Movie review: Hellbound Hellraiser II

After the death of her family in the first installment, Kristy is brought to a mental institution and put under the care of Dr. Channard by the police who don’t know what to make of her story. Little does she know that Dr. Channard is obsessed with the puzzle boxes. Soon he has resurrected Julia and brought the Cenobites back once again.

Claire Higgins (Julia), Ashley Laurence (Kristy), Kenneth Cranham (Dr. Channard), Imogen Boorman (Tiffany), Sean Chapman (Frank), Doug Bradley (Pinhead/Captain Spencer), William Hope (Kyle).

Most of the original cast is back in this one with a couple of new additions. Acting as in the first is a bit rough around the edges but it does nothing to diminish the effect of the film. The plot is unusual to say the least but moves along nicely. Getting to see a new Cenobite created, officially the Channard Cenobit or BlenderHead as I call him, was awesome. I also loved the line from Pinhead to Kristy that her suffering would be legendary even in Hell.  There were parts though where it felt like this one had strayed a bit to far into fantasy land. Some of the freakiest parts of these movies is when your everyday settings are corrupted by the Cenobites and that didn’t happen quite so much in this film.
The most enjoyable part for me was finding out where Pinhead came from and Kristy proving to the Cenobites that they were at one time human.

Special effects were average, with plenty of blood, guts, and gore. Sound and camera work were nicely done although the soundtrack was bland.

As with the series, teens and above should be okay watching this.

Released: 1988
Reviewed: 12.21.15
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Horror, Satanic Stories, Cult Horror, Sci-Fi Horror, Fantasy Horror

copyright  ©2015 Dave Riedel