Hellbound: Hellraiser II

clockworkcanary · August 21, 2007, 10:06:58 AM

I loved this movie when I was a teenager ...but now in retrospect, I find it's an enjoyable b-movie that signaled the beginning of the end of the Hellraiser series (and it sure got progressively worse after this one, especially Hellraiser III, which I will get to eventually).

Anyway, a review of this b-fest is in the works. I have to say this movie is still head and shoulders above any of the Fridays, Nightmare sequels, or Halloween sequels, but it does change the focus of the Hellraiser series away from the original. Mainly, it changes the focus from the human villains to the monsters. But I'll save a lot of those opinions for the review.

Hellraiser 1 was a great movie for Clive's debut direction. Frank and Julia were great villains and they were only human (well, maybe not Frank) ...the cenobites were icing on the cake. The story deviated greatly from the slasher formula and was not very telegraphical.

I still find Hellbound: Hellraiser II an enjoyable b-movie; it's not necessarily painful to endure although the pacing is a bit slow as is the case with the first one, but it all leads up to a nice payoff, IMO.

One thing I will say is that these movies have a good creep factor. I found the Chattering monster a bit disturbing ...especially when I think about all his wounds being self-inflicted! These monsters are the ultimate hedonists who long ago lost the ability to differentiate between pleasure and pain!

So stay tuned...Hellbound: Hellraiser II reader review coming soon!

CheezeFlixz · August 21, 2007, 10:34:15 AM

I have all the Hellriser films (DVD's) I always thought they were great for what they are, even the ones that suck.

Ed, Ego and Superego · August 21, 2007, 03:26:31 PM

The Hellraiser films (I and II) were very original horror films. So to discuss: The doctor in II is sort of a super Cenobyte. Why? I mean yes he has the thing stuck in his head, but does that mean the "god" of the depths favors him over the more normal cenobytes like pinhead? Or is he that much more evil?
Or am I really worrying way too much here?
-Ed

Torgo · August 21, 2007, 03:34:20 PM

I actually thought that Hellraiser 2 was a pretty good sequel up until they actually go to "hell" and see Leviathan. You mean to tell me that Hell is just a boring dusty labyrinth?!!

There's some mighty great gore especially in the uncut version though and the movie still manages to be enjoyable despite it's problems.

The movie was quickly rushed into production to capitalize on the surprise success of the 1st one so that's why the movie is kind of disjointed.

I've always felt that part 3 was the one that showed that the series was already over with.

clockworkcanary · August 22, 2007, 07:19:33 AM

Can't argue with any of that. I always wondered what the deal was with the doctor as well - especially since we never see him again in any of the sequels. And I totally agree about Hell being kinda lackluster. Now, I haven't seen the uncut version but I've always heard that the cenobite battle was much more intense and much gorier, which is not what I have in my VHS version; that battle was the biggest letdown!

Hellraiser 3 is where the series really tanked but I feel that part 2 was the jumping of the shark moment when things started to go down hill. Can't wait to rip into that one too.

HappyGilmore · August 22, 2007, 11:25:05 AM

I thought the first two were well done. After that it was kinda hit and miss. I think Pinhead's a great villian, and wish they'd do another movie, as long as it can be well done.

Is the remake of the first still in the works?

JPickettIII · August 25, 2007, 12:07:19 PM

I thought the first one was good. The second and third ones were a little dorky, but the fourth one I thought was good. It showed a little history.

My two cents.

John

Torgo · August 27, 2007, 06:12:19 PM

The thing that people forget about the 1st Hellraiser is how little the Cenobites are actually shown on screen. They literally only appear during the last 15 or so minutes of the movie. There's flashes of them here and there throughout the movie, but they worked better when not shown as much.

In the 2nd film, they were on screen way too much. And I've also always wondered how the doctor becomes this all powerful cenobite who can just crush the other cenobites so easily. I know that the chick starts reminding them of who they were in their previous lives and everything, but still they shouldn't have been able to have been dispatched so easily by the doctor cenobite.

Mr. DS · August 27, 2007, 07:24:55 PM

The imagery in both films were equally disturbing and well done. I like two better perhaps because of the depth it gave the Cenobites.

Archangelion · August 27, 2007, 11:00:22 PM

Personally, I love the way the old doc in the second one yells, because he sounds a lot like Luciano Pavarotti.
Back when we were kids, my sister and I called him Opera Man. Of course, it's not as hysterically funny as it used to be, but what ever is?

Besides Rock N Roll Nightmare, anyway.