Hellbound: Hellraiser II Movie Review

My memory suggested that I had seen this film and watching it again confirmed that to some extent. Much of the movie was unfamiliar to me, but some parts were very familiar which seems to mean that I only ever saw bits and pieces while flipping channels. The truth is, the Hellraiser films just don't figure that heavily in my youth. But because they were something that most people my age knew about, talked about, and had seen, I decided to include the first two films in this October series.

Click here for a list of all other films reviewed and considered for this October 2012 series of horror reviews.

Yes, and that's about how you might feel while watching this film.

Hellbound: Hellraiser II comes across as if screenwriter Peter Atkins placed elements of Hellraiser on a board on the wall, threw darts at it while wearing a blindfold, and whatever he hit earned its place in the sequel. This film is a total mess. It is not only incoherent on its own terms, but barely meshes with its predecessor in any meaningful way. It retains the premise and the majority of the main characters, but loses any sense of plotting, cause and effect, and basic storytelling.

Hellraiser Movie Review

All this time I thought I'd never seen this movie. The series and the Pinhead character were iconic when I was growing up. The fact that Hellraiser in general was just part of any decent conversation about horror films meant I had to include it. Then it turned out most of the movie was familiar. I'm sure now I must have watched it on late night cable as a teenager.

Click here for a list of all other films reviewed and considered for this October 2012 series of horror reviews.

I must have done a lot more late-night cable viewing as a teenager than I thought because it turns out, despite my apparently unreliable memory, that I’d seen Hellraiser before. Or I’d seen most of it anyway. I understand why I blocked all conscious traces of it from my mind. I had to spare myself the embarrassment of acknowledging that I’d spent time on this sloppy excuse for a thriller. There’s no denying it now, I suppose.