#35. "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" (1988, Randel)
By Eivind Langdal
6th January 2010

The first Hellraiser was one of the best horror films I have had the displeasure of seeing. It was original, and had created a universe of its own that was involving and unique. Its attention to story and atmosphere made sure it was a work of great tension. It wasn’t flawless, but all details I could complain about could ultimately be excused thanks to Clive Barker’s awesome vision. So, what to make of its sequel then? I am sad to say it simply doesn’t live up to the expectations set by the original. It tries something different, and I applaud the effort, but not the final result.

The plot begins right after the first film finished. Hell, they’re so closely linked you could string them together and get one hell of an epic. Unfortunately, that would be an epic with one good first half and a disappointing second act. It starts wonderfully, as we are acquainted with an army officer who has gotten his hands on that pesky box. Judging by the attire he wears, he has been stationed in the desert (it’s becoming more and more obvious that the box finds it home in a country south of the equator). Sitting alone in what looks like a great tomb, he solves the puzzle of the box, and opens the gates to hell itself. As it turns out, the officer, whom the credits (but not the film) names Elliot Spencer, turns into Pinhead himself. The scene turns out to be a flashback. One of the film’s main points is that fact that every Cenobite is a former human, which will play an important part in the eventual climax.

Many other characters from the original film make their return here, most importantly Kirsty, who acts as the film’s protagonist. She has been stationed in a hospital, and police and doctors question of what has happened in the family house. She tells them the entire story, but they all seem reluctant in believing her, except for the surgeon dr. Channard, who we will learn know a few things about the Cenobites’ nature. When Kirsty hears that there is still a bloody mattress left in the house, she urges the police to burn it, as it can resurrect Julia’s body again. Needless to say, the mattress doesn’t exactly get burned, and soon enough, the horror begins anew.

Another new member of the family of characters is a young girl named Tiffany, who is a patient in the same hospital that Kirsty now resides in. She has been there for six months, and hasn’t spoken a word since then. In fact, her name isn’t really Tiffany either; as that is just something the staff has named her in compensation for her lack of a name. She spends most of her time solving puzzles that seem curiously similar to the mysterious box. No doubt she too will play her own part in the coming events.

My biggest problem with Hellbound: Hellraiser II was that it simply overplayed its hand. It wants to extend the universe of the series by introducing new characters, bringing depth to the old ones, and by showing us places we haven’t seen before, which is fine by me, as any good sequel should be doing that. But the problem is that the new characters aren’t as interesting as the old ones, and the new places we get to visit aren’t nearly as interesting as when they were talked about, but not shown, in the original film (I am, of course, referring to the Cenobites’ home).

The worst thing about the film is that feels more like a bad sci-fi than a gothic and atmospheric horror film. Hell, there’s even something reminiscent of lasers near the end. Much of this is because the film has aged quite a bit. Sure, so has the first film, but it had restraint enough not to overindulge in special effects or large sets. The sequel doesn’t have that restraint. Some of the effects are so glaringly bad that they took me completely out of the film, and the eventual reveal of the Cenobites’ world is not only underwhelming, but also distractingly bad. I wanted to know more about their nature, but if this is all I get, what’s the point? Why, for instance, don’t we get to know more about who they used to be? The prologue showing Pinhead as human is interesting, but it seems more like teasing than anything else.

There are a few things to commend in the film, particularly its vision and visible ambitions to not only be something else than its original, but also to be something else than other films in the genre in general. But what good are ambitions if they don’t amount to anything? What good are dreams if they are just that: dreams? I can spend my nights thinking of beautiful women, but in the end, I will wake up, and they’ll be gone. The first film in the series was an awesome creation. The second is just a creation.