Hellbound: Hellraiser II

Year: 1988
Director: Tony Randel
Writer: Clive Barker, Peter Atkins
Genre: Horror

So here we are at the second Hellraiser film and it takes place after the first. The daughter Kristy has been sent to a mental institution because of her cenobite-related ramblings. For purposes of the plot, her doctor is madly interested in the occult and cenobites in particular. Hearing her story he believes her completely and in fact brings  someone back to life. Then everything goes crazy when he uses another patient of his, a young girl who likes puzzles, to solve the puzzle box and send everyone into their own vision of Hell.

It feels kind of cheesy to have everyone coming face to face with the cenobites already. It seems like a showdown in their territory is something that would typically come much later in a series. The main cenobites also seem horrendously underpowered which also completely dissolves any fear we had about them from the first movie.

Despite those negative points it is still a wholly watchable film. It's still fun and I like rooting for the two girls to make it out of the situation alive. There's a plot segment dealing with the history of cenobites but it doesn't really make sense. In fact, nothing much is every really mentioned aside from a handful of lines. It's weird but maybe they were setting us up for future films.

Honestly, there's not much to say about this one. Think of it as Hellraiser part 2 if you wish.

Hellraiser

Year: 1987
Director: Clive Barker
Writer: Clive Barker
Genre: Horror

I first saw Hellraiser when I was a young teenager so I barely remembered anything about it. Within the last few weeks I decided this would be the next series I tackle for my blog. Interestingly, the first few titles streaming on Netflix expire at the start of July so I figured there was no time to waste. More interestingly, the third film isn't streaming while the rest of the series is. Perhaps it's a licensing issue.

So, back to Hellraiser. I like the move fairly well enough. It starts off with a couple who are moving into a new house. Things are looking okay until the husband cuts his hand on a nail jutting out of a frame and bleeds all over the house. Unfortunately for him, one of the rooms contains an unholy being inside which sucks up his blood and basically reanimates itself. It's pretty disgusting but also very cool.

The husband has a daughter as well, who tries to be accepted by the mother but still feels very nervous around her. Like in many movies, she becomes a snoop later on and gets herself mixed up in a very unfortunate situation. Oh, and did I mention that the being that feeds off blood in the house is the husband's brother who the wife had an affair with in his livelier days? Yep.

The story is all kinds of convoluted but not so much so that you get thrown off. When I was younger I remeber feeling like the movie went crazy once the cenobites were introduced. For the unfamiliar, the most famous cenobite is Pinhead and they're basically demons/angels from another world. Anyway, it's still a pretty wild ride but I certainly feel I could appreciate it this time around. It's basically a sadomasochistic rock-style horror film, if that makes any sense.

If for no other reason, horror fans should view it as this is a "classic". For me, it felt similar to how Phantasm does so if you enjoy that film you might want to give it a look.