Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

I like horror movies. Almost too much. Let's not go into the reasons why. There are too many. And some of them aren't pretty.

But I also like plots, character development, and complexity. After watching the first Hellraiser, I began to suspect that the series was created as an excuse to watch people get tortured with hooks. If you're not aware of the basic mythology, it is this: there is a box (called the Lament Configuration -- but you only know this if you've read the book) that, when it is opened, unlocks the gateway to another dimension filled with grotesque creatures called Cenobites who's only purpose is to inflict an eternity of endless suffering and pain on the person who opened the box.

I began to wonder early on why on earth anyone anywhere would ever create such a box, let alone open it. See, all of the Saw movies operate on the same basic principle -- "Let's kill a bunch of people in graphic and horrifying ways!" -- but the deaths are (at least partially) connected to a larger theme: cherish your life. The Hellraiser films are like the exact opposite. They function as visual sadomasochism, inviting you to cherish death. Or not even death, because the victims of the Cenobites never really die.

It's complicated, and I'm going somewhere with this. HELLBOUND picks up right where the first film left off. It even offers you a completely nonsensical recap at the beginning. This turns out to be unnecessary, because young Kirsty from the first film now finds herself in a mental institution, and she kindly spells out every little detail of the first film to her creepy psychiatrist, Dr. Channard. Channard, who is a closet Hellraiser junkie, is intrigued by her story and sets in motion events that will open for him the gates to the Cenobite world.

Why on earth? Why would someone do that? Is he mad? Yes, he is. But he is more than that.

When Channard finally visits the "fourth dimension" and sees it for what it is, he is horrified. Naturally. But then he begins to understand, and the nature of that world is made painfully clear. Why do I like horror movies? Why do insane psychiatrists insist on opening the gates to hell? It's really the same question.

This sequel succeeds in ways that the first could only dream of. Barker's sadomasochistic universe is lovingly realized, and captures not just the essence of Barker's twisted brain, but also the twisted essence of why horror movies exist to begin with. Whether you like a little spank with your sex, or enjoy the "burn" of an extra hard workout at the gym, or simply can't look away when you pass a particularly nasty car accident on the street, the basic point is that pain is almost never without pleasure. Pain releases endorphins, it fine tunes the mind, and Barker is fiddling with that visceral clarity that comes from watching something horrible happen to someone else. Horror movies, after all, are the result of a little sadomasochism in all of us, and HELLBOUND takes that point and expands on it until you have an entire universe built on the pleasurably painful line separating life and death.

It's not an easy movie to watch in many respects (and not just because both Ashley Laurence and Kenneth Cranham are some of the worst actors I've ever seen), but it finally answers some niggling questions and becomes more than just an excuse to watch torture. In fact, if you haven't seen the first film, I suggest you skip it and start with this one. If you like horror movies, you've got no excuse not to.

What a classic 80s horror film! If you love Friday the 13th, Halloween or any of those classic horror films, check this series out! Pinhead is spooky and disgusting! Any horror fan will love this!