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The Appropriate Tune - "She's A Killer" by Alien Sex Fiend
The story of Clive Barker, as I’ve written on this blog several times, is one of dichotomy. When it comes to the world of literature he was and is an obvious success, establishing himself almost immediately as one of the premier horror writers of the 80’s, a decade infested with weirdos from Britain, especially if you read comics. Yet when it came to film, the gambling den of writers everywhere, that success seems to have fizzled out. Clive Barker has worked on over a dozen films over the years, written, produced, even directed, the man has been more involved in the creative process of cinema than most writers, but ask the regular movie goer about a Clive Barker film and you’ll be lucky to get three. Again, more than what a lot of writers can say, but absolutely abysmal when compared with the behemoth known as Stephen King, a comparison that I make almost as often as I reference the fact that I make this comparison.
I’ve covered several of Barker’s films so far on this blog, and the end results have been hit or miss. Rawhead Rex was lackluster, a goofy monster compared with an psychosexual storyline that probably reads better than it plays, but no one is gonna play it because the name ‘Rawhead Rex’ sounds stupid as hell. Nightbreed was pretty good, a film that probably could’ve been bigger had it been made during the peak of the Twilight years. Candyman I’ve already gone over in this year’s Marathon, suffice to say that my criticisms then are still my criticisms now. Not unmemorable films per se, but not really transcending the limitations and the stigma of genre films.
Then there’s Hellraiser. Released in 1987, a year after the mediocre Rawhead Rex, Hellraiser was the embodiment of everything that defined Clive Barker as an artist (probably helped that it was directed by the man himself): grotesque gore, an exploration of sexual themes that went beyond what audiences were likely used to at the time, all of which feels darkly surreal in this otherwise mundane world. Watching Hellraiser you can see immediately why it became a hit, and why it faltered when it transitioned into a franchise; It’s Clive Barker’s vision that made the idea work, and when placed in the hands of people who don’t ‘get it’, it becomes just another horror movie but with a love for leather goods. Still most horror franchises have enough steam for at least one more decent movie, and since I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to it during next year’s Marathon, I decided to check it out now.
Released in 1988, Hellbound: Hellraiser II was written by Peter Atkins, directed by Tony Randel and produced by Christopher Figg and David Barron through Film Futures and Troopstar. Taking place almost immediately after the events of the first film, Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) has been transferred to the local mental institution in order to recuperate from the trauma, although no one seems to believe her about the whole ‘puzzle box unleashing demons and my rapey uncle wearing my dad as a skin suit’ thing. Everyone except the head doctor of the facility Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham), who just so happens to be something of an occultist; So much so that not only does he have a handful of puzzle boxes but he also has the know-how to bring the Queen of Hags herself Julia (Clare Higgins) back to ‘life’. Meanwhile, Kirsty is having visions of her father, who seems to have gotten stuck in hell after the whole skinned alive thing and is now stuck there. Everyone needs to get to hell today, so someone better get to work on that souped-up rubix cube.
Hellbound is a film with a foundation built on convenience. Kirsty just so happens to be sent to a hospital where the main doctor conveniently knows everything about the puzzle box, conveniently knows how to revive Julia despite there being no reason why he would, conveniently has a character (Tiffany) whose whole thing is solving puzzles, it speaks to a movie in desperate need for a story rather than in desperate need to be told. Now if Kirsty had been a patient for months, constantly dropping hints of the Cenobites and we could see Channard playing 4-D chess, putting all the pieces together for his master plan then it’d be fine, but the way the film is laid out it feels like the whole thing takes place over the weekend, and half of it is just rehashing stuff from the first movie. Other films are a slow burn, Hellraiser 2 is trying to cook with M-80s.
Until the characters get to hell that is, where things become a lot more interesting. Hell in the Hellraiser universe is not the popular conception of hell, with lakes of fire and brimstone, but an Escher-like collection of labyrinthine corridors that stretch on for infinity, presided over not by a horned guy with a pitchfork but by an enormous floating object known as Leviathan. It’s an alien, dare I say Lovecraftian vision of the afterlife that helps Hellbound stand apart from its peers. Tony Randel loves reusing this shot of characters, barely specks on the screen, walking on top of one of the infinite labyrinth as Leviathan hangs above, sweeping the land like some horrific lighthouse, and I mean I would too because it’s an amazing visual and a terrific matte painting. 80’s genre films had a thing about depicting otherworldly places as cloudy grey voids, but here it works in Hellbound’s favor. As with most of these types of movies you end up wishing that the film explored more of the weirder stuff, like what’s the deal with the whole hell circus thing, but what we do get is arguably the best addition of lore any of these horror franchises have ever gotten. Set it up against the Thorn Cult debacle in the Halloween series and Hellbound blows it out of the water.
It’s also interesting how the Cenobites are utilized across the two films. In the first Hellraiser they were the secret final boss of the story, while rapey uncle Frank and Julia took the role as the primary antagonists. A little switcheroo for the sequel, Julia is in Frank’s position and we’ve got Channard now, but the Cenobites are strikingly less antagonistic than they were before. They still go on about torture and what not, standard BDSM monster stuff, but their place in the story is less outright villainous and more Cheshire Cat, taunting Kirsty as she traverses hell. By the end they actually achieve a manner of depth, which I wasn’t expecting at all. Clive Barker does seem like one of those people who are super into the whole ‘actually monsters are the good guys’ angle, the Transatlantic Tim Burton if you will, but only Nightbreed and this film actually dabbled in it. Dabbled being the operative word here, this is Hellraiser 2 we’re talking about here not Romance of the 3 Kingdoms, but it is a bit of development that will unfortunately be cast aside as the franchise rolls on and Pinhead loses two of his dimensions.
As far as special effects go Hellbound maintains the standard set by the first film, and in some cases moves beyond it, as sequels ought to do. There’s the nasty shit for all the gorehounds out there, the excellent matte paintings and cinematography, there’s even some experimenting with (admittedly janky) stop-motion, really helps you to forget how many musty hallways there are in the film. In particular the scene in which Channard allows a patient, believing himself to be infested with maggots, to mutilate his body with a razor blade is the most grotesque scene since Frank’s bloody skeleton pulled himself out of the floor in the first Hellraiser, lasting just long enough to become really uncomfortable.
In regards to any ‘flaws’, it definitely seems like they were pushing for Tiffany to have more plot relevancy, given the whole hell circus scene and the implications behind her trauma, that are left on the table, and the Kirsty/Tiffany bond they try to push later on feels thrown together considering the two barely interact in or out of hell until the very end. Channard is also a bit of a letdown; Here we have an psychopathic doctor, a man who is perfectly fine with abusing and sacrificing the people under his care for his own ends, an actual defined villain unlike random dude Frank, and he’s just kind of there. Making confused faces and playing second banana until the film decides he’s relevant again. “Really?”, You think to yourself. “THIS guy is supposed to be the antagonist”? Cranham isn’t a poor actor, but in a series that is extreme to the point of ridiculousness he almost kills the momentum.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II gets the recommendation. While the creative decisions Tony Randel and company made might have pushed the series closer to dark fantasy than out and out horror, those same decisions defined the world of Hellraiser beyond just weird puzzle boxes and that one Cenobite that looks like a thumb with sunglasses. It’s also a good place to stop; Kirsty’s story is wrapped up, the day is saved and in spite of any sequel bait that appears by the time the credits rolled I felt a sense of satisfaction. We’ve been to hell and back, the characters had their arcs, there’s nothing left to say, and the reception to the later Hellraiser films would seem to agree. Maybe that Hellraiser reboot that’s supposed to be coming out will freshen things up, unlike the Friday the 13th reboot or the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot or the Leprechaun reboot. Until then, Hellraiser and Hellbound make for a fine double feature. Grab a bowl of popcorn and your favorite skin suit and enjoy.
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