Hellbound: Hellraiser II

Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)

Timing: 1:37 (97 min)

6.401/10
1053

6.733/10
15077

6.4/10
61000

All about film

Video 5

Photo 71

Actors and characters

Release date

1988-12-23

Country

United Kingdom, United States

Production

New World Pictures, Film Futures, Cinemarque Entertainment, King Video Productions, New World

Genre

Horror, Thriller, Fantasy

Budget

$3 000 000

Revenue

$12 090 735

Website

Director

Tony Randel

Actors

Ashley Laurence, Clare Higgins, Kenneth Cranham, Imogen Boorman, William Hope, Sean Chapman, Doug Bradley, Barbie Wilde, Simon Bamford, Nicholas Vince
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Christopher Figg, Clive Barker, Christopher Webster

Operator

Robin Vidgeon

Composer

Christopher Young

Artist

Audition

Doreen Jones

Editing

Richard Marden, Tony Randel
All team (83)

• Actor Andrew Robinson, who played Larry Cotton in the first installment, refused to appear in the second for financial reasons, which necessitated a rewrite of the original film script.
• In the original script, Dr. Kennard was named Malahide. The surname Kennard was chosen due to its similarity to the name of Christian Barnard, the surgeon who performed the world's first successful heart transplant.
• The repeating sound made by the Leviathan in the world of the Cenobites is the word “god” encoded in Morse code.
• Barker revised the initial script under the influence of Tony Randel and Peter Atkins, who filmed the sequel 'Hellraiser II'. This concerned the scene where Kirsty takes the box from Julia, killed by the Cenobites' hooks. It was necessary to introduce an element connecting the series – a mattress with Julia's blood.
• Screenwriter and producer Clive Barker developed the stories of the Cenobites for the first film in the franchise, although their origins remained a mystery to audiences. He intended to show the public at least that the Cenobites were once human, and became demons as a result of their own vicious inclinations. This nuance was supposed to emphasize the stories of the characters played by Oliver Smith and Clare Higgins, and their gradual submission to the sin of lust, with Higgins' character being intended as the main antagonist of the franchise. However, Pinhead proved more popular with audiences and became the central character in all subsequent sequels.
• The script included a detailed backstory for Pinhead, played by Doug Bradley, but it was never included in the film due to budget constraints. It only shows Captain Spencer opening the box and transforming into Pinhead. The story of Captain Spencer/Pinhead was later told in Anthony Hickox’s 'Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth' (1992).
• William Hope recounted that when his mother-in-law and nephew were in London, they asked his permission to come to the set sometime. He didn't object, and they came on the day the mattress scene was being filmed. According to Hope, his mother-in-law was shocked by what she saw, while his nephew enjoyed it.
• Kenneth Cranham said that he was persuaded to film by his grandson’s urging.
• During the filming of one scene, Nicholas Vince received a punch to the jaw. He himself insisted that his character have eyes, which caused some bewilderment among fans of the franchise and discontent. The scene in which he regains his sight was cut from the film during editing, which led to misunderstanding, as he is shown without eyes in the introduction.
• According to Ashley Laurence, Clare Higgins and William Hope constantly argued over trivial matters during filming, but Ashley couldn't understand the reason for the feud. Many years later, Higgins shared the truth with Laurence: in the 1960s, they studied together, and she was in love with him, seemingly unrequitedly, and therefore deliberately acted coldly to distance herself from those feelings. When Laurence told everything to Hope, it broke his heart, as he also had feelings for her.
• The repeating sound that Leviathan makes in the world of the cenobites is the word “god” encoded in Morse code.