Doctor Channard is sent a new patient, a girl warning of the terrible creatures that have destroyed her family, Cenobites who offer the most intense sensations of pleasure and pain. But Channard has been searching for the doorway to Hell for years, and Kirsty must follow him to save her father and witness the power struggles among the newly damned. —IMDb
Clive Barker’s original Hellraiser is far from a masterpiece, but it’s still a well crafted and dynamic film full of terror, suspense and some great atmospheric moments. Hellbound: Hellraiser II takes everything that its precursor did well, throws it in a blender and then down a drain. It’s a disgrace to the fearless nature of Barker’s much loved classic and Tony Randel completely destroys any impact of the first Hellraiser. The narrative is all over the place and the pacing is just beyond all bounds of ridiculous. I would try to write some thoughts over the final act, but it’s a total blur to me. With all that said, I still admire the violent nature and all the effects gathered, but it’s just a useless film.
I made it a point to try and go through every single 80's horror series. I braved the Nightmare on Elm Streets, endless, exponentially increasing in badness Friday the 13th's, ridiculous and desperate Halloween's, but after seeing Hellbound: Hellraiser II, I knew I could not continue with this series.
It wastes a lot of time rehashing the first film and showing people doing some pretty idiotic things. However, once we actually get to hell, it's production design and makeup effects are just surreal enough to keep it interesting. Some really cool mat paintings were the highlight for me.
Like Halloween 2 in that it starts right where the previous let off, but it has a lot less consistency or direction. Most of the movie is an exercise in, “Hey isn’t this shocking, gross, crazy, and weird? Cool! Now let’s do something else for a while." What I do like is that Pinhead hasn't yet really been that bad of a guy, in fact he's a real gentleman to Kirsten's needs. --PolarisDiB