PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Sequels tend to fall short when compared to their originals. This is even truer of a statement in the horror genre. However, Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) gave a big, fat middle finger to this trend and surpassed the greatness of Hellraiser by leaps and bounds. As a fan of the franchise, it is my pleasure to revisit this sequel on its 30th anniversary.
Released on December 23, 1988, Hellbound: Hellraiser II continues the terrifying story from the first film. We find that Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence: Mikey 1992) is in a mental institution after the death of her family. Unfortunately, Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham), the head of the mental institution, is more obsessed with the dark occult than the welfare of his patients. He reanimates Julia Cotton (Clare Higgins) by sacrificing his patients for her consumption. As Julia is resurrected, the gates of Hell open, giving way to a labyrinth of horror and torture and unleashing the maleficent cenobites – Pinhead (Doug Bradley), Female Cenobite (Barbie Wilde) Chatterer (Nicholas Vince: read our interview with him here) and Butterball (Simon Bamford) once again.
The film was based on Clive Barker’s story and characters, but the screenplay was written by Wishmaster’s Peter Atkins while Tony Randel directed. He is noted as taking a darker tone with this sequel, which was a reflection of his feelings toward the world at the time.
There are some epic scenes that were deleted from the film. One of the most highly discussed scenes has Pinhead dressed like a surgeon and Female Cenobite dressed like a nurse. They arrive at the mental hospital to surprise Tiffany (Imogen Boorman) and Kirsty. Apparently, the premise of this scene was to show a transition of Tiffany and Kirsty’s human forms into cenobites. Unfortunately, the special effects that day went poorly, and the scene was scrapped.
That wasn’t the only change to the film. The ending of Hellbound: Hellraiser II was to be quite different. Supposedly, Julia was to rise from the mattress in a black dress as the Queen of Hell, and she was to be the focus for continuing the franchise. Instead, when Hellraiser (1987) was released, Pinhead became the fan favorite, so the ending of Hellraiser II was changed. As we know now, Pinhead is the focus of the end of this film and continues the franchise into multiple sequels.
Additionally, the movie was supposed to have a much larger budget. Unfortunately, New World Pictures was having financial issues and the budget was cut. Imagine what sights we could have scene with a bigger budget…
The final film is spectacular, despite the deleted scenes and budget cuts. The visual splendor of the cinematography provides a journey through hell. The humanizing of the Cenobites provides a deeper understanding of the characters. The final product gave a sense of completion of the first film that was satisfying.
Take a trip back to hell! Revisit this horror cinematic masterpiece of a sequel on its 30th anniversary. The legendary suffering is definitely worth it!
