Hellbound: Hellraiser II: Time To Play

Some of you are gonna watch this, and say: "the Video Librarian is one sick unit." Nevertheless, we think that this sequel is even better than the original Hellraiser. If you recall from the original, Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) escaped the clutches of her evil Uncle Frank (who, almost, but not quite, was able to get enough skin back on his peeled frame, through the machinations of the evil stepmother Julia (Claire Higgins)). Part 11 picks up with Kirsty in the hospital, Frank back in hell, and Julia back with the sort-of-living. A mad doctor is supplying Julia with new victims-and except for a raw patch on her back, Julia's nearly presentable. The band of weirdoes (Pinhead & Co.), from the pleasure-and-pain limbo, show up from time to time searching for Julia and threatening Kirsty. When the mad doctor gives the "puzzle box" (when opened correctly, the box rips your skin off, and puts you in the pleasure/pain hell of Pinhead and his friends) to a mute teenager named Tiffany (Imogen Boorman), everyone takes a trip to hell. Kirsty/Tiffany battle Julia and the mad doctor in a nightmare landscape of bizarre and grotesque figures run amuck. Special effects, unsettling use of light and color, and wonderfully ominous dialogue (Doctor to Kirsty and Tiffany: "You've got your whole lives behind you,") make Hellbound an exhausting, but strangely exhilarating, rollercoaster ride of pure horror. This may be more effective than Jane Fonda's workout for taking off a few pounds. Since the unrated version contains one needlessly drawn-out and particularly grisly scene, we recommend the R-rated version.