Hellbound: Hellraiser II

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Hellbound: Hellraiser II

August 12th 2010 01:14

Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) might have survived the carnage at her uncle’s Frank (Sean Chapman)’s house, but she still ends up in the psychiatric ward of Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham)’s Institute. Lucky for her boyfriend Steve he was discharged before the movie even began, obviously the demon encounters at the end of Hellraiser (1987) did little to mess with his mind. Kirsty, however, will need to experience Hell for a little longer before she’s released. Poor girl, it seems the Cenobites were right when they told her “We have eternity to know your flesh …”

Ashley Laurence as Kirsty

Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) was greenlit even before Hellraiser had been released. New World Pictures knew they had a hit on their hands and that there was more diabolical earth to exhume, more filth to spill, more flesh to corrupt. Clive Barker made it clear he wasn’t interested in returning as screenwriter and director, but would act in an executive producer capacity and provide the basic story elements. Peter Atkins was brought on to script, and Tony Randel, who had been an uncredited editor on the first movie, took over the directing duties.

Hellbound Clare Higgins and Kenneth Cranham

Clare Higgins as Julia and Kenneth Cranham as Dr. Channard

Hellbound describes Kirsty’s adventures in the Labyrinth, the tale of the Channard Cenobite, and Leviation, Lord of the Labyrinth, the God of Flesh, Hunger and Desire. Ripe in her confusion, luscious in her pain, Kirsty mistakes Frank’s message in blood scrawled across her hospital wall “I’m in Hell, help me” as her father’s. She’s determined to free him. Meanwhile Dr. Channard, a brilliantly deranged surgeon, takes matters into his own hands when he learns of Kirsty’s recent involvement with the Lament Configuration. He instructs authorities to release the blood-stained mattress from Frank’s house (the one Julia was destroyed on) into his care, as it might hold clues to Kirsty’s mental rehabilitation. The mattress is deposited at Channard’s home.

William Hope as Kyle

Kirsty befriends Channard’s assistant Kyle (William Hope), who seems to believe Kirsty’s fevered imagination. He ventures to Channard’s house to investigate and after breaking and entering he is privy to Channard summoning Hell, in the form of Julia (Clare Higgins), from the mattress by baiting her with a doomed patient he’d brought along to feed her with. Kyle almost spills his lunch. Channard and Julia get along famously. From the weird artifacts within the room, it is obvious Channard has been into the dark spooky shit for years. Now he’s found the mother lode.

Imogen Boorman as Tiffany

I loved Hellbound when it first came out, much more so than Hellraiser. In fact, it shat over everything else that was being released at the time. It was dark as midnight on a moonless night, deviant, demented, surreal, and oh so quotable; “Trick us again, child, and your suffering will be legendary, even in Hell!” It was an unbridled phantasm. My best buddy even named his student radio show after the movie. Over the years it garnered its own cult following, almost separate from Hellraiser, considered to be the more outrageous, the more nightmarish, of the two movies. Watching it again the other night, for the first time in well over ten years, my sneaking suspicions were confirmed. The movie isn’t anywhere near as good as I remembered.

Doug Bradley as Pinhead

Nicholas Vince as Chatterer

Hellbound is a farrago of raw energy, it tries to harness the intensity of Hellraiser, the potency, drilling to the grotesque core of Clive Barker’s monstrous tale of the Hellbound heart, but it fails. The screenplay is a hellhound’s breakfast, the visual direction is strictly pedestrian, the pace and rhythm of the movie is choppy as Styx, tedious one minute, frantic the next, and the acting is dire, with the exception of Kenneth Cranham, who commands the screen whenever he’s on it. His character and performance lifts the movie’s mortally-wounded game dramatically. He is definitely one of modern horror’s more interesting – and committed - villains. Clare Higgins tries her darnedest, but she’s ultimately consumed, despite losing her skin (and then she’s played by Deborah Joel).

Barbie Wilde as Female Cenobite

Skinless Julia (Deborah Joel) emerges from Hell

Hodge-podge screenplay aside, there are some intriguing and striking elements; the Escher-esque Labyrinth and its black beacon, Leviathon, is a neat idea. It’s a pity the special effects work, courtesy of Image Animation, doesn’t hold up very well now. My memory was of Hellbound being gorier, more extreme than Hellraiser, and it does have its moments, but overall it’s not nearly as horrific as I remembered. Channard’s transmogrication courtesy of the “Lament elevator” does provide the special effects boys with a series of stop-motion surgical implements from Hell, created especially as extensions of Channard’s bio-mechanical body. He’s certainly having fun in Hell, “The doctor’s in … and I recommend amputation, heh heh heh!” Meanwhile Kirsty, with the help of the hospital’s resident mute/puzzle solver, young Tiffany (Imogen Boorman), must venture into the Outer Darkness and solve the puzzle to close the gateway to Hell and trap the Cenobites on the dark side.

The Outer Darkness and Leviathon, Lord of the Labyrinth

Channard basks in Leviation's beacon

The prologue to Hellbound shows how Captain Elliott Spencer (Doug Bradley) became Pinhead, the demon practitioner of pleasure through pain that we know so well. He’s joined once again by his esteemed colleagues; the ghoulish Chatterer (Nicholas Vince), with slit eyes open this time, the sweltering mound of flesh known as Butterball (Simon Bamford), and Female Cenobite (this time played by Barbie Wilde). However, although more focus is on the Cenobites, they fail to generate the same kind of nightmarish menace. In fact, they pale somewhat against the monstrosity that is Channard Cenobite. He even causes them grievous bodily harm, and much to their displeasure!

And to think I hesitated ...

Hellish pleasure

The orchestral score by Christopher Young is big and dramatically sinister and fits with the bombastic nature of the movie. But Ashley Laurence is so terrible, and she’s the movie’s star, Imogen Boorman is a cold fish, William Hope is deplorable (“Weird! Weird! ... Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ!”), and the whole B-movie atmosphere and feel of the movie swamps the whole production. I used to think the movie was lathered in style, but its not, it’s devoid of style. Clive Barker’s original is a superior movie, without a doubt. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate Hellbound’s concepts, some of its design ideas, and a clutch of scenes. But it’s very much the product of Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, far more so than its predecessor. Of course Hellbound is far superior to any of the six other sequels, but that goes without saying.

Frank's phantasms

If the remake of Hellraiser does reasonable business I’m sure a remake of Hellbound will follow, and I can confidently say I would be happy to see a big-budget, take-no-prisoners, Hell-for-leather remake of Hellbound. Bring it on! “Take your best shot, Snow White!”

“The mind is a labyrinth, ladies and gentlemen, a puzzle. Its secrets still secret. And, if we are honest, it is the lure of the labyrinth that draws us to our chosen field to unlock those secrets. Others have been here before us and have left us signs, but we, as explorers of the mind, must devote our lives and energies to going further to tread the unknown corridors in order to find ultimately, the final solution. We have to see, we have to know...” --- Dr. Philip Channard

Here’s the trailer:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

6 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Matt Shea

August 12th 2010 04:49

I never saw this one - I think I was probably too scarred from the first. Nice work reanalysing a favourite from your childhood, Bryn.

Comment by Bryn

August 12th 2010 07:17

Horrorphile

Matt, there's some good stuff in this, but it hasn't aged nearly as well as the first, despite a bigger budget. Mind you, a dodgy screenplay, crap acting, and worse direction isn't gonna help your longevity in the slightest.

Comment by Anonymous

August 12th 2010 17:27

I saw this one. My brother is a real horror freak and thisis one of his favorites...I thought it was kind of ...I dont know ...icky

Comment by JohnDoe

August 12th 2010 19:33

Film & TV on DVD

As i said on the previous post, I always thought the sequel outdid the original which is rare. Still need to see it again to make that a definitive opinion.

A fine review regardless that boresbeneath the flesh of the matter

Comment by Bryn

August 13th 2010 01:11

Horrorphile

Anon, icky ... yes, that's a good description.

JD, I'd be very curious to know your current opinion on both movies. I always felt the sequel topped the original, certainly in terms of content, but the unfortunate reality is the sequel just doesn't cut the mustard like I thought it did.

Comment by ShaunK

August 13th 2010 03:23

Screen Adventure

A bloody fine......and I do mean 'BLOODY' fine review Bryn!!!

These sickeningly twisted twisted visuals look tempting which make your review and change of mind all the more surprising. also interested to hear 'JD''s thoughts on it again.

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