Hellraiser II: Hellbound – Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)

Directed by: Tony Randel | 97 minutes | drama, horror, thriller | Actors: Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Kenneth Cranham, Imogen Boorman, Sean Chapman, William Hope, Doug Bradley, Barbie Wilde, Simon Bamford, Nicholas Vince, Oliver Smith, Angus MacInnes, Deborah Joel, James Tillitt, Bradley Lavelle, Edwin Craig, Ron Travis, Oliver Parker, Catherine Chevalier, Andrew Robinson, Robert Hines, Michael Cassidy, Anthony Allen, Grace Kirby

After the release of ‘Hellraiser’ in 1987, the ideas were far from over, so ‘Hellraiser II: Hellbound’ was made quite soon after the first horror film, now elevated to cult status. The story picks up right where the first movie left off: Kirsty wakes up in a mental institution after the shocking events that happened to her in that movie. She is questioned by a police inspector, but the latter seems to take her explanation for the havoc and the rotting corpses in her father’s and stepmother’s house with a grain of salt. He also ignores her warning to destroy the bloodied mattress that has been found.

Doctor Channard takes the traumatized teen under his wing, but what Kirsty doesn’t know is that he has his own intentions. Channard has had a fascination with the cenobites for years, so Kirsty’s inclusion in his facility is just right. When Kirsty’s stepmother Julia comes back to life in a gruesome scene (hats off!), he’s one step closer to his goal. The sadistic doctor and Julia become lovers (as far as that goes with someone without skin – after all, there are no loving caresses!) and enlist a stupid girl, who is also a patient in the institution and called Tiffany, to perform the Lament Configuration. to solve a puzzle box.

Meanwhile, Kirsty gets a message from her father who has landed in hell – or so she thinks (in reality, it’s her Uncle Frank who wants to trick her). Of course she wants to save her father. Tiffany, who is an expert at solving puzzles, manages to open the gates of hell and Channard, who is being shown around by Julia, as well as Tiffany and Kirsty, take a look.

From that point on, the film kind of sinks in, because hell is strongly reminiscent of an MC Escher etching and will not frighten anyone. In addition, the set designer has earned a hefty scolding, because the endless system of corridors through which the foursome runs is so fake that it is not convincing anywhere.

Where the first part still excelled with a carefully constructed scenario, plot and logic make way for more gory scenes and excessive violence. The story about the stupid Tiffany and her mother hardly adds anything, is also poorly developed and only distracts from what the viewer has really sat down for: the cenobites and the gore. And that is where the film scores points, for those who love it, because skulls are drilled and skin scraped off that it is a delight. However, for a horror film that actually has something to say, you don’t have to watch this second film.