September 9, 1988 (TIFF)
December 23, 1988 (United States)
June 16, 1989 (United Kingdom)
Hellbound: Hellraiser II is a 1988 supernatural horror film directed by Tony Randel and starring Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence and Kenneth Cranham. It is the second film in the Hellraiser franchise, and draws heavily upon its precursor, Hellraiser, which was released a year before with much of the same cast and crew. Laurence reprises her role as Kirsty Cotton, who is admitted into a psychiatric hospital after the events of the first film. There, the head doctor (Cranham) unleashes the Cenobites, a group of sadomasochistic beings from another dimension.
Clive Barker, who wrote and directed the first Hellraiser film, wrote the story of Hellraiser II and served as executive producer. Hellraiser II is an international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, and was screened at the Toronto Festival of Festivals on 9 September 1988, with mixed reviews upon release. It grossed $12.1 million at the box office and was followed by Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth in 1992.
Storyline
In 1920s India, British military officer Elliot Spencer is transformed into the Cenobite "Pinhead" after opening the Lament Configuration.
Shortly after her father is killed by Frank Cotton, Kirsty Cotton is admitted into a psychiatric hospital. Interviewed by Dr Channard and his assistant Kyle MacRae, she tells her account of the events and pleads with them to destroy the bloody mattress on which her murderous stepmother, Julia Cotton, died.
After hearing Kirsty's story, Dr Channard, who is secretly obsessed with the Lament Configuration, has the mattress brought to his home and convinces a mentally ill patient named Mr Browning to lie on it and cut himself with a straight razor. The resulting blood frees a skinless Julia from the Cenobite dimension, and she subsequently consumes Mr Browning for energy. Having sneaked inside Channard's house to investigate Kirsty's claims, Kyle witnesses the event and flees in terror.
Kirsty meets a young mute patient named Tiffany, who demonstrates an amazing aptitude for puzzles. Later that night, Kirsty is awakened in her room by a vision of a grisly, skinless figure whom she believes to be her father, and who writes a message in blood, begging her to rescue him from Hell. Kyle returns to the hospital and tells Kirsty he believes everything is true. The two return to Channard's house.
Meanwhile, Channard, seduced by Julia, has brought more mentally ill patients to his home for her to feed on, in order to complete her regeneration. Kirsty and Kyle arrive at Channard's home, where a now fully regenerated Julia kills Kyle and knocks Kirsty unconscious.
Channard and Julia kidnap Tiffany and force her to unlock the Lament Configuration so that they can enter the labyrinth-like world of Pinhead and the Cenobites. The Cenobites momentarily spare Tiffany, aware that while she was physically responsible for unlocking the Lament Configuration, the actual intention and desire behind it were Channard's. In Hell, the entity Leviathan—in the shape of a gigantic, elongated diamond—rotates in space above the labyrinth, shooting out black beams that make Channard remember some of the atrocities he committed. Julia calls Leviathan the "god of flesh, hunger, and desire... the Lord of the Labyrinth". Kirsty, who now possesses the Lament Configuration, follows them in.
Pinhead and the other Cenobites find Kirsty and tell her she is free to explore. Julia betrays Channard to Leviathan to be turned into a Cenobite; as Channard screams during the procedure, Julia reveals that she has a mission to bring souls to Leviathan, including Channard's.
Kirsty encounters Frank Cotton in the labyrinth, who reveals that he tricked her by pretending to be her father. Julia appears and tears out Frank's heart in revenge for Frank betraying her earlier, allowing Kirsty to escape. Julia is then sucked away by a vortex that opens within the labyrinth, leaving only her empty skin behind.
Kirsty and Tiffany reconnect and attempt to escape but are ambushed by Channard, now a full Cenobite. The girls flee and encounter Pinhead and the other Cenobites. Kirsty shows Pinhead a photograph of Spencer that she took from Channard's study, and he gradually remembers that he is human; the other Cenobites also remember that they were once human. Suddenly, Channard appears and beckons Tiffany, who is shocked into regaining her ability to speak. Pinhead and the other Cenobites attempt to fight Channard, but he effortlessly kills them all. Before being killed by Channard's scalpel-wielding "serpents", Spencer exchanges a poignant glance with Kirsty.
Channard traps Kirsty and Tiffany. Kirsty finds Julia's flayed-off skin and puts it on over her own to distract Channard and give Tiffany enough time to solve the Lament Configuration again—this time in reverse. In trying to extricate his trapped serpentine tentacles, Channard rips himself apart, and the door to hell is finally closed. The girls leave the hospital.
Two moving men are removing Dr Channard's belongings from his home elsewhere. One is pulled inside the mattress, and the other witnesses a mysterious pillar rise from within. One of the faces fused to the pillar is a vagrant who earlier stalked Kirsty, who asks the man, "What's your pleasure, sir?"
Also See
- Hellraiser (1987)
- Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)
- Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
- Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)
- Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)
- Hellraiser: Deader (2005)
- Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005)
- Hellraiser: Revelations (2011)
- Hellraiser: Judgment (2018)
- Hellraiser (2022)
Movie Trailer
- Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) (Trailers)