Hellbound: Hellraiser II

[KLAXXON]

For Kirsty the nightmares never end with her father's skinned corpse and the demonic cenobites still fresh in her memory. Then the doctor re-opens the channel between the dimensions and once again she is propelled into their horrifying world.










Clive Barker was a virtual unknown when, in 1987, he cashed in his literary cachet to write and direct the bloody and brilliant Hellraiser. Based on his own short story, and centering on the underworld's own "explorers of the further regions of experience," aka the Cenobites, it stood in stark contrast to the slice-and-dice dynamic of a by-then exhausted slasher genre. When sequel time came around, Barker was off crafting his Star Wars of horror, otherwise known as the disappointing Nightbreed. So American director Tony Randell was brought in to helm the follow-up. The results were bigger in every way -- grander in scope, broader in mythos, and bloodier than ever before.

After Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) survives her first run-in with evil, she ends up at an institute run by Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham) and his assistant Kyle (William Hope). While he promises to help, it turns out the psychiatrist is obsessed with the Lament Configuration, the demonic puzzle box which unleashes the Cenobites. With the help of the bloodstained mattress where Kirsty's stepmother Julia (Clare Higgins) died, Channard wants to use a mute patient named Tiffany (Imogen Boorman) as a gateway, solving the cube's riddle and opening up a conduit to head demon Pinhead (Doug Bradley). Of course, such a strategy could lead to a literal Hell on Earth.

Hellbound: Hellraiser II does something rather unique for a fright film. Instead of repeating what was successful the first time around, it attempts to broaden its perspective, and as a result, establishes the foundation for the rest of the franchise. It introduces us to the Cenobite process, explains how humans are seduced and then transformed into the demonic sadomasochists, and expands on the original's sex and pain perversions. It features several incredibly gory sequences (including a psychiatric patient's memorable self-mutilation), multiple bows to Barker's original, and enough open-ended elements to guarantee an ongoing collection of cash-ins (eight so far, and counting).

Because Barker is more interested in the ephemeral aspects of fear vs. the basic biomechanics of dread (the Cenobites were originally not intended to be the focus of the series), there are some who wince at Hellbound's overreliance on splatter. The first film definitely had ample arterial spray, but it served a sentient purpose. Blood brought individuals back from their servitude in Hades. It also functioned allegorically as a symbol of marital discourse. In fact, Hellraiser was really a husband's ultimate nightmare, asking how far a wife would go to "resurrect" her love for another man. Hellbound offers no such allusions. Here, we get killings, corpses, and other random atrocities, as part of what ends up being a basic macabre geek show.

Gone are the semi-logical connections between personal delight and eternal damnation, the Cenobites satiating earthly needs while demanding eternal payback in the afterlife. In their place are interesting origin tales, including a peak at how a WWI solider named Elliot Spencer became the baddest of all big-screen fetish fiends. We also learn the basics of damnation, including the age-old notion of being tortured for eternity for (and by) the sins of your life. While Barker's first feature offered up some amazing performances from Laurence, Higgins, and Andrew Robinson, Hellbound is too concerned about effects to meter out emotion. In fact, Randell's direction feels like the work of someone who decided to dispense with the depth and get right into the nasty bits.

Still, as part of the ongoing Hellraiser legacy, Hellbound is an excellent sequel. It shares little with its predecessor except characters and chutzpah, and yet carves out its own place in the pantheon of Cenobite lore.











Clare Higgins ...  Julia Cotton
Ashley Laurence ...  Kirsty Cotton
Kenneth Cranham ...  Dr. Philip Channard / Channard Cenobite
Imogen Boorman ...  Tiffany
Sean Chapman ...  Frank Cotton (also archive footage)
William Hope ...  Kyle MacRae
Doug Bradley ...  Pinhead / Captain Elliot Spencer
Barbie Wilde ...  Female Cenobite
Simon Bamford ...  Butterball Cenobite
Nicholas Vince ...  Chatterer Cenobite
Oliver Smith ...  Browning / Skinless Frank
Angus MacInnes ...  Detective Ronson (as Angus McInnes)
Deborah Joel ...  Skinless Julia
James Tillitt ...  Officer Cortez
Bradley Lavelle ...  Officer Kucich





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