as if he had had enough and flatly turned it down) along with a few, rather intriguing new characters as well. The âhouse of horrorsâ setting of the first film has now been moved away from (except for a short scene showing two cops searching the place and finding several horribly decomposed bodies) and instead we take as our new primary setting a local mental institution that is positively dripping with gothic overtones but nonetheless is a perfect, fresh new starting ground to tell this tale from. We open up with Kirsty (Ashley Laurence welcomely returning from the first film as one of the best true horror heroines ever) awakening in her room at the clinic being tended to by a kindly young doctor (William Hope, best remembered as the asinine Lt. Gorman in Aliens) as a police homicide detective tries to twist her arm for info about all the dead bodies at her fatherâs house only to get a classic Kirsty hellcat response, understandable since sheâs still recovering from the horrific fate that befell her dad and the young doctor it turns out is actually very protective of her. However, thatâs in total contrast to the actual head of the institution in the form of one Dr. Channard (extremely well respected British character actor Kenneth Cranham), whom despite being held to the highest regard in his field of medical study, is in reality a completely unethical madman not above utilizing unnecessary neurosurgery as part of his ongoing âexperimentsâ in what makes the human mind work, having reduced several patients to states of catatonia, violent motor skill tendencies, and / or leaving them completely lobotomized, even going so far as having a dungeon like basement at the hospital where he keeps all the truly âlost soulsâ locked up securely. But itâs actually worse than that, as Channard also has a keen fascination with occult phenomena including the mystery of the puzzle boxes themselves (which seem to be much of the core basis of his ongoing work) and is so obsessively dedicated to this pursuit that he even has a black and white photograph of Doug Bradleyâs Pinhead in human form as the ill fated Captain Elliot Spencer in his files (with that characterâs âtransformationâ being shown in the opening flashback scene), but interestingly enough, Channard has never yet acted upon his own impulses to explore these dark realms himself, until he hears of Kirstyâs mad tales from what happened at her fatherâs house, thus using an artifact from there that was meant to be used as evidence to bring back to life none other than the reptilian Julia Cotton (Clare Higgins reprising her evil bitch in grand style) where, much like Frank in the first film, she starts off skinless but soon âdrainsâ a series of victims (mostly expendable chronics at Channardâs disposal from the Institute) to become Channardâs lover, confidante, and eventual tour guide through Hell itself. Indeed, Higginsâ Julia was originally meant to be the PRIMARY villain of the series as it progressed, until market research showed Pinhead to be the clear fan favorite (which led to Part 3 being a Pinhead centric entry), but that doesnât change Higginsâ effectiveness in the role, most notably when she draws in a nervous young male victim with a soothing yet seductive âCome to me. Come to motherâ before draining him of his bodily fluids. With the help of another of his patients / victims, a sweet yet mute young girl named Tiffany (Imogen Boorman in a surprisingly charismatic turn) who specializes in solving puzzles, Channard uses her as a pawn to open the puzzle box for access to the gateway to Hell in order to quench his own morbid curiosity (along with Kirstyâs need to venture into Hell in order to learn of her beloved fatherâs final fate), which brings forth Pinhead and his gang, showing off their own code of ethics by leaving the innocent mute girl alone while searching for Channard and Julia as well as playing some serious mind games with Kirsty (albeit she is now armed with the info on who Pinheadâs true identity really is). The structure and look of Hell, while seemingly primitive by modern FX standards, is still fascinating to behold, a nearly endless labyrinth world where the idea is that everyone there (including innocents like Kirsty and Tiffany) can pretty much find their own private Hell to call their own and be haunted by voices and images from their troubled pasts. It is here that we once again find Sean Chapmanâs Frank (the true primary villain from the first film), so incredibly happy to find live souls finally joining him where heâs at, and where we realize just how incredibly powerful Julia has now become (and Channard soon will be as well). All of this adds up to being a truly cataclysmic and over the top horror sequel that propels itself easily into being one of the best sequels and one of the best overall 80s horror movies ever, hampered only by a MAJOR time lapse continuity error about halfway through that sticks out like an infected sore thumb (Julia claims an entire bloody buffet of victims to rejuvenate herself in only about an hour or two!) and an overly long expository recap of the events in the first film as relayed by Kirsty (though it does have the benefit of featuring some unused deleted footage from Part 1), but really the pace stays quickened, as does the viewerâs pulse especially in the charisma of Bradleyâs Pinhead, who amazingly has less screen time here than in the first but still makes an indelible impression, taunting Kirsty mercilessly about both her father and her own intended fate but still taking his sweet time to settle the score with her that was left hanging after she escaped from him at the conclusion of Part 1. But there are still other monsters to contend with, including the âgodâ of Hell known as Leviathan, able to merely throw a black cloud over people to give them haunting flashbacks, and the emergence of a âSuperâ Cenobite that it would appear to most to be invincible, with the whole film taking on a much more gory, visceral slant than its predecessor, including disturbing images of a roomful of mental patients unknowingly playing with puzzle boxes as they have little hooks from Hell sticking into their faces and bodies, and the final denouement of the aforementioned Super Powered Cenobite tat is as gruesome as anything ever seen in the history of horror. Combine that with the stirring, orchestral score from the returning Christopher Young, the wonderment of how the beautiful and talented Ashley Laurence never managed to actually become a major star, and the always ever evolving nature of what has come to be known as Clive Barkerâs signature work before it self destructed much later on in its direct to video sequels. But for those who do love and acknowledge the original Hellraiser as the ultimate gold standard in the horror genre, then that makes for them viewing and enjoying this particular sequel not only required, but mandatoryâŚ
9/10