Alright kids. First off, just about every loose end that left me unsatisfied in the first installment of the franchise was wrapped up (or at least temporarily tied down) in the sequel. Unlike Hellraiser, Hellbound explores a lot of plot points much more deeply: the inner workings of the Lament Configuration (the lil box that opens the gate to hell/the fourth dimension), where the cenobites came from, etc. It's also worth noting that it turns out the devil has been the one selling people the Lament Configuration in the first place (the only line he says about it is "what's your pleasure, sir?"...this line appears in the beginning and end of Hellraiser, and the end of Hellbound). Something about the characterization felt incomplete to me in Hellraiser, but by Hellbound, everyone has a motivation and a narrative.
Something I like a lot about Hellbound is that I feel like it makes a more clear statement about the fact that peoples' desires lead them to hell. The story takes place in a mental asylum, where Kirsty has been taken after the first film for treatment from an asshole doctor named Channard. In the movie, Channard has a young, innocent patient named Tiffany open the Lament Configuration. The Cenobites appear, but don't choose Tiffany, as they are "called not by hands, but by desire". So they way that the Lament Configuration and the Cenobites operate becomes more clear, as we have seen multiple people open the portal at this point, but the only ones damned to the tortures of the Cenobites are those whose own greed to know the powers and pleasures of hell have led them to open the box. It is also revealed in this installment that once inside this dimension, souls are tortured in ways specific to them and them alone; for example, we meet Frank, whose torture is to be surrounded by women moaning in some kind of erotic ecstasy, but he cannot fulfill his own lust. The way that the movie emphasizes that peoples' own sins lead them to their own destruction is a really powerful idea, and I'm glad that it was developed more effectively in Hellbound. Another interesting bit is that Julia reappears in this film, but is more beautiful than she was in the first film (in the way she is dressed and made up). For me, at least, this signifies the fact that evil can be beautiful and alluring, because at this point, Julia is like queen of the Underworld or something.
Now, onto the design of the movie. This time, when Kirsty enters the Lament Configuration, it is not so much simply a sequence of dark tunnels but a more fully developed labyrinth, which I liked. Additionally, the talent of the makeup artists working on this film CANNOT BE UNDERSTATED. I'm fairly sure that nothing except from fake lighting and orbs of light was CGI, which means that all these actors were done up in prosthetics and latex, and they just look fabulously disgusting, especially for a 1988 flick.
Problems I had with this movie: again, a bit of a muddled plot, but I felt like by the end, the characters had at least accomplished something and more was revealed about the world of Hellraiser, which to me is satisfying enough. Once again, the script isn't great, but there are some great lines, and some effective repeated lines from the previous installment. One of the biggest complaints is that I was teased into believing a character towards the beginning of the film, Kyle, would be more central to the plot, but he was killed off almost immediately. I would have liked to see more of him.
At the end of the film, things are kind of wrapped up, but, like many horror movies that know they're not done yet, the ending is left open for more chapters in the tale.
In summary: in my opinion, Hellbound was much better than Hellraiser about developing the narratives of the characters within the tale and about revealing (at least in part) the origin of the Lament Configuration and the Cenobites. I think the design of the film is way bigger and richer than the first movie, perhaps owing to a bigger budget (although I legitimately can't find information about that on the web, if anybody else can, hit me up), and I enjoy the ideas about purity/damnation that were hinted at in the plot. I think there's a lot to explore and talk about there. This film isn't particularly scary so much as disturbing and very gory, but I think that the gore was well-done (and really, I feel like disturbing movies have longer lasting effects on the minds of viewers than movies that focus more on cheap jumpscares). All in all, I would definitely rewatch this one, and I think that watching Hellraiser and Hellbound together in one sitting would help give a better feeling of continuation than just watching Hellraiser by itself.
Something I like a lot about Hellbound is that I feel like it makes a more clear statement about the fact that peoples' desires lead them to hell. The story takes place in a mental asylum, where Kirsty has been taken after the first film for treatment from an asshole doctor named Channard. In the movie, Channard has a young, innocent patient named Tiffany open the Lament Configuration. The Cenobites appear, but don't choose Tiffany, as they are "called not by hands, but by desire". So they way that the Lament Configuration and the Cenobites operate becomes more clear, as we have seen multiple people open the portal at this point, but the only ones damned to the tortures of the Cenobites are those whose own greed to know the powers and pleasures of hell have led them to open the box. It is also revealed in this installment that once inside this dimension, souls are tortured in ways specific to them and them alone; for example, we meet Frank, whose torture is to be surrounded by women moaning in some kind of erotic ecstasy, but he cannot fulfill his own lust. The way that the movie emphasizes that peoples' own sins lead them to their own destruction is a really powerful idea, and I'm glad that it was developed more effectively in Hellbound. Another interesting bit is that Julia reappears in this film, but is more beautiful than she was in the first film (in the way she is dressed and made up). For me, at least, this signifies the fact that evil can be beautiful and alluring, because at this point, Julia is like queen of the Underworld or something.
Now, onto the design of the movie. This time, when Kirsty enters the Lament Configuration, it is not so much simply a sequence of dark tunnels but a more fully developed labyrinth, which I liked. Additionally, the talent of the makeup artists working on this film CANNOT BE UNDERSTATED. I'm fairly sure that nothing except from fake lighting and orbs of light was CGI, which means that all these actors were done up in prosthetics and latex, and they just look fabulously disgusting, especially for a 1988 flick.
Problems I had with this movie: again, a bit of a muddled plot, but I felt like by the end, the characters had at least accomplished something and more was revealed about the world of Hellraiser, which to me is satisfying enough. Once again, the script isn't great, but there are some great lines, and some effective repeated lines from the previous installment. One of the biggest complaints is that I was teased into believing a character towards the beginning of the film, Kyle, would be more central to the plot, but he was killed off almost immediately. I would have liked to see more of him.
At the end of the film, things are kind of wrapped up, but, like many horror movies that know they're not done yet, the ending is left open for more chapters in the tale.
In summary: in my opinion, Hellbound was much better than Hellraiser about developing the narratives of the characters within the tale and about revealing (at least in part) the origin of the Lament Configuration and the Cenobites. I think the design of the film is way bigger and richer than the first movie, perhaps owing to a bigger budget (although I legitimately can't find information about that on the web, if anybody else can, hit me up), and I enjoy the ideas about purity/damnation that were hinted at in the plot. I think there's a lot to explore and talk about there. This film isn't particularly scary so much as disturbing and very gory, but I think that the gore was well-done (and really, I feel like disturbing movies have longer lasting effects on the minds of viewers than movies that focus more on cheap jumpscares). All in all, I would definitely rewatch this one, and I think that watching Hellraiser and Hellbound together in one sitting would help give a better feeling of continuation than just watching Hellraiser by itself.
Rating: B
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