The sequel rightfully puts the emphasis on Clare Higgins' iconic villainess Julia Cotton. While Dr. Channard is a lackluster adversary, the depiction of Leviathan, the labyrinth and the Cenobite backstories are all welcome additions to the Hellraiser lore

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jan 9, 2024

Bigger, bloodier and messier than the original, 'Hellbound: Hellraiser II' is the poster child for everything a horror sequel should be.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 8, 2024

The stupefyingly graphic makeup effects and gore have gotten even better, although the story this time around is so surrealistic that almost nothing makes sense.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Sep 6, 2020

A seriously underwhelming horror sequel...

| Original Score: 1/4 | May 8, 2020

Far more sloppy and far less interesting than its predecessor.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 13, 2019

The acting is good for the most part, though the second film (like most sequels) pushes plot aside in favor of spectacle. Hellbound is gorier, larger, and more accessible than the first.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Oct 5, 2018

Though the script for ''Hellbound'' is related to the Barker story, the film drops its plot whenever a fake-looking monster walks on the screen. Ogling strange creatures is the film's true reason for being.

| Oct 4, 2018

This follow-up is faster and campier than its mostly somber predecessor, but the basic grim tenets of British horror author Clive Barker's supernatural worldview are still intact.

| Oct 4, 2018

It's...the best kind of sequel, one that lets the surviving characters continue their journeys while new characters get to kind of rehash the original's plot with different results.

| Apr 11, 2018

"Hellbound" isn't pretty, but it provides a feast of repulsion, inflating the Cenobite reign to epic standards. For utter perversion and relentless ick, it's quite neat.

| Original Score: B+ | Nov 12, 2017

Though there's some good work here, it's a classic example of how not to approach making a sequel. When everything is turned up one notch louder, it's hard to make out anything clearly at all.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 13, 2017

When I first caught it around 1989 on VHS video, it was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 13, 2013

A thoroughly worthy successor to the freakishly original Hellraiser.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Aug 14, 2011

A mixed bag that I just didn't fully embrace in the end...

| Aug 16, 2010

The film collapses into a bloody mess of bravura set pieces that never add up to a satisfying whole.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 21, 2009

Gory but lacking in purpose, this sequel benefits from the return of Higgins and the new addition of Cranham, yet fails to do much with the premise other than deliver a reactionary AIDS parable.

| Aug 21, 2009

It's probably a stretch to surmise that, just as the first film's subtext dealt with health fears, the sequel mines its dread from the horror of malpractice.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 20, 2009

A maggotty carnival of mayhem, mutation and dismemberment, awash in blood and recommended only for those who thrive on such junk.

| Mar 26, 2009

as part of the ongoing Hellraiser legacy, Hellbound is an excellent sequel

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 30, 2008

Simply performs cosmetic surgery on the original.

| Feb 9, 2006