5
(religious imagery, God in the music)
3
(sex, nudity, violence, gore, strong language)
4
(see it if you liked the first one)
"Hellraiser 2" is known as "Hellbound." It picks up right where the last movie left off. As such you should know that reading about it is going to give away some spoilers though most of them are minor and aren't likely to affect your enjoyment of the previous movie. Some have called this one the pinnacle of the Hellraiser series, but I don't find it as intriguing as the original. I'll get to that, but first some plot details.
Kirsty awakens in a mental hospital, and the authorities want answers about just what the Hell happened in her father's house (pardon my punning). Her story about demons and puzzle boxes makes no sense to a rational mind. While we, the audience, know she's telling the God's-honest truth she's so hysterical about it that I can't blame the doctors for keeping her behind locked doors. When she sees bloody visions of her father's torment she once more seeks the use of the Lament Cube to open a gateway into Hell hoping to find and save Larry.
The doctor who is supposed to be helping Kirsty has a secret. He's well-versed in the legend of the Lament Configuration. He even has information about who Pinhead was in human form and is manipulating his patients into helping him access the power of the cube for his own gains. When he resurrects Julia, in a way similar to what happened with Frank, the pair of them set out to explore what Hell has to offer.
The idea of the dysfunctional family dynamic found in the first movie is lost here. There is no more family, only Kirsty hunting for her father and the current predicaments of the victims from before. That's a loving daughter there, ready to run the corridors of Hell to drag her mutilated father back to the land of the living.
The story isn't as strong as it could be with the focus shifting to showing off Hell and the Cenobites more than telling a human story. Rumor is that Andrew Robinson backed out causing some hasty script rewrites that could maybe account for some of the lack of detailed developments or satisfactory plot explanations.
Aside from Robinson's absence the sequel attempts to maintain a strong continuity with the original. There's even a recap of the first movie. It helps that the rest of the original cast is back. If you were wondering what would happen to these people you get the chance to find out. The only cast change that I can think of is with the female Cenobite, and we see her so little I didn't initially notice the difference.
Acting is overall slightly better than in the original. It still fails at times, though. The initial scenes with the investigator are pretty bad. I suppose this could be partly a result of the writing or lack of development of the investigator as a character. As he questions Kirsty about what happened he seems to have no basic human compassion for her at all about what she's just been through. I thought he saw her as a possible suspect because of how he treats her which turns out to be not the case. I guess he just couldn't care less that she has lost her entire family and has been deemed mentally unstable enough to be locked up in a mental hospital. Maybe he's offended that an insane person would not have the decency to give him some straight answers about why all her relatives have been murdered and skinned.
Ashley Laurence had a little more experience under her belt by this time and does a better job with her role. Not that she was awful before, but she didn't sell the character as well as she does this time. Doug Bradley and his Cenobite crew manage to be regal and disturbing. Even Clare Higgins, who appears to have been a seasoned actor before the first movie, seems more natural in her role here.
"Hellbound" goes for a dark fantasy look utilizing a good bit of stop motion and animation. A lot of it doesn't sell all that well. Maybe if I saw it when it first came out I would have a different view, but these days at least it doesn't hold up. Some scenes look too cartoony, and the stop motion looks very jerky. If you can appreciate the period effects you will hopefully enjoy the movie as a whole as well, but if you're a stickler for realism then you may have a hard time watching this.
Morality
Sex gets about the same kind of focus this time around as the first movie. The doctor has a perverse relationship with skinless Julia. He feels her up even though she's not much more than an animate corpse. There are at least a couple of sex scenes involving nudity one of them being a flashback to Frank and Julia in the throes of naked lust and the other being a group in Hell's hot tub. One lengthy scene involves a nude Julia though she also has no skin so I don't know that it counts. Frank's torment in Hell involves women writhing seductively under sheets which we see several times. They appear to be naked under the sheets though we don't see enough to be classified as nudity. A female victim is hung from the ceiling awaiting Julia, she's shown naked from the waist up.
Violence and gore is every bit as gruesome as the first movie if not more so. Similar to Frank's predicament a skinless Julia needs victims to be able to regenerate her whole body. One of the mental patients begins the ordeal by cutting himself with a razor which is pretty disturbing especially when he starts cutting his crotch. Ouch! One of the Cenobites goes on a killing spree resulting in slashed throats, severed limbs, and other gruesome moments. There is at least one graphic decapitation.
The Cenobites themselves are once again a display of artistic mutilation. Most of them are the same kinds of creatures we've already seen with pins driven into the skull of one, and this time we see scenes of the pins being hammered in. The slit throat of another is permanently held open, and others are similarly disfigured. We see the creation of one other Cenobite. His face is cut by wires after which a tube attaches itself to his skull by use of a drill. It's pretty gruesome.
The language is plenty strong throughout with numerous F-bombs and a number of religious slurs.
Spirituality
The spiritual/religious elements are less pronounced in this movie. One patient in the insane asylum waves a cross around frantically. The Cenobites are sometimes referred to as demons and their realm Hell. This isn't the depiction of fallen angels or the place of Satan's torment you are likely to picture when reading the Bible. These aren't demons in keeping with scriptural depictions, they are just demonic in their monstrosity and supernatural powers.
Hell is more like what you might find in the influences of Dante's "Inferno." It's a place of torments fitting the sins of the inhabitants. Frank was a womanizer and a pervert in life, now he's tormented by women writhing seductively beneath sheets, but when the sheets are pulled away to allow access to the carnal pleasures the women vanish. Frank can never fulfill his lustful desires.
There is something Christ-like in Kirsty's willingness to travel to Hell to help her father. She has a sacrificial attitude although it doesn't go as far as the notion of the unblemished son of God dying for the forgiveness of sin and resurrecting. Kirsty has found a way to defeat the evil of Hell, but I wouldn't say she has defeated death itself like Christ did.
According to the DVD commentary composer Chris Young is a Christian. This (with one or two other mentions of the same thing in other extras) is probably the only time anything specifically Christian is brought up.He has inserted Morse code for God into the score, though I'm going to bet that most people, without hearing about it, aren't going to notice on their own.
Final Thoughts
If you liked the first movie "Hellbound" is probably worth checking out. It doesn't stand on its own (but it's not really supposed to, it's a true sequel by continuing the original story), and despite what I may like about the Hellraiser series it's not what I would consider a masterpiece of movie making. It's an interesting tale that tries to get into your mind to scare you rather than jump out to startle you. That's what makes it work more than anything else. If it doesn't accomplish that for you I guess it will end up just being a gory mess.
Buying Guide
Picking through all of the numerous different releases of all 9 Hellraiser movies made me dizzy after a while. "Hellbound" (#2 in the series) is one of the easier ones to research since options are slightly more clear-cut than some of the others. You still might want to grab some Dramamine in case of an emergency.
There is one Blu option this time, a Midnight Madness release. There is also a DVD version of it.
There is an older Anchor Bay DVD with widescreen and surround sound and an even older one from them with only 2.0 sound.
Top Ten has a pan-&-scan release.
There is an Anchor Bay 2 pack with the original which appears to be available as a limited edition tin as well. There are a couple of other 2 packs but most don't list enough details to be worth consideration.
I want to mention the Prophecy / Hellraiser Miramax collection because at first glance it appears that this will be the “complete” Hellraiser series. In fact, it's the complete MIRAMAX collection which excludes the first couple of movies. So don't buy it and then find yourself disappointed that it doesn't have this or the first one.
I'll be focusing on the 20th Anniversary DVD which comes by itself or as part of the Lament Cube box set. You can jump down to those details or keep reading here for more info on my research of the other editions.
Midnight Madness:
The Midnight Madness Blu offers a modified 1.77 widescreen at 1080p. Audio is 5.1 DTS HD. Nearly every review I saw spoke very negatively of this Blu. The video quality is said to fluctuate – sometimes being decent sometimes being pretty cruddy. The only extra is a trailer. The only thing I saw get much praise was the audio. It sounds like that one aspect of the Blu is good quality, although a few reviewers disagreed. Bottom line: if you're getting this specifically for the high def quality you might not be a happy consumer.
The DVD counterpart offers the same specs with no extras listed though it probably has the trailer.
Image has released a double-feature of the first 2 movies on both Blu and DVD. They appear to be repackaged versions of the standard releases.
Older Anchor Bay DVD's:
Anchor Bay has a couple of different DVD options some of which are cheap and some not so much. The best of them (not counting the anniversary edition which I'll detail below) offers the original 1.85 widescreen ratio and 5.1 surround sound. It says it has been digitally remastered so hopefully the quality is decent. The extras listing shows the “Lost in the Labyrinth” behind-the-scenes feature and an image gallery that sound like the same features included in the anniversary edition.
There is a different Anchor Bay listing that is surprisingly pricy. The ratio is the original 1.85 widescreen, but this was before the remastering and only offers 2.0 Dolby sound. So quality wise you're better off going with one of the newer DVD's which are listed for cheaper prices anyway. There are no extras listed for this one, either.
The 2 pack with the original that I found is insanely expensive considering there are better options. It's an Anchor Bay DVD, and the cover art looks the same as the cheap one, but the specs say that it's not even widescreen. There is a mention of some extras, but I couldn't find any details (I would guess they are “Lost in the Labyrinth” and the image gallery) . The only real selling point here is that the second movie is pushed as being “uncut,” but you can get that in other packages that have better offerings and better pricing. Honestly, almost all of the listed run times I saw were 99 minutes so even though the others don't market themselves as “uncut” they are most likely all the same.
This is the same set that appears to be available as a limited edition tin as well. This numbered edition (30,000 made) includes a metal box, theatrical posters, a 48 page book with some extras listed but without many details. I would guess they are the same as the ones on the other older Anchor Bay DVD's. You're going to spend some extra money on this one. Go for it only if you really want the book and the posters.
Final Recommendation:
You have 3 main considerations for getting this movie for your library. Do you want to go as cheap as possible, go for the higher quality offered by the Blu (which really doesn't sound like it's enough of a quality upgrade to be worth it), or go for the most extras possible? The 20th Anniversary DVD offers the most for your money having a lot more extras than any other version and probably the best quality on DVD. If you're thinking of aiming for the DVD extras and are also getting the first movie think about going with the Cube box set (if you can still find it at a decent price). Otherwise just decide on your priority, check my comments to make sure you're going to get what you think you are, and go for it.
I put together a very pleasing Hellraiser set with the following options:
#1: Lament Cube box set (the quality of Blu + the extras of both Blu and DVD)
#2: Lament Cube box set (sacrificing the Blu quality in favor of more extras)
#3: Paramount widescreen DVD (the best available quality and the only extras available)
#4: Miramax multi-feature Blu (aiming for the best quality)
#5: Miramax multi-feature Blu (aiming for the best quality)
#6: Miramax multi-feature Blu (aiming for the best quality)
#7: Dimension widescreen DVD (the only one with extras and the best DVD quality)
#8: Miramax multi-feature Blu (aiming for the best quality)
#9: standard DVD (because it sucked too much to be worth paying extra for HD)
I decided to go with the Lament Configuration box set. The entire contents of the package are as follows:
A really cool Lament Cube case.
Hellraiser 1 20th Anniversary DVD.
Hellraiser 1 Blu-ray.
Hellraiser 2 20th Anniversary DVD.
A card that has the movie specs and other shelf info listed (this is not attached to the case itself in any way so it's not going to spoil the look).
A clear plastic box that protects the cube while it on the store shelves.
Why include the DVD and the Blu of #1 but not the second one? Because Anchor Bay hasn't produced a Blu for the sequel for some reason. Why include 2 copies of the movie at all? Probably to sell the box set as more than a 2 pack. It works for me because now I can tell you about both the DVD and the Blu for those preferring to get one or the other instead of the cube box. Unfortunately if you want the second one on Blu then this might not be the ideal purchase, however the tradeoff is the best set of extras I've seen offered anywhere.
Packaging
The cube case is an exceptionally nice display piece for a DVD case. It has a lot of detail and really doesn't look like a case at all from a distance. When you get close you can start seeing that it's plastic and has cracks where it separates to allow access to the DVD's within. There are handles on the top and bottom that give it away if you look at it from those angles. So it's not a perfect replica; it looks great just the same.
The discs stand vertically in little slots molded into the plastic. They are secure, but you have to pay attention to what you're doing in order to get them in and out. In order to get the middle disc out you'll have to remove one of the other ones first (not a big deal, just put the extra copy of the first movie in that slot). Being stored vertically means if you watch what you're doing the surfaces of the discs do not touch another solid object outside of the DVD player. It's not a convenient design, but you're getting it because it looks good on a shelf not because it's a masterwork of convenient design.
Extras
There are no extras specific to this set although each individual release contained therein includes a lot of interesting stuff.
The 20th Anniversary DVD is a single disc release.
Video
1.85 widescreen:
It can be slightly fuzzy and is quite grainy. It's not great, but it's not horrible.
Audio
5.1 Dolby:
It sounds a bit muffled and muted but is otherwise not bad at all. It's a solid mix outside of the overall levels.
Packaging
The case is standard plastic.
The interface features some music and simple animation. It's not as cool a design as some but a little effort is shown.
A preview precedes the interface. Eh, at least it's only 1.
This is the uncut, unrated version of the movie. How much does that tell you? Maybe not much considering nearly all the DVD's list the same run time, however, as best as I can tell this is the standard unrated version seen floating around the U.S. It clocks in at 99 minutes. Having not seen the theatrical version I can't detail what is added back into it, but I can tell you that there is no Dr. Pinhead operation scene (contrary to rumors this was never actually filmed) and no scene of the Chatterer being altered. It does include Kirsty looking at a photograph that turns into a nightmare, Pinhead having the pins hammered into his skull, and the creation of the Channard Cenobite which all appear to have been previously cut.
Extras
-Commentary: Director, writer, Ashley Laurence: Included are cursory comments on the change in the female Cenobite and the score being similar to “Batman,” telethon in-jokes, inmate cameos, filming the puzzle box, amusing reactions to critics' responses, why show so much of the first movie, accidents on set, cuts made for ratings, smoking in movies then and now, and beginning Pinhead's origin story. They disclose that the composer is a Christian and has inserted the presence of God through Morse code in the music. English subtitles are available.
-Featurettes (with a play all option):
-The Soul Patrol (22:10) This is humorous and enjoyable. The cenobites talk about the details of the costumes and working in the makeup, the inability to see or speak, thoughts on the first 2 movies, replacing Grace as the female cenobite, arguing over the meaning of the word “cenobite,” brief looks at the makeup process, and painful on-set accidents.
-Outside the Box (15:07) All about how the director Tony got his start in the biz, working with Roger Corman, how he got involved with the first “Hellraiser” and his influence on it, and issues with the theatrical release.
-The Doctor Is In (13:32) The doctor speaks on his role, Gary Oldman's jealousy, kissing the skinless woman, reactions to the cenobite makeup, thoughts on the uncut versions of the movie, and an injury thanks to the harness flying. He has some quite humorous moments.
-Lost In The Labyrinth (17:04) This is presented in non-anamorphic widescreen. It covers the difficulty and pressure of doing a sequel, actors' thoughts on coming back, the crazy cutting guy, why the hook injury isn't in the movie, and putting God in the score.
-Under the Skin (10:55) This has some mic noise that's annoying. Doug Bradley covers losing scenes with Capt. Spencer due to the international exchange rate, approaching the character's humanity, a description of the cut surgery scene, going crazy on vitamins, and scaring people while in costume.
-On-Set Interview with Clive Barker (3:16) This is from the 80's and covers his involvement with the sequel and the differences from the first one.
-On-Set Interviews with Cast & Crew (4:38) Another feature from the 80's, this one covers the change in directors and actors' thoughts on their characters including the only comments we're going to get on the DVD from Claire and Imogen.
-Trailers & TV Spots (with a play all option, most of these are of really weak quality):
-Theatrical Trailer #1 (1:07) Connecting to the first movie.
-Theatrical Trailer #2 (1:20) Almost just a repeat of the previous one.
-Theatrical Trailer #3 (1:25) A few more shots of monsters.
-Theatrical Trailer #4 (1:50) Now they'll take you through Hell.
-TV Spot #1 (0:31) What critics are saying.
-TV Spot #2 (0:31) Starts Friday.
-Poster & Still Gallery: This is a manual slideshow with small images - some low quality some not so bad. It includes posters and shots from the movie with a few BTS moments. Content warning: nudity.
Easter Eggs:
-Behind-the-Scenes: (1:47) A montage of makeup and other BTS shots set to music score. It's an interesting look at these things – the best look from either movie. On the Extras page highlight Featurettes and move left to select a chain link.