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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.
Related post:
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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