Hellbound - Hellraiser 2 (DVD)

Finding decent sequels can be a tricky business. Finding good horror sequels is even trickier so when they do come along it’s something of an event. Having made its mark in 1987, Toney Randel took over the director’s chair from Clive Barker for the second outing in the Hellraiser series - “Hellbound: Hellraiser II”, released in 1989. Having introduced the minions from Hell - the Cenobites - in the first movie, most of the cast was reformed for the second movie in what was to become one of the biggest horror franchises in movie history. Having survived the ordeal with the Cenobites and the demise of her father, her step-mother and the evil uncle Frank, Kirsty ...  Read the complete review

In the scheme of things, there really wasn't a requirement for a sequel to Clive Barker's Hellraiser. However, the basic concept of it would allow so, and the concept was one that could be explored well, even if it chose to use other characters from those established in the first movie, providing it kept to the rules of the box and the cenobites. So, when a sequel, starring 2 of the main players from the first movie appeared, surely it would be good, right? Well, storm clouds appeared when it became clear that Barker wasn't doing the script or directing this picture, and his only credits were for the story and as Executive Producer, with Tony Randel and Peter Atkins ...  Read the complete review

Introduction: ----------------- As some may know from my previous reviews, I'm not a fan of gore movies per se - particularly the new wave of meaningless torture-as-porn embodied by "Hostel" or the "Saw" trilogy. However, there is an exception to every rule and for me that exception is Hellraiser II, a film where the sheer imagination, performances and overall a sucessfull screenplay assisted by the creator of the Cenobites, Clive Barker makes it a great horror film in spite of the gore, not because of it. The sole survivor of her family from the first film, Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) is under care of the psychiatrist ...  Read the complete review

In the aftermath of the events contained within the first film, Kirsty is sent to a psychiatric hospital. However, the events of the night which destroyed her family are about to catch up with her. Channard, one of the top psychiatrists at the hospital, has become obsessed with the Chinese puzzle box and its links with the Cenobite hell. Resurrecting Julia from the mattress which was the site of her death in order to be his companion and guide to the sights of Hell, he then chooses a young girl from the hospital who suffers from a compulsion to solve puzzles to summon the Cenobites, intending to follow them secretly back into the netherworld. Once again, Kirsty ...  Read the complete review

If you don't own a multi-region DVD player or intend to purchase one, then this review will be useless to you. But, if you love the movies as much as i do, then read anyway and see what you're missing. This is a limited edition tin box DVD set of Hellraiser and Hellbound, the sequel. If you've read my review for the first half of this box set, under Hellraiser, you should know how much i love that movie. Now for the second half of the set and indeed the second movie of the series, Hellbound. Again, a brief synopsis, starting straight after the ending of the first one, police find the victims (or what's left of them) of Franks ...  Read the complete review