Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) - Nightmarish FX abound in the first Hellraiser sequel

3/15/2023

Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) - Nightmarish FX abound in the first Hellraiser sequel

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The horrific pinhead character is front and center on this chilling blue, black and blood red poster for Tony Randel's Hellbound: Hellraiser II

The daughter of the couple from the original Hellraiser (1987) is psychologically challenged and falls into the clammy embrace of a mental hospital, where everyone are deeply psychotic, and the doctor is not exactly pure as snow.

Hellbound: Hellraiser II is written by Peter Atkins (Wishmaster (1997)), based on a story by Clive Barker (Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)), and directed by debuting Tony Randel (Ticks (1993)). It is the 2nd film in the Hellraiser franchise (1987-).

The plot is actually enormously hard to follow and summarize from this deeply mysterious and staggering special effects-driven horror film, a fascinating sequel to the memorable, gruesome original film. The grand and goosebumps-inducing score (by Christopher Young (One by One (2018))) accompanies a string of nightmarishly horrific images perfectly, and the film transports the viewer to the experiences of horror from one's childhood, as scene after scene resolutely lunges at our subconscious instead of our reason.

The fact that the actors' performances are varying in quality, and that the story is somewhat forfeited, is not something that wrecks the experience for the hard-boiled horror fan here, who gets full value for their bucks, especially because of the dizzying, inventive practical effects. Hellbound: Hellraiser II is a type of horror film that's missed today.

Hellraiser franchise: Hellraiser (1987) - Barker's legendary horror debut

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Reportedly 3 mil.£, approximately 3.8 mil. $

Box office: 13.2 mil. $ (North America and United Kingdom only)

= Some uncertainty but at least a big hit (projected return of 4.21 times its cost)

[Hellbound: Hellraiser II premiered 9 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 93 minutes. Shooting took place around January 1988 in the UK. The UK-set plot of the first film was switched to the US, because the studio thought it would be more commercial. The film opened #8 to a 3.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, its peak there, where it grossed 12 mil. $. It made 980k £ in the UK, approximately 1.2 mil. $. It was released theatrically in at least 13 other markets. A cautious 16 mil. $ projected total gross would rank the film as a big hit. Roger Ebert gave the film a 0.5/4 star review, translating to 4 notches under this one. The Hellraiser franchise returned with Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992), and 8 more sequels so far. Randel returned with Inside Out (1991, video) and theatrically with Children of the Night (1991). Ashley Laurence (The Green Fairy (2016)) returned in Monsters (1989, TV-series), Hunter (1989, TV-series) and theatrically in Face the Edge (1990); Doug Bradley (Back Fork (2019)) in Nightbreed (1990). Hellbound: Hellraiser II is rotten at 50 % with a 5.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hellbound: Hellraiser II?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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3/15/2023

Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) - Nightmarish FX abound in the first Hellraiser sequel

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